In a significant operation last week, IDF troops, alongside special units and intelligence teams, dismantled an underground Hezbollah terror compound hidden beneath a cemetery in southern Lebanon. The IDF’s 36th Division led the mission, supported by the Shaldag Unit, Yahalom Unit, Golani Brigade, 282nd Brigade, and engineering and logistics teams. Within the compound, forces discovered command rooms, living quarters, and extensive weapons storage. The facility, designed to facilitate infiltration attempts into Israel, spanned approximately one kilometer in length, was two meters high, and lay about one and a half kilometers from the Israeli border, without extending into Israeli territory. During the operation, the Shaldag Unit identified tunnel shafts leading into the compound, allowing forces to map and expose the entire tunnel network. The IDF, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense’s Engineering and Construction Directorate, used hundreds of trucks and concrete mixers to seal the tunnels, pouring around 4,500 cubic meters of concrete into the site to prevent future use. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
South Korea’s military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for the second-straight day on Saturday, affecting an unspecified number of flights and vessel operations. Tensions between the rival Koreas have escalated as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his advancing nuclear and missile program and engages in electronic and psychological warfare, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash and anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets in the South. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korean operations to manipulate GPS signals were detected from around the western border city of Kaesong and the nearby city of Haeju on Friday and Saturday, and said the activities disrupted dozens of civilian aircraft and several vessels. While warning aircraft and vessels near western border areas, South Korea’s military did not specify how North Korea was interfering with GPS signals or detail the extent of disruptions. “We urge North Korea to stop GPS interference provocations immediately and strongly warn that it will be held fully accountable for any resulting consequences,” the South’s joint chiefs said in a statement. North Korea’s GPS signal disruptions and balloon campaigns highlight the vulnerability of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, its main transportation gateway, analyst Sukjoon Yoon recently wrote on the North Korea-focused 38 North website. The airport, which carries 56 million people and 3.6 million tons of cargo annually, is less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from North Korea. “No major aviation incidents have resulted to date, but GPS interference can endanger commercial airlines flying in poor visibility, and it is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety,” Yoon wrote. He said that in 2024, North Korean trash balloons halted the airport’s runway operations 12 different times for a total of 265 minutes. Kim has shown more hostility this year toward Seoul’s conservative government — which maintains a hard line on Pyongyang — with the North abandoning its long-standing goals of reconciliation with its war-divided rival and rewriting its constitution to cement South Korea as a permanent adversary. North Korea also blew up sections of its unused road and rail routes linked with the South in October in a symbolic display of anger toward Seoul, and opened November with a flight-test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile to dial up pressure on Washington. South Korean officials say North Korean activities to disrupt GPS signals from western border regions increased as the country began launching trash-carrying balloons toward the South in late May, which the North described as a retaliation against South Korean civilian activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Aside from North Korea’s weapons demonstrations and non-conventional provocations, there’s growing concern over its reported provision of military equipment and troops to Russia to support President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. South Korean officials say the deepening military alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang could possibly result in Russian technology transfers that increases the threat posed by Kim’s military nuclear program. (AP)
Russia is open to hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals on ending the war, an official said, as a Russian drone killed one person and wounded 13 in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the European Union foreign policy chief held talks in Kyiv after the change in U.S. leadership. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels.” He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or Trump and members of his incoming administration. Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement, and not in the area of further pumping the Kyiv regime with all kinds of aid,” Ryabkov said Saturday in an interview with Russian state news agency Interfax. In Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Ukraine is ready to work with the Trump administration. “Remember that President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy was one of the first world leaders … to greet President Trump,” he said. “It was a sincere conversation (and) an exchange of thoughts regarding further cooperation.” “Also during the telephone conversation, further steps to establish communication between teams were discussed and this work has also begun. Therefore, we are open for further cooperation and I’m sure that a unified goal of reaching just peace unites all of us,” Sybiha said. Sybiha appeared alongside EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said his visit is meant to stress the European Union’s support to Ukraine. “This support remains unwavering. This support is absolutely needed, for you to continue defending yourself against Russian aggression,” he said. Borrell urged “faster deliveries and fewer self imposed red lines” in getting Western weapons to Ukraine. He had appealed to allies in August to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets. In Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said high-rise residential buildings, private houses and warehouses in the Black Sea port city were damaged overnight by the “fall” of a drone. He did not specify whether the drone had been shot down by air defenses. A further 32 Russian drones were shot down over 10 Ukrainian regions, while 18 were “lost,” according to Ukraine’s air force, likely having been electronically jammed. A Russian aerial bomb struck a busy highway overnight in the northeastern Kharkiv province, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekohov said. No casualties were reported. Russia is mounting an intensified aerial campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter. However, doubts are deepening over what Kyiv can expect from a new U.S. administration. Trump has repeatedly taken issue with U.S. aid to Ukraine, made vague vows to end the war and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Russia, the Defense Ministry said 50 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over seven Russian regions — more than half over the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine. (AP)
Listen to our Top 10 Mama Rachel Songs In honor of the FREE Tefillah taking place at Kever Rachel by Yad L’Achim on her Yahrtzeit, we present to you the top 10 songs in her honor. On Tuesday – י”א חשון – November 12, Yad L’Achim is arranging a FREE Tefillah at Kever Rachel on her Yahrzteit led by Talmidei Chachamim and Rav Yaakov Ades. TO SUBMIT NAMES FOR FREE – CLICK HERE >>> Here are our top ten songs about Rachel Imeinu – Do you agree? Comments? Send us a WhasApp by CLICKING HERE or send us an email here: INFO@YADLACHIM.ORG Kol B’Rama – D’veykusThe classic – the original and most well known Mama Rochel – Abie RotenbergThe new classic Kol B’rama – Yossi Green Sung by the London School of Jewish Song – composed by a young Yossi Green מאמע רחל וויין – Moshe WeintraubYou know this tune – it’s sung Friday nights in Shuls across the world Mameh – Avraham FriedA favorite of Yad L’Achim’s graphic artist Schneur Mameh Rochel – Pinky WeberBeautiful live rendition Mama Rochel – Mordechai Ben DavidDid you know MBD had a Rachel Imeinu song? Vshavu Banim – Benny Friedman & Baruch LevineStunning song by Mosdos Kever Rachel Rachel – Shloime GertnerShloimie’s favorite song Kol Berama – Simcha LeinerA CHUPPAH CLASSIC
The election of Republican Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire’s governor means 13 women will serve as a state’s chief executive next year, breaking the record of 12 set after the 2022 elections. Governors hold powerful sway in American politics, shaping state policy and often using the experience and profile gained to launch campaigns for higher offices. “It matters to have women in those roles to normalize the image of women in political leadership and even more specifically in executive leadership, where they’re the sole leader, not just a member of a team,” said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was floated as a potential Democratic nominee for president after President Biden exited the race. Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was thought to be in the running for President-elect Donald Trump’s vice presidential post. Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, defeated the Democratic nominee Joyce Craig, a former mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city. Still, 18 states have never had a woman in the governor’s office. “This is another side of political leadership where women continue to be underrepresented,” Dittmar said. “Thirteen out of 50 is still underrepresentation.” With two women vying for governor in New Hampshire, a new record for female governors was inevitable. The state has a long history of electing women. As a senator, Ayotte was part of the nation’s first all-female congressional delegation. It was also the first state to have a female governor, state Senate president and House speaker at the same time, and the first to have a female majority in its Senate. Ayotte will be the state’s third woman to be governor. “Being a woman isn’t really that critical to her political persona,” Linda Fowler, professor emerita of government at Dartmouth College, said of Ayotte. Both Ayotte and Craig said their gender hasn’t come up on the campaign trail although reproductive rights often took front and center. In her campaign, Craig attacked Ayotte’s record on abortion, and both candidates released TV ads detailing their own miscarriages. Ayotte said she will veto any bill further restricting abortion in New Hampshire where it is illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy. When Ayotte is sworn in, five Republican women will serve as governor at the same time, another new high. The other eight are Democrats. New Hampshire’s was one of the few competitive gubernatorial races among the 11 this year. More inroads or setbacks for women’s representation could come in 2026 when 36 states will elect governors. Most voters tend to cast their ballots based on party loyalty and ideology rather than gender, Dittmar said. However, she noted female candidates often face layers of scrutiny that male counterparts largely avoid, with voters judging such things as a woman’s intelligence, appearance and even dating history with a sharper lens. The small gain for women in governor’s offices comes as Vice President Kamala Harris failed in her effort to become the first female president. “I would not suggest to you that Kamala Harris lost a race because she was a woman, because she was a Black and South Asian woman,” Dittmar said. “We would also fail to tell the correct story if we didn’t acknowledge the ways in which both gender and race shapes the campaign overall, […]
Prime Minister Netanyahu has confirmed Israel’s involvement in the September pager and walkie-talkie attacks targeting Hezbollah terrorists across Lebanon and Syria. In today’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu pointedly referenced opposition to the operation from within Israel’s defense establishment and political leadership, hinting at former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “The pager operation and the elimination of [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior officials in the defense establishment and those responsible for them in the political echelon,” Netanyahu reportedly stated, subtly criticizing Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence leaders. The September 16 attack, in which thousands of pagers exploded in the possession of Hezbollah members, has not been officially acknowledged by Israel until now. Netanyahu added in his cabinet briefing: “When I wanted to eliminate Nasrallah, to go into Rafah and other things, there were those who opposed it in the cabinet. One of the claims was the lack of will by the US to participate. I disagreed and I went all the way.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Several federal and state agencies are investigating how racist mass texts were sent to Black people across the country in the wake of the presidential election this week. The text messages invoking slavery were sent to Black men, women and children, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other law enforcement departments. The anonymously sent messages were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee. The FBI said it has communicated with the Justice Department about the messages, and the Federal Communications Commission said it is investigating alongside federal and state law enforcement. “These messages are unacceptable,” said a statement from FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. She said the agency takes “this type of targeting very seriously.” While the texts varied somewhat, they all instructed recipients to “board a bus” that would transport them to a “plantation” to work as slaves, officials said. They said the messages were sent to school-aged children and college students, causing significant distress. Whoever sent the messages used a VPN to obscure their origin, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Thursday morning. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said his office is fielding multiple reports of racist text messages being sent to Black residents, including children. Officials said the messages appear to be part of a nationwide campaign targeting Black people in the wake of the election. “These messages are horrific, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated,” Brown said in a statement. Brown said in an interview that it’s disturbing that children were targeted, sometimes by name, in mass texts that typically rely on datasets collected on adults, such as campaign donors or magazine subscribers. “This is an intimidating, threatening use of technology” that likely violated multiple laws, Brown said. He said investigators will use “all the tools and resources available to us to hold accountable whoever is behind these text messages.” Phone service provider TextNow said that “one or more of our accounts” were used to send the racist text messages and that it quickly disabled those accounts for violating its terms of service. “As part of our investigation into these messages, we learned they have been sent through multiple carriers across the US and we are working with partners and law enforcement cooperatively to investigate this attack,” the Canada-based company said in a statement Friday. Major providers AT&T and Verizon both said it was an industry-wide problem and referred comment Friday to the CTIA, a wireless communications trade group. The U.S. wireless industry has been working in recent days to block thousands of the texts and the numbers sending them, said CTIA spokesperson Nick Ludlum. An industry group initiative is working with law enforcement and has “identified platforms bad actors used to send these messages,” he said. These racist text messages span the entire country, predominately targeting Black Americans, and more specifically Black children as young as middle schoolers. Nicole, a mother in North Carolina who asked not to use her last name because of her profession, said she was disturbed and concerned by the messages her high school daughter showed her Thursday night. The texts instructed her to get ready to go back to the plantation. This was her daughter’s first real experience with this type of racism, Nicole said, and as a parent she didn’t want to have […]
Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that he has spoken with US President-elect Donald Trump three times since the election, emphasizing their shared perspective on the challenges posed by Iran. In a video message, Netanyahu said that these conversations aimed to deepen the robust Israel-US alliance. He noted that they see eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat and the risks it presents. Netanyahu also highlighted promising opportunities for Israel in advancing regional peace and cooperation. He described the discussions as “productive and highly significant.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Reports indicate that senior Hezbollah figure Salim A’yash has been killed in Syria. A’yash was previously sentenced to five life terms for his involvement in the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which also took the lives of 21 others.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley would not be part of his upcoming administration. Both Haley and Pompeo, once close allies of Trump, had distanced themselves from him at times during the 2024 Republican primary campaign. Haley, who ran against Trump in the Republican primary, frequently criticized him during her campaign, including in recent remarks at a Madison Square Garden rally. Pompeo, though he ultimately endorsed Trump, had publicly defended Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during a period of intense rivalry between DeSantis and Trump. Despite expressing interest in a potential role, Pompeo did not make Trump’s shortlist. In his post, Trump expressed gratitude for their previous service but firmly ruled out their involvement moving forward. “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country.” Trump’s team is reportedly considering other prominent figures for key roles, including billionaire Elon Musk and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., although no official appointments have been made. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The House is expected to try to pass a Social Security-related bill to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions despite a surprise move by hard-right Freedom Caucus leaders to derail the effort. It’s a quick turnaround to salvage what had been a bipartisan effort to pass the bill during what’s now the lame-duck post-election period of the Congress. Here’s what’s going on: WHAT DOES THE BILL DO? The measure that would repeal the so-called “government pensions offset” has been gaining support in the House — a robust 300 lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have signed on to it. The bill summary says the government pensions offset “in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.” The bill would repeal that provision and reinstate full Social Security benefits. HOW WAS THE BILL ADVANCING? To force the legislation forward, the sponsors of the bill, Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia used a rarely successful process called a discharge petition. They collected the minimum 218 signatures needed from House lawmakers to dislodge the bill from committee and send it to the floor for a vote. The move is often seem as an affront to House leaders, particularly the House speaker and the majority leader who determine the floor schedule. But Spanberger and Graves — who both did not seek reelection — had little to lose. Besides, Johnson backed the bill before becoming speaker. HOW DID CONSERVATIVES BLOCK IT? Two leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus intervened when the rest of Congress was away from Capitol Hill, mostly in home states for Election Day. The Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., and former chair Rep. Bob Goode, R-Va., used a routine pro forma session of the House on Tuesday to swiftly table part of the measure. The Freedom Caucus tends to block new spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add some $196 billion to the federal deficit over a decade. Graves said that’s the amount people are missing out on without reinstating full Social Security benefits. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? In tabling the legislation the conservatives actually set back its procedural rule, but not the bill itself. The legislation is expected to move forward with a House vote anyway, possibly in the week ahead. That said, passage will now be tougher, requiring a supermajority threshold rather than a simple majority as had been planned under the rule that the Freedom Caucus leaders turned back. WHO WOULD BENEFIT IF THE BILL PASSES? The summary says the legislation, if approved, would repeal the provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. It says the bill also eliminates the so-called “windfall elimination provision” that “in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.” If it passes the House, it’s unclear if the bill has enough support to clear the Senate. But the wide margin in the House indicates potentially broad support. It would then go to President Joe Biden’s desk. If signed into law, the summary […]
Six people were killed, and 15 others were wounded in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Sayyidah Zaynab suburb of Damascus. The strike targeted a residential building, according to Sham FM and the official SANA news agency.
A federal judge on Friday overturned Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, of the Southern District of Illinois, issued a permanent injunction he said applies universally, not just to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. He decided, however, that the injunction would not take effect for 30 days. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul responded speedily, filing a notice of appeal Friday evening. The Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed into law in January 2023 by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, took effect Jan. 1. It bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and an assortment of attachments largely in response to the 2022 Independence Day shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The opinion drew heavily from recent landmark Supreme Court rulings expanding on the definition of the Second Amendment’s guarantees. “Sadly, there are those who seek to usher in a sort of post-Constitution era where the citizens’ individual rights are only as important as they are convenient to a ruling class,” McGlynn wrote in his opinion. “The oft-quoted phrase that ‘no right is absolute’ does not mean that fundamental rights precariously subsist subject to the whims, caprice, or appetite of government officials or judges.” Pritzker said he remained confident the law’s supporters would prevail. Fellow Democrat Raoul filed a notice of appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit seeking reversal of the lower court’s order and a permanent injunction. “Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure,” Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said. “The governor is confident the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act will be upheld through” appeal. The law, written by Democrats who hold supermajorities in the General Assembly, came six months after a lone gunman perched atop a building fired into the Highland Park parade with a weapon similar to an AR-15, killing seven people and injuring more than three dozen. It drew immediate scorn, not only in the form of lawsuits from gun owners and advocates, but from scores of county sheriffs who said they refused to enforce what they considered an unconstitutional law. McGlynn, who was appointed to his post in the Southern District of Illinois by President Donald Trump during his first term, drew closely on U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the past 15 years that have solidified and more recently expanded interpretation of the Second Amendment’s guarantees. He rejected state officials’ argument that the Protect Illinois Communities Act withstood constitutional tests because it addresses a new phenomenon — mass killings — and new technology — semiautomatic guns. “While mass shootings and firearm-related deaths are universally tragic and senseless, the government has not met its burden to prove that the history and tradition of firearm regulations supports PICA’s expansive sweep, covering hundreds of models of weapons, magazines, and attachments used by tens of millions of law-abiding United States citizens,” McGlynn wrote. Erich Pratt, senior vice president of the Gun Owners of America, which represented one of the plaintiffs in the case, said of Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers, “We […]
What led Qatar to make the dramatic decision to oust Hamas officials from its territory and announce that it will no longer mediate between the Hamas terror group and Israel in efforts to reach a ceasefire/hostage deal? Some Israeli sources say that Qatar took these steps ahead of President-elect Donald Trump entering office to avoid appearing as if it didn’t adequately pressure Hamas. Ynet reported that a security source said that Israel “received an indication” that Qatar was about to expel the Hamas leadership. “It seems that the Qataris are terrified of Trump. They understand that he will change the American direction toward them. They understand that they support terrorism. The Qataris are very afraid and want to appear as if they’re on the right side,” the source said. Other sources say the move was made due to intense pressure from the US. Kan News reported that the US demanded from Qatar to expel Hamas following the terror group’s refusal of a new deal after the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. According to the report, Hamas has not budged from its positions over the past several weeks and its unreasonable demands ensure its continued control over the Strip. The US demand for the expulsion of Hamas leaders from Qatar is also the result of its Justice Department’s indictment against Khaled Mashal, who currently resides in Qatar. Additionally, US pressure on Qatar significantly intensified following the murder of American-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, H”yd. According to Israeli reports, the Goldberg-Polin family had personal contact with senior Qatari officials and Qatar specifically demanded that Hamas ensure Hersh’s safety. The report added that the US conveyed a message that they will also not tolerate Turkey accepting Hamas officials. A US official told Kan that Hamas leaders are not welcome in any country that is a partner of the US. Israel is very pleased with the decision and both Israeli and US officials believe that ousting Hamas political leaders from Qatar will place them under significant pressure that could lead to a breakthrough on a hostage deal and other important issues. Moreover, according to the report, this is the first time that Hamas political leaders will be forced to “recalculate” regarding its future as many other Arab states will also not be willing to host Hamas leaders. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
A Chinese national was ordered held Friday on trespassing charges after police say he tried to enter President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in violation of a court order that he stay away following previous attempts. Zijie Li, 39, is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail after being arrested Thursday when he arrived at Mar-a-Lago’s entrance gate in an Uber, the latest in series of contacts he’s had with police and Secret Service agents at or near the estate since July. Li, who lives in suburban Los Angeles on a student visa, had just been released from a mental hospital, where he had been placed in late October after police found him found near the estate. He is now facing two counts of misdemeanor trespassing. Li’s arrest comes after a sniper nearly killed Trump at a July rally in Pennsylvania and an alleged would-be assassin stalked him in September at his Palm Beach County golf course. On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had broken up an Iranian plot to kill Trump. During Trump’s term as president, there were numerous illegal incursions at Mar-a-Lago, including two by Chinese nationals, but none were attempts to harm him. According to Town of Palm Beach police reports, Li first tried to enter Mar-a-Lago in July, telling Secret Service agents he had information tying China to the Pennsylvania assassination attempt. He was told to leave and not return. He was arrested the following week after police say he twice tried to enter Mar-a-Lago. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and released on bail, with the judge ordering him to stay away from Mar-a-Lago and Trump. Then Li last week approached a homeowner near Mar-a-Lago who had placed a Trump campaign sign in her yard, records show. He asked the woman if she was a member of Mar-a-Lago and if she would take him inside. She called police, who took him to a mental hospital for observation. He was released from the hospital on Thursday, shortly before he returned to Mar-a-Lago, police said. He was arrested again on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Bail for his previous arrest was revoked. The Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Li, declined to comment. It does not typically comment on pending cases. Mar-a-Lago was the scene of at least five intrusions during Trump’s first term as president, including the two by Chinese nationals. In August 2020, three teenagers fleeing police while carrying a semiautomatic gun in a backpack jumped a wall at Mar-a-Lago. They were arrested immediately, and police said they did not believe the teens knew where they were. Trump was not at the estate. In January 2020, two Palm Beach sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a Connecticut opera singer who sped through a checkpoint outside Mar-a-Lago while having a mental breakdown. She was not hit and was arrested nearby. She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. She had been charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing arrest and resisting an officer without violence. In March 2019, Chinese national Yujing Zhang gained access to Mar-a-Lago while carrying a laptop, phones and other electronic gear. That led to initial speculation that the Shanghai businesswoman might be a spy, but she was never charged with espionage. Text […]
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman The 11th of Cheshvan marks the yahrtzeit of Rachel Imeinu (according to the Midrash), a day that can stir the very depths of our neshamos. As we observe this sacred yahrtzeit, we must ask ourselves not just how to remember her, but how to ignite her eternal flame within our own hearts. How can we, her children, carry forward her legacy of boundless love and sacrifice? “And behold in the morning it was Leah.” These words, forever etched in our Torah, carry an ocean of meaning. Rashi, illuminating this moment, reveals the profound depth hidden in these words – “in the evening it wasn’t Leah” – because Rachel, with tears in her heart but steel in her resolve, had given over the secret signs to her sister. In that moment of supreme sacrifice, Rachel transformed the very nature of chesed. We learn from Rachel not merely to be concerned about kavod – the honor of others – but to let this concern consume us, to let it override our own deepest desires. She teaches us not just to avoid causing embarrassment, but to sacrifice everything we hold dear to protect another’s dignity. Every fiber of her being cried out against humiliating another soul. Think of the magnitude of her sacrifice! She didn’t just give up a momentary happiness – she surrendered what she believed to be her entire destiny. In her mind, she wasn’t just giving up Yaakov; she was resigning herself to a life with Eisav. The very thought sends shivers through us, yet Rachel stood firm, choosing her sister’s dignity over her own dreams. THE EARTH-SHATTERING POWER OF PREVENTING HUMILIATION When the first Bais HaMikdash lay in ashes, when our people’s sins of avodah zarah had torn apart the very fabric of our relationship with Hashem, it was Rachel’s merit that pierced the heavens. The Midrash, cited by Rashi (Yirmiyahu 31), reveals her powerful plea: “I was not jealous of my co-wife and gave away my Simanim, You too Hashem – be not jealous of Avodah Zarah!” These weren’t just words – they were keys that unlocked the gates of redemption, leading to our restoration in Eretz Yisroel and the rebuilding of our Bais HaMikdash. YAAKOV’S PROPHETIC VISION When Yaakov Avinu made the heart-wrenching decision to bury Rachel on the road to Bais Lechem, rather than in the Maaras HaMachpeilah with our other holy Imahos, he was acting with divine inspiration. Through his ruach hakodesh, he saw how her kever would become an eternal wellspring of salvation for her children. This prophecy would unfold in the most tragic of times. When Nevuzaradan drove our people into exile, as they passed by her grave, Rachel Imeinu emerged and raised her voice in tearful prayer. As recorded in Yirmiyahu (31), “Thus did the Lord say, a voice is heard on high, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeps for her children, she refuses to be consoled for her children, for they are not.” Her cry pierced the heavens, and Hashem himself responded with words of comfort: “Thus did the Lord say, mini kolech mibechi – refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your labor, said the Lord, veshavu vanim ligvulam – and the children shall return to their borders” […]
A Federal Emergency Management Agency worker has been fired after she directed workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, the agency’s leader said in a statement Saturday. “This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said. “This was reprehensible.” The agency did not identify the employee, nor did it say where it happened. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling it “targeted discrimination” of Florida residents who support Trump, said it happened in Florida. DeSantis said he has directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin an investigation into the matter. “The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media. “New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired,” he said. There were no details in FEMA’s statement or DeSantis’ comments about the time frame or community where the incident occurred. FEMA workers have been in the state helping residents recover from Hurricane Milton, which devastated many Florida communities last month. Criswell said she is determined to hold employees accountable. “I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,” she said. (AP)
The Biden administration’s partial arms embargo on Israel is putting the lives of IDF soldiers at risk in Gaza and Lebanon and affecting the battlefield, Ynet reported on Sunday. In addition to freezing shipments of munitions to Israel months ago, the Biden administration more recently froze a large shipment of 134 D9 bulldozers which Israel ordered and paid for, two security sources told Ynet on the condition of anonymity. The bulldozers are mainly used for flattening buildings in the Gaza Strip, the majority of which have been booby-trapped by Hamas terrorists. Sadly, many IDF soldiers have lost their lives in explosions in the Gaza Strip. Despite that tragic fact, the Biden administration succumbed to the pressure of pro-Hamas protesters in the US and froze deliveries. The effect on the battlefront is already apparent in both Gaza and Lebanon. Ynet‘s inquiry revealed that many of the existing D9 bulldozers, which have been heavily used in Gaza for months, require maintenance. The launch of a second front in Lebanon exacerbated the shortage. “At the height of the fighting in Gaza, about a year ago, battalion commanders were ‘fighting’ between them over D9 bulldozers and now they need maintenance,” IDF commanders in Gaza say. The IDF hesitates to directly and officially link the deadly results of the raid in Jabalia in Gaza – 21 soldiers were killed in this operation alone within about a month, many of them from explosive devices – to the number of D9 bulldozers allocated for operations. These operations are usually preceded by the bulldozers entering the area ahead of the combat troops and safely clearing “contaminated” areas from explosive devices that are rigged to detonate on the soldiers. Nevertheless, it is clear that the bulldozers are not only operationally effective against tunnels and in built-up areas but also aid in saving soldiers’ lives. In Lebanon, forces must clear thousands of acres of dense forest which Hezbollah took advantage of to hide arms depots and bunkers near Israeli communities to actualize its plan to carry out an October 7-style assault of the Galil. The halt of the D9 shipments will also likely delay another important IDF operation in Gaza, establishing a one-kilometer-wide buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and the western Negev, which requires the leveling of hundreds of Gazan buildings and agricultural areas. Many of the buildings have already been razed but the operation is not yet complete. The Biden administration is vehemently opposed to the operation. “The fact that there are videos of American D9 bulldozers demolishing homes in Gaza isn’t helpful but it’s a necessity,” IDF sources said. “These buildings are used by terrorists.” Apart from using bulldozers, the IDF uses several other means, some of which are more costly, including controlled blasts with thousands of tons of explosives as well as targeted airstrikes to demolish buildings, though more rarely due to the need to preserve munitions for other fronts. Israel is forced to use its munitions sparingly because the Biden administration is also still freezing the shipment of about 1,300 munitions purchased by Israel from Boeing [paid in shekels rather than with US aid], claiming that the IDF might harm “innocent” Gazan civilians with them. Half of the shipment, which the Biden administration froze in May, was released and shipped to Israel, but the other […]
