California asks judge to quickly block Trump troop deployments to LA California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a federal judge to quickly block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles. Trump had authorized the deployment to protect government personnel and property during protests in California against federal immigration enforcement actions. Newsom’s lawsuit against Trump argues that the federal actions promote civil unrest.
MOMENTS FROM DISASTER: Dashcam footage captures a terrifying scene on New County Road Tuesday afternoon, as a vehicle swerves into oncoming traffic while trying to overtake a slower car—nearly causing a deadly head-on collision. Drive smart. Stay alert. Stay alive.
Despite a police and Shin Bet gag order on the investigation and arrest of a suspect who damaged and set fire to Rav Yitzhak Yosef’s shul in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, some details have emerged. The suspect, from a chareidi family with rabbinic ties, is believed to have been working for the Iranian government, possibly unknowingly. The Shin Bet suspects others are involved, but the individual has refused to provide additional information. Sources tell YWN it’s possible he was unaware of his Iranian ties. As YWN has reported, numerous arrests have occurred in recent months of individuals unknowingly paid by Iran to commit vandalism, including starting fires, spray-painting graffiti, photographing specific targets, and other disruptive acts. Sources indicate the Iranians may be attempting to sow discord between Israel’s right and left. Given Rav Yosef’s outspoken opposition to chareidim joining the IDF and the draft law, the Iranians reportedly aimed to incite the right to blame the left for this attack. As YWN had reported, an arsonist broke into the shul of the former Rishon L’Tzion, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, on Rechov Yam Suf in the Sanhedria Murchevet neighborhood of Jerusalem and set it on fire in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning. Security camera footage shows the arsonist entering the Ohr Chaviv shul around 3 a.m., approaching the Aron Kodesh and setting it on fire. A nearby residential apartment building was found vandalized with graffiti, including crosses and other Christian symbols, and it is suspected that the arsonist carried out the vandalism before setting fire to the shul. The fire caused extensive damage to the shul, HaRav Yosef’s office and his magnificent chair, as well as his sefarim and those of his illustrious father, HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef, z’tl. [EXPLOITING CHILDREN: 13-Year-Old Israeli Arrested For Acting For Iran] [From Beis Medrash to Espionage: Vizhnitz Avreich Arrested By Shin Bet In Iranian Spy Plot] [SHOCK IN BEIT SHEMESH: Chassid Arrested For Allegedly Spying For Iran] [AGAIN: Jerusalem Resident Is Arrested For Spying For Iran] [Arab Arrested After Spying On The Kosel, Machane Yehuda Shuk On Behalf Of Iran] [2 IDF Soldiers Arrested For Spying; 1 Gave Iran Classified Info About Iron Dome] [Seven Israelis Arrested For Allegedly Spying For Iran, Collecting Info On Targeted IDF Bases] [Two Israelis Arrested for Spying for Iran, Placing Cameras Near Defense Minister’s Home] (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was met with sharp questions and criticism Tuesday by lawmakers who demanded details on his move to deploy troops to Los Angeles, and they expressed bipartisan frustration that Congress has not yet gotten a full defense budget from the Trump administration. “Your tenure as secretary has been marked by endless chaos,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told Hegseth. Others, including Republican leaders, warned that massive spending projects such as President Donald Trump’s desire for a $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense system will get broad congressional scrutiny. The troop deployment triggered several fiery exchanges that at times devolved into shouting matches as House committee members and Hegseth yelled over one another. After persistent questioning about the cost of sending National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said it would cost $134 million. Hegseth defended Trump’s decision to send the troops, saying they are needed to protect federal agents as they do their jobs. And he suggested that the use of troops inside the United States will continue to expand. “I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,” he said. The hearing before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee was the first time lawmakers have been able to challenge Trump’s defense chief since he was confirmed. It is the first of three congressional hearings he will face this week. Lawmakers take aim at Pentagon’s planned spending Lawmakers complained widely that Congress hasn’t yet gotten details of the administration’s first proposed defense budget, which Trump has said would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion. And they said they are unhappy with the administration’s efforts to go around Congress to push through changes. Spending issues that have raised questions in recent weeks include plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security upgrades to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One and to pour as much as $45 million into a parade recently added to the Army’s 250th birthday bash, which coincides with Trump’s birthday Saturday. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., quizzed Hegseth on the deployment of about 700 Marines to assist more than 4,100 National Guard troops in protecting federal buildings and personnel in LA. She got into a testy back-and-forth with him over the costs of the operation. He evaded the questions but later turned to MacDonnell, who provided the estimate and said it covers the costs of travel, housing and food. Hegseth said the 60-day deployment of troops is needed “because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we’re not going anywhere.” Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops are prohibited from policing U.S. citizens on American soil. Invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to do that, is incredibly rare, but Trump has left open the possibility. “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Asked how he would determine whether the unrest amounted to an insurrection, Trump offered little clarity. ”I mean, I could tell you there were certain areas of […]
Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer submitted a request to the Israel Police on Tuesday to launch a criminal investigation against Shikma Bressler, one of the leaders of the pre-October 7 leftist protests against the Netanyahu government, for her blatant violation of a gag order. On Tuesday morning, Bressler revealed that the suspect in the arson of HaRav Yitzchak Yosef’s shul, who was arrested by the police and Shin Bet on Monday evening, is Jewish. In the tweet Bressler published on her X account, she wrote, “So the arson suspect at the shul of the man who instructs his Chassidim to throw draft notices into the toilet comes from the same camp.” Kreuzer wrote that Bressler’s tweet is a blatant violation of a gag order issued by a court and called for legal action to be taken against her. Kreuzer quoted Bressler’s words and added, “Bressler’s improper publication, which openly and knowingly violates a gag order, constitutes a serious criminal offense. I demand that a criminal investigation be opened against her immediately and that all necessary legal measures be taken against her.” It should be noted that Bressler, who before the October 7 massacre threatened that if Netanyahu and his government carried out the judicial reform plan, Israel would remain “without an army” is married to a former Shin Bet official. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
President Trump on this weekend’s Army 250 Celebration in D.C.: “We’re going to be celebrating big on Saturday — and if there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force.”
President Trump on his last conversation with California Gov. Gavin Newsom: “I called him up to tell him, ‘You got to do a better job.’ He’s doing a bad job… if we didn’t send out the National Guard… Los Angeles would be burning right now.”
President Trump on the rioting in Los Angeles: “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it… If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago… We are not playing around.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on ICE agents getting attacked in L.A.: “Every American citizen deserves to live in a community that is safe, and ICE agents need to be able to do their job.”
Speaker Mike Johnson: “It’s those men and women, the federal law enforcement officers, who deserve our support right now — and the One Big Beautiful Bill… delivers much needed reinforcements.”
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir: “The sanctions don’t scare me, I despise the white paper. I will continue to work for our country, for our people, I will continue to work and make sure that they don’t let humanitarian aid into Hamas. We got through Pharaoh, we’ll get through this too.”
