The District of Columbia on Thursday challenged President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in Washington, asking a federal court to intervene even as he plans to send troops to other cities in the name of driving down crime. Brian Schwalb, the district’s elected attorney general, said in a lawsuit that the deployment, which now involves more than 1,000 troops, is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. “No American jurisdiction should be involuntarily subjected to military occupation,” Schwalb wrote. The White House said deploying the Guard to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement is within Trump’s authority as president. “This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of D.C. residents and visitors — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in D.C.,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. Members of the D.C. National Guard have had their orders extended through December, according to a Guard official. While that does not necessarily mean all those troops will serve that long, it is a strong indication that their role will not wind down soon. The Republican president has credited the weekslong surge in Washington with reining in crime and said he plans to send the National Guard into Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democrat-led cities. In the nation’s capital, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has backed up some of Trump’s claims that crime is down during the takeover. Still, data shows and critics argue that crime was already falling before the surge. A federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after protests over immigration raids in June was illegal. It does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states. Several GOP-led states have added National Guard troops to the ranks of those patrolling the streets and neighborhoods of the nation’s capital. Schwalb’s filing contends the deployment also violates Washington’s Home Rule Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, and wrongly asserts federal control over units from other states. The lawsuit is the second from Schwalb — whose office is separate from Washington’s federal U.S. attorney, a presidential appointee — against the Trump administration since Trump asserted control over the city’s police department and sent in the Guard. Those actions have been with protests from some residents. Violent crime has been an issue in the capital for years, though data showed it was on the decline when Trump intervened with an executive order on Aug. 11. Bowser has pointed to a steep drop in offenses such as carjackings since it began, while also expressing reservations about the use of the Guard from other states. There are clear divides between some D.C. Council members and Bowser, whom critics have accused of acquiescing to the administration. Speaking at a Free DC “Federal Forces Out Now” news conference on Capitol Hill, one councilmember, Robert White, said his own young daughters do not see the military personnel and officers as protectors. “They are here to catch them, to condemn them, to take away their rights,” he said. White said when history is written about this moment “we will have to justify what we did and did not do. I’m not prepared to […]
Major crime in New York City fell again last month, with shootings and gunshot victims hitting all-time lows — even as murders rose, according to new NYPD data. Citywide crime dropped 6.7 percent in August compared to the same month in 2024, driven by an 8.2 percent decline in robberies and a nearly 19 percent fall in burglaries. Felony assaults, grand larceny, and car thefts also decreased, police said. Through the first eight months of 2025, the city recorded 489 shootings with 611 victims — the lowest totals since the NYPD began tracking such data, surpassing previous lows in 2018. Despite those historic declines, murders spiked 33 percent in August, fueled by several deadly incidents in Manhattan and the Bronx. A gang-related shooting at a Bronx park on Aug. 23 left one person dead, a 17-year-old girl critically injured, and four others wounded. The 47th Precinct in the Bronx continues to struggle with violence, recording a 50 percent increase in shootings this year, even as the borough overall reported declines. Shootings in Brooklyn also spiked early in the month, including a hookah lounge shooting that killed three and wounded nine. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised officers for driving down overall crime, citing a 22 percent reduction in transit crime compared to last year. “Below ground on our subways, we have cut crime down to record-lows, excluding the pandemic years,” Tisch said. “Our strategy is working, and our cops are driving down crime.” Mayor Eric Adams noted that murders are still down nearly 20 percent citywide through the first eight months of the year compared to 2024 — with 209 so far this year versus 260 last year. “But even with the tremendous steps we’ve taken in making our city safer, we know that one crime is still one crime too many,” Adams said in a statement. “Thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, New York continues to be America’s safest big city.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
By Rabbis Moshe & Yitzchok Fingerer Who is the gentleman who showed up in the middle of davening with a big ponytail and was fervently shuckeling away with such Kavanah? It seemed like an irony, a dichotomy, a contradiction. If he looked so secular, how did he know how to daven? Everyone saw this young man but no one knew the back story. I met him ten years ago when he worked at a medical office in Flatbush. He had a very Jewish, even frum sounding first name. No Yarmulkah. A ponytail. Secular looking. Very dismissive, even slightly defiant of any overture from frum people, especially a rabbi. Nevertheless, I made eye contact, smiled, took an interest and got his phone number. After reaching out numerous times throughout the years, I didn’t elicit a response. Until, he finally replied last year. I invited him for Rosh Hashanah and he said he would come. That’s when he showed up in the middle of davening with his ponytail. The Mishna in Avos says to judge “Kol Ha’Adam” favorably. Asks the Sfas Emes that seemingly there is an extra word here. Why does it say “Kol” which can also mean the entire person? It should have simply said, “Adam” – judge a person favorably. What does “Kol” the entire person mean? Answers the Sfas Emes, it means that when assessing, analyzing or trying to decipher a person’s actions, conduct or behavior, one needs to look at the entire person. Not just merely the person. One must understand that the person comes from life circumstances, a background, challenges and difficulties that you may not be privy to. The person isn’t acting a certain way because he wants to necessarily but because of the struggles and battles they’ve encountered. We must take the entire person into account and lovingly bring them back to Hashem. The fellow with the ponytail was someone from a religious upbringing who went astray. Without knowing his “entire” story one can easily judge him. However, if we only would understand that there’s more to a person than meets the eye, we would be patient, kind and loving. Long story short, the young man with the pony tail is now enrolled in the BJX weekly learning program and is enjoying learning Torah and growing. B”H another BJX miracle! This would never have materialized had we just looked at the “Adam” and not “Kol Ha’Adam.” Next time you meet someone, keep in mind there is background, there is more than meets the eye, there is more to the story. There is a soul waiting to be kindled and nurtured. BJX needs your help! Support Hatzalas Neshamos and the life-saving work of BJX. Act today. Save a life. Change generations. EIN 47-2389703. Donate now: HelpBJX.com| 646-397-1544. One more Jew is waiting – help us reach them now. With decades of experience and proven success, Rabbis Fingerer have guided hundreds of families, teens, and young adults from the Frum community back to a meaningful, fulfilled life rooted in Yiddishkeit. Don’t wait for a crisis—address challenges early and see lasting results. Call 646-397-1544 to schedule your confidential appointment.
The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits rose modestly last week, suggesting that employers are still retaining workers even as the economy has showed signs of slowing. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 30 rose by 8,000 to 237,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 231,000 new applications economists were expecting. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as a proxy for layoffs and have mostly settled in a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic nearly four years ago. While layoffs are low, hiring has also weakened as part of what many economists describe as a “no hire, no fire” economy. Still, the unemployment rate remains a historically low 4.2%. On Wednesday, the government reported that U.S. employers were advertising 7.2 million job openings at the end of July, fewer than economists had forecast and the latest sign of weakness in the U.S. labor market. Last month’s grim July jobs report, which showed job gains of just 73,000 and included massive downward revisions for June and May, sent financial markets spiraling. President Donald Trump fired the head of the agency that compiles the monthly data. The government issues its August jobs report on Friday, with economists expecting that U.S. employers added a slim 80,000 private non-farm jobs. New jobs numbers are being closely watched on Wall Street and by the Federal Reserve as the most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply since this spring. Job gains have averaged just 35,000 a month in the three months ending in July, barely one-quarter what they were a year ago. Growth has weakened so far this year as many companies have pulled back on expansion projects amid the uncertainty surrounding the impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Growth slowed to a 1.3% annual rate in the first half of the year, down from 2.5% in 2024. The sluggishness in the job market is a key reason that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that the central bank may cut its key interest rate at its next meeting Sept. 16-17. A cut could reduce other borrowing costs in the economy, including mortgages, auto loans, and business loans. The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,500 to 231,000. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the previous week of Aug. 23 fell by 4,000 to 1.94 million. (AP)
WATCH THIS: Emotional moments today at Soroka Hospital, where IDF soldier Yaakov Telkar, a wounded member of the Golani Brigade, married his kallah, Tair.
District of Columbia National Guard troops who are deployed as part of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement intervention in the nation’s capital have had their orders extended through December, a National Guard official said. The main purpose of the extension is to ensure that any D.C. Guard members out on the streets of Washington will continue to have uninterrupted benefits and pay for a mission that seems likely to persist for months, the official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said that while the extension doesn’t mean that all 950 D.C. Guard troops now deployed will serve until the end of December, it is a strong indication that their role is not winding down anytime soon. Typically, Guard members need to be on active orders for more than 30 days to qualify for benefits like a housing allowance or health care, and issuing multiple extensions to those orders can sometimes cause interruptions. National Guard members from Republican-led states also have been sent to Washington. How long those troops, who number 1,334, remain in the nation’s capital is up to their individual governors. A spokesperson for the joint task force overseeing all Guard troops deployed to Washington and the Pentagon directed questions about the extension to the White House. In response to questions, a White House official said Trump was committed to the long-term safety and security of Washington. The National Guard official said leaders also are expected to begin putting out policies on leave and time off for deployed troops — another sign that military leaders expect the deployment to go on for a longer period of time. The task force acknowledged Monday that it was “aware of concerns regarding pay and benefits for members of Joint Task Force-District of Columbia.” “While exceptions exist, the majority of service members are mobilized on orders extending beyond 30 days, ensuring they qualify for full benefits,” the task force said in a statement. (AP)
Sen. Bill Hagerty to Fed Board nominee Dr. Stephen Miran: “I applaud the President for nominating you. You’ve been very clear that you want… the Fed to get out of the political arena it’s been operating in… I very much appreciate that.”
Rep. Jeffries on investigation into Fed Gov. Lisa Cook: “The Department of Justice continues to try to weaponize the federal government against people who have declined to bend the knee to Donald Trump and his extremism. We will not be intimidated by the Department of Justice.”
Sen. Mark Warner: “You’re saying the Biden Administration politicized all of the [COVID] data?!?” RFK JR.: “Yeah! … They fired all of the people who questioned the orthodoxy!”
