A new Channel 12 poll suggests that a growing majority of Israelis want Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to step aside before the next election — a sign of voter fatigue of his dominance in Israeli politics. According to the survey, 52 percent of respondents said Netanyahu should not run again, compared to 41 percent who believe he should remain in the race. Another 7 percent were undecided.
U.S. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica Saturday as Storm Melissa reached hurricane strength, threatening catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean. A hurricane warning means winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) are expected in the area within 36 hours. Melissa is ”likely starting to rapidly intensify and expected to become a major hurricane tomorrow,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Saturday afternoon as Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph). The slow-moving storm was expected to drop torrential rain, up to 25 inches (64 centimeters), on Jamaica, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. A similar forecast was issued for the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Monday. Life-threatening flooding and landslides were possible, with up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) of catastrophic rain across the Tiburon peninsula in southwestern Haiti, the center said. The Cuban government on Saturday afternoon issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin. Storm’s slow progress The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. “Unfortunately for places along the projected path of this storm, it is increasingly dire,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said earlier on Saturday. He said the storm will continue to move slowly for up to four days. Melissa was located about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 250 miles (405 kilometers) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was slowly moving westward at 3 mph (6 kph), according to the hurricane center. A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch remained in place for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti. The center of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica early next week, forecasters said. Melissa was expected to become a major hurricane by Sunday and possibly reach Category 4 status by early Monday, U.S. forecasters said. It is forecast to hit eastern Cuba early Wednesday, where up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) could fall in some areas. Authorities in Jamaica said on Saturday that the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston will be closed at 8 p.m. local time. It did not say whether it will close the Sangster airport in Montego Bay, on the western side of the island. More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages prepositioned for quick distribution if needed. “I urge Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “Take all measures to protect yourself.” The hurricane center confirmed the risks in a key message Saturday afternoon. “Jamaica prep should be completed today. Melissa’s slow motion brings multi-day damaging winds plus heavy rainfall, catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, damage, long-duration power communication outages, isolation,” the center said. River levels rise Haitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast. “The storm is causing a lot of concern with the way it’s moving,” said Ronald Délice, a Haitian department director of […]
With less than three months left in office, Mayor Eric Adams is preparing to overhaul New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) — a last-minute power play that could complicate socialist front-runner Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promise to freeze rents for the city’s roughly one million rent-stabilized units. According to multiple sources, Adams plans to appoint at least six new members to the nine-person board, a sweeping move that would shift control of one of City Hall’s most influential bodies just as Mamdani appears poised to win the November mayoral election. Among the possible appointees: Adams’ longtime ally and real estate reality TV personality Eleonora Srugo. “It’s not just about freezing the rent,” one source close to the discussions told The New York Post. “It’s about making sure landlords can afford to own and maintain these buildings. You need these buildings standing up.” The maneuver, while legal, would effectively lock in Adams’s influence over rent policy for the first two years of his successor’s term, since most RGB members serve staggered two- to four-year terms. Six of the current members are serving on expired appointments — holdovers from the de Blasio era — and a seventh is set to leave at year’s end, giving Adams near-total power to reset the board before departing. The mayor’s eleventh-hour reshuffle appears aimed squarely at undermining Mamdani’s pledge to impose a citywide rent freeze — a plan that has electrified his progressive base but alarmed real estate interests and moderate Democrats alike. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens, has made the policy central to his campaign, arguing that landlords’ profits have soared even as tenants struggle with rising costs. Industry leaders, however, warn that a rent freeze could cripple the city’s housing stock, driving buildings into disrepair and deterring new construction. “Freezing rent may sound catchy, but it’s bad policy — short-sighted and harmful to tenants,” Adams said in June, after the RGB voted 5-4 to raise rent-stabilized leases by 3 percent for one-year terms and 4.5 percent for two-year terms. Adams publicly urged restraint during that vote — calling for a smaller 1.75 percent hike — but ultimately defended the increases as necessary to “keep buildings solvent.” The plan was foreshadowed during this week’s final mayoral debate, when Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, jabbed Mamdani for promising a rent freeze he couldn’t deliver. “You don’t control the Rent Guidelines Board,” Cuomo quipped, alluding to Adams’s appointment powers. Mamdani fired back that he would “stack the board” with his own allies, much as former Mayor Bill de Blasio did to secure multiple rent freezes during his tenure. But if Adams fills the six vacant seats before leaving City Hall, Mamdani would be handcuffed from reshaping the board until midway through his first term. Of the eight non-chair members, two serve four-year terms, and the remaining six are split between two- and three-year appointments. The chair serves at the mayor’s discretion. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine’s president for Western air defense systems. In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv’s police said. A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service wrote on the message app Telegram. “Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram during the onslaught. Two killed in Dnipropetrovsk region In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed and seven wounded, acting regional Gov. Vladyslav Haivanenko said, adding that apartment buildings and private homes were damaged in the strikes. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched nine missiles and 62 drones, of which four missiles and 50 drones were intercepted. In Russia, the Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 121 Ukrainian drones over Russia overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that such attacks intensify Ukraine’s need for Patriot defense systems. “It is precisely because of such attacks that we pay special attention to Patriot systems — to be able to protect our cities from this horror. It is critical that partners who possess relevant capability implement what we have discussed in recent days,” he wrote in English on X. “America, Europe and the G7 countries can help ensure that such attacks no longer threaten lives,” he said. Ukrainians adapt As plumes of smoke from the attack in Kyiv rose in the background, Ukrainians went about their day shopping in a popular nearby farmer’s market unhindered, having become accustomed to frequent Russian air assaults. “We didn’t know the attack was right here, but even when we figured it out we still came. Despite the Russians’ strike, there are still a lot of people here who need to eat. I knew that people would come to shop, ” said Halyna Stetsiura, 54. The fruit and vegetable vendor arrived very early in the morning to prepare her stall, while the attacks were still underway. Serhi Lihus, 53, a beekeeper, said he was driving to the market when he heard the explosions. “It was still dark, approximately 6:30, everything was on fire,” he said. Still he showed up to the market to sell his honey. Svitlana Shyshlovska, 40, a customer, said despite the threat of attacks, “you still need to buy food to have something to eat and such markets are not an everyday occasion.” Push for air defenses Zelenskyy is hoping Ukraine can purchase 25 Patriots from the U.S. to fortify its air defenses, particularly in cities. Zelenskyy on Friday urged the United States to expand its sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia. Zelenskyy was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war. The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
President Donald Trump announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad sponsored by one of its provinces that used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs — prompting the province’s leader to later pull the ad. The post on Trump’s social media site Thursday night ratcheted up tensions with the U.S.’s northern neighbor after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he plans to double his country’s exports to countries outside the U.S. because of the threat posed by Trump’s tariffs. White House officials said Trump’s reaction was a culmination of the administration’s long, pent-up frustration about Canada’s strategy in trade talks. Later Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province had sponsored the ad, said it would be taken down, though it will still run this weekend. Ford said after talking with Prime Minister Mark Carney he’s decided to pause the advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume. Ford said they’ve achieved their goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. “Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.” The U.S. president alleged the ad misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president who remains a beloved figure in the Republican Party, and was aimed at influencing the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of a hearing scheduled for next month that could decide whether Trump has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Trump is so invested in the case that he has said he’d like to attend oral arguments. “You know, it’s a crooked ad,” Trump said Friday night as he left the White House for a trip to Asia, shortly after the ad aired during the seventh inning of Fox’s national broadcast of Game 1 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. “They could have pulled it tonight,” Trump said. “Well, that’s dirty play — but I can play dirtier than they can, you know.” Canadian premier digs in after Trump ends talks The ad was paid for by Ontario’s government, not the Canadian federal government. Ford, the premier, didn’t initially back down, posting Friday that Canada and the U.S. are allies “and Reagan knew that both are stronger together.” Ford then provided a link to a Reagan speech where the late president voices opposition to tariffs. Ford had said the province plans to pay $54 million (about $75 million Canadian) for the ads to air across multiple American television stations using audio and video of Reagan speaking about tariffs in 1987. Ford is a populist conservative who doesn’t belong to the same party as Carney, a Liberal. For his part, Carney said his government remains ready to continue talks to reduce tariffs in certain sectors. “We can’t control the trade policy of the United States. We recognize that that policy has fundamentally changed from the 1980s,” he said Friday morning before boarding a flight for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. Trump is also traveling to the summit. But he told reporters on Air Force One that […]
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in his first public comments since the arrests of Portland coach Chauncey Billups and Miami guard Terry Rozier on gambling-related charges, said Friday night that he was stunned by the indictments that have rocked the league. “My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver said on Amazon Prime Video, during the streaming service’s first broadcast — Boston at New York. “There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.” Such was a sentiment shared by many around the league on Friday, one day after the indictments were unsealed and nearly three dozen people — most notably, Billups and Rozier — were arrested by federal officials. Rozier was arrested because federal officials allege he conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance. The charges are similar to what former Toronto player Jontay Porter faced before he was banned from the league by Silver in 2024. Billups faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for participating in what federal officials called Mafia-backed rigged poker games. He also matches the credentials of someone described only as Co-Conspirator 8 in an indictment detailing how some people gave bettors inside information on player health statuses. The arrests have overshadowed the opening week around the league. “I apologize to our fans that we are all dealing with this situation,” Silver said during the in-game interview. The Rozier case has gone on since March 23, 2023. He was with the Charlotte Hornets at that time, and sportsbooks — legal ones — alerted the NBA to irregular patterns involving Rozier’s “prop bets” that day. Rozier went on to play about 9 1/2 minutes, and those who bet that he would underperform the listed stat lines won those wagers. Federal officials said more than $200,000 was bet on those lines alone. The NBA investigated and found no reason to sanction Rozier, Silver said. “We frankly couldn’t find anything,” Silver said. “Terry at the time cooperated. He gave the league office his phone. He sat down for an interview. And we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence despite that aberrational behavior to move forward. “He still hasn’t been convicted of anything, in fairness to Terry. Obviously, it doesn’t look good. But he’s now been put on administrative leave. There’s a balance here of protecting people’s rights and investigating.” Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue calls Billups his best friend and said the news was difficult to take. He said he spoke with Billups on Thursday night and was encouraged by what he heard. “To go through something like this, the allegations, his family, my goddaughters, it was a tough day,” Lue said. “You never want to see your friends go through anything like that.” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers started in the NBA as a player more than 40 years ago. He’s seen plenty of good and bad. He thought he had heard it all. That is, until now. “It’s really sad,” Rivers said Friday. Along with Billups and Rozier, former NBA player Damon Jones now faces charges because officials said he tipped off bettors about the health status of two Los Angeles Lakers players. The details in […]
President Donald Trump plans to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker on Sunday by solidifying a trade agreement with Malaysia and overseeing the signing of an expanded ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, two nations that skirmished along their disputed border earlier this year. The two accords could be finalized while Trump attends the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is being hosted in Kuala Lumpur. It’s the first stop of a three-country swing across the continent, with visits to Japan and South Korea and a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that he was optimistic his meeting with Xi could yield progress on a range of issues, including fentanyl trafficking and soybean trade. “I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal,” Trump said. “I want our farmers to be taken care of. And he wants things also.” Details about Trump’s agreements have been characteristically scarce, even after Trump departed Washington. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s dealmaking addresses longstanding issues or puts them off for another day. The Republican president is scheduled to touch down in Kuala Lumpur around 10 a.m. local time. He will meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim before attending a ceremony featuring Cambodia and Thailand and later joining regional leaders for dinner. U.S. presidents don’t always attend this summit, and Trump went only once during his first term. But he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted to come because Anwar helped resolve the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand. “I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, ‘I think I owe you a trip,’” Trump said. Dozens of people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced during five days of combat in July. Cambodia and Thailand have competing territorial claims, and violence periodically flares along their border. Trump threatened to withhold trade agreements from the two countries unless they stopped fighting, a display of economic leverage that has been credited with spurring negotiations. A shaky truce has persisted since then. “The fact that Trump was holding the tariff card was actually very, very significant,” said Ou Virak, president of Phnom Penh’s Future Forum think tank. “That’s probably the main reason, if not the only reason, but definitely the main reason why the two sides agreed immediately to the ceasefire.” Now, he said, “there’s a ceremony for Trump to be in front of cameras” so he can be “seen as the champion that brings an end to wars and conflicts,” giving him ”more ammunition for his bid for Nobel Peace Prize.” Trump has explicitly campaigned for the honor, continuously adding to a list of conflicts that he either helped resolve or claims to have ended. Thai foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told reporters on Saturday that the “joint declaration” to be signed on Sunday will state that Thailand and Cambodia “are committed to renew their relations.” He also said there has been an agreement to address Thai concerns about landmines and heavy artillery along the border, as well as other issues. “It’s not an end in itself,” Nikorndej said. “Work has just begun.” Trump expressed confidence about the prospect of finalizing trade agreements during his trip. Negotiations have […]
Senator John Fetterman addresses dysfunction in Washington and the ongoing government shutdown, saying he can’t control the direction of the Democratic Party but will always vote “country over party.”
President Trump is asked if he’d consider meeting Kim Jong Un during his Asia trip: “If he’d like to meet, I’m open to it… They have very little telephonic service, but he knows I’m coming — and, yeah, I’d be open to it, 100%.”
Trump on Democrats: “All they have to do is say yes and [the shutdown] is over… and then we go into a negotiation. Obamacare has been terrible. We can make it better. I’m all for that — but they’re not.”
Trump on the Democrat Shutdown: “All they have to do is agree to let’s go and we’re ready… This is purely Democrat. They’re doing some really bad things. I think they’re lost souls.”
Bernie Sanders: “If you don’t have any borders, you don’t have a nation… Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, but we should have a secure border. It ain’t that hard to do. Biden didn’t do it.”
Stephen Miller after an illegal alien truck driver in California killed three: “This is a Democrat-caused calamity… Newsom, in his state, has a policy to give CDLs to individuals who don’t know how to speak English and don’t know how to drive.”
Florida police have arrested a Colombian theft ring posing as landscapers. All five suspects, who are in the U.S. illegally, are now in jail with ICE detainers.
Trump on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly considering a large purchase of Ford F-150 trucks: “That’s great. She has good taste. That’s a HOT truck.”
Trump-endorsed New Jersey governor candidate Jack Ciattarelli was seen making his seventh and final stop at a polling location on the first day of early voting.
