New York City Mayor Eric Adams insisted again Friday that he won’t end his reelection campaign, stressing that he’ll remain in the race as reports swirl that he’s been approached about possibly taking a job in the Trump administration. In a hastily called news conference at the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, Adams declared “I am in this race. And I am the only one who can beat Mamdani,” referring to the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani. “How many times have I been told throughout this journey to step aside, to surrender, to give up, to give in,” he said. “That’s the same thing we tell everyday New Yorkers. Everyday New Yorkers are not giving up, are not giving in, are not surrendering, so their mayor is not going to do that.” Adams has spent the week fending off news reports that intermediaries for President Donald Trump had contacted people in the mayor’s orbit to talk about whether he would consider abandoning his campaign to take a federal job. Earlier Friday, Adams, a Democrat, released a statement that said he “will always listen if called to serve our country” but that he had not yet received any “formal offers.” Trump has told reporters he would prefer not to have Mamdani, 33, as the next mayor of the largest U.S. city. He said he’d like to see two of the three other major candidates taking on Mamdani — the other two are former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who like Adams is running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa — leave the race to create a one-on-one contest. Moments after Adams’ announcement, President Donald Trump was asked about it by reporters at the White House. “He’s free to do what he wants,” Trump said of Adams. Trump continued: “Cuomo might have a chance of winning if it was one-on-one,” while adding “if you have more than one candidate running against (Mamdani), it can’t be won.” During a trip to Florida this week, Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Trump’s main diplomatic envoys in Washington, according to a person briefed on the discussions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. It was unclear what specifically was discussed. In an interview, former Democratic New York Gov. David Paterson said he spoke with the mayor on Wednesday morning. Adams told him he wanted to remain in the race but had received offers, according to Paterson. “He said, ‘Listen, they say I have some offers. I have a lot of offers.’ Then he started laughing. And he was saying that, you know, he really doesn’t want to leave and he’s trying to work that out so he doesn’t have to,” said Paterson, who has endorsed Adams for reelection. “He didn’t get specific about it, but I got that in his heart of hearts, he really wants to stay. But I also got that, even though he didn’t say it, that the odds can’t be very good,” he added. Mamdani won the Democratic nomination after soundly defeating Cuomo in the primary. Cuomo is running as an independent, as is Adams, who skipped the Democratic primary, saying he was sidelined from campaigning by his now-dismissed federal […]
Health officials in Maine announced Friday that three people have been diagnosed with active tuberculosis, the infectious illness that remains the leading cause of death worldwide.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the patients, all located in the Portland region, had no ties to each other. This indicates that each of them contracted the illness from separate sources.
A spokesperson for the CDC told the Portland Press Herald that investigators are working to track down and test everyone who may have been in close contact with the infected individuals.
Tuberculosis, a bacterial illness, damages the lungs and other organs, often resulting in breathing problems and severe internal injury. The infection can also spread to the spine, kidneys, and brain.
Warning signs include a lingering cough that may produce blood or phlegm, fever, and chest pain.
The World Health Organization notes that tuberculosis claims more lives than any other disease globally, with an estimated 1.25 million people dying from it each year, primarily in poorer nations.
In the United States, 565 deaths were recorded from tuberculosis in 2022, the latest year for which statistics are available.
Maine health officials say that while the state is seeing a rise in reported cases, there is currently no widespread outbreak.
By the end of July this year, 28 tuberculosis cases had been documented across the state, according to the Maine CDC.
“The three active cases in Maine are not genetically linked, meaning they were not transmitted from one person to another,” said Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for the Maine CDC.
{Matzav.com}
Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned on Friday that any Western troops stationed in Ukraine would be regarded as “legitimate targets for defeat,” issuing a new warning against proposals for international forces to be sent in once the fighting halts.
“This is one of the root causes (of the war): trying to involve Ukraine in NATO,” Putin said while addressing an economic conference in Russia’s Far East. “So if any troops appear there, especially during the ongoing hostilities, we assume they will be legitimate targets for defeat.”
His comments followed an announcement in Paris a day earlier, where European and Allied governments backed a joint plan for security support after the war. During that gathering, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 26 nations had signed on to provide guarantees for Kyiv, potentially including military help “in the sky, in the sea and on the ground.” French President Emmanuel Macron further described the pledges as possible deployments “by land, sea or air” once the fighting stops.
Putin argued that the arrival of outside forces would only hinder efforts if Russia and Ukraine manage to reach a political agreement. “If decisions are reached that lead to long-term peace, then I simply see no reason for their presence on Ukrainian territory,” he said. “Because if such agreements are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will fully implement them.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reinforced Putin’s position, stressing Moscow’s grievances with NATO and equating Western security commitments to Ukraine with further expansion of the alliance eastward.
“What was one of the root causes of this conflict? It was when the foundations of security guarantees for our country began to be eroded, when Ukraine was being drawn into NATO, and when NATO’s military infrastructure began moving toward our borders,” Peskov said, according to Russian state outlets. He noted that any final deal would have to include assurances “to both us and the Ukrainians.”
The warnings from Moscow came at the end of a week in which Putin engaged in high-profile diplomacy, including a trip to Beijing, where he stood together with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. While there, Putin revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump had personally asked him to hold direct discussions with Zelenskyy about ending the conflict.
“Donald asked me if it was possible to hold such a meeting. I said yes, it is possible. In the end, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow. Such a meeting will take place,” Putin said. He added that Russia would guarantee the Ukrainian president’s safety if he came to the capital.
Zelenskyy rejected the proposal outright, saying Moscow was again attempting to stall genuine negotiations. “Our American partners told me that Putin had invited me to Moscow. In my opinion, if someone wants the meeting to not take place, they should invite me to Moscow,” Zelenskyy said Thursday.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, stated that Kyiv is prepared for face-to-face discussions but only in a neutral setting. “Right now, at least seven countries are ready to host a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia to bring an end to the war — Austria, the Holy See, Switzerland, Türkiye, and three Gulf states,” he wrote on social media.
{Matzav.com}
Demolition to build President Donald Trump’s new ballroom off the East Wing of the White House can begin without approval of the commission tasked with vetting construction of federal buildings, the Trump-appointed head of the panel said Thursday. Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary, said during a public meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission that the board does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property. “What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said. He called Trump’s promised ballroom “one of the most exciting construction projects in the modern history of” Washington. He made the comments during the only public meeting of the commission scheduled before crews are expected to break ground on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom likely to greatly alter the look and size of both the White House’s East and West Wings. The planning commission is responsible for approving construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area. But Scharf made a distinction between demolition work and rebuilding, saying the commission was only required to vet the latter. “I think any assertion that this commission should have been consulted earlier than it has been, or it will be, is simply false,” he said. Scharf said the White House hadn’t yet submitted building plans for the White House renovations but when that happens, “I’m excited for us to play a role in the ballroom project when the time is appropriate for us to do so.” Asked after the meeting if the eventual approval process might delay work on the ballroom, Scharf said, “Demolition and site preparation work can certainly occur, but if you’re talking about actually building anything, then, yeah, it should go through our approval process.” “Given the president’s history as a builder, and given the plans that we’ve seen publicly I think this will be a tremendous addition to the White House complex, a sorely needed addition,” Scharf said. L. Preston Bryant Jr., who was appointed to chair the National Capital Planning Commission in 2009 by President Barack Obama and served in that role for nine years, said proposed projects typically worked in four major stages of commission approval that began “with an early consultation, where a project is very much conceptual.” That hasn’t been the case with Trump’s promised ballroom. “The White House and its design team would be very, very wise to involve NCPC and its staff very much on the front end of the project – in the early design stages – as it’ll make for a better project and help ensure it meets all regulatory and legal compliances,” Bryant said. “I cannot stress enough the value to be had at the conceptual and early consultation stages.” Trump has been anxious to hustle toward work beginning on the ballroom, with an eye toward completing it prior to his leaving office in January 2029. A building mogul before he was a reality TV star and politician, has relished personally overseeing improvement projects at the White House and walked last month on the building’s roof with construction officials. The ballroom will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “The People’s House” since Trump returned to office in January, and the first structural change to the Executive […]
The looming threat of the draft law continues to weigh heavily on rabbonim and communal leaders, and discussions are intensifying over the possibility of organizing a massive public gathering of the entire chareidi community.
After the cancellation of previously planned demonstrations before Rosh Chodesh Elul, Matzav.com has learned that preparations are now being made in the homes of gedolei Yisroel to hold a major asifah in the coming week. The goal is for all factions of chareidi Jewry to unite in a joint outcry and heartfelt tefillah over the gezeiras hagiyus.
Sources confirm that rabbonim have been visiting the homes of leading gedolim in recent days to finalize details. While it remains to be decided if the event will be formally declared an “Asifas HaMillion,” organizers are clearly aiming to bring together the broad spectrum of Klal Yisroel for a unified demonstration of tefillah and protest, with Thursday mentioned as a possible date.
As previously reported, gedolei Yisroel had earlier drafted a letter calling for such a mass rally during bein hazmanim, but the initiative was shelved at the time, and no gatherings ultimately took place. Now, however, the momentum appears to be shifting toward a large-scale event that would express the anguish of the Torah world over the government’s plans.
{Matzav.com}
A New York Supreme Court granted a decisive victory today to schools that had been deemed “nonequivalent.” This development in the decade-long substantial equivalency saga — predicated on legislation advocated for by Agudath Israel and others — allows parents in these schools to exhale once more, and can have broader positive implications for yeshivas long-term.
In May 2025, all parents of six schools received a foreboding letter from New York City stating that their child’s school:
“shall no longer be deemed a school which provides compulsory education… effective June 30th, 2025, all services at the school for your child will be discontinued, including special education and related services. Given that your child will no longer be able to attend this school, a decision must be made about what school your child will attend for the 2025-2026 school year and you must notify the New York City Department of Education of where your child will be enrolled by July 1st 2025.” [emphasis added]
The letter continues by describing how parents will proceed if their child attends public school in 2025-2026.
This legislative session, new language, fundamentally redefining how nonpublic schools can satisfy “substantial equivalency,” became law.
SED had argued that all schools can opt in to the new legislation, except for schools that had already been deemed nonequivalent prior to the legislation’s enactment. The court refuted SED’s claim, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.” The court further rejected SED’s argument that the schools cannot avail themselves of the new legislation because, by being non-equivalent, they are “non-schools,” and thus are ineligible to make a selection.
This case may have long-term implications if, in the future, any school is declared non-equivalent. Based on this ruling, a school can still choose to avail itself of a pathway. The “non-school” argument was soundly defeated.
The Agudah congratulates Steven Barshov, Esq., of SBarshov Law PLLC, who represented the yeshivas and parents in this case.
{Matzav.com}
Nearly 50 years ago, a U.S. government ship searching for minerals and hydrocarbons in the area drilled into the seafloor to see what it could find. It found, of all things, drops to drink under the briny deeps — fresh water. This summer, a first-of-its-kind global research expedition followed up on that surprise. Drilling for fresh water under the salt water off Cape Cod, Expedition 501 extracted thousands of samples from what is now thought to be a massive, hidden aquifer stretching from New Jersey as far north as Maine. It’s just one of many depositories of “secret fresh water” known to exist in shallow salt waters around the world that might some day be tapped to slake the planet’s intensifying thirst, said Brandon Dugan, the expedition’s co-chief scientist. “We need to look for every possibility we have to find more water for society,” Dugan, a geophysicist and hydrologist at the Colorado School of Mines, told Associated Press journalists who recently spent 12 hours on the drilling platform. The research teams looked in “one of the last places you would probably look for fresh water on Earth.” They found it, and will be analyzing nearly 50,000 liters (13,209 gallons) of it back in their labs around the world in the coming months. They’re out to solve the mystery of its origins — whether the water is from glaciers, connected groundwater systems on land or some combination. The potential is enormous. So are the hurdles of getting the water out and puzzling over who owns it, who uses it and how to extract it without undue harm to nature. It’s bound to take years to bring that water ashore for public use in a big way, if it’s even feasible. The Ancient Mariner told us so Why try? In just five years, the U.N. says, the global demand for fresh water will exceed supplies by 40%. Rising sea levels from the warming climate are souring coastal freshwater sources while data centers that power AI and cloud computing are consuming water at an insatiable rate. The fabled Ancient Mariner’s lament, “Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink,” looms as a warning to landlubbers as well as to sailors on salty seas. In Virginia alone, a quarter of all power produced in the state goes to data centers, a share expected to nearly double in five years. By some estimates, each midsize data center consumes as much water as 1,000 households. Each of the Great Lakes states has experienced groundwater shortages. Cape Town, South Africa, came perilously close to running out of fresh water for its nearly 5 million people in 2018 during an epic, three-year drought. South Africa is thought to have a coastal undersea freshwater bonanza, too, and there is at least anecdotal evidence that every continent may have the same. Canada’s Prince Edward Island, Hawaii and Jakarta, Indonesia, are among places where stressed freshwater supplies coexist with prospective aquifers under the ocean. Enter Expedition 501, a $25 million scientific collaboration of more than a dozen countries backed by the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation and the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (U.S. money for it was secured before budget cuts sought by the Trump administration). Scientists went into the project believing the undersea aquifer they were sampling might be sufficient to meet the needs […]
After six weeks during which Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu temporarily held the Yerushalayim and Tradition Affairs portfolio, a compromise arrangement has been reached. Justice Minister Yariv Levin will assume the role of Acting Minister for Yerushalayim and Tradition, while Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi will be given direct responsibility for the annual Lag BaOmer pilgrimage in Meron.
According to the cabinet agenda released Friday, Levin’s appointment will be formalized at Sunday’s government meeting. His term as acting minister will last for three months, during which he will continue to hold his other positions—Justice Minister, Acting Interior Minister, and Acting Religious Affairs Minister.
The reshuffle follows the resignation of former minister Meir Porush, who stepped down amid disagreements over the draft law. Netanyahu had held the ministry himself since Porush’s departure.
As part of the arrangement, practical oversight of the Meron celebrations, including preparations, coordination, and execution of the massive annual event, will be transferred to Minister Karhi. Levin had expressed reluctance to personally take on responsibility for Meron, leading to the split in duties.
{Matzav.com}
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Reb Yoel Simcha z”l, a devoted chossid of Ger and longtime administrator of the Yeshiva Ketana of Ger in Brooklyn. He was 37 years old.
Reb Yoel, remembered for his open heart and boundless kindness, endured much suffering throughout his short life. Friends often referred to him as “Yoel baal yissurim,” recognizing both his struggles and the noble way in which he bore them.
He was a son of Reb Avrohom Binyomin Simcha and grew up steeped in the traditions of Ger. His life was marked by dedication to chessed, to Torah, and to the yeshiva where he faithfully served as administrator, ensuring its smooth functioning with quiet devotion.
In recent years, Reb Yoel was stricken with illness but miraculously recovered. Just last year, after his recovery, he marked the occasion by making a l’chaim and bentching Gomel before the Gerrer Rebbe during the Rebbe’s visit to America for the wedding of his daughter, Reb Yisroel Menachem Alter’s child.
Sadly, in recent weeks, the disease returned with far greater intensity. Out of concern not to burden others, Reb Yoel kept the severity of his condition hidden from his family and friends. Only as his health rapidly deteriorated did he inform his parents, who immediately traveled from abroad to be at his side.
Throughout his final weeks, he lay in the hospital in excruciating pain, yet he requested not to be sedated, explaining that he wished to accept yissurim mechaperim — suffering as atonement. Even as his condition worsened, he sought halachic guidance from the Gerrer dayan, Rav Hershel Rotenberg, and asked that whatever the dayan ruled should be followed. In the end, his medication was changed, but his wish to remain conscious was honored until his weakness overtook him.
During his last days, many friends and fellow Gerrer chassidim kept vigil by his bedside. They sang and tried to uplift his spirits, joined by his chavrusa, Rabbi Yehuda Taub, who remained constantly at his side. This morning, Erev Shabbos Parshas Ki Seitzei, he was niftar.
The levayah was held this morning at the Gerrer Yeshiva Ketana in Boro Park.
Reb Yoel is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
Over a recent two-year period, the Pentagon funded hundreds of projects done in collaboration with universities in China and institutes linked to that nation’s defense industry, including many blacklisted by the U.S. government for working with the Chinese military, a congressional investigation has found. The report, released Friday by House Republicans on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, argues the projects have allowed China to exploit U.S. research partnerships for military gains while the two countries are locked in a tech and arms rivalry. “American taxpayer dollars should be used to defend the nation — not strengthen its foremost strategic competitor,” Republicans wrote in the report. “Failing to safeguard American research from hostile foreign exploitation will continue to erode U.S. technological dominance and place our national defense capabilities at risk,” it said. The Pentagon and didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment. The congressional report said some officials at the Defense Department argued research should remain open as long as it is “neither controlled nor classified.” The report makes several recommendations to scale back U.S. research collaboration with China. It also backs new legislation proposed by the committee’s chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Michigan. The bill would prohibit any Defense Department funding from going to projects done in collaboration with researchers affiliated with Chinese entities that the U.S. government identifies as safety risks. Beijing has in the past said science and technological cooperation between the two countries is mutually beneficial and helps them cope with global challenges. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Republicans say the joint research could have military applications The 80-page report builds on the committee’s findings last year that partnerships between U.S. and Chinese universities over the past decade allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to help Beijing develop critical technology. Amid pressure from Republicans, several U.S. universities have ended their joint programs with Chinese schools in recent years. The new report focuses more narrowly on the Defense Department and its billions of dollars in annual research funding. The committee’s investigation identified 1,400 research papers published between June 2023 and June 2025 that acknowledged support from the Pentagon and were done in collaboration with Chinese partners. The publications were funded by some 700 defense grants worth more than $2.5 billion. Of the 1,400 publications, more than half involved organizations affiliated with China’s defense research and industrial base. Dozens of those organizations were flagged for potential security concerns on U.S. government lists, though federal law does not prohibit research collaborations with them. The Defense Department money supported research in fields including hypersonic technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, advanced materials and next-generation propulsion. Many of the projects have clear military applications, according to the report. In one case, a nuclear scientist at Carnegie Science, a research institution in Washington, worked extensively on Pentagon-backed research while holding appointments at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences. The scientist, who has done research on high-energy materials, nitrogen and high-pressure physics — all of which are relevant to nuclear weapons development — has been honored in China for his work to advance the country’s national development goals, the report said. It called the case “a deeply troubling example” of how Beijing can leverage U.S. taxpayer-funded research to further its weapons development. In another Pentagon-backed project, […]
Tensions between Yerushalayim and Cairo escalated further as Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu accused Egypt of “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone.”
His remarks followed criticism from Egypt over comments he made in an interview with the Abu Ali Express channel. In that exchange, Netanyahu said he was prepared to let residents of Gaza exit through the Rafah Crossing, but added that “they would be blocked by Egypt.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry quickly pushed back, issuing a statement expressing its “utmost condemnation” of Netanyahu’s claim. The ministry said the remarks were “part of his continuous attempts to prolong the period of escalation in the region and entrench instability to avoid confronting the consequences of Israeli violations in Gaza, both internally and externally.”
“Displacement is not an option and it is a red line for Egypt and we will not allow it to happen,” declared Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a press conference Friday in Nicosia.
“Displacement means liquidation and the end of the Palestinian cause and there is no legal or moral or ethical ground to evict people from their homeland,” he continued. Abdelatty also repeated Cairo’s long-standing charge that Israel is carrying out genocide, a claim that Israel firmly denies.
In the meantime, Egypt has been reinforcing its military presence along the border with Gaza. The move comes as the IDF prepares for a major push to seize control of Gaza City, raising fears that the large-scale evacuation from northern Gaza could result in Palestinians attempting to cross into Egyptian territory.
The Rafah border has been shut since Israeli forces took over the crossing. Security officials note that, after the October 7, 2023 outbreak of war, Egypt constructed a fortified barrier along its frontier—consisting of a concrete wall extending six meters underground, topped with barbed wire, as well as berms and upgraded surveillance systems.
{Matzav.com}
A New York Supreme Court granted a decisive victory today to schools that had been deemed “nonequivalent.” This development in the decade-long substantial equivalency saga — predicated on legislation advocated for by Agudath Israel and others — allows parents in these schools to exhale once more, and can have broader positive implications for yeshivas long-term. In May 2025, all parents of six schools received a foreboding letter from New York City stating that their child’s school: “shall no longer be deemed a school which provides compulsory education… effective June 30th, 2025, all services at the school for your child will be discontinued, including special education and related services. Given that your child will no longer be able to attend this school, a decision must be made about what school your child will attend for the 2025-2026 school year and you must notify the New York City Department of Education of where your child will be enrolled by July 1st 2025.” [emphasis added] The letter continues by describing how parents will proceed if their child attends public school in 2025-2026. This legislative session, new language, fundamentally redefining how nonpublic schools can satisfy “substantial equivalency,” became law. SED had argued that all schools can opt in to the new legislation, except for schools that had already been deemed nonequivalent prior to the legislation’s enactment. The court refuted SED’s claim, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.” The court further rejected SED’s argument that the schools cannot avail themselves of the new legislation because, by being non-equivalent, they are “non-schools,” and thus are ineligible to make a selection. This case may have long-term implications if, in the future, any school is declared non-equivalent. Based on this ruling, a school can still choose to avail itself of a pathway. The “non-school” argument was soundly defeated. The Agudah congratulated Steven Barshov, Esq., of Barshov Law PLLC, who represented the yeshivas and parents in this case.
Today, the IDF targeted a multi-story building in Gaza City that was being utilized by Hamas.
Inside the building, the terror group had set up facilities designed to help them plan and launch operations against Israeli soldiers in the vicinity.
Beneath the tower, Hamas had created an underground system that served as a base for organizing assaults on IDF units. This subterranean network was also used to stage ambushes and provided escape routes for its fighters.
Before carrying out the strike, the IDF implemented multiple safety precautions to minimize civilian casualties. These included advance warnings to residents, carefully chosen precision weaponry, drone monitoring, and additional intelligence measures.
The terror factions operating in Gaza consistently breach international law, cynically turning civilian areas and the local population into protective shields for their violent actions.
The IDF stressed that it will persist in its mission to confront and dismantle the terrorist groups entrenched in the Gaza Strip.
{Matzav.com}
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed grief over Israeli hostages in four different languages following reports that PM Bibi Netanyahu blocked his visit to Israel.
Former President Joe Biden, 82, was spotted in Delaware with bandages on his forehead following recent Mohs surgery to remove skin cancer lesions, a procedure he also had on his chest last year.
HASSETT: All of the job creation in the U.S. has come from native-born workers, whereas in the Biden admin, half was foreign-born… if the supply of new illegal immigrants goes to zero, as it has, then there won’t be non native-born workers taking jobs from native-born workers.
70 wanted individuals were detained and several assault weapons seized in the last week during counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria.
ICE has completed the biggest operation in DHS history, arresting more than 450 criminal alien workers at a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia.
Some 475 people were detained during an immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles, according to a Homeland Security official. Steven Schrank, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, said at a news briefing Friday that the majority of the people detained were from South Korea. “This operation underscores our commitment to jobs for Georgians and Americans,” Schrank said. “This was in fact the largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.” The investigation has been ongoing for several months, with authorities receiving leads from community members and former workers, he said. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong described the number of detained South Koreans as “large” though he did not provide an exact figure. He said the detained workers were part of a “network of subcontractors,” and that the employees worked for a variety of different companies on the site. Thursday’s raid targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, touted by Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials as the largest economic development project in the state’s history. Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s biggest automaker, began manufacturing EVs a year ago at the $7.6 billion plant, which employs about 1,200 people, and has partnered with LG Energy Solution to build an adjacent battery plant, slated to open next year. In a statement to The Associated Press, LG said it was “closely monitoring the situation and gathering all relevant details.” It said it couldn’t immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained. “Our top priority is always ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and partners. We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” the company said. Hyundai’s South Korean office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed that federal authorities conducted an enforcement operation at the 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) site west of Savannah, Georgia. He said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant. In a televised statement, Lee said the ministry is taking active measures to address the case, dispatching diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in Atlanta to the site, and planning to form an on-site response team centered on the local mission. “The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,” Lee said. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that agents executed a search warrant “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.” President Donald Trump’s administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations as part of a mass deportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops. The Pew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says the U.S. labor force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents. Hyundai and LG’s battery joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, said in a statement that it’s “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities” and paused construction of the battery site to assist their work. Operations at Hyundai’s EV manufacturing plant weren’t interrupted, said plant spokesperson Bianca Johnson. The Georgia plant […]
President Trump this morning took aim at longtime Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, celebrating the veteran lawmaker’s decision to retire and blasting him as “one of the most disgusting Congressmen in USA History.”
Trump’s remarks came shortly after Nadler announced he would not be running again for Congress, ending more than three decades as Manhattan’s representative in Washington.
“Jerry Nadler, one of the most disgusting Congressmen in USA History is, at long last, calling it ‘quits’,” Trump declared in a Truth Social message early Friday morning.
“He’s finally leaving Congress! I’ve been beating this bum for 40 years, first as a New York City developer, where he opposed me, for no reason, at every corner, but could NEVER stop me from getting the job done, and then, as your President.”
The president also branded Nadler a “psychopathic nut job,” pointing to his role in spearheading impeachment proceedings against him on two separate occasions.
“It will be a great day for the U.S.A. when Nadler, a pathetic lightweight, is out of office and leaves our beautiful, and NOW VERY SAFE, Washington, D.C.,” Trump wrote.
Nadler, now in his 17th term, explained that his decision stemmed from the need for a “generational change.” He hinted that President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline over the past year reinforced his choice to step aside.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the New York Times.
He went on to add that a younger member of his party taking over his seat “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”
{Matzav.com}
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