POTUS: “We have to stop the drugs from coming into our country and killing our people. We lose, in my opinion, 300,000+ a year to fentanyl… So when you feel badly for somebody that gets blown away, you have to remember they’re killing thousands of people.”
Trump on Charlie Kirk: “You talk about the great things he has done. I mean, he has been amazing. He’s had a tremendous influence for a young man… He had a hold on youth because they loved him. They respected him.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid slams the UK, France, and Canada recognizing a Palestinian as a “bad step and a reward for terrorism,” adding that “a functioning Israeli government could have prevented this.”
Thousands are already waiting hours before doors open at State Farm Stadium, with officials estimating up to 300,000 people could attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral today.
The IDF has deployed its 36th Division to Gaza City as its offensive against Hamas, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots B,” expands; the ground operation began last Monday with two divisions, and after two weeks of preparation following its withdrawal from Khan Younis, the 36th Division entered the city following strikes on dozens of targets in recent days.
The crisis surrounding the conscription of bnei yeshivos is deepening, with dozens of aveichim and bochurim arrested in recent days and transferred to military police. On Sunday, the traffic police in Kiryat Ata detained a Chareidi man on Sunday and called the military police to the scene. He was arrested and transferred to prison. Channel 12 News reported that Chareidi protesters were called to the area, but the military police managed to drive away from the station before they arrived. As of Sunday, the day before Rosh Hashanah, about 100 bnei yeshivos are behind bars. Many of them are avreichim—including a chassan arrested during his Sheva Brachos—and they will be forced to spend Rosh Hashanah away from their families. Meanwhile, the UK, Canada announced their unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday at the UN General Assembly in New York. HaGaon HaRav Moshe Maya, a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, connected the political tsunami unleashed against Israel to a loss of Siyata Dishmaya caused by its unprecedented battle against lomdei Torah. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney welcomed children, students, and families from Gaza who arrived seeking medical care, affirming that “Scotland stands with the people of Palestine.”
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers pushed for more military-to-military dialogue in a meeting Sunday with China’s Premier Li Qiang, a rare congressional visit since the U.S.-China relations soured. The last trip by a group of senators was in 2023, and Sunday’s delegation was the first from the House of Representatives to visit Beijing since 2019. Li welcomed the delegates led by Rep. Adam Smith and called it an “icebreaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries.” “It is important for our two countries to have more exchanges and cooperation, this is not only good for our two countries but also of great significance to the world,” Li said. Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said both sides were in agreement on the overarching aim of the visit. “Certainly, trade and economy is on the top of the list … (but also) we’re very focused on our military-to-military conversations,” he said in opening remarks. “As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m deeply concerned that our two militaries don’t communicate more.” The delegation also included Michael Baumgartner, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, both Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers are in China until Thursday. U.S.-China relations have taken a downturn since President Donald Trump’s first term and have been hobbled by trade tensions, the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, Beijing’s support for Russia and China’s vast claims in the disputed South China Sea. “China and the U.S. are the two most powerful and influential countries in the world, it’s really important that we get along, and we find a way to peacefully coexist in the world,” Smith said. “I really welcome your remarks about wanting to build and strengthen that relationship.” Trump said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a regional summit taking place at the end of October in South Korea and will visit China in the “early part of next year,” following a lengthy phone call between the two on Friday. (AP)
The Trump administration is ending the federal government’s annual report on hunger in America, stating that it had become “overly politicized” and “rife with inaccuracies.” The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the poor. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the tax and spending cuts bill Republicans muscled through Congress in July means 3 million people would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. The decision to scrap the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Report was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. In a press release Saturday, the USDA said the 2024 report, to be released Oct. 22, would be the last. “The questions used to collect the data are entirely subjective and do not present an accurate picture of actual food security,” the USDA said. ”The data is rife with inaccuracies slanted to create a narrative that is not representative of what is actually happening in the countryside as we are currently experiencing lower poverty rates, increasing wages, and job growth under the Trump Administration.” The Census Bureau reported earlier this month that the U.S. poverty rate dipped from 11% in 2023 to 10.6% last year, before Trump took office. Critics were quick to accuse the administration of deliberately making it harder to measure hunger and assess the impact of its cuts to food stamps. “Trump is cancelling an annual government survey that measures hunger in America, rather than allow it to show hunger increasing under his tenure,” Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said on social media. “This follows the playbook of many non-democracies that cancel or manipulate reports that would otherwise show less-than-perfect news.” (AP)
The Taliban government on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to retake Bagram Air Base, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left the sprawling military facility in the Taliban hands. It is unclear what conversations the U.S. has had with Afghan officials about returning to the country. But Trump hinted that the Taliban, who have struggled with an economic crisis, international legitimacy, internal rifts and rival militant groups since their return to power in 2021, could be open to allowing the U.S. military back. The chief Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, rejected Trump’s assertions and urged the U.S. to adopt a policy of “realism and rationality.” Afghanistan had an economy-oriented foreign policy and sought constructive relations with all states on the basis of mutual and shared interests, Mujahid posted on X. It had been consistently communicated to the U.S. in all bilateral negotiations that Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity were of the utmost importance, he said. “It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that ‘it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs,’” he said. The U.S. needed to remain faithful to its commitments, he added. Mujahid did not reply to questions from The Associated Press about conversations with the Trump administration regarding Bagram and why Trump believed the U.S. could retake it. In August last year, the Taliban celebrated the third anniversary of their takeover at Bagram with a grand military display of abandoned U.S. hardware, catching the eye of the White House. Trump has repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for his “gross incompetence” during the withdrawal of U.S. forces after the country’s longest war. (AP)
Several French mayors plan to fly Palestinian flags on town halls in defiance of government orders, as France prepares to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly. It’s unclear how many cities will join the initiative on Monday after Socialist leader Olivier Faure’s call to fly the flags, despite warnings from the Interior Ministry against such displays in a country with both Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations. But the call has been gaining momentum as Palestinian flags have been more and more visible in France over the nearly two-year war in Gaza. Palestinian banners were on display in demonstrations this week during a big day of protests across the country that criticized several polices by French President Emmanuel Macron and his government. The war in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict are expected to be at the top of the agenda of world leaders at their annual gathering at the U.N. General Assembly starting Monday. The Palestinians had said they hope at least 10 more countries will recognize the state of Palestine, adding to the more than 145 countries that already do. Mathieu Hanotin, the mayor of Saint-Denis, the Paris suburb hosting the national soccer stadium, said he will fly the Palestinian flag from the city town hall in a solidarity gesture with the Palestinian people. In western France, the city of Nantes also plans to raise the Palestinian flag on the city hall building, Mayor Johanna Rolland, a Socialist, told France information “For municipalities that wish to join, through a symbolic gesture, France’s recognition of the state of Palestine, I believe it makes sense. I will do so without hesitation,” she said. In a note sent to the State’s representative in regions, France’s Interior Ministry instructed them to oppose the display of Palestinian flags on town halls and other public buildings, citing the risks of importing an ongoing international conflict onto national territory. “The principle of neutrality in public service prohibits such displays,” the Interior Ministry said, adding that any decisions by mayors to fly the Palestinian flag should be referred to administrative courts. “The front of a town hall is not a billboard. Only the tricolor flag — our colors, our values — has the right to be represented in what remains, for us, a common home,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday. Ian Brossat, a spokesman for the French Communist Party, accused Retailleau of contradicting France’s official position. “The interior minister disagrees with French diplomacy. He does not support the recognition of a Palestinian state, unlike the president,” Brossat told BFM TV. “By asserting his personal beliefs instead of upholding the position of the French Republic, which is to recognize a Palestinian state, he is taking France and its diplomacy hostage.” In June, Nice city mayor Christian Estrosi, who had put on display Israeli flags on the Riviera city’s town hall to show his support for hostages held by Hamas, was forced by a court decision to remove them. The Socialist mayor of Paris suburb Saint-Ouen, Karim Bouamrane, said he would display both the Israeli and Palestinian flags on the facade of his town hall in a bid to carry a message of peace. “We are one community, the republican community,” he told RMC radio. “The community I stand for is […]
As so-called “civilized” Western nations, including the UK and Australia, prepare to publicly support terror by announcing the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in New York on Sunday, a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah in Jerusalem said that the persecution of Israel is a result of its war against Bnei Torah. “We must open our eyes,” said HaGaon HaRav Moshe Maya in a conversation with Radio Kol Baramah. “Until now we had tremendous yeshuos with Hezbollah and Iran. Even the IDF Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister, who at first were not so well-regarded, had extraordinary Siyata Dishmaya—all this was until they arrested one ben yeshivah.” “From the moment they arrested one ben yeshiva, a political tsunami was unleashed against Israel. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is saying to them: If you don’t want the Siyata Dishmaya of the Torah, I’ll sit on the side and you’ll manage.” “The nations of the world are afraid when there is Torah in Israel,” HaRav Maya emphasized. HaRav Maya also addressed the issue of the conscription of Lomdei Torah for a Milchemet Mitzva and determined that it is forbidden even in such a case. He called for an emergency meeting of the Moetzet and other Moetzos with the aim of issuing an unequivocal decision stating that “it is forbidden to violate Din Torah, and bnei yeshivos must not be touched.” HaRav Maya added, “The first principle that I stand on is that Bnei Torah are exempt. That’s what the Rambam says, and no one disputes him. This is also said about a Milchemet Mitzva.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill that was signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and swiftly denounced by Trump administration officials. The ban is a direct response to recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted days of protest and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the area. Newsom said at a news conference in Los Angeles, where he signed the bill flanked by state lawmakers, education leaders and immigrant community members, that California is unique in that 27% of its residents are foreign born. “We celebrate that diversity. It’s what makes California great. It’s what makes America great. It is under assault,” he said. The Democratic governor said the state is pushing back against the practice of masked agents without identification or badge numbers detaining people on the streets. “The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying,” Newsom said. “It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing. No due process, no rights, no right in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to stand up and push back, and that’s what we’re doing here today.” But it’s unclear how — or whether — the state can enforce the ban on federal agents. Trump administration officials have defended use of masks, saying immigration agents face strident and increasing harassment in public and online as they carry out enforcement in service of Trump’s drive toward mass deportation. Obscuring their identities is necessary for the safety of the agents and their families, officials contend. Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney for Southern California, said on the social platform X that the state does not have jurisdiction over the federal government and he has told agencies the mask ban has no effect on their operations. “Our agents will continue to protect their identities,” he said. Essayli also criticized Newsom’s comment on X saying Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was “going to have a bad day today,” adding that there is zero tolerance for “direct or implicit threats against government officials.” He referred the matter to the Secret Service, which said in a statement, also on X, that it could not comment on the specific case but must investigate any potential threat. DHS official criticizes California law Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, called it “despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers.” “While our federal law enforcement officers are being assaulted by rioters and having rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at them, a sanctuary politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers,” she said via email. The men and women of federal immigration agencies put their lives on the line to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens, she said, and rhetoric like Newsom’s has contributed to a surge in assaults. Newsom countered that concerns about doxing agents, or publishing their personal information online, are unfounded and unproven. “There’s an assertion that somehow there is an exponential increase in assaults on officers, but they will not […]
President Donald Trump’s latest plan to overhaul the American immigration system has left some immigrant workers confused, forcing the White House on Saturday to scramble to clarify that a new $100,000 fee on visas for skilled tech workers only applies to new applicants and not to current visa holders. The president on Friday, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by his side, signed a proclamation that will require the new fee for what are known as H-1B visas — meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find hard to fill. “Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a posting on X. “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders.” The fee takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday. It is scheduled to expire after a year. But it could be extended if the government determines that is in the interest of the United States to keep it. The White House in a social media post also sought to make clear the new rule “does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the U.S.” But immigration attorneys said that the White House move threatened to upend the lives of many skilled workers and has far-reaching impact on American business. Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney with Dickinson Wright based in El Paso, Texas, said in a posting on LinkedIn that the White House move “inserts total chaos in existing H-1B process with basically a day’s notice.” Lutnick on Friday told reporters that the fee would be an annual cost for companies. But a White House official said Saturday that it’s a “one-time fee.” Asked if Lutnick’s comments sowed confusion, the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the new fee “currently does not apply to renewals but that policy is under discussion.” Meanwhile, India’s government expressed concern Saturday that the Trump administration move would dramatically raise the fee for visas that bring tech workers from there and other countries to the United States. Trump also rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa for wealthy individuals. The moves face near-certain legal challenges amid widespread criticism he is sidestepping Congress. To be certain, if the moves survive legal muster, they will deliver staggering price increases. The visa fee for skilled workers would jump from $215. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Saturday that Trump’s plan “was being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry.″ The ministry warned that ”this measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families. Government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the U.S. authorities.″ More than 70% of H-1B visa holders are from India. Critics say the H-1B visas undercut American workers H-1B visas, which require at least a bachelor’s degree, are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill. Critics say the program undercuts American workers, luring people from overseas who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually. That is well below the $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers. Trump on Friday insisted that the tech industry would not […]
Sirens blared in Ashdod and Ashkelon and surrounding areas on Sunday morning after the Hamas terror group in northern Gaza fired two rockets at southern Israel, the first rocket fire at the area since early April. B’Chasdei Hashem, there were no injuries or damage. The IDF reported that one rocket was intercepted and the second exploded in an open area. Police said there were reports of rocket shrapnel in the Lachish region. “We call on residents to follow instructions, avoid approaching the scene, refrain from touching rocket parts that may contain explosives, and immediately report them to the 100 emergency hotline,” a police spokesperson stated. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The rockets were fired from the Jabalia area on the outskirts of Gaza City, where the IDF is currently operating as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots B. On April 6th, Hamas fired about 10 rockets at Ashdod and Ashkelon from Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. One of the rockets fell in the heart of a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon, causing heavy damage. At least 27 people were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital, including seven people injured by shrapnel, several people injured while running to shelters, and 17 people suffering from shock. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
