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The White House is seeking rapid approval for President Donald Trump’s proposal to construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the East Wing, aiming to move the project through federal review in roughly nine weeks—an unusually compressed schedule compared with similar large-scale undertakings that often take years.

According to planning documents, the first public briefing is set for Jan. 8 before the National Capital Planning Commission, followed by a Jan. 15 presentation to the Commission of Fine Arts. Final action is slated for Feb. 19 at the CFA and March 5 at the NCPC.

A White House official told The Washington Post that applications were formally submitted on Dec. 22 to both panels, which Congress has tasked with reviewing federal construction. The CFA has confirmed receipt of an application, while the NCPC said Tuesday that it had not yet received one.

The accelerated push comes as the project faces legal opposition. In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed suit against President Trump and several federal agencies, arguing that required approvals had not been secured. The group contends the ballroom is moving forward without mandated reviews.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit said.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon declined to issue a temporary restraining order, ruling that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated “irreparable harm” at this point. He added, however, that the government must be prepared to reverse any below-ground work that locks in a particular design.

The ballroom plan would far exceed the scope of other changes made since the president’s January return to office, which include gold accents added throughout the Oval Office and the conversion of the Rose Garden lawn into a paved patio reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

At a Hanukkah reception at the White House, the president said the proposed ballroom would carry a $400 million price tag, an increase from an earlier estimate of $300 million.

“President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House — just like all of his predecessors did,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said recently.

{Matzav.com}

On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked all of the executive orders that his predecessor, Eric Adams, has issued since Sept. 26, 2024, including several designed to protect Jews, in order, he said, to have a “fresh start for the incoming administration.”

The mayor, who has said he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York City and who has many Jews in the city worried for their safety, didn’t say why he chose that date. But Sept. 26, 2024, was the day that Adams was indicted on federal bribery and campaign finance offense charges.

Mamdani stated at first in a release that he was revoking all order prior to Sept. 26, 2024, although the text of the order stated that it was discontinuing all of the orders post-Sept. 26, 2024. The mayor’s office sent out a second press release specifying that it was orders after that date.

In the waning hours of his mayorship, Adams and the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism released an annual report on combating Jew-hatred. Adams created that office on Jew-hatred on May 13 via executive order No. 51. The status of the office wasn’t immediately clear, although Moshe Davis, its executive director, still had his title listed on LinkedIn and on X as of press time.

In the Dec. 30 report on Jew-hatred, Adams and the mayor’s office noted other executive orders that he issued—which Mamdani now appears to have axed. On June 8, Adams adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred via executive order No. 52.

On Dec. 2, Adams signed executive order No. 60, which barred city entities and personnel from boycotting or divesting from Israel, and No. 61, which directs the New York City Police Department to look into creating zones around houses of worship in which protesting would be prohibited.

After protesters blocked Jews from entering a Manhattan synagogue in November, Mamdani’s spokeswoman said that synagogues shouldn’t host pro-Israel events which, she said, violated international law.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Adams had created the New York City–Israel Economic Council via executive order in May or via another means, or what its current status is.

In his inaugural address on Thursday, Mamdani referred to the beginning of a “new era.”

“I stand alongside countless more New Yorkers watching from cramped kitchens in Flushing and barbershops in East New York, from cell phones propped against the dashboards of parked taxi cabs at LaGuardia, from hospitals in Mott Haven and libraries in El Barrio that have too long known only neglect,” he said. “I stand alongside construction workers in steel-toed boots and halal cart vendors whose knees ache from working all day.”

“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” he said.

Mamdani added that the authors of the city’s story will “speak Pashto and Mandarin, Yiddish and Creole” and “will pray in mosques, at shul, at church, at Gurdwaras and Mandirs and temples—and many will not pray at all.”

“They will be Russian Jewish immigrants in Brighton Beach, Italians in Rossville and Irish families in Woodhaven—many of whom came here with nothing but a dream of a better life, a dream which has withered away,” he said. “They will be young people in cramped Marble Hill apartments where the walls shake when the subway passes. They will be black homeowners in St. Albans whose homes represent a physical testament to triumph over decades of lesser-paid labor and redlining.”

“They will be Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge, who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception,” he added.

Mamdani said that his movement was supported in part at “DSA meetings,” referring to the Democratic Socialists of America. “I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,” he said. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.”

“To live in New York, to love New York, is to know that we are the stewards of something without equal in our world. Where else can you hear the sound of the steelpan, savor the smell of sancocho and pay $9 for coffee on the same block?” he added. “Where else could a Muslim kid like me grow up eating bagels and lox every Sunday?” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Federal officials are now withholding child care funding from Minnesota as investigators widen probes into what they describe as massive fraud across state-administered social service programs, but warning signs about the system’s vulnerabilities were documented years earlier.

Health and Human Services officials have frozen payments to Minnesota while demanding proof that fraudulent billing has been eliminated. Other states are also under review and face similar funding suspensions unless they can demonstrate corrective action.

The scrutiny follows claims by First Assistant Minnesota U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson that billions of taxpayer dollars have been siphoned off over several years. At a Dec. 18 news conference in Minneapolis, Thompson said investigators estimate that since 2018, at least $9 billion intended for child care, nutrition, housing, health care, and related programs across 14 state-run systems has been stolen.

“The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”

The political pressure intensified after President Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Republicans in Congress launched multiple investigations into Minnesota’s social service agencies, seeking records from state officials and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Federal data reviewed by The Post shows that since Walz took office in January 2019, Minnesota has received more than $2.1 billion in combined Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding.

Long before the current controversy, however, federal auditors had already identified systemic weaknesses. A Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General report released in July 2016 found that nearly 18.91% of all federal child care payments made to Minnesota providers in fiscal year 2012 were deemed “improper.” That amounted to roughly $16 million in questionable spending.

The audit also criticized state oversight failures, noting that Minnesota officials did not disclose how many providers receiving improper payments had been flagged internally or referred to law enforcement. Despite identifying billing problems, the state did not bar any of the suspected providers from continuing to receive taxpayer funds.

Auditors further found that state agencies had not “[c]hecked for multiple providers that are billing for the same child at the same time” and had failed to conduct “on site” inspections of sub-recipients, even as federal dollars continued to flow.

Nationally, the inspector general determined that about $311 million in improper payments were made through CCDF, the third-largest federal block grant program, behind TANF and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants.

In Minnesota alone, CCDF reimbursed more than $85.5 million in child care costs in fiscal year 2015. Applying the earlier error rate would put erroneous payments at approximately $16.2 million for that year.

A decade later, the numbers grew far larger. Minnesota was slated to receive more than $185 million in CCDF funding, even though reported enrollment in child care programs had dropped by nearly half. That sharp contrast has fueled accusations that weak oversight enabled fraud on an even greater scale.

“The red flags are obvious,” Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins said in a recent interview with NewsNation’s Rich McHugh. “It’s multiple services by one provider, and it’s an easier barrier to entry, not a lot of checks on the providers.”

Public attention escalated after YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a more than 40-minute video documenting visits to child care centers that collectively received $111 million in taxpayer funding but appeared closed or empty. Of the 10 facilities he visited, reporters from the Minnesota Star Tribune later found that only four had children present during follow-up checks.

For the most recent completed fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, CCDF allocated more than $11.6 billion nationwide for state child care services, more than double the amount distributed a decade earlier. Minnesota’s share, exceeding $185 million, had been earmarked for roughly 4,000 centers serving about 23,000 children — a ratio of roughly one center for every five or six kids.

By comparison, at the time of the 2016 audit, Minnesota providers were serving more than 47,000 children while receiving about $100 million less in federal funding.

Minnesota was one of only nine states cited in the inspector general’s report for exceeding a 10% threshold for improper payments, triggering a federal requirement for mandatory onsite monitoring going forward.

“The most common reason these States cited for not recovering improper payments was that the overpayments identified in the error rate reviews were due to caseworker or agency error, not to fraud,” the report stated.

The audit concluded with a broader warning that now appears prescient: “Given the CCDF program’s susceptibility to fraud and improper payments, as well as recent health and safety concerns, it is critical for ACF and States to employ effective measures to ensure the integrity of their CCDF programs.”

{Matzav.com}

Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, NJ announced a new increase in monthly kollel stipends, with yungeleit receiving an additional $40 per month.

The adjustment raises the standard kollel check to $1,140, up from $1,100, alongside an increase in the Yom Tov bonus to $942, compared to the previous $850.

The raise applies to all eligible yungeleit currently learning in the kollel at Beth Medrash Govoha, where 5,449 participants now receive regular stipends.

Taken together, the updated payments bring the annual kollel disbursement to approximately $83 million.

The increase is the latest step in the ongoing effort that began several years ago with the launch of the Adirei HaTorah initiative. Introduced in 2021, the campaign sought not only to strengthen financial support for kollel families, but to reaffirm the principle that a life devoted to Torah learning should be accompanied by a basic level of financial stability and dignity.

At the time of its launch, organizers emphasized that the initiative was built on a broader vision of partnership within Klal Yisroel, bringing together supporters and learners in a shared mission to reinforce the centrality and honor of Torah. The scope of the undertaking was significant: fully tripling kollel stipends required a dramatic expansion of the annual budget, growing from roughly $18 million to more than $83 million.

Despite the magnitude of the financial responsibility, the philanthropists and backers who assumed the burden committed themselves to sustaining the effort long-term.

{Matzav.com}

Following recent remarks by the Stoliner Rebbe permitting limited smartphone use under strict conditions, senior mashpi’im within the Stoliner chassidus have moved to sharpen and clarify his message, stressing firm boundaries and warnings against misuse.

At his Zos Chanukah tish, the Stoliner Rebbe addressed the issue of owning and using smartphones for work and livelihood. The Rebbe explained that it cannot be said that “smartphone use is categorically forbidden simply because it carries risks. Drawing a comparison, he said that just as driving a car is inherently dangerous yet permitted when used carefully, a smartphone may also be used with proper caution, strong protections, and safeguards in place.”

At the same time, the Rebbe emphasized that not every young man who gets married needs to immediately purchase a smartphone, stressing that doing so is certainly not a mitzvah. He also cautioned that even those who do use such a device should not make a point of displaying it publicly, such as using it openly in the street.

In the wake of these remarks, Stoliner mashpi’im have held conversations with chassidim over the past week to further define the parameters of the Rebbe’s guidance. While stressing that the Rebbe acknowledged the necessity and acceptability of smartphones for genuine needs, they stressed the importance of clear limits and discipline in their use.

According to those discussions, the mashpi’im warned strongly against chilul Hashem in the way smartphones are used. They reiterated the Rebbe’s view that “there is no justification for casual or unnecessary use in public spaces, such as on the street or on buses, and that usage should be strictly limited to real needs.”

They further clarified that the Rebbe’s comments “do not override the longstanding directive within the chassidus discouraging the purchase of smartphones before the age of 25, a guideline that remains fully in effect.” This, they noted, aligns with the Rebbe’s own words that there is “no obligation to acquire a smartphone immediately after marriage.”

Additionally, the mashpi’im addressed the question of daily usage time, urging that only those who genuinely need a smartphone should use one at all. Even then, they emphasized that it should not become a source of wasted time, recommending that use be “limited to a maximum of one hour per day.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, on Thursday delivered a sharp response to petitions challenging the continued tenure of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, urging the High Court of Justice to issue a conditional order requiring Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to explain why he has not removed Ben Gvir from his post.

In a formal submission to the High Court of Justice, the attorney general argued that a conditional order is necessary to shift the burden onto the prime minister to justify his inaction, given what she described as a substantial factual record regarding Ben Gvir’s conduct since his appointment.

According to Baharav-Miara, Ben Gvir has “abused his position” in an effort to exert improper influence over the Israel Police in some of the most sensitive areas of law enforcement and criminal investigations, actions she said undermine fundamental democratic principles. She maintained that the prime minister has failed to put in place safeguards or mechanisms to ensure the professional, impartial, and nonpartisan functioning of the police, despite repeated warnings.

Her response followed claims by petitioners that Netanyahu is obligated to exercise his authority and dismiss the minister. Summarizing her position, the attorney general concluded that the court should issue an order compelling the prime minister to explain why Ben Gvir has not been removed from office.

In her filing, Baharav-Miara wrote that, in light of the extensive factual foundation concerning the minister’s conduct—both since his appointment and prior to it—combined with the absence of guarantees for the proper and equitable operation of the police, and Netanyahu’s failure to act, the issuance of a conditional order is required to transfer the burden of persuasion to the prime minister.

About a month ago, the attorney general sent Netanyahu a strongly worded letter warning of what she described as “sweeping and systematic political interference” in police work. She cautioned that the minister’s actions could cause tangible harm to police operations and significantly erode the rule of law.

She further warned that excessive political intervention in police activity, particularly when carried out by bypassing professional command structures, raises serious concerns about “critical harm to police independence.” Such actions, she added, do nothing to address the ongoing need to strengthen public trust in and backing for the police.

Ben Gvir responded with an unusually harsh statement, launching a personal attack on the attorney general. “Gali Baharav-Miara is a criminal who obstructed investigations in matters where the High Court ruled that she was in a conflict of interest,” he said. “She fabricates cases against elected officials, public servants, and senior officers, openly works to carry out a coup against a democratically elected government, to cancel laws, sabotage decisions, and derail appointments—and now the peak: an attempt to remove elected officials.”

He concluded by vowing to continue fighting what he described as her actions, saying he would not rest “until her conduct is investigated,” and adding, “Israel will not be a mafia state.”

{Matzav.com}

Rav Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, visited Thursday evening at the home of Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch to receive his blessing and guidance ahead of the upcoming conference, which is scheduled to be held in Israel for the first time in seventy years.

The meeting lasted close to twenty minutes and focused primarily on the state of antisemitism around the world, particularly in Europe. During the conversation, Rav Goldschmidt raised several complex questions confronting rabbis in the diaspora, including the role of liberal rabbis, public criticism of Israel, and whether a rabbi may enter a church under specific circumstances. Rav Hirsch responded to the questions and indicated that it is possible he may personally attend the conference in Yerushalayim.

Earlier this week, Rav Goldschmidt also visited the homes of Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman and Rav Boruch Dov Povarsky to seek their brachos and invite them to the gathering.

The Conference of European Rabbis was established after the Holocaust to provide rabbinic and halachic leadership for surviving Jewish communities across Europe. Over the decades, the organization, under Rav Goldschmidt’s leadership, has become a central address for religious affairs, fighting government decrees against shechitah and kashrus and engaging in diplomatic efforts to combat antisemitism. The conference convenes a major international assembly once every two years.

This year’s conference was originally scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, but was postponed following the outbreak of the war in Israel. A later plan to hold the event in the month of Kislev was canceled at the last moment due to concrete security threats from Iran. Since the conference had not convened for several years, its leadership decided to move forward this year and hold it in Israel, both as a show of rabbinic solidarity with the Jewish state and for security reasons.

The gathering is now expected to take place in less than a month at the Olive Tree Hotel in Yerushalayim, with approximately 400 rabbis from around the world anticipated to attend.

During the visit, Rav Goldschmidt explained the scope and importance of the event and formally invited Rav Hirsch to participate. “The organization has existed for seventy years, and 300 rabbis will be coming to Israel for the conference in Jerusalem. We wanted to invite the rosh yeshiva to attend. Rabbis from all circles — from right to left — will be coming, all Torah-observant, and they need chizuk, because they are suffering from antisemitism,” he said.

Rav Goldschmidt then raised a question regarding Jewish communities in countries such as Spain and Norway, whose governments are strongly opposed to Israel yet continue to provide support to local Jewish communities. “There is a question I have been asked. In several European countries, like Spain and Norway, the government is very anti-Israel, but they still support the Jewish community. They are asking whether they should leave or stay,” he said.

Rav Hirsch asked for clarification: “From where to where do they want to move — to Israel or to other countries?” When Rav Goldschmidt replied, “Some to Israel, some to England — the question is a general one,” Rav Hirsch answered firmly, “There is no safe place. They should come.”

The discussion then turned to public criticism of Israel by rabbis abroad. Rav Goldschmidt described a recent incident in which around 100 rabbis, most of them from the United States and largely aligned with the political left, published a letter urging Israel to send food to Gaza during a period when humanitarian aid had been halted. He asked whether rabbis outside Israel should publicly express opinions or criticism of the Israeli government.

After a long pause, Rav Hirsch responded sharply: “In reality, everything that happened in Gaza is a lie — a lie of Hamas. They forget that they received Gaza from Prime Minister Sharon and could have built a normal society there. Instead, they chose to go out and massacre us and kill Jews. They forget the history.”

Rav Goldschmidt noted that some rabbinical court judges refuse to sit together with rabbis who spoke out against the Israeli government over Gaza. Rav Hirsch asked, “Did they really go out against the government — are these liberal rabbis?” Rav Goldschmidt replied, “Yes, they were Orthodox rabbis who are more aligned with the left.”

Rav Goldschmidt also recounted a recent meeting with the King of Spain, describing the pressure facing European leaders. “He told me that they always supported the Jewish community, but after what is happening in Gaza, they cannot support the Jews. I told him that on the contrary, now is exactly the time to support the Jewish community, because people on the street do not distinguish between Jews and the Israeli government. If you don’t support them, Jews will start getting killed in the streets — and he told me I was right,” Rav Goldschmidt said.

Rav Hirsch asked about the current situation, saying, “Even now, after the war, are Jews still suffering everywhere?” Rav Goldschmidt replied, “Today it is somewhat less, but there is a partial, silent boycott of Jews — in respect, in the economy, and in academia.”

Rav Hirsch responded, “Boruch Hashem, the economy in Israel is very strong. Many people from abroad are coming to invest in Israel. That is clear Divine assistance.”

A particularly sensitive halachic question was then raised regarding Chile, where a new Orthodox rabbi could be appointed as an adviser to the president. The role would require accompanying the president to church services twice a year. Rav Goldschmidt asked whether the rabbi could accept the position.

Rav Hirsch responded methodically. When asked whether entering a church would be part of the job, and hearing that it had been until now, he initially stated, “This is similar to what was said to Elisha — asking for forgiveness. I think it is forbidden to take the position.”

As the discussion continued and more details were clarified, Rav Hirsch asked what the rabbi would actually be required to do in the church. Rav Goldschmidt answered that he would merely need to enter alongside the president, without participating in any ritual. Rav Hirsch then ruled conditionally: “If that is the case, it may be permitted. It is a completely different matter if he does not have to do anything there.”

Toward the end of the meeting, Rav Goldschmidt renewed his invitation for Rav Hirsch to attend the conference. Rav Hirsch asked, “If I need to come, on which day would I come?” Rav Goldschmidt replied, “We will adapt ourselves to the rosh yeshiva, no matter which day.”

{Matzav.com}

A new and decisive public opinion poll points to a clear political picture if elections were held today, with the right-wing bloc securing a solid parliamentary majority and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu holding a commanding lead over all rivals in head-to-head matchups for the premiership.

The survey, broadcast Thursday evening on Channel 14’s main news edition hosted by Magi Tavori, was conducted by pollster Shlomo Filber among 736 respondents and is considered representative of the Israeli electorate as a whole. According to the findings, the right-wing bloc would win 66 Knesset seats, compared to 44 seats for the left-wing bloc and 10 seats for Arab parties — a gap that establishes a stable governing majority for the right.

Breaking down the projected seat distribution by party, Likud emerges as the largest faction with 35 seats. Shas and Naftali Bennett’s party follow with 11 seats each. The Democrats would receive 10 seats, Yisrael Beytenu 9, and both United Torah Judaism and Yesh Atid would win 8 seats apiece. Otzma Yehudit is projected at 7 seats, while Ra’am, Hadash–Ta’al, and Religious Zionism would each secure 5 seats. Balad and Blue and White would fail to cross the electoral threshold.

The poll also examined voter preferences for prime minister in direct suitability questions, revealing a wide margin in favor of Bibi Netanyahu. Netanyahu leads with 54 percent support, far ahead of Naftali Bennett at 23 percent. Gadi Eisenkot follows with 12 percent, while Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman each receive 5 percent. Benny Gantz trails with just 1 percent.

{Matzav.com}

Independent journalist Nick Shirley fired back at a CBS News reporter after a network video disputed Shirley’s claims that several Minnesota daycare centers he filmed were operating fraudulently.

The dispute centers on a video posted to CBS News’ X account by Jonah Kaplan, a reporter with the network’s Minneapolis affiliate, in which Kaplan said his review of nearly a dozen daycare locations highlighted by Shirley did not uncover evidence of fraud. The segment described the effort as CBS News offering “its own analysis” of the sites that appeared in Shirley’s viral reporting.

In the video, Kaplan acknowledged that some of the facilities had been cited for regulatory issues but argued that those findings should not be conflated with fraud. “We visited those sites too, as did state inspectors many times over the last six months, and we found the facts on the ground tell a different story,” Kaplan said. “Those daycares, many of them were written up for safety violations, things like maybe busted equipment or staff training issues, but that’s not the same as being fraudulent, so it’s important to put all of this into context.”

Kaplan’s post quickly drew criticism online, including from Shirley himself, who challenged the reporting and its presentation. Responding on X, Shirley wrote, “Why don’t you go to a daycare yourself, and you will see it first hand. Or you can just keep yapping on selfie mode.”

Fox News Digital reported that it contacted Kaplan and CBS News seeking comment, but did not receive a response.

Shirley’s original reporting consisted of a 42-minute video posted over the weekend on X and YouTube, documenting his visits to multiple daycare centers across Minnesota. In the footage, several locations appeared largely inactive despite continuing to receive millions of dollars in public funding.

Kaplan later expanded on CBS’ findings in a report that aired Tuesday on CBS Evening News, stating that all but two of the locations Shirley visited held active licenses. The report also noted that CBS News had “visited and called several of the day care centers on Monday but received no responses.”

State officials also moved to counter Shirley’s allegations. Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown said previous inspections had not produced evidence of fraud. “We are aware of a video that’s being circulated that has gained local and national attention about childcare centers in Minnesota,” Brown said during a Monday news conference. “While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”

The controversy prompted a federal response as well. Following the viral spread of Shirley’s video, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it would halt childcare payments to Minnesota.

{Matzav.com}

Concerns about the direction of New York City under its new leadership were voiced sharply Thursday by Rudy Giuliani, who used a Newsmax appearance to criticize Mayor Zohran Mamdani over both symbolism and ideology following Mamdani’s inauguration.

Speaking on Newsmax’s “Newsline,” Giuliani took aim at Mamdani’s decision to take the oath of office on the Quran, Islam’s holy book, arguing that the text itself is hostile to Jews and Christians. “Has anyone ever read the Quran?” Giuliani asked during the interview, describing it as “an antisemitic book, anti-Western book, anti-Christian book.”

Giuliani went on to claim that Mamdani aligns himself with what he termed “Islamic Orthodox” beliefs and faulted the mayor for not condemning the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He alleged that the new mayor maintains “warm relationships with people associated with” Hamas and asserted that some individuals connected to Mamdani have made anti-Jewish statements.

While religion figured prominently in his remarks, Giuliani said his deeper worry centers on public safety and what he views as a broader ideological threat. According to Giuliani, “the whole movement of the Islamic Orthodox is to destroy Western civilization,” a claim he said should alarm New Yorkers beyond partisan lines.

When asked to identify his greatest concern among Mamdani’s policy positions and campaign pledges, Giuliani said his focus was not economics or governance style, but ideology. He described his “number one thing” as what he called “Islamic extremist” beliefs.

“I’m more concerned about his being an Islamic extremist than I am even [about him being] a communist,” Giuliani said, referring to Mamdani, who has rejected the communist label while describing himself as a democratic socialist. “We’ve dealt with communists,” Giuliani added.

Giuliani also criticized federal authorities and past administrations, accusing them of minimizing the role of Islamist ideology in acts of violence. He urged Muslims who oppose extremism to speak out more forcefully, saying silence has allowed radical voices to dominate public perception.

“Yes, there are good members of Islam. Most of them are,” Giuliani said. “Most of them are [law-abiding] but most of them are too …. quiet about it.”

Looking ahead, Giuliani predicted serious trouble for the city under Mamdani’s leadership, citing what he sees as dangerous politics and priorities that will shape the administration’s path. “You can make all the happy, happy, silly predictions you want,” Giuliani said. “The man will be a disaster.”

{Matzav.com}

A shift in Albany tax policy is taking shape after New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she will seek to exempt tipped income from state taxation in the coming fiscal year.

According to a statement released by her office, Hochul plans to fold the measure into her fiscal year 2027 budget proposal. The plan would remove state income taxes on up to $25,000 in tips earned during tax year 2026, bringing New York in line with the federal “no tax on tips” policy championed by President Donald Trump and enacted nationwide as part of his sweeping tax overhaul.

“I’m kicking the new year off with a proposal of no state income tax on tips, continuing my efforts to make New York more affordable for hard working New Yorkers,” Hochul said.

The governor’s announcement follows weeks of criticism suggesting that heavily Democratic states were dragging their feet on adopting Trump-backed tax relief at the state level. The New York Post reported that critics warned such delays could leave working-class residents paying higher state taxes even as their federal tax bills decline.

Republicans, the Post noted, have targeted New York, Illinois, and California for failing to move quickly to ensure tipped workers receive immediate relief locally, not just federally.

Political pressure has also come from within Hochul’s own state. Service-industry employees have argued that eliminating taxes on tips would offer tangible relief amid rising rents and daily expenses, an issue that has taken on greater urgency as Hochul prepares for a reelection bid this year.

“If we weren’t taxed on our tips, we’d be able to save more, we’d enjoy life a little more, maybe we wouldn’t have to pick up that extra shift,” bartender Rion Gallagher told the Post in remarks published last week.

In her press release, Hochul framed the proposal as part of a broader affordability agenda, saying her administration has returned more than $9 billion to New York households since she took office. Her office pointed to recently enacted middle-class tax cuts, a major expansion of the child tax credit, and statewide minimum wage increases, including a hike to $17 an hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

The state-level move comes amid continued attention on the federal “no tax on tips” provision included in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed into law on July 4. ABC 13 in Rochester reported that the federal policy allows eligible workers to deduct up to $25,000 in qualified tips annually from 2025 through 2028.

The station reported that the change applies to a wide range of tipped professions, including restaurant servers, bartenders, hairdressers, and housekeepers. Restaurant owners told ABC 13 that the provision could help stabilize staffing and support an industry still recovering from the disruptions of the COVID era.

One Rochester-area restaurant owner described the policy as a “great incentive” for attracting and retaining workers, while employees said that even limited tax relief can have an outsized impact on families living paycheck to paycheck.

Hochul’s announcement also follows pointed criticism from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who used X to label Hochul and other Democratic governors “Grinches Who Stole Christmas” for failing to quickly mirror Trump’s tax cuts at the state level.

The governor responded dismissively to the jab, deriding the post as “Grinch fanfic.”

Although Hochul is now advancing a no-tax-on-tips proposal, conservatives argue that the real issue is why it took mounting pressure from working-class voters—and the popularity of Trump’s federal tax agenda—to prompt action in Albany.

Still, the move underscores a broader political reality: even in deep-blue New York, Trump-backed tax relief has become increasingly difficult for state leaders to ignore.

{Matzav.com}

Signals from the Justice Department suggest that a long-running inquiry into alleged political misuse of federal power may be approaching a turning point, with developments expected to accelerate in 2026. Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicated that federal investigators are closing in on what she views as years of coordinated misconduct inside Washington.

In written answers provided to Just the News, Bondi said she has instructed prosecutors and agents across the country to examine what she described as systemic abuses of authority. “At my direction, our U.S. Attorneys and federal agents are actively investigating instances of government weaponization nationwide,” Bondi said, characterizing the alleged actions as “a ten-year stain on the country committed by high-ranking officials against the American people.”

According to Bondi, the conduct she is targeting spans multiple administrations and cannot be dismissed as disconnected events. She portrayed the investigations tied to the Trump–Russia narrative and later probes of President Donald Trump and his allies as part of a single, sustained effort. “Under President Trump, we are fixing the damage and delivering justice,” she added.

Bondi’s comments echo arguments previously advanced by FBI Director Kash Patel, who last year circulated an internal memo suggesting that alleged wrongdoing linked to the Russia collusion storyline could be treated as an ongoing conspiracy. Such a designation, Patel argued, could allow investigators to reach conduct that would normally be time-barred.

Patel has also drawn attention for discoveries made inside the FBI. A source told Newsmax in July that he located sensitive records connected to the origins of the Trump–Russia probe in a concealed room at bureau headquarters, confirming earlier reporting by Fox News Digital.

Recent court activity has added to the sense that the investigation is advancing. The Washington Examiner reported that federal prosecutors in South Florida appear poised to move forward, citing records showing that Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga approved the formation of a grand jury in Fort Pierce beginning January 12. While the order does not outline the matter under review, the outlet noted that it is consistent with earlier reports that a new grand jury was being prepared to examine alleged misconduct surrounding the Trump-era investigations.

Bondi has not publicly identified the precise venues where prosecutors are operating, but officials told Just the News that a substantial portion of the inquiry is based in Florida. That location is notable, as it is the same state where the FBI carried out its August 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.

The attorney general also leveled sharp criticism at the FBI, accusing the bureau of enforcing justice unevenly. She alleged that the agency “shielded political figures like Hunter Biden and Hillary Clinton while pursuing conservatives for their beliefs,” and pointed to information indicating that some agents internally questioned whether there was adequate probable cause for the Mar-a-Lago search.

Bondi further addressed reports involving former CIA Director John Brennan, whose attorneys reportedly sent a letter to Altonaga seeking court oversight of any grand jury proceedings connected to the probe. Bondi said the request revealed anxiety among those she called “bad actors,” adding that they were attempting to preserve “a two-tiered justice system. … No more.”

Those developments followed reports that Brennan and several former FBI officials had been subpoenaed as part of the investigation. Whether the Florida grand jury ultimately returns criminal charges remains an open question.

Still, with Bondi publicly framing the matter as a decade-long conspiracy and a grand jury set to convene early next year, the inquiry appears to be entering what could be its most consequential stage.

Additional context emerged last fall when Patel pledged greater transparency after disclosures that, during the Biden administration, the FBI obtained toll records of several Republican senators in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol protest. Senator Chuck Grassley described that surveillance as “worse than Watergate.” Patel labeled the activity “baseless monitoring,” said the bureau had dismantled the CR-15 squad, and confirmed that employees had been dismissed, with further accountability promised.

Questions about timing and legal limits have also been raised by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who suggested in July that statute-of-limitations issues might not apply if investigators treat the alleged conduct as a continuing conspiracy. Ratcliffe said he believes former President Barack Obama and senior intelligence officials worked together to undermine Trump, arguing that in conspiracy cases, the clock begins to run only with the “last act.”

{Matzav.com}

[Videos below.] New York City officially entered a new political chapter on Thursday as Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor following his upset victory in November, a result Sen. Bernie Sanders described as “the greatest political upset in modern history.”

The formal inauguration took place on New Year’s Day afternoon outside City Hall, drawing a large crowd to lower Manhattan. The public ceremony followed a midnight swearing-in earlier in the day, when New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office. According to Mamdani’s campaign, he used a Quran during that midnight ceremony, making him the first Muslim to serve as mayor of New York City and the first to be sworn in using a Quran.

Mamdani, 34, made clear from the outset that he intends to govern without diluting his political identity. Addressing the crowd during his inaugural remarks, he said, “I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”

He went further, signaling an expansive view of City Hall’s role and authority. “Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” Mamdani said. He acknowledged the possibility of setbacks but rejected restraint as a governing principle. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”

At several moments, the new mayor struck a conciliatory note, promising to serve residents across the political spectrum. “Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you,” he said.

The inauguration featured a lineup of prominent progressive allies. Sanders attended the ceremony, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered opening remarks, framing the moment as a turning point for the city. She said New Yorkers “have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times.”

“New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal child care, affordable rents and housing, and clean and dignified public transit for all,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme income inequality. We have chosen this path because we know that it’s the right thing to do.”

Religious leaders also addressed the crowd. Imam Khalid Latif of the Islamic Center of New York City reflected on the city’s diversity and character, saying, “We gather today with hearts shaped by this city, by its noise in its neighborhoods, by its subways and sanctuaries, by the dreams carried in many languages, in the prayers whispered on crowded blocks.”

Latif continued, “We thank you for New York City, for a place that has taught the world how difference can become strength, how survival can become solidarity, how strangers can become neighbors. And for being a place that taught us that a young immigrant, Democratic socialist Muslim can be bold enough to run and brave enough to win, not by abandoning conviction, but by standing firmly within it, not by shrinking who he is, but by trusting that authenticity can move a city towards justice.”

Mamdani was elected in November after a campaign centered on affordability in the nation’s largest city. He prevailed despite sustained criticism over his past anti-Israel statements and associations, as well as his embrace of socialist policies such as freezing rents, creating city-run grocery stores, and earlier comments supporting defunding the police and abolishing private property.

According to Mamdani’s transition team, the 1 p.m. inauguration was open to “all New Yorkers,” with plans for a “huge inaugural block party” to follow along Broadway in the Canyon of Heroes.

Chareidi troops of the Israel Defense Forces’ Chashmonaim Brigade were deployed to the security zone in southern Syria for the first time, the military said on Thursday.

Following military exercises in the area, the chareidi infantrymen carried out targeted searches, “during which they gathered intelligence with the aim of removing threats and ensuring the security of the civilians of the State of Israel, and in particular the residents of the Golan Heights.”

The chareidi brigade operated under the command of the 401st Brigade’s 52nd Armored Battalion and alongside the 474th Brigade, it said, adding that the 210th “Bashan” Division remains deployed in the region.

The Chashmonaim Brigade “will continue to operate across all arenas,” the IDF statement added, vowing to allow all “chareidi soldiers to maintain their way of life.”

After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the IDF seized control of parts of southern Syria, expanding a buffer zone and maintaining a presence amid ongoing clashes and strikes.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has said that while Israel remains ready to negotiate a new security deal with Damascus, it will “stand by its principles” to prevent a repeat of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

“After Oct. 7, we are determined to defend our communities along our borders, including the northern border,” the prime minister declared.

Israel’s policies are aimed at “preventing the entrenchment of terrorists and hostile activities against us, protecting Druze allies and ensuring that the State of Israel is safe from ground or other attacks,” he added.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda terrorist who also went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has demanded a full return to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War and an Israeli withdrawal from the expanded buffer zone.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday renewed the mandate for a long-standing peacekeeping force along the Israel-Syria border through the end of June 2026.

The force, which operates from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, was established by the 1974 agreement. UNDOF has a mandate to maintain the ceasefire and supervise the buffer zone inside Syrian territory.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and Israel “have an understanding regarding Syria,” while declining to elaborate, as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in Florida on Monday.

Al-Sharaa “has been with us all the way,” said the president, adding that “I’m sure that Israel and him will get along,” and “I will try and make it so that they do get along.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

The Israel Defense Forces’ determination to return the last hostage body held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and disarm the terror group remains absolute, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.

The IDF “will not relent” until Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili receives a proper burial, “concluding the chapter of the return of hostages from Gaza,” Zamir told commanders during a visit to the southern Strip.

In addition, the military’s “determination to disarm Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations is absolute,” Zamir continued.

The so-called Yellow Line instituted by the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10 and left IDF soldiers in control of more than half of the Strip is “a new security boundary,” according to the chief of staff.

“The Yellow Line is an enhanced defensive line that supports swift operational responses as required. We will continue operating to weaken Hamas as necessary—the troops must remain alert and prepared for developments,” he stated, per the IDF.

“In 2025, the IDF achieved unprecedented accomplishments, foremost among them a severe blow to the Hamas terror group, the dismantling of all its front-line units, the removal of the threat as we experienced on Oct. 7 and the return of all living hostages to their homes,” said Zamir, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The year ahead will be a “decisive year in shaping the security reality of the State of Israel,” the chief of staff continued, adding that Israel would not allow Hamas “to rebuild its capabilities and threaten us.”

Zamir visited Gaza alongside the head of IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, the chief of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram and the commanders of the Golani, 188th and Southern Gaza Brigade.

Soldiers “continue to dismantle terror infrastructure in the area of the Yellow Line in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a separate statement on Wednesday evening.

As part of ongoing ground operations in the Beit Hanoun area, IDF forces found a launcher loaded with five rockets and aimed at Israeli territory, according to the military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Tuesday that progress toward the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire hinges on Hamas disarming, calling the terrorist group’s refusal to give up its weapons the central obstacle to stabilizing the territory in 2026.

The prime minister told Fox that he believed a different future for Gaza was still possible in the year ahead “if we disarm Hamas, whether with an international force or by any other means.” He added, “If it can be done the easy way, fine. And if not, it’ll be done another way.”

The Palestinian terror organization that murdered some 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, in its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border assault still has around 20,000 operatives and 60,000 rifles, Netanyahu revealed.

“That’s what disarmament means—got to take all these rifles, take them away from them, and break up those terror tunnels that they have, still hundreds of kilometers of terror tunnels,” the premier told Fox News.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Dec. 6 repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, rejecting U.S.- and U.N.-backed demands to disarm the Iranian-supported terrorist group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

“The resistance and its weapons are the honor and pride of the ummah [the Islamic nation],” Mashaal told an anti-Israel summit in Turkey. “A thousand statements are not worth a single projectile of iron.”

The terrorist leader also dismissed “all forms of guardianship, mandate and re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and all of Palestine,” rejecting another key part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan, which received unanimous support of the U.N. Security Council on Nov. 17. JNS

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Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz instructed the Israeli military to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale terrorist infiltration in Judea and Samaria, similar to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre.

Katz’s announcement followed the minister’s visit to the Judea and Samaria Division headquarters near the town of Beit El, just north of Yerushalayim.

Katz said he ordered top Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police commanders to prepare a response to an Oct. 7-style attack “by jihadist elements” on towns in Judea and Samaria and along the security barrier.

During the visit, Katz received a briefing and held a security assessment with Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller and Judea and Samaria Border Police Cmdr. Niso Guetta.

Katz told participants that IDF operations in northern Samaria over the past year had been effective, leading to a drop of more than 80% in terrorism in the area. The counter-terror campaign included evacuating residents, targeting terrorists and maintaining an ongoing Israeli military presence.

According to the defense minister, the operations should be duplicated in additional cities and villages under control of the Palestinian Authority.

He said that as in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces would remain on the ground in P.A.-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria to “serve as a clear buffer between the population and terrorist elements.”

Katz ordered officials to move ahead as quickly as possible with plans to relocate several IDF military bases to Samaria’s north, calling it a “historic correction” with both security and settlement significance, and saying it would strengthen security and Jerusalem’s grip on the region.

More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Palestinian terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could carry out a significant terrorist attack similar to the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a survey the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs published on Feb. 18, 2025.

In September 2024, prosecutors filed an indictment against a member of a terrorist squad based in the northern Samaria city of Jenin who made plans to carry out an Oct. 7-style attack in nearby Jewish communities.

The indictment accused Osama Bani Fadl and other terrorist operatives of making serious preparations for a mass slaughter of Jewish residents of northern Samaria, including by infiltrating villages atop vehicles.

Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that the civilian communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to Israel’s security, according to a poll the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.

Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Israel to extend its full legal sovereignty over the region, according to a survey from January 2025. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Police are investigating an assault that took place Thursday night on Yefet Street in the city of Yaffo, where a rabbi affiliated with the Yaffo Hesder Yeshiva was attacked while walking in the area. Authorities said the victim sustained light injuries and was taken for medical treatment.

According to a police statement, officers were dispatched after receiving a report of the incident. “The police received a report of an assault of a man on Yefet Street in Yaffo. Police forces arrived at the scene and searched for the suspected assailant. The victim was taken for medical treatment with light injuries. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.”

After receiving medical care, the rabbi filed a complaint with the police detailing what happened during the attack.

Moshe Shendovsky, the executive director of the yeshiva, described the incident in an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News. “The rabbi wanted to get into his car, and then an Arab punched him twice in the face, threw him to the ground, cursed at him, and fled. We want personal security, so that Jews can walk around Yaffo freely and without fear, that the police will be present, and that the municipality will unequivocally condemn the incident.”

In a separate statement, the yeshiva called on city and law enforcement officials to take decisive action. “We call on the Tel Aviv Police and the leaders of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo to act with full force to ensure the safety and security of the city’s Jewish residents in Yaffo.”

The attack is being treated as a suspected antisemitic incident, and the investigation remains ongoing as police continue efforts to locate the assailant.

{Matzav.com}