A plan to fire live artillery shells over a major Southern California highway as part of a military showcase attended Saturday by Vice President JD Vance drew strong objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said safety concerns forced him to close a portion of the busy interstate. “The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous.” U.S. Marine officials at Camp Pendleton have said there was nothing unsafe about the artillery exercise and no need to disrupt traffic on Interstate 5, which is the main highway along the Pacific coast between San Diego and Los Angeles. Vance, a Republican, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the base in North San Diego County to celebrate the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary, and watch troops put on a show of amphibious vehicles and Marines demonstrating a beach assault. Vance and his wife, Usha, watched as aircraft shot across the sky and columns of smoke rose from munitions strikes. The state had considered closing the freeway earlier in the week, but the U.S. Marines said Thursday that the event would occur on approved training ranges and comport with established safety protocols. State transportation officials ultimately made the decision to close the freeway after practice firings over the freeway Friday evening and a request from event organizers for signage along the road stating “Overhead fire in progress.” The California Highway Patrol closed a 17-mile (27 kilometers) stretch of the highway Saturday. Severe traffic delays were reported Saturday morning and early afternoon in the area around the base. “This is all because of the White House-directed military event, that for the safety of the public, we need to shut down the freeway since they’re sending live ordinances over the freeway,” California Department of Transportation spokesperson Matt Rocco said. The California Highway Patrol reopened the I-5 briefly on Saturday afternoon to relieve some of the traffic congestion, Lt. Matt Gutierrez said, but then closed it again. U.S. Marines Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis said in a statement that there is artillery fire at the base nearly every week and that the exercises didn’t endanger motorists. “Weeks of deliberate planning and rehearsals ensured success at every phase of execution,” he said. In a statement to The New York Times, a spokesperson for Vance, William Martin, said Newsom misled the public about the safety risk. “If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead,” Martin said. Rocco said the I-5 closure could cost up to another two hours of trip time for those commuting between San Diego and Los Angeles. The freeway carries with 80,000 travelers and $94 million in freight through the corridor daily, according to the governor’s office. Passenger rail services running parallel to the I-5 have also been canceled for the afternoon. (AP)
Jackson, NJ – A major milestone was achieved last week in the development of the new Jackson Mikvah, as a specialized well was drilled on the property to establish the water source for the 40 se’ah. The Mikvah of Jackson is being built with exceptional chumras and hiddurim, including a well of genuine mayim chaim for the 40 se’ah required for the Mikvah. The event was attended by leading Poskim and Rabbonim from the Lakewood and Jackson communities, including the participation of renowned Mikvah expert, Rabbi Yitzchok Trieger, who is fully overseeing the Jackson Mikva project. The completion of this stage signifies a significant step towards the Mikvah project, which will change the kedusha landscape for the Jackson and Greater Lakewood area iy”h. To learn more about The Mikva of Jackson visit themoj.org
Prime Minister Netanyahu on the decision to eliminate Nasrallah: “We were in a Cabinet meeting where there wasn’t unanimous agreement, and I said I’d think about it. I flew to the UN to give a speech, and on the plane, I called on a secure line and decided — we’re doing it.”
President Trump expressed his condolences for the sudden passing of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, CEO of the Orthodox Union (OU), who died unexpectedly on Shemini Atzeres at age 60.
President Trump revealed that U.S. forces successfully intercepted and destroyed a drug-trafficking submarine, with the surviving crew members turned over to authorities in Colombia and Ecuador for further action.
Bernie Sanders warned that the U.S. Constitution is at risk when a president accepts lavish gifts, such as a $400 million plane from Qatar’s royal family, and then permits that same family to construct an air force facility in Idaho, highlighting serious concerns about foreign influence and constitutional violations.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz outlined a clear security policy for Gaza, emphasizing the return of every kidnapped soldier, the disarmament of Hamas, the destruction of its weapons production, and the full demilitarization of Gaza. He stated that terror tunnels and infrastructure will be eliminated, with crossings and the Philadelphi Corridor tightly controlled to prevent weapon smuggling. The IDF will maintain a presence along the yellow line, securing over half of Gaza’s territory, enforcing strict no-entry measures, and responding with force to any threats or attempts to harm Israeli soldiers.
President Donald Trump grew frustrated with Israel after its failed September 9 strike in Doha targeting Hamas’s leadership, believing the Israeli government was “getting a little bit out of control,” his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said. Kushner made the comment during a joint interview with Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, on CBS’s 60 Minutes. The two, who helped negotiate the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal, described how Israel’s attempted assassination of Hamas leaders in Qatar nearly derailed the agreement. The full interview is scheduled to air Sunday. “I think both Jared and I felt — I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed,” Witkoff said, referring to Israel’s decision to carry out the strike during ongoing U.S.-brokered negotiations. “It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks. We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.” Kushner said Trump’s reaction marked a turning point. “The strike led him to realize that it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests,” he said. Trump had said after the strike that he was “very unhappy” with Israel for targeting a “strong U.S. ally” and noted that Washington received no meaningful advance warning. The Israeli operation failed to kill any top Hamas officials but resulted in the deaths of several lower-level operatives and a Qatari security guard. In response to the fallout, Trump committed the United States to defend Qatar in the event of future attacks and saw to it that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an apology to Doha. The strike also complicated Israel’s regional ties. For years, with Netanyahu’s approval, Qatar had transferred millions of dollars in cash each month to Gaza, funds that sustained the Hamas government until the terror group launched the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called the 60 Minutes remarks an “earthquake,” saying that “no Israeli government has ever been described this way by an American administration.” “After the failed attack on Doha, Trump thought Netanyahu had lost control and imposed a deal on him that Netanyahu didn’t want,” Lapid wrote on X. He argued that the interview showed “it could have been arranged for Egypt to govern Gaza and help us fight Hamas. Instead, Netanyahu’s lack of control led to the entry of Turkey and Qatar, two of Hamas’s ideological partners.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Freed twins Gali and Ziv Berman thanked supporters after returning home, saying, “We’re finally home, safe with our family and friends, surrounded by love.”
The IDF confirmed it eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist working to rebuild the group’s military infrastructure in Kharbat Salim, southern Lebanon. Overnight, Israeli forces also dismantled a Hezbollah structure deemed a threat in Yaroun.
Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff described the tense hours before the ceasefire and hostage deal, when an unexpected Israeli strike nearly derailed the talks. Kushner said President Trump believed Israel was “getting a little bit out of control” and felt it was time to firmly step in to prevent actions that were not in the country’s long-term interests.
The U.S. State Department warned Saturday that it has “credible reports” indicating Hamas may imminently violate the Gaza cease-fire by launching an attack on Palestinian civilians — a move Washington said would be a “direct and grave violation” of the U.S.-brokered truce and would prompt countermeasures to protect people in Gaza. In a brief posting on social media, the State Department said it had informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of the intelligence and demanded that Hamas “uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.” The department said only that the planned attack would “undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts” and warned that “measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire” should the attack proceed. No operational details about the alleged plot were released. The warning comes amid growing signs that the fragile truce, negotiated last week and credited with temporarily halting two years of conflict, remains under acute strain. U.S. officials have repeatedly cited disturbing footage and reports of public executions and intra-Hamas violence in Gaza since the deal took effect — developments critics say show the group has been unwilling or unable to disarm fully. President Donald Trump, who helped broker the 20-point peace plan, sternly warned this week that Washington could authorize force if Hamas continues to carry out killings inside Gaza. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza … we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” the president wrote on his platform — a comment his aides later sought to narrow by saying the United States would not itself occupy Gaza but could support allied action. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment about the intelligence reports. The agency’s public posting underscored how quickly the diplomatic gains around the cease-fire could unravel if armed factions in Gaza disregard the accord’s terms — and how the guarantor nations are now being pressed to enforce compliance. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Monday as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to advance implementation of the agreement, according to Axios.
The IDF says it thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon near Mount Hermon late Friday night. Troops from the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade and Unit 504 detained several suspects carrying grenades, handguns, RPGs, and ammunition, who were then taken for further questioning.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is wading deeper into the New York City mayoral race, blasting Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa for refusing to drop out and accusing him of effectively delivering City Hall to far-left Democrat Zohran Mamdani. Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital, posted data Friday from the prediction market Polymarket, showing Mamdani’s odds soaring to nearly 90%, far ahead of independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Sliwa. “It was not Zohran Mamdani’s debate performance,” Ackman wrote on X. “It was Curtis Sliwa’s statement after the debate that he is not leaving that has tipped the odds to 90% for Mamdani.” Ackman, who has publicly backed Cuomo’s centrist independent bid, said the only way to block Mamdani’s path to victory is for Sliwa to step aside. The billionaire’s intervention marks one of the rare instances of a Wall Street heavyweight openly weighing in on a city race. Sliwa isn’t budging. His campaign fired back late Friday, rejecting the notion that any billionaire should dictate the race. “Billionaires aren’t going to decide the outcome — it’s the voters,” said campaign spokeswoman Maria Sliwa. “Curtis is on a major party line just like Mamdani. If anything, Cuomo should drop out, not Curtis.” Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels crime-prevention group, has anchored his campaign on law and order and says he’ll stay in the race “to give Republicans a choice.” But the standoff is quickly becoming the campaign’s most volatile flashpoint. Ackman’s warning echoed Cuomo’s charge earlier Friday that Sliwa’s presence is splitting the anti-Mamdani vote and ensuring a socialist victory. “Curtis cannot win,” Cuomo said on WABC radio’s Sid & Friends in the Morning. “He was put on by the Republican county chairs because he’s a spoiler. They want Mamdani to win so they can say, ‘Look how crazy the Democrats have become — they elected a socialist who’s anti-cop, anti-business, antisemitic.’ It’ll help them politically, but it’ll kill the city.” Cuomo sharpened his attack by invoking Mamdani’s platform, warning that the 33-year-old assemblyman’s plans to “defund the police” and close Rikers Island without replacement jails would trigger “a mass exodus from this city.” Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, has already rattled the city’s political establishment with his surprise primary win over Cuomo and his rising appeal among progressive voters. If elected, he would become New York’s first Muslim mayor, and like the most left-wing leader ever to run the nation’s largest city. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is under fire after campaigning side by side with a Brooklyn imam once identified by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing — and who has a long record of inflammatory sermons calling for “jihad” in New York. Mamdani, a self-described socialist and left-wing Democrat, appeared beaming in a photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, posted to X after Friday prayers at Brooklyn’s Masjid At-Taqwa. Also pictured was Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan), a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five.” “Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj,” Mamdani wrote on social media, calling him “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders.” But Wahhaj, 75, is a deeply polarizing figure. He was named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing that killed six people and injured more than a thousand. He has also publicly defended some of the convicted plotters, calling the FBI and CIA the “real terrorists.” In sermons documented by U.S. intelligence agencies, Wahhaj called for an “army of 10,000 men” to wage a “gun-free jihad” on New York, saying, “Let them hear your voice… until the whole city can’t sleep.” “The fact that Mamdani stands with this imam is disqualifying,” said Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa. “New York needs a mayor who protects New Yorkers from terrorism, not embraces terrorists.” The imam’s controversies extend beyond rhetoric. Three of his children were convicted of running a terrorist training compound in New Mexico, where prosecutors said they trained minors to fight nonbelievers. Wahhaj has said he was the one who alerted police, but investigators believe his ideology shaped the cell’s extremist leanings. Wahhaj, who leads the Muslim Alliance in North America, has long served as a mentor to activist Linda Sarsour, one of Mamdani’s closest political allies and a prominent critic of Israel and U.S. counterterror policy. Security analysts say Mamdani’s appearance with Wahhaj raises troubling questions about the candidate’s political alliances. “The evidence demonstrates that Mamdani’s political trajectory has been reinforced by figures with documented extremist views,” an intelligence assessment noted, warning of “a direct national security threat to New York City.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
