Israeli police arrested a man from Kiryat Gat after he walked into a station on Rosh Hashanah and announced he planned to buy a gun and assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Officers immediately detained him, and his arrest has since been extended. The incident comes just weeks after a woman in her 70s was indicted for plotting to kill Netanyahu with an anti-tank weapon.
Hassan Chokr, a Dearborn, Michigan resident, has been sentenced to 34 months in prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing guns as a felon and making antisemitic threats outside a Jewish preschool. Prosecutors said his threats and weapons showed a clear intent to carry out violence. “Chokr’s sickening antisemitic threats and his apparent attempt to make good on them with guns are part of an alarming pattern of violence against believers,” said interim U.S. Attorney Jerome Gordon Jr., vowing to protect Americans’ right to worship without fear.
Even for an agency accustomed to criticism, this summer’s debate over Republicans’ big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts was a harsh one for the Congressional Budget Office. “Notorious for getting it wrong,” was the judgment of Speaker Mike Johnson. “Making the same mistakes,” was the refrain from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. And President Donald Trump dismissed the CBO as “very hostile.” For CBO Director Phillip Swagel, the “incoming fire,” as he calls it, is simply part of the job. “We’re just trying to get it right and inform the Congress and the country,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “There’s no agenda here.” Tasked with producing nonpartisan analysis for Congress, it’s up to Swagel and expert staffers at the CBO to assess the impact of legislation on economic growth and the nation’s finances — producing “scores,” in the parlance of Washington, that often reverberate across the dominant political debates of the day. Both major political parties often dispute the agency’s findings, particularly when their top priorities are at stake. “Sometimes it’s noise, sometimes it’s not. But we just tune it out. Here we do our work,” Swagel said. “The thing that I do care about a lot is to make sure our work is accurate.” It’s a low-key approach Swagel has maintained at the CBO since 2019, when congressional leaders appointed him the director after stints in both Republican and Democratic administrations. An economist by trade, Swagel brings an inquisitive and genial approach to the job, his knowledge of government forged by work at the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund. “The challenge of doing analysis now,” Swagel said, “is the changes we’re seeing in our economy are really large.” From the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, to the unprecedented implementation of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, to massive tax and spending cuts passed into law this summer, assessing the trajectory of the U.S. economy has grown more difficult. Swagel recently sat down with the AP to talk at length about analyses from his agency, the future of the nation’s entitlement programs and the pressure to remain unbiased when data itself is at risk of being politicized. How Trump’s tariffs are upending economic models Trump’s sweeping tariffs plan has posed challenges to the CBO’s standard models for assessing trade. The baseline tariffs on all countries and higher rates on Trump’s “worst offenders” list are different from what “we’ve seen in more than 100 years,” Swagel said. It’s a dramatic shift away from the low-tariff era that has existed since World War II. “We’re going to be looking carefully to see if those models still apply, or if tariffs that are this large, do those have effects that we just haven’t counted on?” he said. So far, the CBO estimates the tariffs could reduce the national deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade, helping to offset the deficit increases it projects will result from the Republicans’ big bill passed this year. “It’s a huge impact,” Swagel said. The CBO also anticipates Trump’s tariffs will cause roughly two years of elevated inflation, Swagel said, causing price increases for businesses and customers. But he says those effects will be temporary. “As the tariffs go up and the prices go up with the […]
The 2025 New Jersey governor’s race is neck-and-neck, with a new Emerson poll finding Mikie Sherrill (D) and Jack Ciattarelli (R) tied at 43% each, and 11% of voters still undecided.
After 43 hours trapped, 23 miners were rescued Wednesday from the collapsed La Reliquia gold mine in northern Colombia, where a geomechanical failure caused the cave-in.
U.S. jobless claims fell to 218,000 last week, the lowest in two months and well below forecasts, showing layoffs remain low. But other data paints a weaker picture: August saw just 22,000 new jobs, job openings hit their lowest since 2021, and revisions show nearly 1M fewer jobs were added in the past year than first reported. The Fed, worried about slowing hiring, cut rates last week to boost growth — though inflation remains above target.
Over two dozen masked robbers stormed Heller Jewelers in San Ramon, California, stealing an estimated $1M in merchandise. Armed with guns, crowbars & pickaxes, the suspects smashed display cases—only to get trapped inside when new security doors locked. They fired shots to break out before fleeing in six cars. Police, aided by drones & surveillance, arrested 7 suspects (ages 17–31, all from Oakland) but say others remain at large and may be tied to a larger theft ring.
Starbucks is closing hundreds of U.S. & Canadian stores and cutting 900 corporate jobs as part of a $1B restructuring plan. The chain expects to end the fiscal year with 18,300 North American locations — 124 fewer than last year — with closures starting immediately.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned world leaders at the U.N. that we’re in “the most destructive arms race in human history,” urging action to stop Putin before Russia’s war spreads further in Europe. He said weak institutions have failed to halt wars from Ukraine to Gaza, and that “weapons decide who survives.” Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. and Europe for support, stressing that stopping Russia now is “cheaper than catastrophe later.” He also called for urgent global rules on AI weapons as drones reshape modern warfare.
The Justice Dept. is preparing to seek an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, accused of lying to Congress about the Trump-Russia probe. The 5-year deadline to bring charges expires next week. If indicted, Comey would be the first senior official charged in connection to Trump’s long-running grievances over the Russia investigation.
The White House is warning federal agencies to prepare for mass firings, not just furloughs, if the gov’t shuts down next week, as Republicans and Democrats bicker over health care and spending. A White House memo says jobs tied to lapsed funding and “not consistent with the President’s priorities” could be permanently cut — a sharp break from past shutdowns. Dem leaders Schumer & Jeffries blasted the move as intimidation, vowing not to cave.
Merriam-Webster is rolling out the 12th edition of its Collegiate Dictionary on Nov. 18 — the first full overhaul in 22 years. It adds 5,000+ words including “petrichor,” “teraflop,” “dumbphone,” “ghost kitchen,” “cold brew,” “farm-to-table,” “adulting,” “cancel culture,” “beast mode,” “doomscroll,” “WFH,” and “side-eye.” Print dictionary sales may be down, but M-W says the new edition is designed to be fun, practical, and beautiful — proof that dictionaries aren’t dead yet.
Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination chief, Wafiq Safa, arrived in Beirut’s Raoucheh district to take part in the anniversary commemorations of Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy tied to alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 campaign. In a surprise move, the court ruled Sarkozy will be incarcerated even if he appeals, though the date is not yet set. Sarkozy, 70, called the verdict “a scandal” and vowed to fight it, saying the ruling humiliates France.
NORAD says U.S. fighter jets intercepted 4 Russian warplanes near Alaska on Wednesday — the 3rd such incident in a month and the 9th this year. The aircraft, 2 Tu-95 bombers and 2 Su-35 fighters, stayed in international airspace but were tracked and identified by 9 U.S. aircraft, including 4 F-16s.
A massive sinkhole roughly 165 feet deep and spanning nearly 10,000 square feet opened near Vajira Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. The collapse swallowed cars and electricity poles, shocking commuters and bringing traffic in the busy area to a complete standstill.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: “The Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine… We are ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there.”
The IDF announced on Thursday morning that an IDF soldier was killed by a Hamas sniper in Gaza City on Wednesday. He was identified as Staff Sgt. Chalachew Shimon Demalash, H’yd, 21, from Be’er Sheva. He served in the Nachal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion and was shot by a sniper while serving on guard duty. He is the second IDF fatality since the IDF launched Operation Gidoen’s Chariots B in Gaza City. Hashem Yikam Damo. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
