The Admorim of Rachmastrivka, Skulen–Yerushalyim, and Zvhil participated in this evening’s protest outside Prison 10 where Yeshiva Bochurim are currently incarcerated due to IDF draft evasion.
President Donald Trump’stax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the richest, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Monday. The CBO estimates that the 10% of poorest Americans will lose roughly $1,200 a year as they experience restrictions on government programs like Medicaid and food assistance, while the richest 10% of Americans will see their income increase by $13,600 from tax cuts. Overall, American households will see more income from the tax cuts in the legislation, including middle income households, but the largest benefit will go to the top 10% of earners. The CBO’s report comes as lawmakers are away from Washington, many taking their messages about the bill to voters. Republicans muscled the legislation — deemed “the big, beautiful bill” by Trump — through Congress in July. Democrats all vehemently opposed the legislation, warning that its tax cuts and spending priorities would come at the expense of vital government aid programs and a ballooning national debt. “This really is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires, but for the poor and the working class in this country, you are actually poorer,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, in an MSNBC interview on Monday. Changes to eligibility for government food assistance under the law will impact millions of Americans, the CBO found. Roughly 2.4 million people won’t be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under new work requirements for many recipients. Low-income Americans could also see their income reduced through further restrictions on food aid and other types of assistance included in the law. Already, more than 10 million Americans are expected to lose health insurance by 2034 due to changes to Medicaid under the law. Following release of the report, Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he took issue with CBO’s methodology, repeating criticism he has made in the past. “CBO has a troubled track record of getting its estimates incorrect and, like Democrats, is biased in favor of more federal spending and higher taxes,” Smith said on social media. “Don’t buy it.” Republicans have been eager to sell the upsides of the legislation — arguing that the tax cuts will spur economic growth — while they are on a monthlong summer break from Washington. But those who have held townhalls in their home districts have often been greeted by an earful from voters and activists. “Tax the rich,” the crowd in Lincoln, Neb. chanted last week as Republican Rep. Michael Flood attempted to defend the bill. Still, Trump has been undeterred. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is putting America First like never before, delivering huge savings for hardworking families, boosting our economy, and securing our borders,” said White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson in a statement last week. (AP)
HaGaon Rabbi Yitzchak Kolodetzky, son-in-law of Sar HaTorah HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, delivers a passionate address at the mass protest outside Prison 10 where Yeshiva Bochurim are currently incarcerated due to IDF draft evasion.
Mexico expels 26 cartel figures wanted by US authorities in deal with Trump administration Mexico has expelled 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks sending drugs across the border, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The cartel leaders and other prominent figures were being flown from Mexico to the U.S. on Tuesday, the person said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation that was still ongoing. Those being handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation or CJNG. Another person, Roberto Salazar, is accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.
EPIC FAIL! In a scene that could have been ripped from a slapstick crime reel—if it weren’t so destructive—a Chareidi youth stormed into the “Sabaphone” cell phone store on Shmuel HaNavi Street Tuesday carrying a bucket of revolting, foul-smelling liquid. Security footage shows the young man brazenly dumping the noxious contents onto the shop floor and merchandise before his plan backfired—literally—when he slipped on the slime and crashed to the ground. Store employees quickly moved in, kicking him out of store as the stench filled the air and the damage piled up.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has revoked the EMT license plates from a vehicle bearing a large swastika and antisemitic graffiti, after a formal request from Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn). In a letter sent Tuesday to Yeger, DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said the agency was “appalled by the hate speech portrayed on the vehicle” and “abhors antisemitism in all its forms.” Schroeder confirmed that the DMV had issued the registrant a new set of standard, non-EMT plates. The action follows weeks of public outrage after photos circulated showing the car, marked with New York EMT plate number 544, covered in Nazi imagery in Closter, New Jersey. YWN sources identified the owner as John Kanjiram, a former EMT whose certification expired in 2015. In his initial letter earlier this month, Yeger pressed the DMV to investigate how someone without current EMT credentials could still retain specialty plates that might falsely imply emergency authority. “I’m sure there will be some free-speech nonsense about a vehicle owner’s ‘right’ to paint his vehicle any way he’d like, but I don’t believe he has the right to a New York EMT plate—particularly if he is not actually an EMT,” Yeger wrote. The DMV acted within three days, replacing the EMT plates with standard ones. “I deeply appreciate the quick action of DMV personnel, particularly Commissioner Mark Schroeder, to rectify what could have become a dangerous situation – a vehicle adorned with hate imagery while bearing the appearance of licensure as an emergency-use vehicle,” Yeger said. The controversy also drew condemnation from Closter officials. Mayor John C. Glidden Jr. and the Borough Council issued a statement denouncing “overt antisemitic expressions” and reaffirming the town’s commitment to diversity and tolerance. Yeger personally thanked the mayor for his response. “I am grateful to Mayor Glidden for immediately reassuring his neighbors that they have his support,” said Yeger. “It’s important for all to know that the swastika car’s owner vile hate has no place in Closter, or anywhere else.” Yeger emphasized that public vigilance was key to achieving the outcome. “Seeing something and saying something is what achieved this result. I appreciate all who took time to report this to the appropriate authorities. I continue to urge the local police and prosecutor’s office to look into whether crimes have been committed by the swastika car’s owner,” he said. While both Yeger and the DMV acknowledged that the First Amendment protects the display of hate symbols, they noted that law enforcement can and should act when public safety or registration rules are implicated. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The teenage gunman in the 2022 Robb Elementary School massacre entered school in Uvalde, Texas, as a bright learner before years of escalating academic and behavioral troubles that preceded him opening fire on a fourth-grade classroom, according to records released Monday. The school files reveal in greater detail 18-year-old Salvador Ramos’ downward spiral that authorities have well documented since the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers. One assessment shows Ramos described as a “motivated thinker and learner” in kindergarten, but by middle school, he was suspended or written up multiple times for harassment, bullying and failing to meet the minimum statewide testing standards. In October 2021 — seven months before the shooting — Ramos withdrew from high school because of “poor academic performance, lack of attendance” and records showed he had failing grades in nearly all classes. The records are among thousands of pages released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District following a yearslong legal battle to withhold documents connected to one of the deadliest classroom attacks in U.S. history. Many of the documents offer scant new revelations surrounding the attack and the gunman, whose troubled history has been laid out in previous state and federal investigations. Nor do the records — which do not include any video from the day of the shooting — shed light on the hesitant and widely criticized police response. The documents include the personnel file of former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo, one of two officers facing criminal charges over the slow law enforcement response, and emails to and from school administrators in the days and weeks after the attack. At 11:40 a.m. on the day of the shooting, Arredondo received a text from a school district secretary noting that another employee reported hearing gunfire outside the school. “They went ahead and locked themselves down,” the text to Arredondo read. Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales, another former Uvalde school district officer, are the only responding officers who face criminal charges for their actions that day. They both have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment and are scheduled for trial later this year. Media organizations, including The Associated Press, sued the district and county in 2022 for the release of their records related to the mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. A Texas appeals court in July upheld a lower court’s ruling that the records must be released. The records are not the public’s first glimpse inside one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings and the slow law enforcement response that has been widely condemned. Last year, city officials in Uvalde released police body cam videos and recordings of 911 calls. Shooter’s records Salvador Ramos’ academic records showed a student who as a kindergartener was described as “a remarkable little boy” who was a “very hard worker,” but he went on to be suspended multiple times in junior high and withdrew from high school because of “poor academic performance.” The records showed a student spiraling further into academic and behavioral problems, cut classes and confrontations with teachers through middle school. By ninth grade, he was classified as “at risk.” The records align with previous findings released by investigators, including a 2022 Texas House report that laid out how the gunman “turned down a dark path” after dropping out of school and became […]
Billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk says he plans to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app in its top recommended apps in its App Store. Musk posted the comments on X late Monday, saying, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.” Grok is owned by Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI. Musk went on to say that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.” He gave no further details. There was no immediate comment from Apple, which has faced various allegations of antitrust violations in recent years. A federal judge recently found that Apple violated a court injunction in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games. Regulators of the 27-nation European Union fined Apple 500 million euros in April for breaking competition rules by preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store. Last year, the EU fined the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for unfairly favoring its own music streaming service by forbidding rivals like Spotify from telling users how they could pay for cheaper subscriptions outside of iPhone apps. As of early Tuesday, the top app in Apple’s App Store was TikTok, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube and Bumble. Open AI’s ChatGPT was ranked 7th. (AP)
A longtime Democratic intelligence committee staffer repeatedly warned the FBI over the course of six years that then–Rep. Adam Schiff authorized the leaking of classified material to damage Donald Trump during the now-debunked Trump–Russia collusion probe, according to newly disclosed FBI interview reports obtained by Just the News. The whistleblower — a career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than a decade — told federal agents in multiple interviews, starting in 2017, that Schiff personally convened staff meetings to greenlight leaks of classified information “derogatory” to Trump. In one meeting, according to a May 2023 interview, Schiff allegedly told his team the material would be used “to indict President Trump.” The staffer, who described himself as a friend to both Schiff and former Republican Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, warned the leaks were “unethical,” “illegal,” and “treasonous.” He said Schiff dismissed the concerns, suggesting he would be protected under the Constitution’s speech and debate clause — a position the Department of Justice ultimately cited when declining to investigate. No official legal opinion has been made public supporting that interpretation. The whistleblower’s warnings, documented in at least six FBI interviews, reveal a calculated strategy by senior Democratic staff to weaponize classified information to drive media narratives and “topple the administration.” FBI memos describe him detailing a “systematic process” in which staff prepared notes for Schiff, who then decided what to leak. The claims go beyond Schiff. The whistleblower accused Rep. Eric Swalwell (D–Calif.) of having “a reputation for leaking classified information” and suggested Swalwell was involved in at least one high-profile disclosure. He also alleged that targeting Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was an explicit committee priority. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, DOJ prosecutors repeatedly declined to move forward, citing constitutional immunity for members of Congress. Some of the officials who made those decisions remain in senior posts, according to Just the News. The revelations arrive at a politically fraught moment for Schiff, now a U.S. senator, who is already facing a Justice Department referral for possible mortgage fraud. They also rekindle scrutiny of his central role in promoting the discredited Steele dossier and pushing false public claims of “ample evidence” of Trump–Russia collusion — claims later discredited by Special Counsel John Durham and the DOJ Inspector General. FBI Director Kash Patel, who has provided the memos to Congress, accused Schiff and others of “weaponizing intelligence and law enforcement for political gain,” warning that such conduct “eroded public trust in our institutions.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
President Donald Trump extended a trade truce with China for another 90 days Monday, at least delaying once again a dangerous showdown between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive order for the extension, and that “all other elements of the Agreement will remain the same.” Beijing at the same time also announced the extension of the tariff pause, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The previous deadline was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Had that happened the U.S. could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30%, and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on U.S. exports to China. The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the U.S. companies doing business with China. Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the extension is “critical” to give the two governments time to negotiate a trade agreement that U.S. businesses hope would improve their market access in China and provide the certainty needed for companies to make medium- and long-term plans. “Securing an agreement on fentanyl that leads to a reduction in U.S. tariffs and a rollback of China’s retaliatory measures is acutely needed to restart U.S. agriculture and energy exports,” Stein said. China said Tuesday it would extend relief to American companies who were placed on an export control list and an unreliable entities list. After Trump initially announced tariffs in April, China restricted exports of dual-use goods to some American companies, while banning others from trading or investing in China. The Ministry of Commerce said it would stop those restrictions for some companies, while giving others another 90-day extension. Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Trump, who has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every country on earth. The European Union, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Trump, accepting once unthinkably U.S. high tariffs (15% on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off something worse. Trump’s trade policies have turned the United States from one of the most open economies in the world into a protectionist fortress. The average U.S. tariff has gone from around 2.5% at the start of the year to 18.6%, highest since 1933, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. But China tested the limits of a U.S. trade policy built around using tariffs as a cudgel to beat concessions out of trading partners. Beijing had a cudgel of its own: cutting off or slowing access to its rare earths minerals and magnets – used in everything from electric vehicles to jet engines. In June, the two countries reached an agreement to ease tensions. The United States said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production. And China agreed to make it easier for U.S. firms to get access to rare earths. “The U.S. has realized it does not have the upper hand,’’ said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant […]
The Hirschman family is facing a moment of both great joy and overwhelming challenge. Their daughter’s wedding is fast approaching, yet the weight of years of severe medical hardship has left them emotionally and financially drained.
Pakistani officials on Tuesday welcomed a move by the U.S. State Department to designate a Pakistani separatist group as a foreign terrorist organization. The designation of the Balochistan Liberation Army and its fighting wing, the Majeed Brigade, blamed for deadly attacks in Balochistan province, coincides with a visit to the U.S. by Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Washington and Islamabad reached a trade agreement expected to allow U.S. firms to help develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves in resource-rich Balochistan and lower trade tariffs for Islamabad. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the designation Tuesday, noting that the BLA was banned at home in 2024. “Pakistan remains a steadfast bulwark against terrorism. Our sacrifices have secured critical counterterrorism successes, not only for the country, but for regional stability and global security,” it said in a statement. The BLA was first designated as a terrorist group in 2019 by the U.S. Treasury Department after several attacks. The State Department said its new designation was added because the group has since claimed responsibility for additional attacks. The new designation means the BLA is now considered a foreign terrorist organization and its supporters will face tougher scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, analysts said. The BLA claimed responsibility for suicide bombings near the airport in Karachi and in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan in 2024, the U.S. statement said. It added that the group said it carried out the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding more than 300 passengers hostage. “Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump administration’s commitment to countering terrorism,” the statement said. Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said the designation of the BLA and its Majeed Brigade fighting wing follows Munir’s visits to the U.S. The designation “indicates a major policy shift by the Trump administration toward South Asia, highlighting the growing role of military diplomacy, deepening bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism, and showing that Washington shares Pakistan’s security concerns about Baloch insurgents,” Ali said. The change also shows the U.S. values stability in Pakistan and its oil- and gas-rich Balochistan province, he said. There was no immediate comment from Balochistan nationalists and separatist groups. Balochistan has long been the scene of insurgency, mostly blamed on groups including the key outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 2019. The province is also home to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban. Separatists in Balochistan have opposed the extraction of resources by Pakistani and foreign firms and have targeted Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals working on multibillion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. While Pakistan’s government says it has quelled insurgency, violence persists in Balochistan, where troops last week killed 47 insurgents in two separate operations in the Zhob district. The military said Tuesday it killed three additional insurgents in Zhob, raising the number of militants killed to 50 since Thursday. An explosion on Tuesday ripped through an arms depot in Nowshera, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, residents said. There was no immediate statement from police or the military, but authorities were expected to release a statement. (AP)
TRAGEDY: A tragic accident occurred near the Ganot Interchange on Tuesday afternoon in which Rachamim Eliyahu Elnatan, z’l, 20, was killed. The niftar, who got married only several months ago, was the son of Rabbi Natan Elnatan of Shas, formerly the Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv and currently the Chairman of the National Planning Headquarters in the Ministry of Interior. He is survived by his wife, his parents, and seven siblings. This is a difficult tragedy for the Elnatan family, as this is the second son who was killed in an accident.
In a scene that could have been ripped from a slapstick crime reel—if it weren’t so destructive—a Chareidi youth stormed into the “Sabaphone” cell phone store on Shmuel HaNavi Street Tuesday carrying a bucket of revolting, foul-smelling liquid. Security footage shows the young man brazenly dumping the noxious contents onto the shop floor and merchandise before his plan backfired—literally—when he slipped on the slime and crashed to the ground. Store employees quickly moved in, kicking him out of store as the stench filled the air and the damage piled up. The liquid seeped into electronics and accessories, causing thousands of shekels’ worth of destruction. Business owners say this wasn’t a random act of vandalism. According to multiple sources, the youth was carrying out orders from extremists waging a guerrilla campaign to shut down cell phone stores in Chareidi neighborhoods. Merchants say the attacks are becoming more frequent, more brazen, and more costly—while police enforcement remains virtually invisible. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A tragic accident occurred near the Ganot Interchange on Tuesday afternoon in which Rachamim Eliyahu Elnatan, z’l, 20, was killed. The niftar, who got married only several months ago, was the son of Rabbi Natan Elnatan of Shas, formerly the Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv and currently the Chairman of the National Planning Headquarters in the Ministry of Interior. He is survived by his wife, his parents, and seven siblings. This is a difficult tragedy for the Elnatan family, as this is the second son who was killed in an accident. The severe accident occurred at 3:50 PM when a report was received at Magen David Adom’s (MDA) 101 hotline about a motorcyclist who was hit at the Ganot Interchange on the exit from Highway 1 towards Highway 4 north. MDA paramedics and medics who arrived at the scene found him lying unconscious with very severe injuries and were forced to pronounce his death at the scene. ZAKA Tel Aviv volunteers Shlomi Paz from the motorcycle unit and Shai Mizrachi, the ambulance driver, said: “We were dispatched to Highway 1 near Ganot following a report of a motorcyclist, about 20 years old, who hit a fence and flew dozens of meters from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. This is a very difficult scene with weather conditions [severe heat] that make it difficult for us to uphold kavod hameis. With the help of additional volunteers, we are maintaining kavod hameis and collecting the many findings left at the scene. The body will be transferred for further treatment and clarification at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
YouTube on Wednesday will begin testing a new age-verification system in the U.S. that relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors, based on the kinds of videos that they have been watching. The tests initially will only affect a sliver of YouTube’s audience in the U.S., but it will likely become more pervasive if the system works as well at guessing viewers’ ages as it does in other parts of the world. The system will only work when viewers are logged into their accounts, and it will make its age assessments regardless of the birth date a user might have entered upon signing up. If the system flags a logged-in viewer as being under 18, YouTube will impose the normal controls and restrictions that the site already uses as a way to prevent minors from watching videos and engaging in other behavior deemed inappropriate for that age. The safeguards include reminders to take a break from the screen, privacy warnings and restrictions on video recommendations. YouTube, which has been owned by Google for nearly 20 years, also doesn’t show ads tailored to individual tastes if a viewer is under 18. If the system has inaccurately called out a viewer as a minor, the mistake can be corrected by showing YouTube a government-issued identification card, a credit card or a selfie. “YouTube was one of the first platforms to offer experiences designed specifically for young people, and we’re proud to again be at the forefront of introducing technology that allows us to deliver safety protections while preserving teen privacy,” James Beser, the video service’s director of product management, wrote in a blog post about the age-verification system. People still will be able to watch YouTube videos without logging into an account, but viewing that way triggers an automatic block on some content without proof of age. The political pressure has been building on websites to do a better job of verifying ages to shield children from inappropriate content since late June when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law aimed at preventing minors from watching pornography online. While some services, such as YouTube, have been stepping up their efforts to verify users’ ages, others have contended that the responsibility should primarily fall upon the two main smartphone app stores run by Apple and Google — a position that those two technology powerhouses have resisted. Some digital rights groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy & Technology, have raised concerns that age verification could infringe on personal privacy and violate First Amendment protections on free speech. (AP)
