President Donald Trump revealed that the U.S. military carried out a strike in the Caribbean that destroyed a “very large drug-carrying submarine,” killing two alleged narco-terrorists and taking two others into custody. Trump also released footage of the operation.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the submarine was transporting “fentanyl and other narcotics” along a “well known narcotrafficking transit route” toward the United States. He claimed the mission may have saved up to 25,000 American lives by preventing overdose deaths.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE,” Trump wrote. “U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl… There were four known narcoterrorists on board. Two of the terrorists were killed.
“The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution.”
Fox News has confirmed that two survivors were pulled from the sea by the U.S. Navy following the strike and are currently being detained aboard an American naval vessel. Trump’s post provided the first official confirmation of their identities and home countries.
This marks the sixth time U.S. forces have intercepted a suspected drug-smuggling vessel since military operations began in the Caribbean last month. The Pentagon has yet to publicly announce the name or code designation of the ongoing campaign.
Trump first mentioned the incident publicly during a White House meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” he told reporters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking later in the day, declined to dispute reports about survivors, saying only that additional information would be shared when appropriate.
Earlier in the week, Trump confirmed that he had authorized CIA operations in the region. U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers also conducted a visible “show of force” mission near Venezuelan territorial waters on Thursday.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump believed Israel had gone too far following its failed September 9 strike on Hamas’s senior leadership in Doha, according to remarks by his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner in an interview aired Friday.
Kushner made the comment alongside U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during a joint appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes. The two men, both instrumental in crafting the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal, are featured in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.
“I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed,” Witkoff said, referring to Israel’s decision to strike Hamas leaders gathered in Qatar’s capital—a move that jeopardized delicate ceasefire talks mediated by Doha.
“It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks,” Witkoff explained. “We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.”
According to Kushner, the fallout from the strike convinced Trump that “it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.”
Israel’s domestic opposition quickly seized on the revelations. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted on X that the comments amounted to an “earthquake,” adding that “no Israeli government has ever been described this way by an American administration.”
Lapid elaborated, “After the failed attack on Doha, Trump thought Netanyahu had lost control, and imposed a deal on him that Netanyahu didn’t want. The ’60 Minutes’ interview proves that it could have been arranged for Egypt to govern Gaza and help us fight Hamas. Instead, Netanyahu’s lack of control led to the entry of Turkey and Qatar, two of Hamas’s ideological partners.”
Following the botched Doha operation, Trump publicly expressed dissatisfaction with Israel, saying he was “very unhappy” about the attack on what he called a “strong” U.S. ally and that he had not been given adequate advance notice of Israel’s plans.
In the aftermath, Trump pledged that the United States would protect Qatar from future attacks and ensured that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu formally apologized to Doha. The strike failed to eliminate its intended Hamas targets but resulted in the deaths of several lower-ranking Hamas operatives and a Qatari security guard.
{Matzav.com}
Late tonight, Hamas handed over the remains of two Israeli hostages to the IDF through the mediation of the Red Cross.
The transfer came after an earlier announcement by Hamas’ military wing, which said it would deliver the bodies of two deceased captives to Israel at 10:00 p.m. local time.
At approximately 10:50 p.m., the IDF confirmed that the Red Cross was en route to a designated handover site in southern Gaza, where multiple coffins containing the remains of hostages would be received.
“The IDF requests that the public act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families of the hostages,” the statement added. “Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.”
According to Hamas, the bodies were discovered in Gaza earlier in the day.
Israeli security officials have stated that Hamas is fully aware of the locations of additional deceased hostages and has the ability to transfer them at any time. Estimates suggest that the group could immediately release at least eight more bodies if it chose to comply.
If the identities of the bodies delivered on Saturday night are confirmed as those of Israeli hostages, Hamas would still be holding the remains of sixteen others. The IDF believes more transfers are likely to take place in the coming days.
Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement responding to the delay in Hamas’ compliance, declaring that the Rafah Crossing will remain shut until further notice.
“Its opening will be weighed in accordance with the way Hamas implements its part in the return of the deceased hostages and in the implementation of the agreed-upon plan,” the statement read.
The Hostages Families Forum expressed support for the decision but urged Israel to take a firmer approach. “At the same time, the Israeli government must not rely on the mediators – it must show a strong position against Hamas and demand the return of all 18 hostages, with no exceptions, and use all leverage it has. The government must declare that it will not continue to implement the agreement until all of the deceased hostages have been returned, in accordance with Trump’s plan.”
{Matzav.com}
The Gerrer Chassidus mourns the passing of Reb Yechiel Menachem Mendel Hertz z”l, one of its most venerable and distinguished chassidim of Ger, who passed away at the age of ninety-nine. He was niftar at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Yerushalayim.
Reb Mendel, as he was affectionately known, was born in Poland to his father, Rav Yitzchok z”l, and his mother, Mrs. Chana Leah a”h. He was among the few remaining chassidim who carried direct memories of prewar Poland and was the last living Gerrer chossid who had actually traveled to the Beis Medrash of Gur in Poland during his youth, a nesiah that remained etched in his heart for life.
In the Gerrer community, there are still several elderly chassidim who recall seeing the Imrei Emes zt”l during his final years in Yerushalayim . But Reb Mendel was unique. He alone had merited to travel to Gur itself in Poland before the war. He would often reminisce with deep yearning about those sacred days and the luminous atmosphere that surrounded the Rebbe and his chassidim.
A man of great modesty and deep scholarship, Reb Mendel devoted his life to Torah study, constantly producing original insights in learning. He was known to avoid public attention and would never speak of his age or personal past. Out of humility and fear of the ayin hara, he also refused to be photographed.
When reporters from Hamodia sought to interview him, Reb Mendel firmly declined, maintaining his lifelong discretion and humility. Within the Gerrer community, he was revered as a relic of an earlier, purer generation.
The levayah took place on Friday, beginning at the Sanhedria Funeral Home and continuing to Har Tamir in Har Hamenuchos for kevurah.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
A massive demonstration is planned for this Sunday in Manhattan, where thousands are expected to gather outside the Israeli Consulate to protest the proposed draft law in Israel. The rally will bring together the two Satmar Rebbes and communities from across the spectrum of Chassidic groups in New York.
The demonstration comes in the wake of the recent ceasefire agreement reached through the mediation of President Donald Trump. Organizers explained that Satmar has long maintained a policy of refraining from public protests against Israel during wartime, and that the current timing reflects the end of hostilities. They emphasized that the purpose of the rally is to call for the cancellation of the draft decree and to advocate for the continued protection of bnei yeshivos who remain detained in military prisons.
The gathering represents an unprecedented joint effort between both Satmar factions—those led by the brothers, the Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel and the Rebbe of Williamsburg—alongside numerous other Chassidic courts from across the United States.
During Simchas Torah, both Satmar Rebbes addressed the issue before thousands of followers at their respective ne’ilas hachag gatherings.
The Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel declared, “The chareidi Jews of New York are rising in a great protest against the treif government in Israel that decrees the conscription of yeshiva students. We are going to participate and cry out, ‘Hoshana lema’an datecha!’ We need a great salvation for the sake of Torah—they are trying to break those who study Torah in our holy land. Everyone must take part in this massive protest.”
The Rebbe of Williamsburg stated, “We remember how many tears the Vayoel Moshe shed and how deeply he grieved over the breaches in holiness throughout the world and especially in Israel since the founding of the state, when they began uprooting Torah. There has never been a time of distress for Yaakov like this. Fires burn, thousands of Jews are in danger, and they sacrifice themselves for Torah, ready to be imprisoned. It is our duty to stand by them, to give them strength and support.”
He added, “The Vayoel Moshe said that holding protests removes Hashem’s wrath over the decrees. As his students, we must remember this and fulfill our obligation to protest.”
The rally is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. Sunday on Manhattan’s Second Avenue, directly across from the Israeli Consulate.
{Matzav.com}
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, headed by MK Boaz Bismuth, anticipates that the Draft Law will reach the stage of formal approval in November, according to a report by Kan Reshet Bet. The legislation is set to move forward following committee deliberations over the coming weeks.
The current version of the Draft Law was crafted through ongoing dialogue between Brigadier General Shai Taib, who leads the IDF’s Human Resources Planning Division, and representatives of the chareidi political factions. These include Shas MK Yinon Azoulay and former minister Ariel Atias. The discussions came in response to the military’s stated need to increase recruitment numbers.
On Thursday, Bismuth handed over the framework of the proposal to the committee’s legal advisor, attorney Miri Frankel-Shor. Using this outline, a formal draft of the bill will now be prepared and brought before the committee. The proposal is expected to be presented shortly, with discussions scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
The framework relies on understandings previously reached between the committee’s former chairman, MK Yuli Edelstein, and the chareidi parties prior to the Iranian assault on Israel. Under those agreements, recruitment targets were set at 4,800 chareidi men in the first year, 5,700 in the second, and approximately 50% of each eligible group within five years. If those goals are not met within a year, both personal and institutional penalties will take effect.
Among the proposed penalties are limits on obtaining a driver’s license, restrictions on international travel, loss of discounts for public transportation and home purchases, and disqualification from educational scholarships.
Notably, the draft that Bismuth is submitting excludes several of the additional provisions that had appeared in Edelstein’s version of the bill—such as the installation of a biometric monitoring system and the requirement for yeshiva students to sign in three times daily to confirm attendance.
{Matzav.com}
Criminal syndicates operating from China have raked in over $1 billion in just three years by sending out fake text messages to Americans, according to the Department of Homeland Security. These messages often pretend to be official notices about unpaid tolls or postal fees and are designed to get victims to hand over their credit card numbers.
The Wall Street Journal revealed that the United States is being inundated by these fraudulent texts, which authorities describe as part of an advanced, large-scale operation benefiting criminal networks in China. The messages, which typically claim recipients owe money for toll violations or delivery charges, are used to steal financial information from unsuspecting victims.
As Breitbart News has previously reported, Departments of Motor Vehicles across the country have been warning about these text scams targeting drivers. Agencies in New York, Florida, and California have noted a spike in fake text messages using intimidation tactics to trick people into revealing personal data.
These “smishing” or SMS phishing schemes falsely tell drivers that they owe money for traffic fines and threaten severe penalties — such as suspended licenses or additional fees — if they don’t pay. In reality, none of these texts come from legitimate government agencies. They are part of a growing international web of fraudsters impersonating official institutions to deceive the public.
Investigators say the criminal groups running these scams use the stolen credit card numbers to buy luxury goods like iPhones, gift cards, designer clothing, and cosmetics. They exploit a loophole that allows them to load stolen card information into Google or Apple Wallets overseas and then share them digitally with people in the United States who make purchases for them.
The massive operations rely on “SIM farms,” which are warehouses filled with devices containing thousands of SIM cards — the tiny chips used in cell phones. These setups let scammers send out thousands of text messages from a single location, automating what would otherwise require countless phone numbers.
While the criminal masterminds control the SIM farms from abroad, they hire gig workers inside the U.S. to set up and maintain the equipment. These recruits, often found through the Chinese app WeChat, receive detailed instruction manuals and live tech support from overseas handlers. Authorities estimate that around 200 SIM boxes are currently active across 38 locations in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.
When someone clicks the link in one of these fake toll notices, they’re redirected to a convincing phishing website asking for their name, credit card, or banking details. The scammers use tools shared on Telegram channels to build these fake sites, allowing them to monitor victims’ keystrokes in real time and immediately enter the same data into mobile wallets under their control.
The thieves then recruit people in the U.S. through Telegram to act as “mules,” who make purchases using the stolen data. Typically, 400 to 500 mules operate daily, earning about 12 cents for every $100 gift card they buy. Using remote tap-to-pay software, the scammers link their own phones in China to the mules’ phones in America, letting them spend the stolen money seamlessly.
In some cases, the mules buy high-end electronics or clothing, but more often they purchase gift cards to obscure the money trail. Those cards are later used to buy merchandise that’s shipped to China and resold for profit — with the proceeds funneling back to the organized crime rings behind the scheme.
The wave of fake texts is intensifying rapidly. Proofpoint, a company that monitors mobile spam, reported that Americans received a record 330,000 toll-related scam messages in a single day last month. The monthly average for such messages is now more than triple what it was at the start of 2024.
In September, Breitbart News reported that the Secret Service uncovered a massive SIM farm operation in the New York City area involving 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. The network was not only used for financial scams but also for “swatting” attacks targeting public figures.
The Secret Service said the operation, located within a 35-mile radius of New York City, was run by foreign “nation-state threat actors” and criminal organizations. The agency’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit traced the fake emergency calls to multiple sites in the tri-state area and found an elaborate network of servers capable of sending huge volumes of calls and texts while constantly swapping SIM cards to avoid detection.
Among those targeted by the swatting attacks were Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and Nikki Haley, illustrating how the same technology used for large-scale fraud is also being weaponized for harassment and intimidation.
{Matzav.com}
A disturbing new TikTok trend powered by artificial intelligence is leading to frantic 911 calls from terrified people who believe a stranger has broken into their homes.
The viral prank uses AI tools to fabricate hyper-realistic images or videos of a so-called “homeless man” sneaking into someone’s house, rummaging through the refrigerator, or even lying on their bed. Pranksters then send these fake clips to family members or friends, who are tricked into thinking the footage is real and call the police.
According to The New York Times, police departments in multiple states have now responded to what appeared to be home invasions, only to discover that the supposed intruder was a computer-generated illusion.
Authorities near Detroit, Michigan, said they’ve received several such reports. The West Bloomfield Police Department confirmed that some residents had fallen for the AI prank and stressed that it wastes critical resources.
“Here’s the problem: officers are responding FAST using lights-and-sirens to what sounds like a call of a real intruder — and only getting called off once everyone realizes it was a joke,” explained the Yonkers Police Department in New York in a Facebook post. “That’s not just a waste of resources… it’s a real safety risk for officers who are responding and for the family members who are home if our officers get there before the prank is revealed and rush into the home to apprehend this ‘intruder’ that doesn’t exist.”
Experts say the prank is disturbingly easy to pull off. Greg Gogolin, a professor and director of cybersecurity and data science at Ferris State University, demonstrated how quickly such technology can be used to manipulate reality.
“It’s frustratingly easy to do,” Gogolin said, noting that he created a program in just a few hours to show how AI can alter images. “This is a natural language processing machine learning program called a face swapping,” he explained.
The software can convincingly merge facial features from one person into another image or video, producing visuals that look nearly indistinguishable from real footage.
Gogolin warned that once these tools are released, they often end up in the wrong hands. “They share that out or sell it. … It’s dispersed and that’s where the real danger is because people without any technical background can then utilize that the way they wish,” he said.
While older versions of AI image generators often made obvious mistakes — like limbs in the wrong place or people with extra arms — the technology has advanced dramatically. “You might generate something and an arm will be off, the elbows are in the wrong place. It used to be you would often see people with like three arms. A long arm, a long leg, the dynamics were not correct. A lot of that has been corrected or at least drastically improved with the newer versions,” Gogolin noted.
He also cautioned that law enforcement agencies need better cyber training to deal with AI-related crimes. “There are very few degreed investigators that have a cyber security background, let alone a computer science background particularly at the local level, even at the state level,” Gogolin said.
{Matzav.com}Appearing on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed the Democrats’ insistence on reopening the federal government, saying the pressure from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) exemplified what he described as the “rise of Marxism” within her party.
Host Laura Ingraham began by asking, “Is [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] — does she have both oars in the water here, thinking that the president is going to bow down to these demands?”
Johnson responded with a smile, saying, “With every ounce of Christian character that I can muster, Laura, let me just say, bless her heart. OK. This would be comical if they were not so dangerous. You’re looking at the two leaders of the modern Democratic Party. We say all the time, this is not your father’s party. It’s not. These guys are full Marxist. You hear how vapid their ideology is, how empty, what empty suits they are. But they are the leaders of the party. They are dragging the rest of the old guard, the old party leaders, around by the nose, and they are subservient to their wishes.”
The Speaker went on to explain that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had chosen to oppose a short-term funding plan for political reasons, not policy ones. “I mean, Chuck Schumer has picked a fight over this very simple, clean CR to just keep the government funded for 21 additional days until November 21, seven more weeks, so that we could get the appropriations process done,” he said. “And the reason he did it is because he is afraid of that voice you just heard on that stage. He is afraid that AOC is going to challenge him. There’s a rise of Marxism in the party. It’s happening in New York, in their state, and he’s terrified, and that’s why all — everybody around the country is feeling such pain right now because of this nonsense.”
{Matzav.com}
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) unleashed a verbal tirade against White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday, labeling her “sick” and “out of control.”
Jeffries began his press briefing by claiming it was Day 17 of what he called the “Trump-Republican shutdown,” a statement that raised eyebrows since Republicans had already passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) — legislation that Democrats repeatedly voted down. Democrats had previously supported similar measures to extend funding during the Biden administration.
Despite the reality that Democrats pushed a partisan spending bill, Jeffries maintained his party was taking the high road, declaring:
“So House and Senate Democrats are going to continue to hold firm as it relates to a basic commonsense position that when we enact spending bills, we should be helping the American people, not hurting them. And so we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people, but we will continue to extend that offer to our Republican colleagues and to President Trump and members of his administration.”
He went on to accuse the Trump administration of intentionally inflicting harm, stating that “cruelty has been the point for this administration.”
Answering a reporter’s question about political violence, Jeffries acknowledged, “We’ve already seen a rise in political violence and hatred in America,” though he omitted any mention of recent left-wing incidents that have dominated headlines.
“You’ve got young Republicans engaging in the most anti-Semitic and racist speech possible. Like, this is apparently who many of these people are. They are ripping the sheets off in plain view of the American people, their words, their actions, revealing themselves in so many different ways,” he continued before pivoting to Leavitt.
“And then you’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control, and I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above. But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants — This makes no sense that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown,” Jeffries said.
He closed his remarks by asserting, “So their actions continue to speak for themselves, which is why they’re on the wrong side of public sentiment.”
{Matzav.com}
A senior Hamas leader has stated that the group intends to preserve its security authority in Gaza during a transitional phase, and stopped short of pledging to give up its weapons — a stance that underscores the challenges confronting U.S. efforts to achieve a lasting end to the war.
Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamas’ politburo, told Reuters that Hamas would agree to a ceasefire lasting as long as five years to allow for the reconstruction of Gaza, provided that Palestinians are offered “horizons and hope” for eventual statehood.
In an interview from Doha, where Hamas’ political bureau has long been based, Nazzal defended the organization’s recent executions in Gaza, describing them as wartime necessities. He said those punished were criminals guilty of murder and added that there are always “exceptional measures” in times of war.
Although Hamas has voiced similar sentiments in the past, Nazzal’s statements come at a critical juncture — just days after the first phase of a ceasefire was implemented — highlighting the deep divisions that remain between the group’s stance and U.S. President Donald Trump’s broader strategy for Gaza.
These comments underscore how far apart the sides remain as negotiations approach over the future of Hamas’ weapons and the governance of Gaza under the U.S.-led plan.
Responding to Nazzal’s remarks, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire arrangement and said it continues to meet its obligations under the agreement.
“Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time,” the statement said.
Trump’s September 29 proposal requires Hamas to first release every hostage and then surrender its weapons, with Gaza’s civil administration to be transferred to a technocratic committee supervised by an international transitional authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu endorsed the initiative, saying it would dismantle Hamas’ military strength, strip the group of political power, and ensure that Gaza can never again threaten Israel.
After months of heavy bombardment, Hamas is under tremendous pressure to disarm and relinquish its grip on Gaza or risk triggering another round of fighting.
Asked directly whether the group would give up its weapons, Nazzal responded: “I can’t answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you’re talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?”
He added that discussions about weapons would not concern Hamas alone but other Palestinian factions as well, meaning any final stance would need to be reached collectively by all Palestinians.
When questioned about the remarks, the White House referred Reuters to Trump’s comments a day earlier.
“We have a commitment from them and I assume they’re going to honor their commitment,” Trump said, noting that Hamas had returned additional bodies of hostages but did not elaborate on the matter of disarmament or Hamas’ interim authority on the ground.
Nazzal also emphasized that Hamas had no wish to keep the remains of those killed during the October 7, 2023, assault.
He said the group had so far handed over nine of the 28 bodies but was facing “technical problems” in locating more. He added that other countries, including Turkey and the U.S., might assist in the recovery efforts if necessary.
A Turkish official confirmed last week that Ankara would join a multinational task force with Israel, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt to help locate and retrieve the bodies.
Under an agreement reached on October 4, Hamas pledged to free all hostages and transfer administrative power to a technocratic body while broader political matters would be negotiated within a unified Palestinian framework. The group released the remaining living hostages on Monday.
According to Nazzal, talks for the second phase of negotiations are set to begin shortly.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had made it clear to Hamas that it must surrender its weapons or face consequences. He also acknowledged that Hamas had been granted temporary permission to handle internal security within Gaza and expressed support for the group’s targeting of criminal gangs.
Commenting on Trump’s position, Nazzal said there was indeed an understanding about Hamas’ continued presence on the ground — though he did not specify with whom — explaining that it was necessary to safeguard aid convoys from looters and armed factions.
“This is a transitional phase. Civilly, there will be a technocratic administration as I said. On the ground, Hamas will be present,” he stated. He added that elections should follow once the transition ends.
Nazzal further said that mediators had not broached the idea of an international stabilization force for Gaza, which was one of the key components in Trump’s proposal.
Although Hamas’ founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction, its leadership has at times floated the idea of a long-term truce in exchange for a viable Palestinian state on territories occupied by Israel in 1967 — an offer Israel dismisses as deceitful.
Nazzal said Hamas has already raised the possibility of a long-term truce in meetings with American officials and that it is seeking a three- to five-year pause in hostilities to rebuild Gaza. “The goal isn’t to prepare for a future war.”
Looking further ahead, he said, such a deal would require international guarantees to “provide horizons and hope for the Palestinian people.”
“The Palestinian people want an independent Palestinian state,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com}
President Trump offered a lighthearted compliment to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their much-anticipated meeting in the White House Cabinet Room, where top advisers from both countries were also present.
This time, Zelensky opted against his usual military-style look, choosing instead to wear a dark shirt paired with a jacket — though still not a full suit. Trump noticed immediately and made a point of praising the choice.
“Thank you. And I think he looks beautiful in this jacket. It’s beautiful. I hope people notice. It’s very stylish,” Trump remarked after Zelensky’s opening comments.
Zelensky’s wardrobe had sparked criticism earlier in the year when he appeared at the White House without a jacket during a tense session with Trump and Vice President JD Vance — a meeting that quickly devolved into heated exchanges.
Even before that visit, his decision to skip traditional formal wear had drawn attention. “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re in the highest level of this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit? I just want to see, do you own a suit?” Brian Glenn, White House bureau chief for Real America’s Voice, asked Zelensky pointedly at the time.
When Zelensky returned to Washington in August, he appeared more polished, sporting a coordinated coat and shirt ensemble, though he still skipped the tie. “President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit,” Glenn said after Trump called on him for a question in the Oval Office. “You look good.”
“I said the same thing,” Trump added with a smile. “And he’s the one that attacked you last time.”
Following the tense February exchange, the dynamic between Trump and Zelensky has visibly improved, with both leaders now projecting a far friendlier rapport in public appearances.
{Matzav.com}
President Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House today.
WATCH:
New York City voters squandered an opportunity to prevent a far-left politician from rising to power by choosing Zohran Mamdani, said Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, who labeled the candidate a “radical.”
“They missed their opportunity, unfortunately, in this race during the summer, the powers that be needed to expose Mamdani for the radical-leftist positions he’s taken,” McLaughlin said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”
“Most New Yorkers don’t realize how radical he is,” he continued.
McLaughlin, who is originally from the New York area, said it was especially troubling to see what he described as the birthplace of American capitalism embracing far-left politics.
“I’ve lived my entire life in the New York City metropolitan area, and the fact that the bastion of capitalism and freedom, New York City, is going to be governed by a Marxist, it’s just terrible,” he said.
He added that such leadership would be damaging beyond the city limits. “It’s terrible not just for New York, but also the surrounding areas, New Jersey and Connecticut, and it’s the last thing that the voters need after the failures of the last two mayors,” McLaughlin said.
Switching topics, McLaughlin addressed the attorney general race in Virginia, calling out controversial text messages allegedly sent in 2022 by Democrat nominee Jay Jones, in which he joked about shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.
“Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor, has gone all in for the Democrat who made these [statements],” he said.
“There’s certain things that you say as an elected leader that are just indefensible, [like] wanting to murder not just your political opponents, but their children,” McLaughlin added.
He noted that polls indicate the attorney general contest is becoming increasingly competitive. “The last two media polls basically had the governor’s race getting closer and closer,” he said.
“They also have [Attorney General] Jason Miyares up by about five or six points, [so] I think it could be similar to what we saw after the first debate in the presidential race, where it takes some time for all this to come in,” McLaughlin observed.
Meanwhile, James Johnson, a pollster from JL Partners, told Newsmax on Friday that Republicans could make surprising progress in solidly Democratic New Jersey, though a full victory remains a long shot.
“Donald Trump did very well in New Jersey last year,” Johnson said. “Although he didn’t win the state, he did significantly better than Republican candidates have for a long time. It is possible, but I slightly doubt it. I think the Republican candidate will come close but not quite get over the edge.”
Johnson said a strong Republican turnout could reshape the political landscape going forward. “If Republicans do very well in New Jersey, and especially if they win the state, then we’ll see people looking at a slightly expanded map for 2026,” he said.
“Republicans will start to think, what about New Mexico? What about Minnesota?” Johnson added.
However, he cautioned that a poor showing would limit those ambitions. “If it’s another five-to-ten-point defeat, we’ll be back to talking about the classic swing states we’ve discussed over the last ten years,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
A top Kremlin official has suggested an ambitious new infrastructure project — a “Putin-Trump Tunnel” running beneath the Bering Strait — that would physically connect Russia and the United States, promote joint development of natural resources, and serve as a “symbol of unity” between the two powers.
The idea was presented by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special investment envoy and head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund. His proposal envisions an $8 billion venture financed by Moscow along with “international partners,” creating a 70-mile (112-kilometer) rail and freight tunnel to be completed in less than eight years.
Dmitriev, who has been at the forefront of Moscow’s recent diplomatic outreach to Washington, floated the concept Thursday evening following a phone conversation between Putin and President Donald Trump, during which the two agreed to meet in Budapest to discuss possible steps toward ending the war in Ukraine.
“The dream of a US–Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US–Canada–Russia–China railroad, and will support the most viable,” Dmitriev wrote on X.
The Bering Strait spans 51 miles (82 kilometers) at its narrowest point, separating Alaska from Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula. For more than a century and a half, engineers and political leaders have occasionally revived the idea of bridging or tunneling this stretch, though no proposal has ever advanced beyond the planning stage.
Dmitriev — who has developed ties with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and discussed opportunities for U.S. energy companies to invest in Arctic ventures — proposed that the tunnel be built by The Boring Company, the U.S.-based tunneling enterprise founded by Elon Musk.
“Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but @boringcompany’s tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let’s build a future together,” Dmitriev wrote to Musk on X.
Neither Musk nor Trump has issued a public reaction to the proposal.
Dmitriev also noted that a similar idea had been raised during the Cold War — a “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge” — and he shared an archival sketch showing the proposed route from that era, along with an updated map outlining the envisioned modern tunnel between Chukotka and Alaska.
“RDIF has already invested in and built the first ever Russia-China railroad bridge. The time has come to do more and connect the Continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US,” said Dmitriev.
{Matzav.com}
