In a dramatic closed-door session, top Israeli security officials told judges overseeing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trial that there is “an opportunity to change the face of the Middle East and for Israel to expand its circle of peace, including with Syria,” according to a report by Kan News. Present at the confidential court hearing were the heads of the IDF Military Intelligence and the Mossad, who both emphasized the urgency and sensitivity of current regional developments. They explained to the judges why it was necessary to delay Netanyahu’s scheduled testimony hearings.
BREAKING: President Trump sends a message to “cost cutting Republicans” as he awaits passage of his Big Beautiful Bill “REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t get too crazy!”
SEN. RAND PAUL: “The bill increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion…They know that the ensuing years will add trillions more…That doesn’t sound at all conservative to me, & that’s why I’m a ‘no.’”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News on Friday over alleged defamation, saying the network knowingly aired false information about a phone call he had with President Donald Trump around the time the National Guard was sent Los Angeles. The lawsuit alleges Fox News anchor Jesse Watters edited out key information from a clip of Trump talking about calling Newsom, then used the edited video to assert that Newsom had lied about the two talking. Newsom is asking for $787 million in punitive damages in the lawsuit filed in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated. That’s the same amount Fox agreed to pay in 2023 to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. The company said Fox repeatedly aired false allegations that its equipment had switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden during the 2020 election, and the discovery process revealed the network’s efforts not to alienate conservatives in its audience in the wake of Biden’s victory. “If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said in a statement. “I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet.” He asked a judge to order Fox to stop broadcasting “the false, deceptive, and fraudulent video and accompanying statements” that Newsom said falsely say he lied about when he spoke to Trump regarding the situation in Los Angeles, where protests erupted on June 6 over Trump’s immigration crackdown. Fox News said in a statement that it would fight the lawsuit “vigorously” and looks forward to it being dismissed. “Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him,” it said. Newsom’s suit centers on the details of the phone call with the president. Both Newsom and the White House have said the two spoke late at night June 6 in California, which was already June 7 on the East Coast. Though the content of the call is not part of the lawsuit, Newsom has said they never discussed Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard, which he announced the next day. Trump said the deployment was necessary to protect federal buildings from people protesting increased immigration arrests. Trump later announced that he would also deploy Marines to the area. On June 10, when 700 Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area, Trump told reporters he had spoken to Newsom “a day ago” about his decision to send troops. That day Newsom posted on the social platform X that there had been no call. “There was no call. Not even a voicemail,” Newsom wrote. On the evening of June 10, Fox’s Jesse Watters Primetime show played a clip of Trump’s statement about his call with Newsom but removed Trump’s comment that the call was “a day ago,” the lawsuit said. Watters also referred to call logs another Fox News reporter posted online showing the phone call the two had on June 6. “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?” Watters said on air, according to the lawsuit. The segment included text across the bottom of the screen that said “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.” Newsom’s suit argues that […]
The United States and China have reached an agreement — again — to deescalate trade tensions. But details are scarce, and the latest pact leaves major issues between the world’s two biggest economies unresolved. President Donald Trump said late Thursday that a deal with China had been signed “the other day.” China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed Friday that some type of arrangement had been reached but offered few details about it. Sudden shifts and a lack of clarity have been hallmarks of Trump’s trade policy since he returned to the White House determined to overturn a global trading system that he says is unfair to the United States and its workers. He’s been engaged for months in a battle with China that has mostly revealed how much pain the two countries can inflict on each other. And he’s racing against a July 8 deadline to reach deals with other major U.S. trading partners. The uncertainty over his dealmaking and the cost of the tariffs, which are paid by U.S. importers and usually passed on to consumers, have raised worries about the outlook for the U.S. economy. And although analysts welcomed the apparent easing of tensions with China, they also warned that the issues dividing Washington and Beijing are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. What did the two sides agree to? U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Chinese had agreed to make it easier for American firms to acquire Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals critical for manufacturing and microchip production. Beijing had slowed exports of the materials amid a bitter trade dispute with the Trump administration. Without explicitly mentioning U.S. access to rare earths, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that “China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China.” The Chinese have complained about U.S. controls on exports of advanced U.S. technology to China. But the ministry statement did not specifically say whether the United States planned to ease or lift those controls. In his interview on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Bessent mentioned that the United States had earlier imposed “countermeasures” against China and ”had held back some vital supplies for them.” “What we’re seeing here is a de-escalation under President Trump’s leadership,” Bessent said, without spelling out what concessions the United States had made or whether they involved America’s export controls. Jeff Moon, a trade official in the Obama administration who now runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy, wondered why Trump hadn’t disclosed details of the agreement two days after it had been reached. “Silence regarding the terms suggests that there is less substance to the deal than the Trump Administration implies,″ said Moon, who also served as a diplomat in China. Wait. This sounds familiar. How did we get here? The agreement that emerged Thursday and Friday builds on a “framework” that Trump announced June 11 after two days of high-level U.S.-China talks in London. Then, he announced, China had agreed to ease restrictions on rare earths. In return, the United States said it would stop seeking to revoke the visas of Chinese students on U.S. college campuses. And last month, after another meeting in Geneva, the two countries had agreed to dramatically reduce massive taxes they’d […]
Firefighters were ambushed by sniper fire while responding to a blaze in a northern Idaho mountain community Sunday, killing at least two people and unleashing barrages of gunfire over several hours in an attack the governor called a “heinous” assault. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene around 1:30 p.m., and gunshots were reported about a half hour later. Sheriff Bob Norris said officials believe the two people killed were fire personnel. He didn’t know if anyone else was shot. “We don’t know how many suspects are up there, and we don’t know how many casualties there are,” Norris told reporters at a 4:30 p.m. news conference. “We are actively taking sniper fire as we speak.” People are still coming off the mountain, the sheriff said, so it “would be safe to assume” that others were still up there. Gov. Brad Little said “multiple” firefighters were attacked. “This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” Little said on the social platform X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.” Norris said it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle. He said he instructed deputies to fire back. “I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralize, because they’re not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,” the sheriff said. An alert by the Kootenai County Emergency Management Office asked people to avoid the area around Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road, about 4 miles (6.5 km) north of downtown Coeur d’Alene. The fire was still active, Norris said. “It’s going to keep burning,” he said. “Can’t put any resources on it right now.” The FBI has responded to the scene with technical teams and tactical support, Deputy Director Dan Bongino said. “It remains an active, and very dangerous scene,” he wrote in a post on X. Coeur d’Alene is a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington. Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking area on the outskirts, covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Recent satellite images reveal ongoing activity and fresh evidence of significant damage at Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment facility following last week’s Israeli and U.S. airstrikes. The site was struck by Israeli forces on June 23, just one day after the U.S. conducted airstrikes using bunker-buster bombs. High-resolution imagery from Maxar Technologies shows an excavator and several personnel near the northern shaft on the ridge above the underground complex. A crane is also seen operating at the entrance to the shaft, with multiple vehicles parked along an access path built to reach the site. Maxar’s photos also show the complete destruction of a facility north of the main compound, surrounded by impact craters and a cloud of dust. Additional damage, including a crater and visible burn marks, is seen on a western access road. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Like clockwork, Carla Johnson sends out letters every spring asking for donations to help pay for the annual Fourth of July fireworks show that draws tens of thousands of people to New Mexico’s largest lake. And she has no reservations about doling out verbal reminders when she sees her patrons around town. There’s too much at stake to be shy about fundraising when donations collected by Friends of Elephant Butte Lake State Park are what make the tradition possible. But even Johnson’s ardent efforts as the group’s fundraiser might not cut it next year if the U.S. and China remain locked in a trade war. With nearly all of the aerial shells, paper rockets and sparkly fountains that fuel America’s Fourth of July celebrations being imported from China, volunteer groups like Johnson’s and cities big and small have been closely watching the negotiations. A 90-day pause on what had been massive tariffs brought some temporary relief, but industry experts acknowledge that the tiff has lit a fuse of uncertainty as the price tag for future fireworks displays could skyrocket if an agreement isn’t reached. Not the first time There were similar concerns in 2019 as trade talks between the U.S. and China dragged on. Industry groups had called on officials then to exempt fireworks from escalating tariffs. The American Pyrotechnics Association and the National Fireworks Association reignited the lobbying effort this spring, noting in letters to President Donald Trump that fireworks play a crucial role in American celebrations. The groups say the industry is made up mostly of family-owned companies that are often locked into long-term contracts that leave them unable to raise prices to offset cost surges brought on by higher tariffs. And there are few options for sourcing the more than 300 million pounds (136 million kilograms) of fireworks needed to feed demands. China produces 99% of consumer fireworks and 90% of professional display fireworks used in the U.S., according to the APA. “I think overall it’s the uncertainty,” said Julie Heckman, the APA’s executive director. “Yeah, we have a 90-day pause, but are the negotiations with China going to go well? Or is it going to go sky-high again? You know, triple digits. It’s very hard for a small business to plan.” How it began Fireworks have their roots in China. To ward off evil spirits, people would throw bamboo stalks into a fire, causing them to pop as the air inside the hollow pockets heated up. These early firecrackers evolved into more sophisticated fireworks after the Chinese developed gunpowder in the 9th century. By the 15th century, Europe was using fireworks for religious festivals and entertainment. In 1777, they were used in Philadelphia and Boston for what were the first organized Independence Day celebrations. Now, fireworks are synonymous with the summer holiday and with ringing in the new year. Shows have become elaborately choreographed displays that are often synced to live music. In Nashville, the Music City’s award-winning symphony orchestra puts its own spin on the festivities. In New York City, organizers of the Macy’s show will fire off 80,000 shells, with some reaching heights of 1,000 feet (304 meters). The National Park Service promises a spectacular show on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. At Elephant Butte in southern New Mexico, they’re going old school and will light the fireworks […]
A pair of newly dedicated Lakewood wedding halls — Ateres Blima and Ateres Esther, dedicated l’zecher nishmas R’ Ari Stern’s grandmothers — held their kvias mezuzah on Sunday, marking the beginning of a new era in local simcha planning. Located at 400 Oak Street, in a building named in memory of Mrs. Matel Leah Schron a”h, the halls were built to address a pressing need in the community: lowering the overwhelming cost of weddings. Backed by numerous donors and overseen by a board of askanim including R’ Mordy Schron, R’ Menashe Frankel, R’ Ari Stern, and R’ Avraham Meir Retkinski, the project was designed with a clear purpose — to reset community expectations and bring weddings back to a simpler, more manageable standard. At these new halls, the complete wedding package will cost just $13,000, a fraction of the tens of thousands of dollars that families usually pay to marry off a child. The all-inclusive package at Ateres Blima and Ateres Esther is designed for peace of mind: it includes hall rental, catering, photographer, videographer, musician, singer, kallah’s bouquet, artificial floral arrangements, a lavish smorgasbord, and a full seudah. A well-planned schedule will allow weddings to flow smoothly from photos at 4:30 p.m. through to the final dance, with music ending by 11:30 p.m. Each hall will comfortably seat 250 adult guests, with accommodations for children and an on-site shul for davening and learning. Families expecting larger crowds can pay a modest upgrade fee of $500 to expand food options, or $1,000 for a mitzvah tantz celebration, complete with extended refreshments. The halls have already booked 75 weddings, with many more inquiries pouring in — a clear signal that Lakewood’s families are ready for a more sustainable approach to simchas. The initiative extends beyond the halls themselves. Plans are in motion to coordinate affordable options for other wedding expenses, including sheitels, gowns, jewelry, and invitations. A gown gemach, a jewelry gemach, and an interest-free loan program are being developed to help families avoid financial hardship. Organizers also hope to shift community thinking more broadly. Education efforts are planned for local high schools and community gatherings, with the message that the current wedding standards are unrealistic for the majority of families, and that there is no shame in scaling back. An information hotline and a centralized guidance center will help families navigate all aspects of making a wedding affordably, from the vort through the sheva brachos. Ateres Blima and Ateres Esther are poised to become a model for how Lakewood can celebrate its chasunos with simchah, dignity, and achrayus — without burying families under debt. To book your simchah or learn more, call 732-952-1200 or email bookings@ateresestherblima.com
Dear Editor, I read the recent heartfelt letter about the shidduch crisis with deep emotion and full agreement. The pain, frustration, and desperation felt by so many parents of Bnos Yisroel is real — and it is unacceptable that our community has allowed this “shidduch crisis” to persist for so long, largely unchallenged. While the new initiative encouraging girls to wait until Shavuos to begin dating, and boys to return earlier from Eretz Yisroel, is a step in the right direction, it must be the beginning — not the end — of our communal introspection and action. We can no longer ignore a glaring truth: the system is broken. And it is man-made. The numbers don’t lie, and neither does the heartache of thousands of wonderful, accomplished young women waiting months and years just to begin the process. There is one phrase in particular that must be addressed head-on — even if it makes some uncomfortable: the “shidduch freezer.” It has become a sacred cow in some of the larger yeshivos, where boys returning from Eretz Yisroel are told to “settle in” before they are allowed to date. This policy, once created with the best intentions, has become deeply harmful. It must stop. We need our yeshivos — especially the major ones — to lead with courage. They must stop enforcing artificial delays in dating, and instead work hand in hand with the Gedolim and askanim who are trying to restore balance and save a generation from unnecessary pain. Likewise, may I be bold enough to raise another sacred assumption: that every boy and girl must go to Eretz Yisroel after high school or be labeled as “less than.” While there are immense benefits to learning in Eretz Yisroel, we must stop treating it as the only path to success, especially when it creates real hardship in the shidduch parsha. Is it possible that our communal pressure for every 18-year-old to spend a year (or years) “running around” in Eretz Yisroel — disconnected from the timeline and needs of the broader community — has contributed to the very crisis we are now so desperate to fix? Yes, talmud Torah is a supreme value. But so is building a bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel. And so is listening to our Gedolim when they say, “It’s time to change the system.” Let’s have the courage to act. To speak up. To change. To bring our boys home a bit earlier, and let them begin building their futures without unnecessary delay. And let’s give our daughters — each one a precious neshamah — the dignity and chance they so deeply deserve. This is not a crisis of emunah. It is a crisis of community responsibility. We now have the opportunity — and the obligation — to fix it. Sincerely, Y.R.B. The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Sunday he will not seek reelection, a day after announcing his opposition to President Donald Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts package because of its reductions to health care programs. Tillis said he was proud of his career in public service but acknowledged the difficult political environment for those who buck their party and go it alone. “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” he said in a lengthy statement. “Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.” Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive bill. The Republican president accused Tillis of seeking publicity with his “no” vote and threatened to campaign against him. The Republican president also accused Tillis off doing nothing to help his constituents after last year’s devastating floods. “Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,” Trump wrote. Tillis won election to the Senate in 2014; he was up for a third term in 2026. (AP)
Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida, led by Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz and Mrs. Shani Silver, has announced the arrival of a new young couple, Rabbi Shalom and Devorie Katz, together with their 1.5-year-old daughter, Sheina, who will join as shluchim to serve the region’s expanding Israeli and broader Jewish community. The announcement was made in connection with Gimmel Tamuz, the 31st yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, zt”l, a date marked worldwide to remember the Rebbe’s enduring legacy of Jewish outreach, chinuch, and community building. “In light of the ongoing war in Eretz Yisroel, this is not merely a time of celebration, but one of mission,” said Rabbi Minkowicz. “Klal Yisroel in chutz la’aretz, and especially our Israeli brethren, need a strong and connected kehillah. The Katz family’s arrival is a fulfillment of the Rebbe’s hora’ah to reach every Yid with warmth, care, and ahavas Yisroel.” The new shluchim will focus on developing programs, events, and resources geared specifically toward the Israeli population in Southwest Florida, reinforcing Chabad’s presence and impact in the area. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The changes made to President Donald Trump’s big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation’s debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump’s bill by his self-imposed July 4th deadline. Even before the CBO’s estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don’t go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office’s work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December have already been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP’s preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP’s approach as “magic math” that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional scoring system, the Republican bill bill would violate the Senate’s “Byrd Rule” that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee’s portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, “increases the deficits in years after 2034” under traditional scoring. (AP)
JUST IN: Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he will not seek reelection after President Trump called for a primary challenge to him over his opposition to the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “Globalizing the intifada by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing. [Mamdani] is going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani DOUBLES DOWN on plans to kick ICE out of NYC Are you committed to keeping New York a sanctuary city? ZOHRAN: “Absolutely…I will be PROUD to stand up…those days [of arrests] are going to come to an END.”
