Russian FM Lavrov: “There is no meeting planned. And I’m not challenging this, but you — you cannot, cannot, I think, understand what I am saying. Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.”
The Israeli military says its air force struck a primed Hamas rocket launcher in Deir al-Balah on Thursday and that a drone also targeted a Hamas mortar site used in Wednesday’s attack on an army encampment in Khan Younis.
President Donald Trump’s administration is faltering in its aggressive pursuit of the death penalty as it revisits cases in which predecessors explicitly decided against seeking capital punishment. Since taking office in February, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against 19 people, including nine defendants in cases in which President Joe Biden’s administration had sought lesser sentences. But judges have blocked those reversal attempts for all but two defendants, most recently on Monday in a pair of cases in the U.S. Virgin Islands, showing the limits of the Trump administration’s power to undo decisions in cases already well underway. In pursuing capital punishment, the Justice Department is seeking to follow through on a Trump campaign promise to resume federal executions after they were halted by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Republican president’s Justice Department has accused the previous Democratic administration of supplanting “the will of the people with their own personal beliefs” in failing to seek death sentences in many cases involving horrific crimes. Detailed opinions haven’t been issued in the most recent two cases, which involve a man accused of killing a police officer in 2022 and two men accused of armed robbery and murder in 2018. But other judges who have rejected reversal attempts on constitutional and procedural grounds were blunt in their assessment of the Trump administration’s approach. “The government has proceeded hastily in this case, and in doing so has leapfrogged important constitutional and statutory rights,” Trump appointee U.S. Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland wrote in June, striking the notice of intent to seek the death penalty against three alleged MS-13 gang members accused of killing two teenage girls in 2020. “That is unacceptable.” ‘Willful blindness’ vs. ‘basic management’ Authorization of capital prosecution typically occurs years before trial, but in the Maryland case, prosecutors filed the death penalty notice less than four months before the trial was scheduled to start. None of the defendants were represented by attorneys who specialize in death penalty litigation, which they would have been entitled to under federal law due to the complexity of capital cases and the potential consequences. “The government does not hide the ball here — the only reason for its flip-flop on the death penalty was the change in administration,” wrote Gallagher, who called the government’s “willful blindness” to the differences between capital and non-capital trials “startling.” “This court will not cast aside decades of law, professional standards, and norms to accommodate the government’s pursuit of its agenda,” she wrote. “Of course, elections have consequences, and this administration is entitled to pursue the death penalty in cases where it can do so in accordance with constitutional and statutory requirements. But this is not one of them.” Prosecutors in Maryland and in a Nevada case declined to comment, but in court documents they argued that the Justice Department has an “inherent power” to reconsider previous decisions and that the timing of the death notice was “objectively reasonable” given that the defendants had years to prepare for trial. “The Attorney General has simply reconsidered an earlier decision, which it is her prerogative to do so, and exercising that inherent authority is not misconduct but basic management and governance,” wrote Maryland’s U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes. “At no point did the Government make an enforceable promise. Deciding not to seek certain charges […]
In a discussion convened on Thursday by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in preparation for the tens of thousands of chassidim flying to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri raised the issue that about 10,000 Breslovers are now considered “draft dodgers” and face arrest for this reason at the airport, i24NEWS reported. According to the report, Deri also brought the issue to the attention of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz’s office, but no solution has been found. During the meeting, Netanyahu said, “They are traveling for tefillah and not for a trip; a solution must be found for them.” He later instructed the Director-General of his office to examine possibilities for a solution to the issue. In response to an inquiry, a spokesperson from Deri’s office said. “Rabbi Deri has been engaged in discussions with the prime minister for weeks in order to enable the travel of about 50,000 Israelis, from all walks of life, who have a minhag to daven every year on Rosh Hashanah at the tzion of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman—in light of the lack of direct flights.” “As part of this, and due to the lack of a conscription law, Rabbi Deri drew attention to the problem that may arise with regard to about 10,000 bnei yeshivos who are considered eligible for the draft, which may create serious problems at the airport. Therefore, he suggested considering an organized outline to distinguish between travel for tefillah and travel for leisure purposes. Rabbi Deri will continue to work for all Breslov chassidim to allow them to observe their minhag and daven on Rosh Hashanah in Uman.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
A Georgia health care entrepreneur was ousted from the company he co-founded after a viral video showed him defending his wife’s anti-Jewish slurs against their grieving neighbor — whose daughter, an Israeli soldier, was killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem in 2023. Mark Bouyzk was terminated from AllaiHealth, an AI-powered health care startup he helped launch, after footage captured his wife, Anna, berating neighbor David Lubin with antisemitic insults. In the video, Anna called Lubin a “kike” and claimed his daughter, Sgt. Rose Lubin — who was fatally stabbed by a Palestinian teenager while patrolling in Jerusalem in November 2023 — “deserved” her fate. “You know what you are,” Anna shouted, before suggesting the IDF routinely kills its own soldiers. Mark backed up his wife’s tirade, telling Lubin that Rose’s killing was justified because “she was fighting.” AllaiHealth announced Bouyzk’s dismissal on LinkedIn Monday. “The behavior displayed in that footage is reprehensible, completely inconsistent with our values, and has no place in our organization or society,” CEO Robert Boisjoli wrote. “We hold ourselves and all those who represent AllaiHealth to the highest standards of integrity and accountability.” Bouyzk, a biotech veteran whose previous company, AKESOgen, was acquired by Chicago-based Tempus Laboratories, co-founded AllaiHealth with Boisjoli. The confrontation with Lubin began when he posted memorial signs for his daughter opposite the Bouyzks’ property, where the couple had displayed pro-Palestinian messages, some bearing crude slurs. Lubin recorded the encounter, which quickly circulated online. Even after the shouting match ended, Anna reportedly phoned Lubin and told him he was responsible for his daughter’s death. Lubin told local media he had never interfered with the couple’s signage and that the viral exchange was their first direct confrontation. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli authorities on Thursday ordered medical facilities and international aid organizations in northern Gaza to prepare for mass evacuations ahead of a sweeping military offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City. The warning came as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened top military officials and senior ministers to finalize plans for the offensive. At the same time, Netanyahu said he had instructed officials to begin “immediate negotiations” for the release of all hostages in Hamas captivity — though his office confirmed no Israeli delegation was being dispatched to mediating countries Egypt or Qatar. Visiting Khan Younis, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told troops that operations on Gaza City’s outskirts were already underway, with additional forces set to join soon. “Our missions remain the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas; we will not rest and will not stop until we complete them,” Zamir said, describing Hamas as reduced from a “terror army” to a guerrilla force. The campaign — which will likely displace up to a million civilians — has drawn criticsm from international organizations. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the pro-Hamas UNRWA, said children already weakened by hunger “will simply not have the strength to undergo a new displacement,” warning many would not survive. The Red Cross called the planned assault “intolerable,” predicting “more killing, more displacement, more destruction and more panic.” Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed officers had begun issuing “initial warnings” to Gaza health and aid officials, advising them to transfer medical equipment south and prepare hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Rafah for an influx of evacuees. “There will be a full evacuation from Gaza City,” an officer told one official in a recorded call released by the IDF. The military said hospital capacity in southern Gaza was being expanded with international support, alongside an increased flow of supplies. The army has already called up 60,000 reservists under emergency orders and begun positioning five divisions around Gaza City. Netanyahu, backed by Defense Minister Israel Katz, has authority to greenlight operational stages without cabinet approval after ministers earlier this month endorsed a broad plan to seize the city. But hostage families warned the offensive would destroy chances of a deal to save their loved ones. Bar Goddard, whose father was killed on October 7 and whose body remains in Gaza, accused the government of “sacrificing the hostages” by refusing to respond to Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire proposal earlier this week. That plan would pause fighting for 60 days and see roughly half the hostages freed, with talks to follow on the rest. Netanyahu has publicly rejected the outline, insisting only a comprehensive deal to release all captives would be acceptable. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Texas state representative Nicole Collier drew sharp criticism this week after likening herself and her Democratic colleagues to runaway slaves and Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during a heated debate in the state capitol. Collier, one of the Democrats who fled Texas to block Republicans from advancing redistricting legislation, made the comments while confronting a Republican lawmaker on the House floor. “Chairman, are you aware that during slavery, Blacks fled? They ran away,” Collier said. After her colleague replied that he couldn’t hear her clearly, she pressed on: “During the Nazi times, Jewish people fled. They fled their oppressor.” The remarks immediately sparked backlash from Republicans and Jewish leaders who called the comparisons historically inappropriate and offensive, and that equating the political maneuvering of Texas Democrats with the life-and-death struggles of slavery and the Holocaust trivialized two of history’s greatest atrocities. This was not the first time Collier had made headlines in recent days. On Monday night, she staged an unusual protest by sleeping on the floor of the statehouse after House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) ordered state troopers to accompany Democrats around the clock to prevent them from leaving and breaking quorum again. “I will not agree to be in DPS custody. I am not a criminal,” Collier told Fox 4 News, insisting that she was “exercising my right to resist and oppose the decisions of our government.” Collier, who leads the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, defended her comments as a way of framing Democrats’ actions as civil disobedience in the face of what they see as partisan overreach. But opponents called her rhetoric an insult to the memory of those who endured slavery and the Holocaust. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein wrote a letter of chizzuk to bnei yeshivos ahead of the start of Elul Zeman that was published in the Chareidi newspapers on Friday morning. HaRav Zilberstein wrote: “Chazal said at the end of Masechtas Kesuvos, ‘Rabi Zeira said that Rabi Yirmiyah bar Abba said, ‘There will be an accusations against Talmidei Chachamim in the generation in which Ben Dovid comes.’ And Rashi explained, ‘Accusation—many accusers and advocates of guilt will stand against them.’ And further on it says, ‘Affliction after affliction,’ and Rashi explained: ‘Decrees upon decrees.’ And it explains that before Bias Moshiach, there will be many accusations against Talmidei Chachamim, and accusers will stand to advocate guilt against them.” “And we see this happening—that they are now coming out against bnei yeshivos and Talmidei Chachamim and accusing and inciting against them. They don’t understand that this Limmud Torah protects and saves the entire Jewish nation. And behold, the Torah says, ‘A thousand per tribe, a thousand per tribe’—corresponding with all the soldiers fighting on the physical battlefield, there must be Lomdei Torah who protect and conquer with their limmud—Torah protects and saves.” “We are currently experiencing a great tzara—that they want to pull bnei yeshivos away from their Torah and are even imprisoning some of them. Our tafkid is to be mechazeik ourselves, to engage in Torah and Gemilas Chassadim.” “Rabban shel Yisrael, HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau, already said that the Galus is making its burden heavy upon us, and it is a great tzarah that Jews are persecuting Jews for Limmud Torah.” “And especially now, as Zeman Elul begins, we call on the bnei yeshivos: be strong and courageous, and don’t let your hearts weaken, and start the upcoming Zeman with all your strength and enthusiasm, and engage in Torah at all times and in every hour, without idle talk, and thereby you will be zocheh to be the true protectors of the entire Jewish nation.” ““And may we soon be saved with an everlasting salvation, and may all the evil decrees be revoked from all of Am Yisrael, and may you be zocheh to be inscribed לכתיבה וחתימה טובה.” “Your brother, who blesses you with love.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Famine was officially declared Friday in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system (IPC), the world’s leading authority on hunger. But Israel swiftly denounced the move as a politically motivated fabrication designed to shield Hamas from defeat as the IDF prepares for a major offensive. According to the IPC, an estimated 514,000 people—nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population—are already in famine, with the figure projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September. The declaration marked the first time Gaza has been classified at famine level, with the IPC citing Gaza Governorate as the epicenter and warning that Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis could follow next month. The report argued that fighting, aid restrictions, and a collapse in food production had pushed hunger to life-threatening levels. Israel rejected the claims outright, accusing the IPC of bending its own rules in order to reach a predetermined conclusion. Traditionally, famine is declared when at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages, 30 percent of children are acutely malnourished, and at least two adults or four children out of every 10,000 die each day from starvation. In Gaza, however, the IPC invoked a lower threshold, declaring famine when 15 percent of children were found to suffer acute malnutrition, while conceding it lacked reliable mortality data. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called this a dangerous distortion, saying the IPC had “changed its own global standard, cutting the 30 percent threshold to 15 percent for this report only, and totally ignoring its second criterion of death rate.” COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing Gaza humanitarian affairs, issued a counter-report charging that the IPC’s assessment relied on “biased and self-interested sources originating from Hamas,” including UNRWA workers in Gaza, some of whom Israel says are Hamas operatives. Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, COGAT’s chief, said the IPC had abandoned professionalism in favor of propaganda. “Instead of a professional, neutral assessment, the report adopts a biased approach riddled with severe methodological flaws, thereby undermining its credibility and the trust the international community can place in it,” he said. Israeli officials pointed to the large volumes of aid entering Gaza in recent months as proof that famine conditions do not exist. Since May, more than 10,000 trucks have entered the enclave, while the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed over 2.2 million relief packages. Between 200 and 300 trucks of aid cross daily, Israel says, alongside daily humanitarian pauses and international airdrops. While still below the UN’s demand for 600 trucks a day, Israeli officials argue the deliveries have eased conditions significantly. Any remaining shortages, they contend, stem from Hamas seizing supplies and hoarding food for its fighters. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee echoed that point in a blistering post: “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilized Hamas savages. Maybe the overfed terrorists could share their warehouse full they stole with hungry people especially the hostages.” The timing of the declaration has fueled suspicion in Jerusalem that the IPC is attempting to interfere with Israel’s military strategy. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has already announced preparations for “Gideon’s Chariots II,” a full-scale offensive to capture Gaza City. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz vowed to open the “gates of hell” unless Hamas surrendered […]
Federal auto safety regulators are investigating why Tesla has repeatedly broken rules requiring it to quickly tell them about crashes involving its self-driving technology, a potentially significant development given the company’s plans to put hundreds of thousands of driverless cars on U.S. roads over the next year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing on Thursday that Tesla’s reports on “numerous” incidents involving its driver assistance and self-driving features were submitted far too late — several months after the crashes instead of within five days as required. The probe comes two months after the electric vehicle maker run by Elon Musk started a self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with hopes of soon offering it nationwide. The company also hopes to send over-the-air software updates to millions of Teslas already on the road that will allow them to drive themselves. Investors enthusiastic about such plans have kept Tesla stock aloft despite plunging sales and profits due to boycotts over Musk’s support for U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe. The safety agency said the probe will focus on why Tesla took so long to report the crashes, whether the reports included all the necessary data and details and if there are crashes that the agency still doesn’t know about. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, but the agency noted that the company has told it the delays were “due to an issue with Tesla’s data collection,” which Tesla says has now been fixed. The new investigation follows another probe that began in October into potential problems with Tesla’s self-driving technology in foggy weather and other low visibility conditions, which has been linked to several accidents including one death. That probe involves 2.4 million Tesla vehicles. The crash reporting rule for vehicles using Level 2 driver-assistance software, or those that require drivers to pay full attention to the road, was implemented in 2021. Since then Tesla has reported 2,308 crashes when the software was used, the vast majority of the more than 2,600 reported by all automakers, according to agency data. The numbers are skewed by the fact that Tesla is by far the dominant maker of partial self-driving vehicles in the U.S. The company has been offering robotaxi rides in Austin to only a select group of riders, but said it will allow any paying customer to hail its cabs starting sometime in September, according to a Musk post on X earlier this month. Tesla has also begun allowing limited robotaxi service in San Francisco with a driver behind the wheel as a safety check to conform with California rules. Investors in Tesla were initially cheered after Trump won the presidency in hopes he would reward his biggest financial backer, Musk, by getting safety regulators to go easier on the company. Now that isn’t so certain given Musk’s falling out with the president in recent months after Musk called Trump’s budget bill an “abomination” that would add to U.S. debt and threatened to form a new political party. (AP)
Fed Chair Powell set to deliver big Jackson Hole speech Friday • Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver what almost certainly will be his last keynote address at the central bank’s annual conclave during one of the most tumultuous times in its history. • Amid several controversies, Powell could use the speech to at least take a sideswipe at the political distractions even if he holds to past practice of not taking direct aim. • The speech is billed as an “Economic Outlook and Framework Review,” indicating Powell will take time to provide his views on broad conditions as well as discuss the Fed’s long-term policy goals.
The United States and the European Union agreed a joint statement on the framework trade deal struck at the end of July to end months of uncertainty for industries and consumers
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday that former White House spokesman Ian Sams admitted he spoke with President Biden just two times during his more than two years in the administration — raising questions about who was truly making decisions in the West Wing. “One of the most shocking things to me,” Comer told reporters after Sams’ testimony, “is that he communicated with Joe Biden two times, he saw Joe Biden, talked to Joe Biden — two times.”
President Trump cracks joke before greeting local and federal law enforcement: “You’ve got to be very careful. You don’t want to slip or fall like somebody else I know.”
Supreme Court allows Trump’s cuts to health research grants over DEI policies The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Trump administration broad cuts to National Institutes of Health grants as part of the federal government’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion policies. But in a mixed decision the court left in place a different part of the lower court judge’s ruling that threw out the administration’s guidance document that introduced the policy, raising questions about whether it can be applied moving forward.
WATCH: Hurricane Erin as seen from the International Space Station on Wednesday. The storm is bringing large waves and coastal flooding to beaches along the Atlantic coast, including North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
