YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Habocher Yosef Shea Friedman, A”H, just 17 years old. Yosef Shea A”H was the beloved son of R’ Eli Friedman, well known for arranging some of Klal Yisroel’s largest gatherings, including Adirei HaTorah. Two weeks ago, YWN reported on the tragic electrical accident at a camp in Kerhonkson, NY, where Yosef Shea A”H was critically injured. Catskills Hatzolah Paramedics found him in cardiac arrest but succeeded in restoring a pulse. He was stabilized in Poughkeepsie before being transferred to Westchester Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition until his Petira. This tragedy comes just days after the family celebrated the wedding of the Niftar’s sister and completed the week of Sheva Brachos. The Monsey community is devastated by this heartbreaking loss. Levaya details will be published once available. Boruch Dayan HaEmes…
President Donald Trump is considering offering New York City Mayor Eric Adams a role in his administration in an effort to consolidate opposition to Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, according to a report published Wednesday by The New York Times. The discussions, which sources said have been ongoing for weeks, are part of a broader strategy by Trump’s advisers to “clear the field” and improve the chances of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the crowded mayoral race. Trump’s team has also looked at giving Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa a position in the White House, with the aim of leaving Cuomo as the strongest single challenger to Mamdani. The Times report, citing three people familiar with the talks, said advisers believe removing Adams and Sliwa from the race could “damage the chances” that Mamdani secures control of City Hall. “The discussions within Mr. Trump’s orbit about making a potentially audacious intervention date back weeks — and it is unclear if they will ultimately amount to anything,” the report noted. “But the topic has taken on added urgency in New York in recent days as an already chaotic race steams into the last stretch of the campaign season.” Mamdani, a self-identified Democratic Socialist, stunned many in June when he defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary, propelling him to frontrunner status. Cuomo has since mounted an independent campaign, while Adams and Sliwa remain in the race, raising concerns among anti-Mamdani operatives that a split vote could secure Mamdani’s victory. Trump officials have for months floated the possibility of enticing candidates out of the race with administration positions. Adams, whose political future has been clouded by scandal and sagging poll numbers, has been mentioned as a potential ambassador. Sliwa, meanwhile, was previously offered but declined a role in the Trump administration. The reports of White House maneuvering come just days after The Times faced backlash for a story suggesting Mamdani — despite his self-identification as a Democratic Socialist — should not be described as an actual socialist. Conservative commentators widely mocked and criticized the report. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
At the Chanukas Habayis for Zichron Binyamin in Lakewood, HaGaon HaRav Malkiel Kotler, shlita, warmly greeted and was seen kissing philanthropist Shimi J of Censible Marketing. The event featured the unveiling of the cornerstone for Kollel Zichron Binyamin.
The top ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says a classified meeting planned with a key U.S. spy agency was called off after it was criticized by Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist. The cancellation of Sen. Mark Warner’s visit with career intelligence staffers at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency represents an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to block Congress from exercising oversight over the nation’s intelligence agencies. “Is congressional oversight dead?” Warner, of Virginia, said Wednesday, questioning Loomer’s authority over the intelligence community. “Is she now the secretary of defense and the director of national intelligence?” Loomer has taken credit for the State Department suspending visas for wounded Palestinian children seeking medical treatment in the U.S. and several staff changes in the administration, accusing some officials of not being not sufficiently loyal to Trump. Loomer has a history of making racist and anti-Islamic attacks on social media, and once shared a video on X that said “9/11 was an Inside Job!” While not as well known as the CIA or NSA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency handles the collection and analysis of imaging information, including satellite imagery, used for military and intelligence operations. Its director reports to both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense. Warner said he has had more than a dozen similar meetings with the NGA and other spy agencies under Republican and Democratic presidencies, including during Trump’s first term. He said he was hoping to ask the NGA about its use of artificial intelligence and other matters. In a social media post Sunday, Loomer detailed plans for the meeting and criticized Warner and Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, the NGA’s director, who was tapped to lead the agency by former President Joe Biden. “I’m told NGA is infested with Trump haters,” Loomer wrote. In a post Tuesday, Loomer took credit for exposing the meeting and called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to fire Whitworth. Warner said he believes the meeting was canceled by Hegseth’s office. The Pentagon said the visit was not canceled but rescheduled “to accommodate bipartisan participation in the town hall event.” Spokespeople for the NGA and for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declined to comment. Loomer did not respond to a message seeking comment. Trump has downplayed Loomer’s influence, but a growing list of administration officials have resigned or been dismissed following her criticism. They include former Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad, who announced his departure in August; Jen Easterly, former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who was dismissed from a post at the U.S. Military Academy; as well as Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, former director of the NSA and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command. The State Department also announced last month that it would suspend all visitor visas for people from Gaza, pending a review, a day after Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioned how they got visas. The administration announced a new, restrictive visa policy for Gaza this week. (AP)
A federal appeals court has approved Illinois’ ban on carrying firearms on public transit, reversing a lower court decision that found the prohibition violated the Second Amendment. The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals delivered its opinion on Tuesday. Judge Joshua Kolar wrote in the majority opinion for a three-judge panel that the Illinois restriction “is comfortably situated in a centuries-old practice of limiting firearms in sensitive and crowded, confined places.” In August 2024, the Rockford-based U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled in favor of four plaintiffs who argued that prohibiting guns on public buses and trains was unconstitutional. It relied on a pivotal 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Bruen that decreed that restrictions on carrying guns in public must be “relevantly similar,” or consistent, with conditions that existed in the late 18th century when the Bill of Rights was composed. It said there were no analogous conditions that justified the transit ban. The appeals court found the ban appropriate. “We are asked whether the state may temporarily disarm its citizens as they travel in crowded and confined metal tubes unlike anything the founders envisioned,” Kolar wrote. “We draw from the lessons of our nation’s historical regulatory traditions and find no Second Amendment violation in such a regulation.” The public transit ban was imposed in 2013 when Illinois became the last state in the nation to OK carrying concealed weapons in public. In addition to buses and trains, it nixed gun possession in places such as public arenas and hospitals. Joining in the majority opinion with Kolar, who was named to the court by President Joe Biden in 2024, was Judge Kenneth Ripple, appointed in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan. Writing a separate concurring opinion was Judge Amy St. Eve, tabbed for the court in 2018 by President Donald Trump. (AP)
Canadian Police Chief after man murdered during home invasion: “If you ever find yourself the victim of a home invasion, we are urging citizens not to take matters into your own hands…Don’t engage…The best defense is to comply.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Secretary of Defense has directed the deployment of the USS Lake Erie guided-missile cruiser, along with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, to SOUTHCOM as part of efforts to combat narcoterrorism.
A memo reveals that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security formally requested military assistance in Chicago last week, saying ICE requires significant backup to carry out deportations “efficiently and securely.”
UPDATE: The tragic cable car crash in Lisbon has killed 15 people and injured 18, with five in serious condition; medics report that several of the victims, both dead and injured, have foreign surnames.
A National Health Service doctor in the United Kingdom who has repeatedly expressed support for Hamas and issued antisemitic statements online is facing disciplinary proceedings that could strip her of her license. Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan, a physician who describes herself as a longtime pro-Palestine activist, revealed last week that she had been referred to the Interim Orders Tribunal (IOT), which has the authority to suspend or restrict medical practitioners pending a full investigation into their fitness to practice. The IOT is part of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, the independent body that rules on whether doctors and associates remain eligible to work in the UK. Aladwan announced the referral in a post on X, claiming that the “Israel lobby” was trying to bypass normal investigative processes to suspend her license, describing the move as retaliation for her public positions. “This is not the result of any professional failure,” she wrote, “but the outcome of a coordinated lobbying campaign against me because of my public stance against the genocide in Gaza being carried out with my tax pounds.” Aladwan has drawn repeated complaints to the General Medical Council over her social media activity and public statements. She has said she has participated in more than 300 pro-Palestinian protests over the last two years. In recent weeks, she has amplified and authored posts explicitly supporting Hamas and the October 7 attacks on Israel. On Wednesday, she retweeted a post calling the massacre “an act of resistance” and wrote in late August that “If and when Palestinians win – there will be no ‘Israel.’” Her feed is filled with incendiary rhetoric targeting Jews and Jewish institutions. On August 27 she posted, “Am Yisrael lie. Soon…Am Yisrael bye. Then, Am Yisrael die. Finally, Am Yisrael cry, cry, cry.” She has denied that antisemitism exists, claiming Jews are “oppressors and colonizers,” and wrote that “most synagogues, Jewish organizations, agencies, institutions, and communities are Zionist.” She has repeatedly praised Hamas fighters, writing on August 30, “Glory to the Palestinian armed resistance, the bravest men on earth,” and on July 23, “I don’t condemn Hamas. I don’t condemn October 7. I don’t condemn armed resistance to occupation.” Jewish News noted that referral to the IOT does not guarantee that Aladwan will lose her license. The tribunal has, in some cases, allowed doctors accused of antisemitism to resume practicing medicine. In August, the outlet reported that another NHS medic, Dr. Rehiana Ali, had her suspension lifted despite claiming Judaism prescribes killing Christians. Aladwan, who continues to portray herself as a victim of political retaliation, insists she is being targeted for her activism rather than professional misconduct. But her case will test how far the UK’s medical regulatory system is prepared to go in confronting physicians whose public rhetoric strays into explicit support for terrorism and antisemitism. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli leaders on Wednesday dismissed Hamas’s latest claim of readiness for a sweeping hostage-prisoner exchange, underscoring the gulf between the sides as U.S. and regional players continue to probe for a way back to negotiations. In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Hamas’s announcement was “another attempt to spin” the situation, reiterating that Israel would not end the war without the release of all hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, the establishment of a civilian-led government in Gaza and continued Israeli security control over the enclave. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz struck an even sharper tone. “Hamas continues to deceive and issue empty words, but it will soon understand that it must choose between two options,” he said. “Accepting Israel’s conditions to end the war — first and foremost, the release of all hostages and disarmament — or Gaza City will become like Rafah and Beit Hanun. The IDF is fully prepared.” The remarks came after Hamas reiterated its own conditions: a comprehensive deal under which all Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners. The group made its announcement on Wednesday evening, shortly after President Donald Trump publicly called on Hamas to release all 20 living hostages. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to reengage. “The Israeli government does not have to accept Hamas’s conditions,” he said. “It does have to return to negotiations immediately and try to close a deal. It is impossible not to even try to bring our hostages home.” Behind the scenes, U.S. officials are working to restart talks, according to informed sources. One source told the Jerusalem Post that Hamas’s statement could be viewed as “a response to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand for a comprehensive deal, indicating the opening positions of both sides. The debate is also spilling into questions over the future governance of Gaza. Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American involved in the hostage deal discussions, told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya channel that he had floated a proposal for the release of all hostages before Trump’s latest social media intervention. Hamas, he said, questioned its credibility. “Israelis believe that Netanyahu will not agree to any deal without significant U.S. pressure,” Bahbah added. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The IDF said Wednesday that its air force killed two Hezbollah-linked operatives in southern Lebanon within the span of two hours, underscoring persistent tensions along the border despite a ceasefire in place since late last year. One of the men, identified as Al-Munim Musa Sweidan, was struck in the southern town of Yater. The IDF described him as Hezbollah’s representative in the town, responsible for coordinating with residents and facilitating the group’s use of private property for storing weapons and conducting surveillance. A separate strike targeted a member of the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Resistance Brigades in the village of Shebaa, the IDF said. The military described both men’s activities as violations of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The strikes came a day after an encounter involving Israeli drones and UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) personnel near the village of Marwahin. UNIFIL said four grenades were dropped close to observers clearing roadblocks, including one within 20 meters of UN staff and vehicles. The peacekeeping mission called the episode “one of the most serious attacks on UNIFIL personnel and assets since the cessation of hostilities agreement last November.” The IDF said its forces had detected a “suspicious presence” in the area and deployed several stun grenades to disrupt the situation. The military emphasized that no deliberate fire was directed at UNIFIL and that no injuries occurred. Following the incident, Israeli officials said they used communication channels with UNIFIL to clarify what had happened. UNIFIL, which has patrolled southern Lebanon since 1978, recently saw its mandate extended through 2026 by the UN Security Council, with a drawdown scheduled the following year. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Mexico and the United States on Wednesday agreed during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to keep collaborating on cross-border security, including fighting the trafficking of drugs, guns and fuel, but made clear it would be done from their respective sides of the border, respecting each other’s sovereignty at a time of heightened concerns over U.S. intervention in the region. What had initially been advertised as the signing of a broad security agreement evolved into the possibility of a memorandum of understanding, but in the end was a reaffirmation of the collaboration Mexico and the U.S. have said they’ve been doing all along. The priorities remain stopping fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into the U.S., and preventing high-powered guns bought in U.S. gun shops from being smuggled into Mexico, while continuing to control migration, which has fallen dramatically. The new development was the establishment of a “high-level implementation group” that would be the mechanism for that continued collaboration. “This is a high-level group that will meet and coordinate on a regular basis to make sure that all the things we are working on, all the things we have agreed to work on, are happening, are being implemented,” Rubio said. “It’s the closest cooperation we’ve ever had, maybe between any country, but definitely between the U.S. and Mexico,” Rubio said. Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Ramón de la Fuente said, “It’s fundamental to show to U.S. society, Mexican society, that yes, models of cooperation, of collaboration can be built that work, that give results.” Rubio spoke after meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday to stress the importance the U.S. places on cooperating with Washington on Western Hemisphere security, trade and migration. Rubio will visit Ecuador on Thursday on his third trip to Latin America since taking office. Sheinbaum has voiced fears of the U.S. encroaching on Mexican sovereignty. Gunboat diplomacy The meeting came a day after President Donald Trump dramatically stepped up his administration’s military role in the Caribbean with what he called a deadly strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel. Trump has alienated many in the region with persistent demands and threats of sweeping tariffs and massive sanctions for refusing to follow his lead, particularly on migration and the fight against drug cartels. Likely to heighten those concerns is the U.S. having deployed warships to the Caribbean and elsewhere off Latin America and announcing a lethal strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua gang vessel carrying narcotics. Rubio continued defending the strike without addressing details, including whether those aboard the boat were warned before being fired upon. “The president, under his authority as commander in chief, has a right under exigent circumstances to eliminate imminent threats to the United States,” Rubio said. His Mexican counterpart, de la Fuente, emphasized his country’s preference for “nonintervention, peaceful solution of conflicts.” The U.S. has a complicated legacy of sticking its hand in Latin American affairs, and American military interventions — particularly during the Cold War — in the region played a major part in destabilizing governments and paving the way for coups in countries like Guatemala and Chile. In recent years, the U.S. has taken a more subtle approach, providing foreign assistance to many countries, including training security forces, but not making direct strikes like what was seen Tuesday in Caribbean waters. Mexico’s president pushes back on Trump saying she’s not ready to target cartels Trump […]
A Queens mother and child narrowly escaped an anti-Semitic attack last Thursday morning when a man wielding a metal pipe chased them down a Bayswater street while shouting violent threats, police said. The 59-year-old woman was pushing her 7-year-old child in a stroller just after 9 a.m. outside Khal Chassidim of Bayswater, a shul on Westbourne Avenue, when the attacker confronted them, according to a criminal complaint. The assailant allegedly screamed “Kill the Jews!” while swinging the pipe and pursuing the pair for nearly a block. The victims managed to flee into a nearby home and called 911. Responding officers arrested the suspect, identified as 53-year-old Courtney Bryan, at the scene. Unconfirmed reports state that the attacker was wearing a keffiyeh at the time of the incident. Police said a metal pipe was recovered in front of the house where the woman and child found refuge. Neither victim was physically injured, but both were left shaken by the ordeal. Bryan has been charged with menacing, harassment, stalking, and endangering the welfare of a child — all as hate crimes — in addition to criminal possession of a weapon. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is leading the investigation. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The House rejected a resolution to censure Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., and remove her from a committee that oversees immigration and national security as she faces federal charges stemming from a visit to an immigration detention facility. The House voted 215-207 to table the measure, a sign that some were uncomfortable moving forward with censure while McIver’s case is still pending in the courts. A trial in her case has been scheduled for November. Democratic lawmakers unanimously voted to table the resolution, which was sponsored by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. Five Republicans joined them and two others voted present. As the resolution was being read, some Democrats were incensed. “Liar,” some shouted. “Shame,” yelled one Democratic lawmaker. Many Republicans streamed out of the chamber before the vote concluded. Democrats cheered and hugged at the final tally’s reading. “The censure attempt against me has failed. Rightfully so. It was a baseless, partisan effort to shut me up,” McIver wrote on social media after the vote. “I was not elected to play political games — I was elected to serve. I won’t back down. Not now. Not ever.” Republicans sought to punish McIver for a confrontation with federal law enforcement during a congressional visit to a new immigration detention facility in Newark, N.J. McIver has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing her of assaulting and interfering with immigration officers outside the facility. The censure resolution recounted how McIver is alleged to have interfered with Homeland Security Investigations officials’ ability to arrest an unauthorized visitor. It said she is alleged to have slammed her forearm into the body and forcibly grabbed an HSI officer. The resolution also said body camera and other video evidence supported the allegations made in the federal indictment. The measure said such actions did not reflect credibly on the House and that her continued service on the House Homeland Security Committee was a significant conflict of interest. The committee’s portfolio includes oversight of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which operates the detention center that McIver tried to enter. The effort had the backing of GOP leadership. Some Republicans expressed dismay with the outcome. “We have a member of Congress who assaulted an ICE officer. I don’t even know what we’re doing anymore,” said Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida. Donalds said he did not know why some Republicans broke ranks to back the motion to table the censure resolution. Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the McIver vote was “a breath of fresh air in such a toxic environment.” McIver won a special election last year after Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. died in office. She won a full two-year term in November. McIver was joined by two other New Jersey Democrats, Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, during a visit to a privately owned 1,000-bed facility that ICE is using as a detention center. Newark’s mayor, Democrat Ras Baraka, was arrested after officials determined he was not authorized to enter. That charge was later dropped. Baraka is suing over what he said was a malicious prosecution. Parts of the confrontation can be seen on a nearly two-minute video clip from the visit released by the Department of Homeland Security. The video shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link […]
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has pulled veteran presenter Juliet Newell off the air after she pressed a prominent guest on whether comparing Israel’s war in Gaza to the Holocaust was “provocative.” The controversy erupted during a live interview this past Friday with Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, chair of the Desmond Tutu IP Trust, which had issued a statement likening famine in Gaza to Nazi extermination policies. When Ramphele repeated the claim, Newell interjected: “But how can you compare them? I’m not saying Gaza isn’t horrific. It is horrific. But comparing them, it almost undermines what the Holocaust was all about.” Ramphele pushed back: “It is a holocaust by any definition… What happened in the Holocaust was a people, the Nazis, who decided that the Jews have to be exterminated. It’s the same thing.” The exchange ended with the two agreeing to disagree, but the fallout was immediate. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign accused SABC of “whitewashing” Israel’s military campaign, while South Africa’s Sunday Times mocked Newell as a “Mampara,” local slang for fool. Hours later, SABC announced she would be taken off the schedule, citing its mandate to ensure “diverse viewpoints.” The firing drew a sharp rebuke from Jerusalem. “Instead of standing by journalist @julietnewell for rejecting a grotesque Holocaust distortion, @SABCNews removed her from the air. Punishing integrity while tolerating falsehood is a moral failure,” Dani Dayan, chairman of Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, wrote on X. The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) called SABC’s move “an attack on editorial independence,” arguing Newell was fulfilling her duty to test extraordinary claims. “Drawing comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and that of the Nazis is antisemitic under the IHRA definition,” the group said. “Newell signposted opposing views and sought to inform viewers rather than inflame them. Punishing her is censorship by proxy.” The federation demanded SABC review the decision, issue an apology, and reaffirm editorial independence. The uproar comes as South Africa intensifies its campaign against Israel, including a high-profile genocide case at the International Court of Justice. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Federal officials have agreed to restore health- and science-related webpages and data under to a lawsuit settlement with doctors groups and other organizations who sued. The settlement was announced this week by the lead plaintiffs in the case, the Washington State Medical Association. Soon after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, federal health officials deleted or removed information on a range of topics including pregnancy risks, opioid-use disorder and the AIDS epidemic. The move was made in reaction to a Trump executive order that told agencies to stop using the term “gender” in federal policies and documents. The administration saw it as a move to end the promotion of “gender ideology.” Doctors, scientists and public health advocates saw it as an “egregious example of government overreach,” says Dr. John Bramhall, the organization’s president, said in a statement. “This was trusted health information that vanished in a blink of an eye — resources that, among other things, physicians rely on to manage patients’ health conditions and overall care,” Bramhall said. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to restore more than 100 websites and resources to the state they were in, said Graham Short, a spokesperson for the Washington State doctors’ group. “We expect the sites will be restored in the coming weeks,” Short said in an email. The case was filed in federal court in Seattle. The plaintiffs include, among others, the Vermont Medical Society, the Washington State Nurses Association and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care. The defendants included U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and federal health agencies and officials who work under him. Federal officials responded to questions about the settlement with this statement: “HHS remains committed to its mission of removing radical gender and DEI ideology from federal programs, subject to applicable law, to ensure taxpayer dollars deliver meaningful results for the American people.” The case is similar to one filed in Washington, D.C., by Doctors for America and others against the government. That lawsuit also sought to force the government to restore health information to the public, and the two cases overlapped somewhat in the websites they targeted, Short said. In July, a judge in the Doctors for America case ordered restoration of websites. As of last week, 167 of the websites at issue had been restored and 33 were still under review, according to a court filing. (AP)
