Yeshiva World News

and President Putin deplane in Anchorage, Alaska ahead of their historic summit.

Both U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin have yet to deplane at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, where their aircraft remain on the tarmac.

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed over 280 people in India and Pakistan and left scores of others missing, officials said Friday, as rescuers brought to safety some 1,600 people from two mountainous districts in the neighboring countries. In Pakistan, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit northwestern Bajaur region crashed due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said. And devastating floods in India led to the suspension of an annual Hindu pilgrimage and the evacuation of thousands of pilgrims. Cloudbursts — sudden, intense downpours over small areas — are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan regions and Pakistan’s northern areas, and can wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides. Top leaders in both countries offered their condolences to the victims’ families and assured them of swift relief. Dozens missing in remote Himalayan village In Indian-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said. At least 300 people were rescued Thursday after a powerful cloudburst triggered floods and landslides, but the operation was halted overnight. Officials said many missing people were believed to have been washed away, and the number of missing could increase. Harvinder Singh, a resident, joined the rescue efforts immediately after the disaster and helped retrieve 33 bodies from under mud, he said. At least 50 seriously injured people were treated at hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Chositi, in Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,500 feet). Officials said the pilgrimage, which began July 25 and was scheduled to end Sept. 5, was suspended. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen for pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said. Sneha, who gave only one name, said her husband and a daughter were swept away — the two were having meals at the community kitchen while she and her son were nearby. The family had come for the pilgrimage, she said. Authorities erected makeshift bridges Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel and used dozens of earthmovers to shift boulders, uprooted trees, electricity poles and other debris. Nearly 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated, officials said. Photos and videos on social media showed household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region’s fragile ecosystem. More heavy rain and floods were forecast for the area. Hundreds of tourists trapped by floods in Pakistan In northern and northwestern Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 243 people, including 157 people who died in the flood-hit Buner district in northwest Pakistan on Friday. Mohammad Suhail told The Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were underway. He said 78 bodies were recovered by midday Friday, and another 79 were […]

PHOTO: Inside the venue for the scheduled joint press conference between President Trump and President Putin.

BREAKING: President Trump has touched down in Alaska for peace talks with Russian President Putin.

Erin strengthened into a hurricane on Friday as it approached the northeast Caribbean, prompting forecasters to warn of possible flooding and landslides. The storm is expected to remain over open waters, although tropical storm watches were issued for Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Barts, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. Heavy rains were forecast to start late Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and southern and eastern Puerto Rico. Up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) are expected, with isolated totals of up to 6 inches (15 centimeters), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters also warned of dangerous swells. The storm was located about 460 miles (740 kilometers) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph). Hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said Erin is forecast to eventually take a sharp turn northeast that would put it on a path between the U.S. and Bermuda. “The forecasts for next week still keep the future hurricane safely east of the mainland U.S.,” he said. Erin, which is the Atlantic season’s first hurricane, is forecast to become a major Category 3 storm late this weekend. The hurricane center noted “there is still uncertainty about what impacts Erin may bring to portions of the Bahamas, the east coast of the United States, and Bermuda in the long range.” Dangerous surf and rip currents are expected to affect the U.S. East Coast next week, with waves reaching up to 15 feet (5 meters) along parts of the North Carolina coast that could cause beach erosion, according to Accuweather. “Erin is forecast to explode into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it moves across very warm waters in the open Atlantic. Water temperatures at the surface and hundreds of feet deep are several degrees higher than the historical average,” said Alex DaSilva, Accuweather’s lead hurricane expert. Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. This year’s season is once again expected to be unusually busy. The forecast calls for six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph). (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has touched down in Anchorage, Alaska for high-level peace talks with President Trump.

The IDF says Israeli Air Force jets recently targeted a Hezbollah facility and a tunnel near Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon.

A senior lawyer in Australia has apologized to a judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included fake quotes and nonexistent case judgments generated by artificial intelligence. The blunder in the Supreme Court of Victoria state is another in a litany of mishaps AI has caused in justice systems around the world. Defense lawyer Rishi Nathwani, who holds the prestigious legal title of King’s Counsel, took “full responsibility” for filing incorrect information in submissions in the case of a teenager charged with murder, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Friday. “We are deeply sorry and embarrassed for what occurred,” Nathwani told Justice James Elliott on Wednesday, on behalf of the defense team. The AI-generated errors caused a 24-hour delay in resolving a case that Elliott had hoped to conclude on Wednesday. Elliott ruled on Thursday that Nathwani’s client, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was not guilty of murder because of mental impairment. “At the risk of understatement, the manner in which these events have unfolded is unsatisfactory,” Elliott told lawyers on Thursday. “The ability of the court to rely upon the accuracy of submissions made by counsel is fundamental to the due administration of justice,” Elliott added. The fake submissions included fabricated quotes from a speech to the state legislature and nonexistent case citations purportedly from the Supreme Court. The errors were discovered by Elliott’s associates, who couldn’t find the cases and requested that defense lawyers provide copies. The lawyers admitted the citations “do not exist” and that the submission contained “fictitious quotes,” court documents say. The lawyers explained they checked that the initial citations were accurate and wrongly assumed the others would also be correct. The submissions were also sent to prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, who didn’t check their accuracy. The judge noted that the Supreme Court released guidelines last year for how lawyers use AI. “It is not acceptable for artificial intelligence to be used unless the product of that use is independently and thoroughly verified,” Elliott said. The court documents do not identify the generative artificial intelligence system used by the lawyers. In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim. Judge P. Kevin Castel said they acted in bad faith. But he credited their apologies and remedial steps taken in explaining why harsher sanctions were not necessary to ensure they or others won’t again let artificial intelligence tools prompt them to produce fake legal history in their arguments. Later that year, more fictitious court rulings invented by AI were cited in legal papers filed by lawyers for Michael Cohen, a former personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump. Cohen took the blame, saying he didn’t realize that the Google tool he was using for legal research was also capable of so-called AI hallucinations. British High Court Justice Victoria Sharp warned in June that providing false material as if it were genuine could be considered contempt of court or, in the “most egregious cases,” perverting the course of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. (AP)

BREAKING: The US military is sending over 4,000 Marines and sailors to Latin American and Caribbean waters to intensify efforts against drug cartels.

FOX NEWS: “Law enforcement made 33 total arrests in our nation’s capital last night. 15 of the 33 are illegal aliens, including arrests for murder, rape, assault — and a juvenile carrying a pistol without a license.”

TRUMP ON AF1: “I want to see a ceasefire — rapidly. I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today… I’m in this to stop the killing.”

TRUMP: “We’re going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it’s going to work out very well — and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast.” Bret Baier: “If it doesn’t, you walk?” TRUMP: “I would walk.”

WATCH: Armed Hamas terrorists continue to take control of humanitarian aid trucks in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF reports that its offensive in Zeitoun, Gaza City, has demolished dozens of Hamas sites and killed around 20 operatives, with ground troops, artillery, and airstrikes all involved, following evacuation warnings for civilians.

GHF reports that over 123 million meals have been distributed in Gaza, including more than 1.5 million delivered just today.

LA Mayor Karen Bass on ICE: “This has nothing to do with safety, in fact this is the exact opposite of keeping our city safe. We do not need them here, they have no business to come here…”

FDNY members are currently operating at a 3-alarm fire at 305 East 95th Street in Manhattan, prompting a response of over 100 firefighters.

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in nearly 10 months, giving prospective homebuyers a sorely needed boost in purchasing power that could help inject life into a stagnant housing market. The long-term rate fell to 6.58% from 6.63% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.49%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate dropped to 5.71% from 5.75% last week. A year ago, it was 5.66%, Freddie Mac said. Elevated mortgage rates have helped keep the U.S. housing market in a sales slump since early 2022, when rates started to climb from the rock-bottom lows they reached during the pandemic. Home sales sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. This is the fourth week in a row that rates have come down. The latest average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at its lowest level since Oct. 24, when it averaged 6.54%. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The yield was at 4.29% at midday Thursday, up slightly from 4.24% late Wednesday. The yield has come down the last couple of weeks after weaker-than-expected July U.S. job market data fueled speculation that the Fed will cut its main short-term interest rate next month. A Fed rate cut could give the job market and overall economy a boost, but it could also fuel inflation just as President Trump’s tariff policies risk raising prices for U.S. consumers. Meanwhile, a new inflation report Thursday showed prices at the U.S. wholesale level jumped 3.3% last month from a year earlier. That’s was well above the 2.5% rate that economists had forecast, and it could hint at higher inflation ahead. Earlier this week, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 2.7% in July from a year earlier, unchanged from June. Higher inflation could push bond yields higher, driving mortgage rates upward in turn, even if the Fed cuts its key rate. Economists generally expect the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain above 6% this year. Recent forecasts by Realtor.com and Fannie Mae project the average rate will ease to around 6.4% by the end of this year. That may not be low enough to make a difference. While trends like declining home listing prices and more properties on the market in the Sunbelt and West now favor buyers, affordability remains a major hurdle for many aspiring homeowners. Home price growth has slowed nationally, but the median sales price of a previously occupied U.S. home still climbed to an all-time high of $435,300 in June. “Homebuyers who have been relegated to the sidelines by high financing costs got some encouragement in the past two weeks, but it remains to be seen if it’s enough to get more of them back in the game,” said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. The recent drop in mortgage rates has spurred many homeowners to refinance, however. Mortgage applications jumped 10.9% last week from the previous week as rates […]