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[Video below.] Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging President Donald Trump to abandon diplomacy and authorize additional military strikes against Iran, saying the time has come to “unleash” American forces to eliminate the country’s remaining nuclear capabilities and allow Israel to complete the mission.

During an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” host Bill Hemmer referenced a recent Fox News poll showing that 48% of respondents believe the United States will ultimately reach no agreement with Iran.

“I want to ask you about Iran. We had a Fox poll that came out about two weeks ago. We asked the question on the ultimate outcome with Iran. The U.S. will reach what good deal, bad deal or no deal. And 48% said no deal. What’s your view?” Hemmer asked.

Pence responded by expressing confidence in Trump’s approach while warning that Iran should view the current situation with concern.

“Well, I have more confidence in President Trump than that. I think the Iranians should be very wary at this moment. Look, I strongly supported the president’s decision to use military force last year. And this year, striking Iran, really for the first time in 47 years, after they voted for continuous war against the United States and the West all those years. But honestly, I think the president, after that first month where our military did a brilliant job taking down 13,000 military sites. I think the president has tried to create room for diplomacy. He’s done that again over this weekend, even as we’re marshaling military assets across the region.”

Pence argued that diplomatic efforts have run their course and said the administration should now shift its focus to military action.

“But I honestly think that the time has come for the president of the United States to unleash the armed forces of the United States, strike the remaining nuclear facilities in Iran, take down and degrade their ability to project force not only in the strait, but across the region. Look, one does not make peace with one’s enemy. One makes peace with one’s defeated enemy. And given their posture and their attitudes and even denying that negotiations are happening, I have every confidence that there will come a moment where my old running mate has had enough, and we ought to turn loose so you can. Right. US military in the world.”

Pence concluded by praising Trump’s leadership style and his previous decision to order military action against Iran, while arguing that the campaign should now be completed with the help of Israel.

“The president I served with is a man of action. He leads from the front. I don’t think you can understate the significance of his decision last year to strike around directly for the first time in the history of our relationship with the regime. In Tehran, unleashing our armed forces in operation at was historic. But now we’ve got to let our armed forces and our ally, Israel, finish the job, and I believe we can.”

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{Matzav.com}

A federal judge has temporarily blocked key parts of a New York law that sought to prohibit federal immigration officers from wearing face masks and require them to display visible identification while conducting official operations, ruling that the state likely lacks the authority to regulate how federal agents perform their duties.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino of the Northern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of those provisions as the lawsuit challenging the law moves through the courts.

In her decision, D’Agostino concluded that the challenged sections are likely unconstitutional because they intrude on federal law enforcement authority. The ruling applies to operations conducted by agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The judge wrote that establishing policies governing the conduct of federal officers is exclusively the responsibility of the federal government, meaning New York cannot impose its own requirements on federal agents carrying out official responsibilities.

“New York cannot impose its own uniform requirements on federal agents simply because it disagrees with how the Federal Government is exercising its authority,” the ruling stated.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James criticized the court’s decision and said they are exploring their next legal steps.

“While the court enjoined enforcement of New York’s mask ban, we stand firm in our belief that masked agents do not make New York safer and our offices are reviewing all legal options at this time,” the pair said in a joint statement.

Although D’Agostino blocked the mask and identification provisions, she declined to halt another section of the law that prohibits local law enforcement agencies in New York from participating in certain federal immigration enforcement efforts through 287(g) agreements.

According to the ruling, federal law makes participation in those immigration partnerships voluntary, allowing states to decide whether local agencies will cooperate.

“The State’s refusal to cooperate in the immigration context—a possibility contemplated by the relevant federal statutes—does not constitute discrimination against the federal government,” the ruling stated.

Hochul and James praised that portion of the decision, arguing that local police resources should remain focused on community policing rather than federal immigration enforcement.

“As we have said from the start, New York’s ban on 287(g) agreements is legal and will keep our communities safe. Local law enforcement should be focused on local matters, and New York taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for any collaboration with ICE,” their statement read.

{Matzav.com}

Years after the debate over COVID-19’s origins first erupted, Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator under President Joe Biden, now says he believes the pandemic most likely began with an accidental laboratory leak rather than a natural outbreak—a notable shift from the position he held when he entered the administration.

Jha made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, who pointed to a social media post he had shared from commentator Jamie Metzl arguing that the virus likely originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Although the lab leak theory was heavily disputed during the early stages of the pandemic and many social media platforms restricted related posts under COVID-19 misinformation policies, Jha wrote earlier this year, “I pretty much agree with everything here.”

Asked about that statement during the interview, Jha confirmed that it accurately reflected his current thinking, explaining that his assessment has changed since he first joined the White House.

“This is going to surprise some people. You know, when I went into the White House, my view was, ‘This was almost surely a natural outbreak, maybe a lab leak,’” he said. “Based on information I learned and based on information I‘ve seen, I have come to conclude that it is more likely to have been a lab leak.”

Jha emphasized that he was offering his personal assessment rather than claiming definitive proof, noting that Chinese officials remain the only people who could conclusively answer the question.

“Here‘s the bottom line. No one in the United States knows for sure. The only people who know for sure are people — officials in China — and we still need transparency and accountability on that. So that is my best assessment. I‘m not suggesting I know for sure, but I‘m saying my best assessment is that it probably was a lab leak,” he said.

Bash responded by acknowledging the significance of Jha’s revised position.

“That is definitely news to hear that from you for sure,” Bash replied. “And shows that we‘re just, we‘re still learning, which is really important.”

After the interview aired, Jha shared the exchange on X and elaborated on his position, saying he has held this view since his time in the White House.

“My view on COVID origins isn’t new — I’ve held it since my time at the White House,” he wrote. “Here’s the truth: no one in America knows for sure. Anyone telling you they do is selling you something Based on strong circumstantial evidence I’ve seen, I think lab leak is much more likely. Not engineered. Not deliberate. Accidental Reasonable people can look at the same evidence and disagree.”

The origins of COVID-19 became one of the most contentious issues of the pandemic, fueling broader debates over public trust in government agencies, scientific institutions, and the media. While the lab leak hypothesis has gained wider acceptance as a plausible explanation in recent years, many experts and public officials initially argued that the virus most likely emerged naturally, possibly through a wildlife market in China.

Several major news organizations, including CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, at one point characterized the lab leak theory as a “debunked” conspiracy theory before later acknowledging that the possibility had not been ruled out. Media critics have argued that those early dismissals further eroded public confidence in the press.

National Public Radio was among the outlets that came under scrutiny. In April 2020, NPR published multiple reports portraying the lab leak theory as a discredited conspiracy associated with political conservatives. One article carried the headline, “Scientists Debunk Lab Accident Theory of Pandemic Emergence,” which critics later argued overstated the available evidence.

CNN also faced criticism over several aspects of its pandemic coverage, including reports citing Chinese government vaccination data and an article highlighting China’s centralized political system as an advantage in responding to the outbreak.

“For those still reluctant, China has a powerful tool in its arsenal: a top-down, one-party system that is all-encompassing in reach and forceful in action, and a sprawling bureaucracy that can be swiftly mobilized,” two CNN journalists based in Hong Kong wrote. “The top-down approach has been touted by officials as a strength of the Chinese system that helped curb the virus – and has again been deployed to accelerate inoculations.”

The pandemic also sparked intense disputes over free speech and online censorship. The Biden administration faced a major First Amendment lawsuit alleging that federal officials pressured social media companies to suppress posts questioning official COVID-19 narratives.

Under the resulting settlement, the Office of the Surgeon General, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are prohibited for the next decade from threatening or coercing social media companies to remove or suppress constitutionally protected speech. The agreement also bars federal officials from directing or overruling platforms’ content moderation decisions.

{Matzav.com}

Senate Republicans scored a major victory Monday in their effort to prevent another government shutdown after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw his support behind a short-term funding measure, giving the legislation crucial bipartisan momentum as lawmakers race to keep the government operating through the November midterm elections.

The Senate voted with bipartisan support to clear the first procedural hurdle for a continuing resolution that would extend government funding into early December. The move comes nearly two months before the Sept. 30 funding deadline and marks a significant step toward avoiding another shutdown battle.

For months, Republicans had warned that Democrats might once again force a government shutdown in an effort to gain political leverage ahead of the November elections. Monday’s vote, however, suggested a willingness from both parties to avoid another fiscal standoff.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune argued there was no reason to wait until the last minute, saying Congress should provide stability now instead of prolonging uncertainty.

“There’s been enough uncertainty this last year, and, you know, unfortunately, I think through two government shutdowns that extended for a long period of time, it’s better for everybody if there’s predictability, certainty,” Thune said.

Congress has already endured multiple shutdowns during President Donald Trump’s second term, including two of the longest government closures in American history while Republicans controlled Congress.

The first shutdown occurred last year and lasted more than 40 days, centering on a dispute over Obamacare tax subsidies that ultimately expired without a lasting resolution.

A second shutdown earlier this year stretched beyond 70 days after Democrats abandoned a bipartisan funding agreement following the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota by immigration enforcement agents. Republicans ultimately bypassed Democratic support and approved immigration enforcement funding on their own.

Despite those recent confrontations, senators from both parties are now signaling a desire to keep the government funded, at least through the upcoming elections.

Schumer announced Monday that he would support the continuing resolution, describing it as the best available option while broader budget negotiations continue.

He called the measure the “responsible path forward that allows continued bipartisan negotiations on a budget that delivers for American families.”

“For months, Democrats have been clear: we want to fund the government, avoid a shutdown and pass strong, bipartisan appropriations bills that improve people’s lives,” Schumer said in a statement.

Republican leaders are aiming to send the continuing resolution to the House before senators leave Washington for their final scheduled recess ahead of the midterm elections.

Even if the funding measure advances, Congress still faces a packed agenda. Republican leaders are also seeking to confirm more than 70 nominees, move forward with long-awaited sanctions targeting Russia, consider legislation establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency markets, and hold a final confirmation vote on Todd Blanche, President Trump’s nominee to serve as attorney general.

“I think we have a bunch of stuff we have to finish and we’ll just stay until we finish it,” Thune said.