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President Donald Trump issued a forceful warning to Iran on Monday, vowing overwhelming retaliation for every American service member killed as the conflict between the United States and Iran continues to intensify.

The war, which began on Feb. 28, has now claimed the lives of at least 17 U.S. soldiers. Four American casualties have occurred since Friday, including three confirmed deaths and one service member who remains missing and is presumed dead.

“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president said he has already instructed the nation’s top military leadership to carry out that policy.

“This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military,” he added.

Fighting continued unabated on Monday, with both sides launching fresh military operations. U.S. forces conducted a ninth straight day of strikes against Iranian targets, while Iran responded by firing missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host American military personnel.

{Matzav.com}

Federal health officials have dramatically reversed an earlier conclusion about the source of a nationwide parasite outbreak that has sickened at least 1,600 people, acknowledging that a key piece of evidence linking the illnesses to a major lettuce supplier was incorrect.

On Shabbos, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it had traced the cyclospora outbreak to contaminated iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, a company that provides produce to Taco Bell. Just one day later, however, the agency withdrew that finding after determining its original analysis had produced a false positive.

The FDA said it reexamined the testing results and concluded that Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce should not have been identified as the source of the contamination.

Taylor Farms confirmed that the FDA had apologized for the mistake. In a statement, the company said its “thoughts remain with everyone who has fallen ill” in the outbreak.

Although no fatalities have been reported, the outbreak has led to nearly 100 hospitalizations and has infected at least 1,600 people nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the incident as a major outbreak.

Cyclospora infections often do not become apparent immediately, with symptoms sometimes taking up to two weeks to develop. Those infected can experience severe bouts of sudden, watery diarrhea that may continue for several days, along with a sharp loss of appetite and significant weight loss.

Hunter Biden sharply criticized former Attorney General Merrick Garland during a podcast interview released Sunday, calling Garland’s appointment the biggest mistake of President Joe Biden’s time in office. Hunter argued that Garland failed to aggressively pursue President Donald Trump while simultaneously overseeing the investigation into him.

Appearing on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, host Jennifer Welch blasted Garland and the Justice Department for what she said was its failure to prosecute Trump while pursuing charges against Hunter Biden. She asked Hunter for his thoughts on what she characterized as Democrats surrendering to Republican pressure by backing Garland’s nomination.

“One of the things that pisses me off is the Merrick Garland DOJ and the not prosecuting of Trump. And that they prosecuted you,” Welch said in part when teeing up her question.

Hunter Biden responded that, putting aside his own legal troubles, he believes Garland’s leadership proved to be his father’s greatest error in office.

“My take is this, and removing myself from it as much as I can, my personal feelings, is the single greatest mistake of my father’s administration was the leadership of Merrick Garland,” Hunter Biden said.

He went on to argue that Garland bears much of the responsibility for the nation’s current political climate, while acknowledging that the ultimate decision rested with his father, who selected Garland for the job.

“The reason that we are in the situation that we’re in right now can almost… by the way, the buck has to stop with my dad. He was the president and he chose him. Now, once he chose him, he played by the, you know, a higher standard than the Marquess of Queensberry rules. He played by the Constitution and the tradition that the president will never, you know, particularly since Nixon, involve himself in any decision-making as relates to anything at the Department of Justice. So, I guarantee you there was a division between church and state there.”

Hunter Biden also faulted Garland for not launching what he believed should have been an immediate and forceful criminal investigation into Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He alleged that the events surrounding the attack amounted to a coordinated effort to overturn the 2020 election.

“[I]f Merrick Garland had started a completely 100% legitimate investigation rather than thinking like let’s not fan the flames… did you not watch what I watched? Did you not see the people storming the Capitol of the United States of America, beating cops and running congressmen and senators literally out of the building? You didn’t see that? You didn’t see a president and know that it was a concerted and planned effort on their part beginning all the way back from the day before the election when they knew they were going,” Hunter Biden said.

Throughout the discussion, both Hunter Biden and Welch portrayed Garland as a political moderate whose appointment was intended to attract bipartisan support. They suggested that President Biden selected him in part because Garland had previously been nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama but was never confirmed.

“Obama picks this milquetoast candidate. Your dad is a decent man, felt bad about what happened to Merrick Garland. And he played integrity politics. Like, well, ‘I’m going to make him whole and make him attorney general.’ And then Merrick Garland gets there, and he’s like, ‘Well, we can’t upset these crusty White Republicans,’” Welch said.

“Massive mistake,” Hunter Biden said.

Hunter Biden had been under federal investigation since 2018, during President Trump’s first administration. In the closing weeks of his presidency, Joe Biden issued his son a sweeping pardon covering any federal offenses he “has committed or may have committed” between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.

{Matzav.com}

Andy Burnham officially became Britain’s new prime minister on Monday, completing the formal transfer of power after taking over as leader of the governing Labour Party. During a ceremonial audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, Burnham was invited to form a new government, bringing Keir Starmer’s premiership to an end and marking another leadership transition in Britain’s often-turbulent political landscape.

Buckingham Palace released an official photograph showing Burnham and King Charles III shaking hands during the constitutional ceremony traditionally known as “kissing hands,” the formal process that signifies the appointment of a new prime minister.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace announced that the king “received in audience the Rt. Hon. Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new Administration. The Rt. Hon Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.”

Burnham assumes office as Britain’s seventh prime minister since 2016, following his victory Friday in the race to replace Starmer as leader of the center-left Labour Party.

Before leaving Downing Street for the last time, Starmer delivered a brief farewell address outside the prime minister’s official residence, declaring, “my work is done.”

The departing Labour leader, whose resignation followed mounting pressure from within his own party, maintained that Britain had become “stronger and fairer than it was two years ago,” when he first entered office.

“I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved,” Starmer said before traveling to Buckingham Palace to formally submit his resignation to the king. Buckingham Palace later confirmed that it was an offer “His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept,” the palace said in a statement.

Following Starmer’s departure, Burnham traveled to Buckingham Palace, where King Charles formally invited him to establish a new administration, officially making him prime minister through the long-standing constitutional tradition known as “kissing hands.”

Although the ceremony reflects Britain’s centuries-old monarchical traditions, the king no longer plays a political role in selecting the nation’s leader. Instead, the monarch formally appoints the individual who leads the political party capable of commanding a majority in the House of Commons. Despite the ceremonial name, no actual hand-kissing takes place.

Britain’s parliamentary system allows a governing party to replace its leader—and therefore the prime minister—without holding a nationwide election. While the next general election is not required until 2029, Burnham has the authority to call one earlier if he chooses.

After leaving Buckingham Palace, Burnham was scheduled to return to 10 Downing Street to deliver his first address as Britain’s new prime minister.

According to a spokesperson, Burnham plans to acknowledge that the country has experienced repeated leadership changes over the past decade and will promise to bring greater stability to British politics.

Ironically, Starmer delivered a nearly identical message when he entered office two years ago. However, after a series of political setbacks and controversial decisions weakened his standing among both Labour lawmakers and the public, he announced last month that he would step aside.

Burnham faced no opposition in Labour’s leadership contest, winning overwhelming backing from 379 of the party’s 403 members in the House of Commons.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester has promised to lower the temperature in British politics, raise living standards nationwide, and “bring back the hope we have all been missing.”

“I will work to build a new politics,” he said after becoming Labour leader on Friday. “The country is crying out for it.”

With Burnham now in office, both allies and political opponents are expected to press for specifics on how he intends to turn those campaign promises into government policy.

“Fundamentally, it only will work if you can generate significant economic growth, because it’s the lack of growth that’s really holding the country back,” said Joshi Herrmann, who has followed Burnham’s career as founder of Manchester news site The Mill.

One of Burnham’s first major decisions will be assembling his Cabinet. Observers expect him to reshuffle Starmer’s senior ministers, particularly in key positions such as chancellor, foreign secretary, and home secretary.

When he accepted Labour’s leadership, Burnham praised Starmer’s accomplishments and pledged that he would “build on the foundation laid” by his predecessor.

Starmer first became Labour leader in 2020 following one of the party’s worst electoral defeats and later guided Labour to a commanding general election victory in 2024. Yet once in government, his administration struggled to overcome the demands and political pressures of governing.

During his final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions last Wednesday, Starmer pointed to what he viewed as the successes of his administration, highlighting Britain’s continued backing of Ukraine as well as several domestic accomplishments.

He cited expanded workplace protections, declining child poverty, legislation aimed at preventing official cover-ups after national tragedies, and increased defense spending as major achievements of his government.

“In six and a half years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country and won a landslide general election victory in 2024,” Starmer said in his final remarks before leaving Downing St, hand-in-hand with his wife Victoria.

“Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister. I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”

{Matzav.com}