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The first rule of avoiding scam calls is to never answer unknown numbers, and even some known ones.

Curious? Bored? Worried it’s an emergency? Wait the extra minute it takes for the call to go to voice mail, then decide if it’s legitimate.

Unfortunately, every year hundreds of thousands of people in the United States either ignore that golden rule or are tricked into answering. According to the Federal Trade Commission, people lost $851 million to phone scams in 2023. After email, phone scams are the most common fraud method reported to the FTC.

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Anatomy of a scam call

I’ve been breaking the rule myself recently, out of professional curiosity and, yes, boredom. The most recent was the kind of common scam that could give anyone pause. The caller claimed to be from a generic-sounding company that wanted to send me an urgent document. I broke down some of their techniques:

— They used a number that was not flagged as a scam or telemarketer by the built-in features on my phone or from my carrier. It had a United States area code and didn’t pop up on a Google search.

— They provided a different phone number and reference number to call them back. This is a gambit to gain trust and delays them asking for anything that would raise red flags.

— They had enough personal information about my family to dismiss any concerns of being targeted at random. Thanks to constant hacks and breaches, most people have ample personal data that can be bought by scammers.

— The caller said they were calling about a legal complaint, in an attempt to trigger panic in me. The more questions I asked, the more agitated the caller became, even sprinkling in veiled threats.

Eventually, I annoyed the man so much that he hung up on me (not a first). Here’s what we can all learn to avoid losing money and time to phone scams.

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Learn to not answer your phone

Resist the urge to pick up that call unless is it an individual or small business you know personally and is saved in your contacts. This applies to unknown numbers, local numbers, and recognizable large companies or organizations.

“The deck is so stacked against you as a consumer when you’re responding to these types of phone calls,” said Michael Jabbara, Visa’s senior vice president of global fraud services. “I wouldn’t even put myself in that position, period.”

Your first defense is your phone’s contacts app. Since you should only answer calls from people and businesses you deal with regularly, make sure you save them in your phone’s built-in contact app. Next, turn on the setting that sends all other calls straight to voice mail.

On an iPhone, go to Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers. On an Android device, go to the Phone app → menu button → Settings. Most phones will have options for blocking numbers and caller ID/spam protection here.

“But my caller ID says it’s Chase Bank. Clearly, I need to answer,” you might say.

No, you still should not answer. Scammers have successfully compromised caller ID, making it unreliable. They use a technology called spoofing, which makes calls appear to come from real companies, your area code and even specific people you know. In some cases, they can mimic the numbers of people you know or your own number.

Scammers are testing AI tools to clone voices, but experts say these are still just a small amount of scams. If you’re concerned, come up with a password with family members that can be used to confirm their identity.

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So you’ve answered the phone anyway …

Well, I tried. Let’s say you’ve answered the phone despite the warnings. Now what do you do?

Most people think they’re smart enough to outwit the scammer, but the criminals on the other end of the line are often counting on that.

“Don’t overestimate your ability to outsmart the fraudsters. This is their job. They make a living doing this – they’re highly motivated to be good at this job,” Jabbara said.

Listen for asks: If you haven’t already, memorize the red flags. If they ask for money, personal information or log-in information, it’s a scam.

Ask your own questions: You can ask questions to try to confirm their legitimacy. If they claim to be from a company you haven’t heard of, ask for the location and street address. Keep in mind that they can easily lie. They’re scammers, there is no oath or law requiring them to answer you truthfully.

Give them nothing: Even if your account was hacked and someone purchased $90,000 in sneakers, your credit card will not ask you to confirm your password, address or any other sensitive information.

Say you’ll contact them separately: Tell the caller you’ll look into it and contact them in your own way. If they need to give you information, tell them to mail it, but do not provide an address. A real organization, like a debt collector, will already have it, said Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support at AARP. If they push back, end the call.

“Most legitimate businesses that do need you will give you the safe way to get the information that you need,” Nofziger said.

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Hang up now

As soon as you have the tiniest of doubts or concerns about a call, end it. Do not worry about being polite or missing out on something important. Anything legitimate – a stolen credit card, package delivery, outstanding debt – can be confirmed by contacting companies directly.

“Don’t trust and then verify. Verify and then trust,” Nofziger said.

If the caller said they were from a big company or bank, use trusted channels that you can directly access yourself, Jabbara said. If someone claims to be Visa, for example, take your card out of your wallet and call the number on back. You can also open the mobile app on your phone and look for alerts or contact information there.

Avoid Googling a company to find the customer service number, as scams can use SEO to get fake numbers high in the results and even convincing fake webpages.

Don’t just look out for yourself, talk to other people in your life who may be victimized by a scam. Offer to help them investigate or turn on settings that minimize risk.

– Heather Kelly

(c) Washington Post

Sedentary coffee drinkers had a 24 percent reduced risk of mortality compared with those who sat for more than six hours and didn’t drink coffee, according to the lead author of a study published recently in the journal BMC Public Health.

The finding, which was not part of the original article, was calculated at The Washington Post’s request and provided by Huimin Zhou, a researcher at the Medical College of Soochow University’s School of Public Health in China and the lead author of the study on coffee and health.

In the article, researchers reported that non-coffee drinkers who sat six hours or more per day were 58 percent more likely to die of all causes than coffee drinkers sitting for less than six hours a day, indicating both the risk of sedentary behavior and the benefit of coffee drinking. In his analysis for The Post, Zhou wrote that the comparison was chosen because it involved two “riskiest” behaviors with two least “risky” behaviors.

The study used data from 10,639 subjects, collected from 2007 to 2018 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) by the National Center for Health Statistics. The NHANES survey, used to measure Americans’ health and nutrition status, has been collected every two years since 1999.

The researchers, primarily from the Medical College of Soochow University in Suzhou, China, also found that sitting more than eight hours a day was associated with a 46 percent higher risk of all-cause mortality and 79 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, when compared with those sitting for less than four hours a day.

Additionally, those who drank the most coffee (more than two cups per day) showed a 33 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and 54 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality compared with non-coffee drinkers.

In their conclusion, the researchers note that “given that coffee is a complex compound, further research is needed to explore this miracle compound.”

(c) Washington Post

Despite nearly two dozen protests staged outside his Houston-area home, Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz remains resolute in his support for Israel. The latest protest, which took place on Friday evening, marked the 23rd such demonstration since February, with around a dozen protesters gathering outside Cruz’s home, chanting, clapping, and holding signs criticizing Israel’s actions. The protesters, linked to Students for Justice in Palestine, have been targeting Cruz’s home since February, shouting slogans and disturbing the peace in response to his staunch support for Israel during the ongoing conflict. Cruz has refused to back down, vowing to continue fighting antisemitism and standing with Israel in its fight against Hamas. “It doesn’t matter how long this anti-Israel, pro-terrorist harassment continues. Sen. Ted Cruz will continue to fight antisemitism and stand for Texas values. He’s proud to stand with Israel as the country fights to utterly eradicate Hamas for as long as it takes,” a Cruz spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Cruz himself took to social media to address the protests, stating that the demonstrators have been showing up at his home most weekends this year, screaming, disturbing the peace, and waking his neighbors. “No matter how much these antisemites cheer Hamas, I will stand with Israel,” he declared. This is not the first time Cruz has faced protests outside his home. In 2021, around 60-70 climate activists gathered outside his house in the Houston area. However, the recent protests have taken on a more intense and personal tone, with some protesters wearing masks and ringing bells as they chant. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said Monday he will push a requirement for warning labels on social media platforms to combat a mental health emergency among children and teens.

In a New York Times opinion essay, Murthy said he will work with Congress to enact legislation requiring that social media platforms include a surgeon general’s warning to “regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.” He cited evidence from tobacco studies showing that warning labels can change behavior.

He said the warning labels should be just one part of a broader set of stepped-up rules to track and limit social media’s effect on consumers – all of which would require the help of Congress.

Murthy said congressional action is also needed to prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children, and it should restrict features such as push notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll, which he said contribute to excessive use.

In addition, social media companies should have to share data on health effects with independent researchers and the public and allow independent safety audits of their products, he wrote.

Murthy cited a 2019 study that found the risk of depression and anxiety doubled among adolescents who spent more than three hours a day on social media, as well as statistics showing daily social media use among adolescents averaging 4.8 hours.

He compared his proposal to other examples of the federal government taking action to protect consumers’ health and safety, notably the grounding of Boeing airplanes in January and a recent recall of dairy products due to Listeria contamination. Rules requiring seat belts and air bags are in place because lawmakers acted to protect people from car accidents, he wrote.

“Why is it that we have failed to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food?” Murthy asked. “These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability.”

Media representatives from TikTok and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning. A media inbox for X, formerly known as Twitter, sent a bounce-back email saying: “Busy now, please check back later.”

(c) Washington Post

For families who want to keep their tween children from spending too much time in front of screens, a new study offers illuminating – and potentially challenging – advice: Parents, you’ll need to put your phones down first.

The study, published this month in the journal Pediatric Research, examined the links between parenting strategies involving digital media and early adolescent screen use. Among the most striking findings: Parental screen use was strongly associated with higher adolescent screen time and problematic social media or video game use.

“One of the biggest predictors of adolescents’ screen use is their parents’ screen use,” says Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California at San Francisco and the lead author of the study. This might feel startling, given that preteens are increasingly independent and influenced by their peers. But parental modeling still matters: “It’s especially important that parents follow their own rules and practice what they preach,” Nagata says, “because even if they think their kids aren’t watching them, they really are.”

The study examined data from a racially and economically diverse sample of more than 10,000 American 12- and 13-year-olds and their parents, who answered a questionnaire about their screen use and parenting strategies. Participants indicated whether they felt their relationship with screens was problematic – for instance, if they feel that they can’t stop looking at their devices, lose track of how often they’re using their phone, or find their phone habits are interfering with their social life or ability to focus at school.

The results of the study identified time frames when screen use appears especially harmful. Over a third of families reported that they often watched a screen during meals, and nearly half of adolescents reported having access to a phone while in bed. The use of screens during mealtimes and at bedtime was associated with higher overall screen time as well as problematic social media, video game and mobile phone use, the study found. (The results may not be representative of all U.S. parents and teens, as the study did not rely on a national random sample.)

Committing to screen-free meals and bedtime routines is one key, actionable takeaway, Nagata says. “Of the different parenting practices that we examined, the one that had the most significant effect was limiting bedtime screen use,” he says. “So if you only choose one rule to implement, that may be the most effective one for reducing total screen time.”

The study caught the attention of Megan Moreno, professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and co-director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. Moreno, whose expertise is in the field of adolescent health and digital media, says she has been troubled by the widespread message – “almost to the edge of moral panic” – that social media use is causing adverse mental health outcomes for adolescents. “That has been a narrative I’ve been really interested in because I’ve really been wanting to see: Where is that evidence?” she says. “And it hasn’t been there.”

What she has noticed in the emerging research – including this new study – are findings that underscore the importance of parental behavior, parenting practices around digital media and an adolescent’s home environment. In her own research, she says, adolescents who reported having strong mental health also indicated that they had close parent-child relationships, their parents implemented rules and boundaries, “and parents didn’t use social media around [their children] very much,” she says.

But she also doesn’t think parents need to feel judged or shamed by these findings: “I don’t think that is helpful. To me, the message is: Parents, even when you feel that your early adolescent might be pulling away, if you perceive that they’re growing up, your role is still so absolutely important,” she says. Being present and available to them – without a phone in your hand – “really makes a difference.”

The study also highlighted the benefits of establishing limits and guidelines for screen use. About 67 percent of parents reported that they monitor their adolescent’s screen time during the week, and more than 76 percent said they impose limits on screen time – and those strategies were linked with both lower overall adolescent screen use and lower problematic screen use, Nagata said.

But many parents also use screen time access to try to control a child’s behavior. Seventy-eight percent of parents in the study reported taking away screen time as a punishment for bad behavior, and almost 39 percent said they offered it as a reward. The study indicated that these parenting methods actually backfire: “Using screens as either a punishment or reward was associated with overall more screen time,” Nagata says. “That was a little bit of a surprising finding for me, initially … but many young adolescents are very tech savvy, so even if you try to institute restrictions or punishments, they may be able to get around them.”

The better approach, he says, is to have a clear family plan for media use, with understood guidelines and an open line of communication as both parent and child navigate our screen-saturated reality. “I know that this is really hard for everyone, and despite our best intentions, kids and adults may not be able to always follow these rules,” Nagata says. “So I also think it’s a good opportunity to have open conversations with your preteens when we sometimes fall short.”

If we can be honest about our own struggles with screens, he says, it lets adolescents know they can do the same. “In a few years, they will be older adolescents, and once they’re 18, they are able to make all these decisions on their own,” he says, “so you do want to teach them good practices that they can incorporate into their adult life.”

(c) Washington Post

Neighbors of the Gazan families who held the hostages rescued last Shabbos were stunned to discover that in a neighborhood where “a cough can be heard through the walls,” a dark secret was taking place, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. “The 73-year-old general practitioner Ahmad Al-Jamal was a fixture of his community. He worked mornings at a public clinic in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Nuseirat and afternoons at his own small private clinic, where residents turned to him for procedures such as circumcisions. He also was an imam at a local mosque, where he was known for his beautiful voice when reciting the Quran. But for the past several months, when he finished his duties each day, he would return home to the apartment he shared with his son, his daughter-in-law and their children—and the three Israeli hostages they were hiding there for Hamas. It was common knowledge in Nuseirat that the Al-Jamal family was close to Hamas, according to local residents who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. But they said few people in the densely populated area in central Gaza knew of the secret locked in the small, darkened room in the family’s apartment. The hostages and Israeli security forces have said their captors included Al-Jamal’s son, 37-year-old Palestinian journalist Abdullah Al-Jamal. From their locked and guarded room, the hostages said, they could hear Abdullah and his wife, Fatma, a phlebotomist at a local clinic, and their children going about their daily lives in the apartment. A few blocks away from the Al-Jamal home, another family with Hamas links called Abu Nar was holding Noa Argamani, according to local residents and an Israeli official. Argamani’s kidnapping at the Nova festival was recorded on video, making her one of the best-known of the roughly 250 hostages taken Oct. 7. The Abu Nar family was also killed, and their building destroyed, local residents said. They were less prominent in the neighborhood than the Al-Jamals, residents said. Surviving members of the Al-Jamal family declined to comment or weren’t reachable. The June 8 rescue operation was accompanied by heavy airstrikes and turned into a fierce battle with Hamas in the streets, leaving behind death and destruction. In the days since, local residents have discussed the folly of Hamas keeping Israeli hostages above ground in a residential area near a bustling market. Some people said they were surprised by the revelation, because it is hard to keep a secret in the densely built neighborhood. Even a cough can be heard through the walls of the concrete and cinder-block apartment buildings, they said. Others were furious that Hamas had put civilians in danger. Any Israeli military action in the narrow streets of Nuseirat was bound to result in large numbers of dead and wounded, some residents said. Some locals said Hamas should have held the hostages in tunnels. Others said they should have been returned to Israel as part of a deal to end the war. [None of them mentioned that Hamas shouldn’t have taken hostages in the first place.] Local residents said Ahmad and Abdullah Al-Jamal were part of an extended family that had a number of ties to Hamas. Mosques throughout Gaza are controlled by Hamas, and imams serve with the approval of the terror group. Ahmad’s brother […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea and Vietnam in rare trips to long-time partners as he faces renewed challenges in his war on Ukraine.

Putin will travel to North Korea from June 18-19 and go on to Vietnam from June 19-20, according to Kremlin statements published Monday.

The trip to North Korea will be Putin’s first since 2000. It comes as Kim Jong Un’s regime is suspected of sending missiles and millions of rounds of munitions to help Putin in his grinding assault on Ukraine. With Kyiv now taking delivery of billions of dollars in fresh arms from its US and European allies, the window for a Russian breakthrough is narrowing.

North Korea possesses some of the largest stores of artillery and weapons that are interoperable with Soviet-era systems deployed on the front-lines in Ukraine. Satellite imagery indicates the arms transfers picked up momentum after Kim visited Putin in September, when the North Korean leader toured Russian weapons plants. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the arms transfers despite ample evidence showing them taking place.

“I believe Kim and Putin will pick up from where they left off when Kim was in Russia in September 2023 and seek to further upgrade the bilateral relationship across many, if not all, realms,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a senior fellow with the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center. She added this may mean the leaders upgrading a treaty adopted in 2000 to include stronger language about military and security cooperation.

“For as long as the war in Ukraine continues, North Korea-Russia relations will remain solid. What the relationship will look like after the war in Ukraine is over, that is harder to predict,” said Lee, who worked as an analyst for the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise for almost two decades.

For months, Russia’s army has made only limited gains on the battlefield against Ukrainian troops that were running low on weapons.

Kim, meanwhile, has presided over tests of some of his newest artillery rockets and ballistic missile systems. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik has said the weapons displays may have been intended to impress Putin by showing him what North Korea could provide for his assault on Ukraine.

In return for the munitions from Kim’s regime that could reach as high as nearly 5 million artillery shells, Russia has sent to North Korea technology to help in its plans to deploy an array of spy satellites as well as conventional arms such as tanks and aircraft, Shin said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Russia will likely send military technology to Kim, increasing Pyongyang’s threat to the region, Shin added.

Russia and North Korea plan to sign an agreement on strategic partnership, including on security and economic cooperation during Putin’s visit that will replace existing accords dating back as far as 1961, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to the state-run Tass news agency.

Putin will be accompanied in North Korea by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as Russian space agency chief Yury Borisov and the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov.

The stakes for Putin’s visit to Vietnam will likely be lower. He last went there in 2017, when the nation hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in the coastal city of Danang.

Vietnam and Russia have ties going back decades to the Soviet Union. Moscow was a major supplier of military aid to Vietnam during its war with the US. The Southeast Asian nation has since relied on Russia for weapons, including aircraft and Kilo-class, diesel-powered submarines.

Relations between Vietnam and Russia have stayed warm, with Moscow also a key stakeholder in Vietnam’s energy sector. Vietsovpetro, a joint venture between Vietnam and Russia, runs one of the country’s largest oil fields in Bach Ho, which has been in operation for about four decades.

(c) Washington Post

Adrian Perkins was running for reelection as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was surprised by a harsh campaign hit piece. The satirical TV commercial, paid for by a rival political action committee, used artificial intelligence to depict Perkins as a high school student who had been called into the principal’s office. Instead of giving a tongue-lashing for cheating on a test or getting in a fight, the principal blasted Perkins for failing to keep communities safe and create jobs. The video superimposed Perkins’ face onto the body of an actor playing him. Although the ad was labeled as being created with “deep learning computer technology,” Perkins said it was powerful and resonated with voters. He didn’t have enough money or campaign staff to counteract it, and thinks it was one of many reasons he lost the 2022 race. A representative for the group behind the ad did not respond to a request for comment. “One hundred percent the deepfake ad affected our campaign because we were a down-ballot, less resourced place,” said Perkins, a Democrat. “You had to pick and choose where you put your efforts.” While such attacks are staples of the rough-and-tumble of political campaigning, the ad targeting Perkins was notable: It’s believed to be one of the first examples of an AI deepfake deployed in a political race in the U.S. It also foreshadowed a dilemma facing candidates in scores of state and local races this year as generative AI has become more widespread and easier to use. The technology — which can do everything from streamlining mundane campaign tasks to creating fake images, video or audio — already has been deployed in some national races around the country and has spread far more widely in elections across the globe. Despite its power as a tool to mislead, efforts to regulate it have been piecemeal or delayed, a gap that could have the greatest impact on lower-profile races down the ballot. Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword for candidates running such campaigns. Inexpensive, user-friendly AI models can help them save money and time on some of their day-to-day tasks. But they often don’t have the staff or expertise to combat AI-generated falsehoods, adding to fears that an eleventh-hour deepfake could fool enough voters to tilt races decided by narrow margins. “AI-enabled threats affect close races and low-profile contests where slight shifts matter and where there are often fewer resources correcting misleading stories,” said Josh Lawson, director of AI and democracy for the Aspen Institute. National safeguards lacking Some local candidates already have faced criticism for deploying AI in misleading ways, from a Republican state senate candidate in Tennessee who used an AI headshot to make himself look slimmer and younger to Philadelphia’s Democratic sheriff, whose reelection campaign promoted fake news stories generated by ChatGPT. One challenge in separating fact from fiction is the decline of local news outlets, which in many places has meant far less coverage of candidates running for state and local office, especially reporting that digs into candidates’ backgrounds and how their campaigns operate. The lack of familiarity with candidates could make voters more open to believing fake information, said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. The Democrat, who has worked extensively on AI-related legislation as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, […]

The U.S. Treasury Department designated three people, six companies and a vessel that it said are connected to procuring weapons for the Houthi terrorists.

“The Houthis’ continued, indiscriminate and reckless attacks against unarmed commercial vessels are made possible by their access to key components necessary for the production of their missiles and UAVs,” said Brian Nelson, U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. (Unmanned aerial vehicles are more commonly called drones.)

“The United States remains resolved to use the full range of our tools to halt the flow of military-grade materials and funds from commodities sales that enable these destabilizing terrorist activities,” Nelson stated.

The individuals and companies “have facilitated the shipment of commodities, the sale of which provides an important funding stream to the Houthis that aids in their weapons procurement,” the U.S. Treasury Department stated. “This action targets key actors who have enabled the Houthis to generate revenue and acquire a range of materials to manufacture the advanced weaponry they are now using to conduct ongoing terrorist attacks against commercial ships.”

The Houthis have used drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles to attack ships and their crews in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, “killing innocent civilians, causing severe damage to commercial ships and threatening global freedom of navigation,” per the Treasury Department.

Those sanctioned on Monday, per the Treasury Department, were: Ali Abd-al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir and his China-based company Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Company Limited and the latter’s Hong Kong-based holding company Hong Kong-based Tasneem Trading Company; the Oman-based International Smart Digital Interface Limited Liability Company and its operator Muaadh Ahmed Mohammed al-Haifi; the Chinese companies Ningbo Beilun Saige Machine Co. and Dongguan Yuze Machining Tools Company Limited; and the Cameroon-flagged ship OTARIA, managed by the United Arab Emirates-based Stellar Wave Marine L.L.C., and its captain Vyacheslav Salyga.

{Matzav.com}

A group of pro-Palestinian activists, identifying themselves as Palestine Action, claimed on Monday to have infiltrated a “highly secured” facility of Instro Precision, a subsidiary of Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems, in Kent, England. The activists vandalized the property, damaging computers and machinery. According to a statement posted on social media, accompanied by a video, three activists in red jumpsuits entered the facility by cutting through three security fences. The footage shows the activists using crowbars to destroy computers and hurling supplies across the room. Instro Precision, acquired by Elbit Systems in 2014, specializes in precision instruments and military targeting systems. The activists claimed to have dismantled machinery, technology, and parts used to arm Israel’s military, which they referred to as the “Gaza genocide.” The breach and vandalism are the latest in a series of actions by Palestine Action, a group known for its direct action protests against Israel. Elbit Systems and Instro Precision have yet to comment on the incident, but an investigation is likely to be launched into the breach of security and the damage caused to the facility. Meanwhile, police said they had made seven arrested related to the break-in and vandalism. Separately, ten activists associated with Palestine Action were arrested after a Scotiabank branch in London was sprayed with red paint and its doors blocked. The bank was targeted because the pro-Palestinian activists say its subsidiary asset management fund 1832 Asset Management holds shares in the Israeli arms company Elbit. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Around half of Hamas’s battalions in its last bastion of Rafah in southernmost Gaza have been dismantled during the current military operation there, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.

Furthermore, soldiers from the Armored Corps’ 162nd Division have killed at least 550 terrorists and destroyed some 200 tunnel shafts since tanks first rolled into Rafah in early May, taking control of the border crossing with Sinai and the eastern section of the city, before expanding activities to other areas, eventually securing the entire Gaza border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

According to the IDF, many more terrorist operatives were killed in strikes on buildings and tunnels, while an unknown number of terrorists fled Rafah when the battle started.

Out of the four Hamas battalions in Rafah before the IDF ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, two—Yabna (south) and east Rafah—have been almost completely dismantled, while the other two—Tel Sultan (west) and Shaboura (north)—have been moderately broken down as the army continues to fight in these two neighborhoods.

Along the 8.7-mile Philadelphi Corridor, Israeli forces have located hundreds of rockets, including dozens of long-range rockets aimed at central Israel. The tunnels unearthed led to many underground routes, including at least 25 tunnels reaching the Egyptian border, some of which likely cross into Sinai and were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons. The IDF is further investigating these tunnels.

Israeli forces have gained operational control of the NPK neighborhood after intense fighting there over the past week, both above and below ground. It contained the headquarters of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.

The 162nd “Steel Formation” Division, under the command of Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, has achieved operational control of 60-70% of Rafah, with full control expected in two weeks.

Also on Monday, air-raid sirens sounded in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, a community near the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the IDF, more than a million noncombatants in the Rafah area fled the combat zone to Al-Muwasi, central Gaza and Khan Yunis.

Twenty-two soldiers from the 162nd Division have been killed during the Rafah operation, including eight early on Saturday morning when their “Namer” armored personnel carrier was destroyed during an operation in Tel Sultan.

{Matzav.com}

Nearly one-quarter of recent home buyers say they regret spending too much on their purchase, reports a Clever Real Estate study. Of 1,000 recent and future home buyers asked, 43% admit it’s a struggle to make their mortgage payment on time. Historically high mortgage rates and skyrocketing home prices haven’t discouraged too many Americans from buying homes. However, the high cost of buying and maintaining a home has taken its toll. Buyers entering the market in 2024 will face many of the same affordability challenges, with an additional obstacle. In August, changes to real estate commission will likely result in buyers having to pay their own agent — adding an additional expense to those who already face challenges in the home buying process. Buyers Are Struggling The average home in the United States sells for $492,300, but 52% of most recent buyers — those who bought a house in 2023 or the first half of 2024 — spent at least $500,000, Clever reports. Consequently, around 38% report overpaying, and 23% regret spending too much. As a result of sky-high home prices, many buyers report financial overextension — nearly half say they’ve struggled to make mortgage payments on time, and 44% have taken on additional non-mortgage debt since buying. The financial stress has taken its toll, with 60% of buyers saying their finances have not improved since buying a home and 51% saying their overall happiness hasn’t improved, either. An estimated 68% of respondents said they’re glad they bought — if only because they think home prices and interest rates will continue to rise. Still, 82% of recent homebuyers report at least one regret. Aside from spending too much, 28% of buyers regret their buy requires too much maintenance, 24% regret that their home doesn’t meet all needs, and 23% report dissatisfaction regarding high interest rates. Buyer Sentiment Toward Agents While most buyers used real estate agents to purchase their homes, not all who did were satisfied. More than half of recent home buyers said their agent cared more about closing the sale than their clients’ best interest. Nearly half (42%) said their agent was less helpful than expected. Nearly one in three buyers (29%) had so many real estate agent worries that they opted to bypass them. Of those who skipped an agent, 32% said they did so because they don’t trust agents. About 30% said they bought without an agent because it cost them less money, despite the sellers paying both agent commissions under the current system. Commission Changes Are Imminent Under the present commission system, sellers pay their listing agent and the buyer’s agent. However, in March, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settled a federal lawsuit by sellers claiming the commission system amounted to illegal price-fixing. Under settlement rules, which take effect in August, sellers will pay their agent, and buyers will pay theirs. This settlement evoked mixed feelings; while 94% of sellers support this change, only 61% of buyers do. Despite conflicting opinions from consumers, experts believe these changes will improve commission-related flexibility. Additionally, these changes will boost transparency, a significant shift considering three in four respondents reported they’d be more inclined to utilize real estate agents if they had detailed cost breakdowns. Not all buyers are on board. One-third of upcoming buyers said paying their […]

Israeli defense exports reached a record $13.073 billion in 2023, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. Defense exports have doubled over the last half decade, with over a third (36%) of the export agreements over that timeframe having been signed last year.

“Israel continues to succeed in its international cooperation and industrial defense exports even during a year marked by war,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday. “This is a reflection of the capabilities and creativity of our industries and our people,” he added.

While Israel’s military industries are primarily focused on providing the country’s defense establishment with the capabilities to support the Israel Defense Forces and protect citizens, “they are also continuing to pursue areas of cooperation and exports to international partners,” he said.

2023 was the third consecutive record-breaking year for defense exports, with Israel’s various defense industries signing hundreds of significant contracts worldwide. Notably, the export of air defense systems reached a significant milestone, accounting for 36% of the total deal volume, up from 19% in 2022.

Significant tiers of defense exports included: Missile, rocket and air defense systems (36%), radar and electronic warfare (11%), weapon stations and launchers (11%), manned aircraft and avionics (9%), ammunition and armaments (8%), observation and optronics (5%), vehicles and armored personnel carriers (5%), intelligence, information and cyber systems (4%), drones (4%), C4I and communication systems (4%), satellites and space systems (2%) and maritime systems and platforms (1%).

The exports went to Asia and the Pacific Region (48%), Europe (35%), North America (9%), Latin America (4%), Abraham Accords countries (3%) and Africa (1%).

Agreements over $100 million accounted for 40% of all deals, from $50-100 million 17%, up to $50 million 23% and agreements up to $10 million 20%.

The ministry said it has led a national effort to strengthen security-strategic relations worldwide, expand defense exports to new markets, remove bureaucratic barriers and reduce regulation.

“Nations worldwide are recognizing the success of Israeli defense systems, especially in air defense, appreciating their crucial role in safeguarding citizens,” said Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir.

“Since the onset of the war, the Ministry of Defense has invested tens of billions of dollars in domestic procurement. This strategic approach is expected to further boost our global defense export,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made antisemitic statements during a government meeting over the weekend, Ynet reported. Referring to a corruption case involving a former aide, he said: “There are 36 people on the list. Sorry, I don’t consider myself antisemitic but more than half of them are Jewish. Do they have a special, privileged role, that they steal and don’t think about their future? Do they have privileges? All people living in Belarus should be equal: Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians and Poles,” His comments were broadcast on Belarus 1, the state television channel. In 2007, Lukashenko, who has been dubbed “the last dictator in Europe,” said that the Jews turned the city of Bobruisk into a “pig sty” and that “it was founded as a Jewish city and you know how Jews treat the place they live in.” In July 2021, he said that the “whole world bows” to the Jews after the Holocaust. In December 2023, he said: “Armenians are smart people. There is not even one Jew there.” In the wake of the report, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that “the words of the President of Belarus are unacceptable, outrageous and sound like definite antisemitic comments. The Deputy Director for Eurasia and the Western Balkans at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yuval Fox, contacted the Belarusian ambassador in Israel following the statement and protested his words.” Belarus’ President-elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stated: “Lukashenko’s regime is the true source of corruption, not the Jewish community. Such hateful rhetoric is dangerous and must be unequivocally condemned.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

President Joe Biden on Sunday wished Muslims in the U.S. and the world best wishes on Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday, taking the opportunity to stress his sympathy for the “suffering” of Gazan civilians and reiterating policy positions at odds with Israeli war aims.

“This year, Eid al-Adha comes at a difficult time for many Muslims around the world. In Gaza, innocent civilians are suffering the horrors of the war between Hamas and Israel,” the president said in a statement.

“Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Families have fled their homes and seen their communities destroyed. Their pain is immense,” he added.

The president said his administration is “doing everything” it can to end the war, a goal in opposition to Israel’s stated war aims, which include the complete destruction of Hamas, the Gaza Strip-based terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of some 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 250, of which roughly 120 remain in captivity.

Biden also emphasized his administration’s commitment to the two-state solution, also in opposition to Israel’s position that a Palestinian state would be a reward for terrorism.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel last week amid the Biden administration’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and avoid a wider war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in Yerushalayim, as well as President Yitzchak Herzog, former War Cabinet member Benny Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

According to a U.S. readout of the meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken “reiterated that the United States and other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution throughout Gaza.”

Blinken was said to have emphasized the importance of preventing the conflict from expanding further, claiming that the proposed deal with Hamas “would unlock the possibility of calm along Israel’s northern border and further integration with countries in the region.”

The secretary updated Netanyahu on plans for the “post-conflict period, emphasizing the importance of those efforts to providing long-term peace, security and stability to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Eid al-Adha celebrates the “Sacrifice of Ishmael,” a reversed version of the biblical story of the “Sacrifice of Isaac.” In the Islamic re-telling, Abraham shows his obedience to God through his willingness to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac.

{Matzav.com}

The IRS plans to end a major tax loophole for wealthy taxpayers that could raise more than $50 billion in revenue over the next decade, the U.S. Treasury Department says. The guidance and ruling being announced Monday includes plans to essentially stop “partnership basis shifting” — a process by which a business or person can move assets among a series of related parties to avoid paying taxes. Biden administration officials said after evaluating the practice that there are no economic grounds for these transactions, with Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo calling it “really just a shell game.” The officials said the additional IRS funding provided through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act had enabled increased oversight and greater awareness of the practice. “These tax shelters allow wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying what they owe,” IRS commissioner Danny Werfel said. Due to previous years of underfunding, the IRS had cut back on the auditing of wealthy individuals and the shifting of assets among partnerships and companies became common. The IRS says filings for large pass-through businesses used for the type of tax avoidance in the guidance increased 70% from 174,100 in 2010 to 297,400 in 2019. However, audit rates for these businesses fell from 3.8% to 0.1% in the same time frame. Treasury said in a statement announcing the new guidance that there is an estimated $160 billion gap between what the top 1% of earners likely owe in taxes and what they pay. Monday’s announcement is part of the IRS’s ongoing effort to zero in on high-wealth tax cheats who manipulate the tax code or don’t pay their taxes at all. Initiatives announced in the past year have included pursuing people and businesses that improperly deduct personal flights on corporate jets and collecting back taxes from delinquent millionaires. The IRS plans to raise audit rates on companies with assets above $250 million to 22.6% in 2026, from an 8.8% rate in the tax year 2019. It also plans to increase audit rates by tenfold on large complex partnerships with assets over $10 million. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has informed members of his government of his intent to dissolve the War Cabinet set up after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

The premier told ministers on Sunday that the powerful forum, which was established when National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz joined the wartime government in October, had become obsolete following the latter’s June 9 decision to return to the opposition.

Discussions on the war will continue to take place in a small forum with the participation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri, Kan News reported. The latter two have served as War Cabinet observer members in the past months.

Announcing his decision to exit the government last week, Gantz accused Netanyahu of preventing the Israel Defense Forces from reaching “true victory” on the southern and northern borders.

Following Gantz’s departure, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed the desire for his Otzma Yehudit Party to join the War Cabinet, saying, “I will demand that our power be expressed. I need to go back and be a leading force like we were before Gantz came in.”

Speaking to journalists at the Knesset in Jerusalem last week, Ben-Gvir said that he believed “the solution is really that we will enter this [War] Cabinet and be able to have even more influence.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the right-wing Religious Zionism Party, has also repeatedly demanded that the War Cabinet be expanded to include representatives from each coalition party.

Decisions made by the new war management forum, which Channel 12 News said would be called “Hamitbahon,” will be submitted to the broader Security Cabinet, which includes Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

“Hamitbahon” translates as “the kitchenette” and has been used in the past to refer to smaller advisory forums to the Security Cabinet. The term comes from former prime minister Golda Meir’s custom of summoning senior officials to her kitchen on Friday nights.

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The IDF announced Monday that it has dismantled approximately half of Hamas’ fighting force in Rafah. The IDF’s 162nd Division has been engaged in intense fighting in Rafah for over 40 days, gradually gaining control over key areas. The operation has been divided into three stages, with the first stage involving the capture of the city’s eastern outskirts and the border crossing with Egypt in early May. The second stage saw the division take control of the Brazil neighborhood, while the third stage involved the capture of the entire Egypt-Gaza border, known as the Philadelphi Route, and the northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood. According to the IDF, at least 550 gunmen have been killed in the Rafah operation, with many more terror operatives killed in strikes against buildings and tunnels. Additionally, an unknown number of terror operatives fled the area as the military began its offensive. The IDF has assessed that two of Hamas’ four battalions in Rafah, Yabna (South) and East Rafah, have been almost completely dismantled, while the capabilities of the other two, Shaboura (North) and Tel Sultan (West), have been significantly degraded. The IDF has also discovered hundreds of rockets, including dozens of long-range projectiles aimed at central Israel, along the Philadelphi corridor. Furthermore, over 200 tunnel shafts have been located, leading to many underground routes. At least 25 “long” tunnels have been found, some of which likely cross into Sinai and were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons. The military is investigating these tunnels further. The IDF has established “complete operational control” over the Brazil neighborhood and the NPK neighborhood of Rafah, near the Shaboura and Yabna camps. The latter neighborhood is considered a major Hamas stronghold, and the army claims to have killed dozens of gunmen inside tunnels there. The 162nd Division has suffered relatively heavy losses during the fighting in Rafah, with 22 soldiers killed, including eight who died on Shabbos in a blast in an armored vehicle that came under attack. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A spokesperson for Tzav 9, which has been sanctioned by the United States for allegedly attacking humanitarian aid convoys on their way to Gaza, has denied any involvement and told JNS that a different group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

“We have been relating to the blockade peacefully, using our right to free speech to protest against the hijacking of humanitarian aid by Hamas. We deplore the torching of the trucks and the violence,” Rachel Touitou told JNS on Sunday.

“We don’t understand these sanctions and we will fight them. We are not criminals; we are civilians in a sovereign country. Our right to protest in a democratic country should be sacred,” she added.

The Tzav 9 movement spearheaded the initiative to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza throughout the war.

The U.S. State Department sanctioned Tzav 9 (“Order 9”; Tzav 8 refers to the IDF emergency call-up order) on Friday, describing it as “a violent, extremist Israeli group that has been blocking, harassing and damaging convoys carrying lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

In a press statement announcing sanctions, the U.S. State Department referred specifically to a May 13 incident during which “Tzav 9 members looted and then set fire to two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid destined for men, women, and children in Gaza.”

Touitou said that the day of the incident, another group took responsibility.

“It was not Tzav 9, but the Biden administration did not bother to check. If they had, they would have realized that everything we do is non-violent,” she said.

Regarding the May 13 incident at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Chebron, JNS found that calls to stop the aid trucks were spread through WhatsApp groups with hundreds of members, most notably through a community run by the “Lo Nishkach [We Will Not Forget] Headquarters,” which claims to unite several right-wing activist groups in Yehuda and Shomron.

The Victory Youth (“Noar Hanitzachon“) group, which is part of the We Will Not Forget Headquarters, denied involvement in a statement to JNS.

Asked about suspects in the case, the Israel Police did not say whether the attacks could be linked to any established organization, instead referring JNS back to the U.S. administration for comment.

The U.S. State Department refused to comment on how Washington had established Tzav 9’s alleged role in the violence and referred JNS to spokesman Matthew Miller’s initial June 14 announcement.

The State Department sanctioned Tzav 9 pursuant to President Joe Biden’s Feb. 1 Executive Order 14115, which states that sanctions can be applied to individuals who “threaten the peace, security, or stability” of Yehuda and Shomron.

The majority of Tzav 9’s protests have taken place inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders, including at the Kerem Shalom Crossing and Ashdod Port near Gaza. The group’s activists come from all over the country, with spokesperson Touitou being a resident of central Israel.

Touitou noted the group is consulting with its legal team to understand the implications of the sanctions.

“The aid is used to serve the enemy and its tunnels. The Biden administration sanctions Israeli citizens instead of sanctioning pro-Hamas citizens on U.S. campuses,” she said.

“We represent the majority of the Israeli population who believes we should prevent Hamas from hijacking aid. Secretary of State Antony Blinken himself said in October that if he knew Hamas was doing so, he would condemn it,” she added.

Touitou said Tzav 9 has nevertheless paused the blockade on trucks as it no longer seems efficient. “Gaza is flooded with humanitarian aid from all directions. We are moving forward with other strategies such as meeting with ministers,” she stated.

“As it stands, we have no control over the aid once it crosses into Gaza. If there’s no neutral and impartial organization to monitor it, then it should be the IDF that makes sure that it goes to the right people,” she continued.

“Whoever controls the humanitarian aid controls Gaza—and right now it’s Hamas,” said Touitou.

Tzav 9 activist Yael Sabrigo, the niece of Lior Rudaeff, who was murdered on Oct. 7 and whose body is being held in Gaza, told the Ynet news outlet on Monday that she was shocked by the sanctions.

“We do not engage in violence. We respect the police and the drivers—we did not have anything to do with setting the trucks on fire,” she said.

{Matzav.com}

The deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the deep-sea grave of the Titanic last June has not dulled the desire for further ocean exploration, despite lingering questions about the disaster. Tuesday marks one year since the Titan vanished on its way to the historic wreckage site in the North Atlantic Ocean. After a five-day search that captured attention around the world, authorities said the vessel had been destroyed and all five people on board had died. Concerns have been raised about whether the Titan was destined for disaster because of its unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to submit to independent checks that are standard in the industry. The U.S. Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation into what happened, but officials said the inquiry is taking longer than the initial 12-month time frame, and a planned public hearing to discuss their findings won’t happen for at least another two months. Meanwhile, deep-sea exploration continues. The Georgia-based company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic plans to visit the sunken ocean liner in July using remotely operated vehicles, and a real estate billionaire from Ohio has said he plans a voyage to the shipwreck in a two-person submersible in 2026. Numerous ocean explorers told The Associated Press they are confident undersea exploration can continue safely in a post-Titan world. “It’s been a desire of the scientific community to get down into the ocean,” said Greg Stone, a veteran ocean explorer and friend of Titan operator Stockton Rush, who died in the implosion. “I have not noticed any difference in the desire to go into the ocean, exploring.” OceanGate, a company co-founded by Rush that owned the submersible, suspended operations in early July. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment. David Concannon, a former adviser to OceanGate, said he will mark the anniversary privately with a group of people who were involved with the company or the submersible’s expeditions over the years, including scientists, volunteers and mission specialists. Many of them, including those who were on the Titan support ship Polar Prince, have not been interviewed by the Coast Guard, he said. “The fact is, they are isolated and in a liminal space,” he said in an email last week. “Stockton Rush has been vilified and so has everyone associated with OceanGate. I wasn’t even there and I have gotten death threats. We support each other and just wait to be interviewed. The world has moved on … but the families and those most affected are still living with this tragedy every day.” The Titan had been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around the sunken ocean liner in yearly voyages since 2021. The craft made its last dive on June 18, 2023, a Sunday morning, and lost contact with its support vessel about two hours later. When it was reported overdue that afternoon, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the area, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The U.S. Navy notified the Coast Guard that day of an anomaly in its acoustic data that was “consistent with an implosion or explosion” at the time communications between the Polar Prince and the Titan were lost, a senior Navy official later told The Associated Press. The official spoke on […]