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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is suing the Trump administration for imposing a $100,00 annual fee for new H-1B visa applications, claiming the fee is unlawful and would significantly harm U.S. businesses. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington D.C., the Chamber asks the court to declare that President Donald Trump exceeded the executive branch’s authority by imposing the fee and bloc federal government agencies from enforcing it. H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find hard to fill and are primarily associated with tech workers from India. Big tech companies are the biggest user of the visa, and nearly three-quarters of those approved are from India. But there are critical workers, like teachers and doctors, who fall outside that category. The Trump administration announced the fee last month, arguing that employers were replacing American workers with cheaper talent from overseas. Since then, the White House has said the fee won’t apply to existing visa holders and offered a form to request exemptions from the charge. In its lawsuit, the Chamber argues that the new fee violates the immigration laws that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas. “The President has significant authority over the entry of noncitizens into the United States, but that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict laws passed by Congress,” according to the complaint, which names the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and their respective cabinet secretaries as defendants. Prior to Trump’s proclamation imposing the new fee, most H-1B visa applications cost less than $3,600, according to the Chamber. “If implemented, that fee would inflict significant harm on American businesses, which would be forced to either dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available,” according to the complaint. The new fee is scheduled to expire after a year, but could be extended if the government determines that is in the interest of the United States to keep it. Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through lottery. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google. Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers. Critics say H-1B spots often go to entry-level jobs, rather than senior positions with unique skill requirements. And while the program isn’t supposed to undercut U.S. wages or displace U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay less by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even if the specific workers hired have more experience. (AP)

BREAKING: Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly mishandling classified information.

President Trump on Hamas killing Gazans: “I’m looking at what’s happening… we have a commitment from them, and I assume they’re going to honor that commitment… if they behave, good. If they don’t behave, we’ll take care of it.”

NY AG Letitia James: “I want everyone to know I am totally innocent.”

A federal grand jury issued an indictment Thursday against John Bolton, who once served as President Trump’s national security adviser, accusing him of improperly handling classified material by sending highly sensitive government documents using his personal AOL email account.

According to the indictment, Bolton knowingly transmitted information pertaining to crucial foreign policy issues while corresponding with individuals outside the administration after he left his White House position.

Bolton, who is 76 years old, held the role of national security adviser under President Trump from April 2018 until September 2019, when he was dismissed from the post.

If found guilty, Bolton could be sentenced to as much as ten years in prison for each charge tied to the unauthorized sharing of classified information.

{Matzav.com}

In a stern message posted on Truth Social, President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Hamas, saying: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.” The post capped a swift 48-hour flip in the president’s stance after he initially appeared to endorse — albeit temporarily — Hamas’s summary executions of rival gang members and alleged collaborators. On Tuesday Trump said he had given Hamas “approval for a period of time” to carry out those actions, claiming the group was targeting some “very bad gangs.” By Wednesday, however, U.S. military leadership in the region publicly urged Hamas to halt attacks on “innocent Palestinian civilians.” At the White House, the president repeated his hardline posture while addressing the ongoing delays in returning the bodies of hostages. “It’s a tough neighborhood, we know that. We have a commitment from them, and I assume they’re going to honor that commitment. I hope they do, and I understand they brought back some additional bodies today,” Trump told reporters. He continued, warning that U.S. patience would not be indefinite: “It’s a tough situation. They brought back bodies today, as you probably know. But they also said they’re going to behave. We’re going to find out if they behave. If they behave, good. If they don’t behave, we’ll take care of it.” The president’s comments signal renewed pressure on Hamas as talks and returns of remains remain stalled.

Famed Ba’al Chessed Shai Graucher has begun visiting the released hostages. Segev Kalfon told Graucher that he asked his captors to watch the release of Ohad Ben Ami. The captors allowed him to watch it. “I was happy for him,” Kalfon said. “I imagined how it would feel when it happened to me.” He added: “I had a dream that I would stand on the stage, surrounded by Hamas terrorists and shout, ‘Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.’” Kalfon cried tears of emotion as Graucher presented him with a gift. He told Graucher that he felt emunah in Gaza. “In the darkest place, I succeeded in seeing the light.” He added that he observed Yom Kippur while in captivity. “Emunah is the basis,” he said. When Kalfon answered what message he wants to convey to the public, he responded, “Emunah, emunah, emunah—strengthen your emunah. And Am Yisrael should unite—that’s the most important thing.” Segev’s father told i24News that Segev experienced extreme starvation, to the extent of dreaming about food at night. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Rav Shmuel Eliyahu on Thursday afternoon responded to the terrorists who were freed as part of the recent hostage deal, urging Israeli citizens to take lethal action if they encounter them.

In a video distributed at the rov’s instruction, Rav Eliyahu addressed his followers directly and said: “If you’re a civilian, a soldier, a police officer, a Shin Bet agent or a Mossad operative — it doesn’t matter what you are.” He continued: “If you see them (the terrorists) and you have the smallest legal pretext in the world, finish them — two magazines, not one. You save lives that way,” the rov stressed.

{Matzav.com}

Tens of thousands of yeshiva bachurim gathered at the Amudei Olam event in Yerushalayim are now listening to a speech HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch.

POTUS: “We’re also taking historic steps to vasty expand access to insurance coverage for fertility care, including IVF… Effective immediately, for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility.”

POTUS: “EMD Serono has agreed that all future drugs… that it develops and sells in the United States will be offset at Most Favored Nation prices… and they’ll bring a significant portion of their drug manufacturing back to the United States.”

NYC mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa face off Thursday in their first debate of the general election.

WATCH:

              At Schneider Children’s Hospital in Israel, baby Yisrael Meir, just six months old, is in a battle for his life. He was diagnosed shortly after birth with a malignant head tumor, a devastating reality for any family.   Despite the severity, doctors are hopeful. With access to an advanced, specialized treatment, his chances for full recovery are strong — but the treatment comes at a tremendous financial cost.   His devoted parents, Yitzhak and Hadasa, began the treatment with faith and determination. But now, that life-saving process has been halted — not due to medical failure, but simply because they can no longer afford it.   “Every day matters,” they say. “We’re doing everything we can — but we can’t do it alone.”   Now, they turn to the Jewish community for support.     Your help could mean the difference between life and loss.   Click here to help save Yisrael Meir >>   https://api.jewishadgroup.com/vyJBEv

Alvin Holsey, the military commander responsible for the Pentagon’s intensified strikes on Caribbean boats accused by the Trump administration of drug smuggling, is stepping down, two U.S. officials told the New York Times.

WATCH: Italian driver Fabio Barone set a new record by reaching 101.9 mph (164 km/h) in a Ferrari SF90 Stradale on the deck of the Italian Navy’s Nave Trieste.