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Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday that the Trump administration intends to release additional government records concerning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, following renewed demands from victims’ families for unredacted documents that could shed light on possible Saudi connections to the hijackers.

“There’ll be more records coming out,” Blanche told CBS News, saying the administration shares the families’ desire to obtain answers from the remaining government files.

Blanche firmly rejected allegations that records remain secret because the United States is attempting to shield Saudi Arabia or any other government or organization.

“The one thing that we are not doing, we’re not protecting people,” Blanche said. “The reason that we’re not releasing documents has nothing to do with protecting any government or any entity. It’s just to protect, genuine classified [information].”

His comments followed an emotional new push by relatives of 9/11 victims during Friday’s ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Family members publicly called on the Trump administration to release additional records without redactions, particularly documents they believe could provide information concerning Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of victims’ relatives have pursued lengthy litigation against Saudi Arabia, alleging that individuals with connections to the Saudi government provided assistance to two of the 19 hijackers.

President Donald Trump addressed the families’ request Sunday as he prepared to return to the United States from Ireland.

“I’m going to look at it when I get back,” Trump told reporters.

According to Blanche, some of the material that remains secret is legitimately classified because of national security considerations. At the same time, he acknowledged that the classification of other documents may no longer be justified.

“Sometimes there’s documents that are classified and they shouldn’t be,” Blanche said. “And so those are the ones that we’re going to release.”

Blanche did not say when the next batch of documents would become public.

At the heart of the families’ continuing effort are questions about whether individuals linked to Saudi Arabia assisted Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar after the two hijackers arrived in California in January 2000.

Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who carried out the September 11 attacks were Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied that its government played a role in the attacks.

Much of the families’ attention has focused on Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who encountered Hazmi and Mihdhar in San Diego and assisted them in securing housing. Bayoumi maintained that the encounter occurred by chance, while the victims’ families have alleged that his relationship with the hijackers and his connections to Saudi Arabia were more substantial than he acknowledged.

Evidence obtained through the families’ litigation included a video showing Bayoumi recording entrances to the U.S. Capitol and indicating the building’s position in relation to the Washington Monument. At portions of the recording, according to CBS News, Bayoumi referred to a “plan.”

Investigators also recovered an airplane drawing and a mathematical formula from Bayoumi’s apartment in Britain. The material was provided to the FBI in 2001, but a former FBI field investigator later told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he did not learn about it until it was on the verge of being archived or destroyed.

After obtaining the material, the investigator brought it to aviation experts, who said the formula could enable a pilot to calculate a descent rate for striking a target on the horizon. According to CBS News, that evidence had not previously been provided to FBI field agents working on the investigation or to senior intelligence officials.

Investigators have long believed that the U.S. Capitol may have been the intended destination of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

The 9/11 Commission concluded in its 2004 report that it had uncovered no evidence demonstrating that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually financed al-Qaida. The commission nevertheless said its conclusions did not eliminate the possibility that charities receiving significant Saudi government sponsorship had diverted funds to the terrorist organization.

The families’ civil litigation against Saudi Arabia cleared an important hurdle in August 2025, when U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels rejected an effort by the kingdom to have the claims dismissed. The judge determined that the families had presented sufficient evidence for the litigation to continue, including evidence involving Bayoumi, fellow Saudi national Fahad al-Thumairy, and alleged assistance provided to Hazmi and Mihdhar after they reached California.

The Trump administration has meanwhile already overseen the release of a substantial new collection of government records connected to 9/11.

On Friday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe declassified 71 President’s Daily Brief products covering the years leading up to the terrorist attacks through the following day. The CIA described the disclosure as its largest single release of declassified presidential briefing material connected to 9/11.

The newly available records contain intelligence assessments concerning Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, including warnings issued by U.S. intelligence agencies about possible terrorist attacks before September 11.

Those CIA documents, however, are distinct from the records victims’ families are seeking concerning possible Saudi links to the hijackers.

Blanche insisted Monday that the continued classification of some documents should not be interpreted as an effort by the government to conceal information from the public.

“It’s not as if we’re keeping records from the American people,” Blanche told CBS News.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered military officials to examine possible legal action against the creators and others involved in the controversial documentary “NAZA,” accusing the film of spreading false allegations against IDF soldiers and deliberately seeking to undermine the legitimacy of the Israeli military and the State of Israel.

Zamir convened a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss the film, which received the Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival over the weekend.

Participating in the meeting were Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir, Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler, the commander of Unit 8200, Brig. Gen. A., IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, and other senior commanders.

The film was created by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. According to its official synopsis, it examines what it describes as the mechanisms behind mass killing in Gaza and is based on testimony from 24 IDF soldiers and officers. Its title, “NAZA,” is derived from the Hebrew military abbreviation for nezek agavi, or collateral damage.

Zamir charged that the film represents a deliberate effort to directly damage the legitimacy of both the IDF and Israel.

“Based on the publications that have emerged thus far, this is not a film criticizing the IDF, nor is it an attempt to ascertain the truth,” Zamir said. “It is based on blood libels, a deliberate distortion of reality, and false and grave accusations against IDF soldiers and commanders.”

“This is a move against the State of Israel, not only against the IDF,” Zamir continued. “It adopts the narratives of Israel’s enemies, slanders our soldiers and commanders, and seeks to portray the IDF as deliberately acting unlawfully. This is a dangerous attempt to deny us the legitimacy to defend ourselves against the worst of our enemies — and in doing so, to genuinely endanger IDF soldiers and commanders.”

“We will not allow IDF soldiers to be turned into targets through lies and blood libels,” Zamir added. “Faced with such an attempt, we must act with determination, using all the tools at our disposal — legal, command and public diplomacy.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Zamir ordered the establishment of a multi-agency, multidisciplinary team, led by the head of the IDF Planning Directorate, to develop methods and tools for responding to what the military says are false accusations against the IDF and its soldiers. The effort will include experts from Israel and abroad.

Zamir also directed the Military Advocate General to examine and advance possible legal measures concerning the film and those involved in its production, including in connection with what the IDF says is the dissemination of false allegations against Israeli soldiers and the potential consequences for their personal safety and Israel’s national security.

In addition, the chief of staff ordered an examination of information-security issues surrounding the production, including whether classified material may have been leaked and subsequently used by the filmmakers.

Zamir called for a broad Israeli and international public-information campaign involving the Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry, National Public Diplomacy Directorate and other relevant agencies.

The IDF has separately issued a categorical denial of one of the central allegations reportedly presented in the film — that an Israeli strike in Gaza was planned or authorized despite an expectation that approximately 500 civilians would be killed.

In an English-language statement posted on X, the IDF called the allegation “completely false.”

Defrin called upon the filmmakers to allow IDF representatives to view the documentary in its entirety so that the military could “address each of the claims raised in it in a substantive manner.”

According to the IDF, “At no point was a strike planned, approved, or carried out in which the IDF anticipated that such a number of civilians — or even a number approaching it — would be killed.”

The military further said that throughout the war, no credible allegation had emerged of an IDF strike causing a death toll approaching 500 people. The IDF maintained that the filmmakers could not have verified the allegation, which it says lacks substantive supporting evidence, but chose to publish it nonetheless.

“NAZA” had already attracted significant international attention at its premiere last Thursday, when the filmmakers reportedly received a standing ovation lasting nearly 25 minutes at the Venice festival. The documentary draws upon investigations previously published by the Israeli outlets Local Call and +972 Magazine, as well as Britain’s Guardian.

In his acceptance speech, Abraham responded to the fierce criticism the film has generated in Israel.

“It is not easy to stand here when I think about the Israeli politicians and journalists who are attacking the film and rejecting it without having seen it at all,” Abraham said.

Abraham said the documentary was intended to present what its creators believe is the reality behind Israel’s military operations, and urged Israeli and international audiences to watch the film and consider the information it presents.

The controversy has extended beyond the IDF. Following the military’s denial, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said he had approached the Interior Ministry to determine whether legal grounds exist to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the filmmakers.

Zohar asked officials to investigate the origins of the testimony and materials appearing in the documentary and determine “whether, in obtaining or publishing them, acts were committed that amount to treason against the state or that could constitute assistance to the enemy during wartime.”

{Matzav.com}

Three Ponevezh Yeshiva bochurim in their 20s suffered burns Monday evening when boiling water from a hot-water urn spilled on them at the yeshiva in Bnei Brak, shortly after the conclusion of Tzom Gedaliah.

The three sustained burns to their hands and legs and were evacuated for further treatment at a burn clinic in Bnei Brak. Their conditions were reported to be stable, b’chasdei Shomayim.

United Hatzalah medical teams were dispatched to the scene on Abba Grossbard Street and provided initial treatment to the three injured bochurim.

Aharon Lehrer, a United Hatzalah EMT and ambulance driver who treated the victims, described what he was told had occurred.

“They told me that an urn of boiling water spilled on them, and as a result they suffered burns to their hands and legs. I provided them with medical treatment at the scene and then evacuated them for further medical treatment in stable condition,” Lehrer said.

The incident follows several other serious scalding accidents reported in Israel’s chareidi community in recent months, particularly involving young children.

During Elul, a two-year-old child in Beit Shemesh suffered burns from boiling water. A month earlier, during Av, another two-year-old in Rechasim was burned by a Shabbos hot-water urn. A similar accident was reported in Beitar Illit during the preparations for Pesach.

Emergency organizations have repeatedly warned families to take particular precautions with hot-water urns and electric kettles. They recommend placing such appliances in locations completely inaccessible to children and ensuring that their electrical cords cannot be reached or pulled by children.

{Matzav.com}

A 14-year-old Jewish boy suffered a cut to his hand after allegedly being attacked by a 22-year-old man inside a Boro Park shul on Monday evening.

According to the New York Police Department, the incident occurred at approximately 7:20 p.m. inside the Kedushas Yosef Verdan shul on 54th Street near 17th Avenue in Boro Park, Brooklyn.

Police officers responded to the scene and arrested the alleged attacker without incident.

The 14-year-old victim received initial medical treatment at the scene for the injury to his hand. He subsequently declined transportation to a hospital for additional medical care.

Local sources told the New York Post that the 22-year-old suspect is well known to residents in the neighborhood and frequently visits various shuls throughout the Boro Park area.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

{Matzav.com}

Seventeen years of anguish, mounting financial burdens and seemingly endless legal battles came to a dramatic conclusion just hours before Rosh Hashanah, when a woman who had been unable to obtain a get for nearly two decades was finally released from her marriage through the intervention of Rishon LeTzion Rav Dovid Yosef.

The long-awaited get was given at Israel’s Great Rabbinical Court on Erev Rosh Hashanah, following intensive last-minute efforts led personally by Rav Yosef, president of the Great Rabbinical Court, together with his close associate Rav Yisroel Meir Yonah.

The extraordinarily complicated case stretched back approximately 17 years and involved legal proceedings in both Israel and the United States, financial disputes, international child-custody litigation and repeated unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement that would allow the woman to move on with her life.

The saga began after the couple moved to the United States, married and had a child. Their marriage subsequently deteriorated, and the mother returned to Israel with the child.

What followed was years of bitter and complicated litigation. The dispute involved proceedings connected to the Hague Convention on international child custody, restrictions preventing the husband, who had obtained legal status in the United States, from leaving Israel, growing debts and continuing clashes in various courts and legal forums.

Repeated attempts to resolve the dispute failed. Israel’s Agunah Division remained involved in the case and worked extensively to bring about a resolution, but despite those efforts, the obstacles preventing a get remained.

The major breakthrough came when Rav Dovid Yosef took a personal interest in resolving the longstanding case. He assigned Rav Yisroel Meir Yonah, one of his closest confidants and a longtime chavrusa of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, to delve deeply into the case and find a path toward an agreement.

Rav Yonah reportedly immersed himself in the complicated details of the dispute and engaged in intensive efforts with the parties, employing a variety of approaches in an attempt to overcome obstacles that had frustrated previous efforts for nearly two decades.

The decisive developments came immediately before Rosh Hashanah.

Rav Yosef had returned to Eretz Yisroel only one day earlier following an intensive trip to the United States, where he had visited and strengthened Jewish communities. Despite having just returned from the trip, he immediately convened a panel of the Great Rabbinical Court and threw his full halachic and judicial authority behind an effort to bring the case to an end.

The intensive negotiations ultimately succeeded where years of previous efforts had failed, producing a comprehensive agreement between the parties.

Then, with only hours remaining before Rosh Hashanah, the moment the woman had awaited for 17 years finally arrived. The husband gave the get in the Great Rabbinical Court, formally ending the marriage and freeing the woman from her prolonged state of agunah.

The emotional proceedings brought an extraordinary conclusion to a case that had for years appeared virtually impossible to resolve. After nearly two decades of uncertainty and suffering, the woman left the Bais Din able to begin a new chapter of her life.

Officials in Israel’s rabbinical court system pointed to the case as an example of Rav Yosef’s determined approach toward resolving cases of agunos and refusing to abandon even extraordinarily difficult cases.

The breakthrough is one of several significant developments in recent years involving Israel’s rabbinical court system and its efforts to address longstanding cases of agunos and get refusal.

The Great Rabbinical Court recently established 13 dedicated panels of dayanim around the country to adjudicate dinei mamonos, as part of a broader effort to strengthen the role of halacha within Israel’s legal framework.

In another recently publicized case, a man who withheld a get from his wife for 30 years was ordered to pay approximately 4.7 million shekels in damages, one of the largest awards ever imposed in Israel over prolonged get refusal. The judge in that case determined that the decades-long ordeal constituted an extreme violation of the woman’s basic rights and dignity.

Another difficult case involved a chareidi mother of three who remained trapped in her marriage for eight years before ultimately obtaining her freedom following forceful intervention by the division responsible for combating agunah cases, an extensive police search and a complicated series of events involving her husband.

According to the report, the husband in that case had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and used hard drugs. He allegedly imposed extreme religious restrictions upon his wife, locked her inside their home and isolated her from members of her own family. At one point, he escaped from a psychiatric institution, further complicating efforts to resolve the case.

Rav Yosef has also maintained an active public schedule in recent weeks. Shortly before Rosh Hashanah, he conducted a special visit to facilities operated by the Israel Prison Service, meeting senior officials, delivering divrei Torah and words of chizuk, and entering closed prison wings as part of his pre-Rosh Hashanah visit.

For the woman whose ordeal ended on Erev Rosh Hashanah, however, the intervention of Rav Yosef, Rav Yonah and the Great Rabbinical Court meant something far more immediate.

After 17 years in which a resolution repeatedly appeared beyond reach, she entered the new year no longer an agunah.

Tefillos are being held throughout Vizhnitzer communities as the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Bnei Brak, Rav Yisroel Hager, prepares to undergo a procedure to implant a cardiac pacemaker tomorrow morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Yerushalayim.

The procedure is scheduled to take place in the hospital’s cardiology department at 8:30 a.m.

According to sources, the Rebbe had originally been scheduled to undergo the procedure before Rosh Hashanah, but personally requested that it be postponed until after Rosh Hashanah.

A statement issued by the Rebbe’s household called upon Vizhnitzer chassidim and Jews everywhere to increase their tefillos on his behalf.

“With Hashem’s help, tomorrow, Tuesday, at 8:30 in the morning, our Rebbe will undergo a special medical procedure at the hospital. The entire community and all of Klal Yisroel are asked to increase their prayers for his merit and complete recovery, and may we merit the fulfillment of the verse, ‘For through me your days will be increased, and years of life will be added to you, for our good all the days.’”

Vizhnitz officials announced that special minyanim will be held at 8:30 a.m., coinciding with the scheduled procedure, at several prominent locations.

“With Hashem’s help, at 8:30, prayer gatherings will be held at the resting place of our Rebbes, at the Kosel and at the holy site in Meron,” the Vizhnitz announcement said.

The public is being asked to daven and invoke rachamei Shomayim for the Rebbe’s complete recovery.

Despite his illness, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe spent Rosh Hashanah together with thousands of his chassidim and served as shaliach tzibbur for all of the tefillos over the course of the Yom Tov.

Throughout Rosh Hashanah, special Mi Shebeirachs were also recited for the Rebbe’s recovery in the courts of numerous other Rebbes.

All are asked to daven for Rav Yisroel ben Leah Esther.

{Matzav.com}

New York students will no longer have to pass Regents exams to receive a high school diploma beginning with the class of 2028, after the state Board of Regents voted Monday to approve a sweeping overhaul of graduation requirements that will shift much of the responsibility for assessing students to individual school districts.

Under the new framework, New York will also move away from its current three-diploma structure and establish a single high school diploma. Districts will be permitted to use locally developed assessments and other measures to determine whether students have demonstrated the knowledge and skills necessary to graduate, while advanced academic distinctions will remain available on an optional basis.

The Board of Regents formally approved the change Monday morning, marking a major departure from the system that has for decades required students to pass a series of state Regents examinations before earning a diploma.

The changes are part of the state Education Department’s broader Portrait of a Graduate initiative. Education Commissioner Betty Rosa has argued that the current system does not treat students equally, noting that students attending many private schools — including those serving affluent families — can graduate without passing Regents exams. Rosa and Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young Jr. have said the new approach is intended to prevent a student’s background or ZIP code from determining his or her opportunity to graduate.

With the board’s approval of the NY Inspires timeline, the state Education Department is expected to present formal regulatory amendments by February 2027. Those regulations will lay out the details of the new graduation system and the transition to a single diploma.

Instead of making passage of standardized Regents exams a prerequisite for graduation, individual districts will develop assessment and grading systems using multiple measures of student performance. Those could include teachers’ daily evaluations, classroom quizzes, state examinations and other demonstrations of academic proficiency.

The state’s goal is to place greater emphasis on students demonstrating critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities rather than relying predominantly on their performance on multiple-choice and other standardized test questions.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote in June 2027 on final adoption of the regulatory changes. If approved as planned, the new single-diploma requirements would take effect July 1, 2027. During the 2027-28 school year, districts would also be required to develop their initial implementation plans and make them available to the public.

Regents exams themselves, however, will not disappear entirely.

New York will continue administering high school assessments required under federal law, including the Every Student Succeeds Act. Students will still be tested in English, mathematics and science, while New York also requires social studies testing for state accountability purposes.

The state Education Department is expected to develop assessments in those subjects that can be used to monitor student achievement and evaluate the performance of schools throughout New York.

The key distinction under the new system is that the remaining state and federally required examinations will primarily serve as tools for evaluating schools rather than as individual barriers to graduation. State officials say the results will allow education authorities to identify districts that are struggling academically or may require additional resources.

Deputy Education Commissioner Angelique Johnson-Dingle has emphasized that the Regents examinations are therefore not simply being eliminated. Their role in the state’s education system is instead being substantially changed.

Moving away from standardized exams as a graduation requirement will also require significant changes in the classroom. State officials are studying pilot programs that assess students through career and technical education, student-directed research projects, practical assignments designed by teachers and other alternatives to conventional testing.

Districts will be expected to create oversight mechanisms to ensure that locally developed assessments accurately measure student achievement and remain consistent with statewide academic expectations.

The Education Department has also drawn a distinction between using Regents exams to measure whether students have mastered material in a particular subject and using the exams to decide whether a student deserves a high school diploma.

According to NYSED, “considerable evidence” supports the usefulness of Regents exams in measuring student achievement within particular subjects, but the department says comparable evidence does not support making passage of those exams a condition for receiving a diploma.

The department has also long advised schools against using Regents results to determine students’ course grades, a policy NYSED said “has been the Department’s position for over two decades.”

Regent Adrian Hale, discussing the changes at the state Education Department meeting, also spoke about his own experiences with the shortcomings of “teaching to the test” in public schools.

The latest changes represent the next stage of the New York Inspires initiative, which is intended to shift the state’s graduation system toward practical skills and different ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned. New York education officials have spent several years examining alternative graduation measures and considering an eventual end to Regents exams as a diploma requirement.

One unresolved issue is how districts with fewer financial resources will provide some of the advanced educational opportunities envisioned under the new framework. Young raised questions about how the state would finance programs such as International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses so that students in less affluent districts have comparable opportunities.

Supporters of eliminating the Regents graduation requirement have argued that the current system contributes to students dropping out of high school, with particularly significant effects on low-income students and students of color.

Maria Odom, executive director of Advocates for Children of New York, praised the state for moving away from “the outdated idea that all young people must pass a set of high-stakes standardized tests in order to demonstrate their readiness for post-secondary life.”

Odom said some students complete their coursework despite overcoming significant obstacles but are nevertheless denied diplomas because they cannot clear the Regents requirement, “sometimes sitting for a single exam a half-dozen times to try to raise their score by just a few points.”

A 29-year-old Kansas man has been arrested in Florida after allegedly posting a series of antisemitic death threats against Jewish conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, including messages that appeared to count down to an intended attack around Yom Kippur, according to court documents and law enforcement officials.

Korby Aaren Strube, of Horton, Kansas, was arrested on Sept. 12 and faces 23 counts related to written or electronic threats to kill or inflict bodily harm, along with two counts involving the alleged use of a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony.

According to an affidavit obtained by JNS from the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller of Palm Beach County, Strube allegedly published threatening messages targeting Shapiro on social media on July 31, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2. Among the posts cited in the affidavit were statements that he would be “giving the world a boost by killing Ben Shapiro for being Jewish” and that he was “killing this stupid Jew.”

Investigators said the alleged threats included explicitly antisemitic language and references to Israel.

“He invoked antisemitic conspiratorial themes as justification for the intended killing, attributing violence to ‘semites,’ to ‘Tel Aviv’ and to ‘a foreign government,’” the affidavit stated.

Authorities said the posts made on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 also contained countdowns of 52 and 51 days, respectively, until the threatened killing. According to the affidavit, the countdown appeared to point toward Sept. 21-22, corresponding with Yom Kippur this year.

The investigation began on Aug. 4 after Fortified Risk Group, a private security firm that provides protection for Shapiro, alerted authorities to the messages. Investigators subsequently worked to identify the person behind the social media account and determined that Strube was allegedly responsible for the posts. Shapiro told investigators that he believed he was being targeted because he is Jewish and that he wanted to pursue charges.

The affidavit states that Strube also admitted to posting a threat involving President Donald Trump and the Obamas, although he denied having any intention or desire to kill Trump.

Strube acknowledged that he controlled the social media accounts in question but claimed that his computer had been hacked and that his identity might have been stolen. According to investigators, however, that explanation conflicted with his own admissions and with evidence obtained during the investigation from technology, telephone and internet companies.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigation also drew on information from the U.S. Secret Service. According to the arrest report, a Secret Service agent and Brown County Sheriff’s Office officials had visited Strube’s Kansas home on Aug. 4 in connection with alleged threats involving President Trump and the Obamas. During that encounter, Strube allegedly admitted posting threatening material on social media.

Strube was subsequently taken into custody in Palm Beach County. Court records cited by local media show that a judge ordered him held without bail following a hearing on Sunday.

A video recorded outside the Islamic Cultural Center of New York on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is drawing attention after independent journalist Nate Friedman confronted an NYPD traffic enforcement officer about taxis that appeared to be double-parked near the mosque during Muslim prayers.

Friedman released the footage as part of a documentary about the Islamic Cultural Center, a prominent Manhattan mosque that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has previously visited. In the video, Friedman questioned why some vehicles were apparently being ticketed while taxis parked outside the mosque were being allowed to remain double-parked.

According to Friedman, the officer told him that the taxis were not ticketed while their drivers were attending prayers.

“During the time of salah, we don’t ticket the taxis,” the officer says in the footage, according to Friedman’s account of the exchange.

The interaction has prompted allegations online that parking regulations were being enforced selectively based on the religious activity taking place at the mosque. The available footage and reporting, however, do not establish the religion of motorists who received tickets, nor is there independent evidence showing that the officer was deliberately distinguishing between Muslim and non-Muslim drivers.

Friedman described the situation differently, saying that taxis outside the mosque were receiving an exemption because their drivers were praying. He wrote that “all the taxis double parked get a pass because they’re praying” and cited his conversation with the traffic officer as evidence of the practice.

The underlying parking arrangement may have a longer history than the recent video suggests. Academic research on Muslim taxi drivers in New York describes an apparent accommodation at the Islamic Cultural Center dating back years. Researchers reported that mosque officials had apparently negotiated with the city for special permits allowing drivers to double-park outside the mosque during heavily attended prayer periods. The same research noted that drivers reported inconsistent enforcement, with some saying they nevertheless received tickets.

It was not immediately clear whether such a permit or accommodation remains in effect today, what its precise terms are, or whether it applied to the vehicles Friedman recorded.

New York City traffic regulations generally restrict where taxis may stand while waiting for passengers. The rules do permit taxis and other for-hire vehicles in certain circumstances to stop alongside parked vehicles when picking up or discharging passengers, but that provision contains specific limitations and does not establish a general religious exemption for double-parking.

Friedman’s broader documentary focuses on the Islamic Cultural Center and includes footage of activity around the mosque. He also says members of his team were confronted while filming and that one individual threatened him, telling him, “next time I’ll pull my pistol out and shoot you.” That alleged threat was captured on video, according to Friedman.

The parking footage has since circulated widely on social media, with critics calling for the NYPD to investigate whether traffic laws are being applied uniformly.

There is currently no verified evidence supporting broader claims circulating alongside the video that Muslims are “conquering the police force” in New York City, nor does the footage itself establish such a claim.

The central question raised by Friedman’s video is narrower: whether taxis attending prayers at the Islamic Cultural Center are operating under an authorized city accommodation, an exercise of ordinary enforcement discretion, or an unofficial practice by traffic enforcement personnel.

As of Monday evening, publicly available information reviewed for this report did not establish that the NYPD had opened an investigation into the officer’s conduct or issued an explanation of the specific parking arrangement outside the mosque.

Officials in Skokie, Illinois, have extended the automatic pedestrian crossing time at a major intersection on Shabbos, addressing a safety concern for Orthodox residents who do not press electronic crossing buttons on Shabbos.

Mayor Ann Tennes said she became aware of the problem after visiting a shul last fall and seeing firsthand the difficulty Orthodox pedestrians faced when trying to cross the busy intersection. Without activation of the pedestrian button, the signal eventually allowed people to cross, but provided considerably less time.

“Without someone pressing the button, it will eventually go to a walk signal, but it’s a shorter walk signal—not as long of a walk signal as when the button is activated,” she told JNS.

Tennes said the shorter interval was particularly difficult for families, elderly residents and others who could not move quickly through the intersection.

“There were people trying to cross pushing wheelchairs and with small children, and it was difficult,” she said. “They just didn’t have enough time.”

After becoming mayor in April 2025, Tennes made addressing the crossing time one of her priorities. The intersection is located along Dempster Street, which she described as a “major thoroughfare” and which is near several shuls.

The modification has now been implemented. Ordinarily, pedestrians who do not press the crossing button receive approximately 30 to 40 seconds to cross the large intersection. During the automatic Shabbos cycle, however, pedestrians will now receive between 60 and 65 seconds.

According to Tennes, the village manager informed her that Skokie officials had discussed the issue with the Illinois Department of Transportation on several occasions in previous years, but those efforts had failed to produce a solution.

“There was just never a change, modification to the system at that particular intersection that was acceptable to the Illinois Department of Transportation that was also acceptable to the leaders of the Jewish community in terms of what types of activity were allowed on the Sabbath,” she told JNS.

When Tennes took office, she said she decided to approach the longstanding issue with “fresh eyes” and search for a solution that could satisfy both safety requirements and the religious needs of the community.

The approach that appeared most practical, she said, was to have the full pedestrian crossing signal operate automatically from late Friday afternoon through early Saturday evening, eliminating the need for Shabbos-observant pedestrians to activate the button.

“We were able to get to the right people at the Illinois Department of Transportation, and they made the change in late April,” Tennes said. “It’s been well received by the community. It’s certainly safe.”

“I’m very, very pleased that we persisted and we were able to put this change in for the community,” she said.

For now, the automatic extended crossing time is scheduled specifically for Shabbos. Tennes said it would be “ideal” to eventually have the same system operate on other Yomim Tovim, when Orthodox residents similarly refrain from using the crossing buttons and families, children and elderly residents are walking to and from shul.

Tennes also hopes the accommodation can eventually be introduced at “several other intersections in the community that are proximate to different observant synagogues,” she told JNS.

The pedestrian-signal change comes as Skokie, home to a substantial Jewish population, has also been confronting a series of antisemitic incidents. In April, three incidents, including some involving Jewish children, left members of the community “on edge,” the Chicago Jewish Alliance told JNS at the time.

Tennes acknowledged that the incidents were part of a broader problem the village has been working to address.

“There indeed was a series of hate incidents that included antisemitism in our parks starting last fall that involved children.”

In response, Tennes established the Skokie Faith Leaders Council, which has been working alongside the village’s Human Relations Commission to address antisemitism and other incidents of hate.

“Our public safety has been working with our schools. We have been working with our park district,” she said. “I’ve used my office to convene countless community discussions about how we, as a village, need to come together and address this.”

According to Tennes, combating antisemitism has been the Human Relations Commission’s primary focus since October 2025.

During the summer, the commission organized antisemitism training for local community leaders, with training provided by representatives of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

The village also held a community unity basketball clinic in July for Skokie children between the ages of 10 and 14. The event was held with the Chicago Bulls in cooperation with the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“We’re working on many, many fronts with our community partners to bring the community together,” she told JNS. “Hate has no home in Skokie.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency effort to put new restrictions on mail-in voting into effect ahead of November’s midterm elections, leaving in place a lower-court injunction that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the new requirements.

The decision means states can continue using their existing procedures for distributing mail ballots as voting for the 2026 midterms gets underway. The justices declined the administration’s request to lift the injunction, though the order does not amount to a final Supreme Court ruling on the underlying constitutional and legal questions surrounding the policy.

The dispute centers on a new Postal Service rule stemming from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March. Under the plan, states would have been required to provide information about voters receiving mail ballots through a new federal online portal and obtain approval for ballot-envelope designs. The Postal Service had said it would not deliver certain mail ballots from states that failed to comply with the requirements.

The administration argued that the measures were intended to safeguard elections and ensure that mail ballots were sent only to eligible voters. State election officials and voting-rights groups challenged the requirements, arguing that the President and Postal Service lacked the legal authority to impose them and warning that implementing an entirely new system shortly before the election could prevent legitimate ballots from being delivered or counted.

The Supreme Court’s action comes after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Postal Service from enforcing the rules. A federal appeals court subsequently refused the administration’s request to lift that injunction.

The appeals court said the administration had not made a sufficiently strong showing that Talwani was wrong in concluding that the Postal Service rule was likely unlawful.

“Appellants have not made a strong showing that the district court erred in determining that the Final Rule is likely unlawful,” the appeals court wrote.

The court also pointed to warnings from election officials that attempting to introduce the requirements so close to Election Day could create significant disruptions, particularly because some states have already begun distributing mail ballots.

The administration then turned to the Supreme Court, asking the justices on an emergency basis to allow the Postal Service regulations to take effect while litigation over their legality continued. The high court declined that request Monday, keeping the restrictions blocked for now.

The ruling followed another setback for the administration over the weekend. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., a Trump appointee, separately blocked implementation of the Postal Service rule in a different lawsuit.

Nichols concluded that the Postal Service had not been granted authority by Congress to perform key aspects of the proposed ballot-screening system, including creating a database through which states would provide information on voters eligible to receive mail ballots.

He also found that allowing the regulations to take effect posed a risk that legitimate mail ballots would not be counted.

“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that, absent an injunction, there is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections,” Nichols wrote.

“The public has a strong interest in ensuring that doesn’t happen.”

The Supreme Court had previously intervened in an earlier phase of the dispute and lifted a block on Trump’s executive order, but that decision was procedural. At the time, the justices concluded that the states challenging the policy had gone to court prematurely because the Postal Service had not yet finalized its regulations. The Court did not decide whether the proposed mail-ballot restrictions themselves were lawful.

After the Postal Service formally issued its rule in August, challengers returned to court, resulting in the new injunctions now at issue.

Monday’s Supreme Court decision therefore does not necessarily end the broader legal fight over the administration’s authority to regulate the handling of mail ballots. For the immediate 2026 election, however, the ruling prevents the Trump administration from implementing the challenged Postal Service restrictions under the injunction currently before the Court.

The decision comes less than two months before the November midterms, which will determine control of Congress, and after mail voting has already begun in several states.

President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his pledge to provide a $5,000 “dividend” to adult Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress in November, using a new Truth Social post to insist that the promised payments will become a reality.

“$5,000 DIVIDEND TO ALL AMERICAN ADULT CITIZENS, IF REPUBLICANS WIN THE MIDTERMS. IT WILL HAPPEN!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

The post marked Trump’s latest effort to emphasize a proposal he first unveiled last week at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where he promised a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans maintain control of both the House and Senate.

“Because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000” if Republicans win both chambers, Trump said at the convention.

Trump has repeatedly doubled down on the pledge in the days since, arguing that the federal government will have sufficient revenue to finance the payments. The President has pointed in particular to tariff revenue and broader economic gains as justification for the proposal, although a detailed funding plan has not yet been released.

The proposed payments would be significantly larger than the $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” provided to approximately 1.45 million members of the U.S. military in December 2025. Trump has cited those payments while promoting his new proposal for the broader American public.

The scale of a nationwide $5,000 payment would be enormous. Census figures indicate that there are roughly 245 million adult U.S. citizens, meaning payments of $5,000 apiece would carry a price tag of approximately $1.2 trillion.

Questions also remain about how the payments would be authorized. Under the Constitution, federal spending generally requires congressional authorization, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has said Congress would have to act on the proposal.

Trump, however, has expressed confidence that the money will be distributed if Republicans prevail in November. His emphatic Truth Social declaration Monday — “IT WILL HAPPEN!” — appeared intended to dispel doubts about whether the proposal was merely an idea floated during his convention speech.

The President has also said that recipients would be required to spend the money inside the United States, though the administration has not explained how such a requirement would operate or be enforced.

Trump has framed the dividend as one of the tangible benefits Americans would receive if Republicans retain their congressional majorities. The proposal has quickly become a prominent element of the political debate surrounding the midterm elections, with questions focusing on its cost, funding and the legislation that would be required to implement it.

For now, Congress has not authorized the payments and the administration has not released a complete legislative or financing plan. But Trump’s message Monday was unequivocal: if Republicans keep Congress, he says adult American citizens will receive $5,000.

Former hostage Sasha Trufanov has opened up about the profound spiritual transformation he experienced during his 498 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, describing how the ordeal led him, a previously secular Israeli, to recognize the presence of Hashem in his life.

Trufanov and his wife, Sapir Cohen, who herself spent 55 days in captivity, spoke about the role that emunah and tefillah came to play in their lives following the October 7 massacre and during their captivity. The couple shared their experiences on the first episode of “Thirsty Souls,” hosted by Eden Harel on Israel’s Channel 14.

Trufanov, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, said that he entered captivity without a religious background. When the life and future he had built for himself were suddenly ripped away, he discovered that he did not possess the tools he needed to cope with his terrifying new reality.

“When I got into the situation of October 7,” he recalled, “I didn’t have the tools to deal with this challenge.”

One of the most difficult moments came after he had already spent months as a hostage. Following what he described as “hell in Khan Yunis,” Trufanov said he was transferred to Rafah, where he was placed inside a small wooden cage surrounded by armed, masked terrorists.

It was precisely under those circumstances, he said, that something within him began to change. Trufanov tried to come to terms with the realization that he had no control over what would happen to him. The only thing he could control was how he responded to the situation in which he had been placed.

“If God gives you this life, then you’ve won,” he recalled telling himself. “If not, that’s your portion. You had 27 good years, a few bad months, overall it’s okay.”

Sapir revealed that even before October 7, their relationship had been going through a difficult period. She had asked Hashem for a sign as to whether Sasha was the man with whom she was meant to build her life.

Then Sasha returned from captivity.

According to Sapir, one of the first things he said after his release stunned her.

“Mom, I know there is a God,” Sasha said.

“It was really among the first sentences,” Sapir recalled. “I said, ‘Wow.’ I sat there and… like, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe this was happening.”

Sasha’s mother later told him that she herself had become religious. Sapir said that she was apprehensive about how Sasha would react to the news, but his response was very different from what she had feared.

“Mom, I’m happy. I’m happy to hear it, you’re on the right path,” he told her.

Sasha’s mother, Yelena, has previously related that while her son was being held captive in Gaza, she, her mother and Sapir accepted upon themselves the observance of Shabbos and additional mitzvos as a zechus for his release.

Following Sasha’s return, Yelena said that her son had come to understand during captivity that his life was not in his own hands, but “only in the hands of the Holy One, Blessed be He.”

Sapir, who was freed after 55 days as a hostage, also described the central place that tefillah assumed in her own life. She said that even before October 7, she had begun to daven as she struggled with difficult feelings. During captivity, she continued to daven every day and repeatedly recited a perek of Tehillim.

“I didn’t even ask to be released tomorrow,” she said. “I asked that I be released at the time that was right for me.”

Sasha’s connection to emunah continued after his release from Gaza. Just one day after returning to Israel, he was photographed putting on tefillin alongside Russia’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Berel Lazar.

He later traveled with Sapir to the Kosel, where the couple participated in a tefillas hoda’ah, giving thanks for his return.

During the visit, Sasha said that after the period he had spent in what he called “the dark tunnels of Gaza,” he could feel the holiness of the Kosel. He also learned of the countless tefillos that had been recited on his behalf during his captivity and appealed to Klal Yisroel to continue davening for the hostages.

Now, as he looks toward the future, Trufanov says that alongside his hopes of building a family and becoming a person who makes a meaningful contribution to the world, he wants to preserve the lessons he learned during the ordeal that transformed his life.

“I have many dreams,” he said. “Some of them are practical, like starting a family, like developing myself and being something meaningful in this world. And some of them are more private, like developing myself, my soul and preserving what I learned.”

“I also truly have a very strong faith that everything will be okay in the end,” he added. “Like, as long as I do my part, everything will work out.”

{Matzav.com}

The public is asked to daven for Rav Mordechai Auerbach, rav of Kehillas Abir Yaakov in Tel Aviv and nosi of Taharas Hamishpacha, who has been hospitalized at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv after suffering from pneumonia.

Rav Auerbach was admitted to the hospital following a bout of pneumonia that came after an extended period of general weakness.

Despite his weakened condition, Rav Auerbach participated in the first night of Selichos and served as shaliach tzibbur at his bais medrash in Tel Aviv. However, last Wednesday, shortly before Rosh Hashanah, his condition necessitated that he be taken to the hospital, where he remained throughout Rosh Hashanah.

Family members and talmidim who had traveled to spend Rosh Hashanah in Rav Auerbach’s presence at his bais medrash instead spent the days of Rosh Hashanah at his side in the hospital.

Those close to Rav Auerbach are asking the public to increase their tefillos for his complete recovery and for his health to be strengthened.

All are asked to daven for Rav Mordechai ben Chaya Rivka.

{Matzav.com}

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is prepared to return to negotiations with the United States, including over its nuclear program, but conditioned renewed diplomacy on Washington lifting sanctions, abandoning what he described as unilateral policies and ending efforts to pressure Iran militarily. His comments came as President Donald Trump separately indicated that Washington remains open to possible negotiations with Tehran.

“We are ready for dialogue,” Pezeshkian told India Today, while maintaining that negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear activities must take place within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and international law.

Pezeshkian questioned why Washington was seeking a new round of negotiations instead of proceeding on the basis of an understanding that he said had previously been formulated through diplomatic efforts involving Pakistan.

“I don’t know what was wrong with what we wrote in Pakistan that the United States now wants us to talk again from scratch,” he said. “What was illogical there? What did we say that was outside the logical, legal and scientific frameworks recognized in the world?”

The Iranian president praised Pakistan for what he described as extensive efforts to promote peace and stability in the region. He said Qatar had also played a role in attempting to advance the understanding that had emerged through the Pakistani diplomatic effort.

Pezeshkian said Tehran’s conditions for moving forward had not changed, insisting that Washington would have to alter its approach toward Iran before meaningful negotiations could take place.

“Our position is the same as what we said before: the United States should lift its sanctions, abandon unilateralism, not speak to us through force, and open the way so that we can live like the rest of the world,” he said.

The Iranian leader also said Tehran was uncertain about which of President Donald Trump’s various public statements should be viewed as representing Washington’s ultimate position.

“We don’t know which of the things Trump says we are ultimately supposed to accept and stand by,” Pezeshkian said.

Pezeshkian additionally rejected assertions that Iran had initiated the current conflict, portraying Tehran’s military actions as defensive.

“We did not attack anyone. They attacked us, and we defended ourselves,” he said.

Trump, meanwhile, said Monday that Iran was urgently seeking an agreement and suggested that the United States remained receptive to the possibility of renewed engagement, while stressing that he would decide whether Washington ultimately enters negotiations.

“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – the concept of which we are open to.”

Washington and Tehran have participated in several rounds of negotiations during the ongoing conflict, but those diplomatic efforts have so far failed to produce an agreement. The continued deadlock has coincided with additional military exchanges and attacks on interests and targets throughout the region.

The tensions escalated further last week when U.S. forces struck several Iranian oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran subsequently retaliated by firing a barrage of missiles toward American military bases in Jordan.

A day later, Trump predicted that the fighting would come to an abrupt conclusion following the U.S. midterm elections in November, arguing that Tehran could not sustain the conflict indefinitely.

Iran “can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.

The President also accused Iranian leaders of intentionally prolonging the war in hopes of influencing the outcome of the American elections and ultimately dealing with a U.S. government that would take a less confrontational approach toward Tehran.

“They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”

Pezeshkian’s latest comments nevertheless provided another indication that both Tehran and Washington are publicly leaving open the possibility of returning to the negotiating table, even as major disagreements remain over sanctions, Iran’s nuclear activities, the terms of any future talks and the continuing military confrontation.

Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the U.S. Capitol on Monday and cast his first Senate vote in three months, ending a lengthy absence that began after the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican suffered a serious fall at his Washington home and was subsequently treated for pneumonia.

McConnell, who appeared at the Capitol in a wheelchair, acknowledged that his recovery remains incomplete and said he is continuing physical therapy as he deals with the lingering effects of childhood polio. His return comes as Senate Republicans face a series of closely contested votes in the coming weeks.

In a statement released Monday, McConnell said he would “cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June.”

“I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues. My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier,” McConnell said. “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me.”

McConnell also thanked those who had sent messages and expressed concern during his recovery.

“Elaine and I are very grateful for all the continued well wishes from our fellow Kentuckians, and I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their behalf this month,” he continued.

McConnell had not participated in Senate votes or committee work since June, when he fell at his Washington home. He later disclosed that the fall had left him “briefly unconscious.” His recovery was further complicated when he developed a mild case of pneumonia, after which he spent time in a rehabilitation facility.

The lengthy absence prompted questions about McConnell’s condition and whether he would be able to return to Washington before his Senate term concludes. For weeks after the fall, relatively little information was publicly available about his health before McConnell eventually released additional details about the incident and his recovery.

McConnell has said that his childhood bout with polio has made recovering from the fall more difficult. He contracted polio as a young child and has dealt with lasting effects from the illness throughout his life.

His return could prove important for Republicans because of the party’s closely divided Senate majority. Fox News reported that GOP lawmakers are preparing for another attempt to advance a major farm aid and funding package this week after a previous effort failed without McConnell’s vote.

The Kentucky senator has experienced a series of health issues and falls in recent years. His health attracted particular attention in 2023 after he twice appeared to freeze while speaking publicly. He also suffered a concussion and fractured rib after a fall at a Washington hotel that year and has had several subsequent falls.

Despite those difficulties, McConnell indicated Monday that he intends to participate when his vote is particularly important, even as he continues his rehabilitation.

McConnell has represented Kentucky in the Senate since 1985 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history, having led Senate Republicans from 2007 until stepping aside from the leadership position in 2025. He is not seeking another term and is scheduled to leave the Senate when his current term expires in January 2027.

His appearance Monday marked his first time back at the Capitol since the June hospitalization and brought an end, at least for now, to months of uncertainty over when he would be physically able to resume his Senate duties. McConnell made clear, however, that his recovery is continuing and that he has not yet returned to full strength.

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An Israeli animal rights organization has launched a renewed campaign urging municipalities across the country to prohibit the use of live chickens for kapparos ahead of Yom Kippur, with several additional local authorities reportedly agreeing this year not to permit the longstanding minhag in public areas under their jurisdiction.

According to Israeli sources, the organization Let the Animals Live, known in Hebrew as Tnu L’Chayot Lichyot, contacted dozens of mayors and heads of local authorities throughout Israel, asking them to refrain from granting permits for kapparos involving chickens.

The campaign is being conducted for the second consecutive year as the organization seeks to persuade more municipalities to restrict the traditional practice.

Four municipalities — Tel Mond, Yerucham, Mevaseret Zion and Yavne — reportedly joined the initiative this year and said they would not allow kapparos with live chickens. Kiryat Bialik and Rishon Lezion, which responded positively to the organization’s appeal last year, renewed their commitments this year.

According to the organization, those municipalities join several others that have already barred chicken kapparos in areas under their authority for a number of years. The list cited includes Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon, Ramla and Petach Tikva.

Let the Animals Live has argued that municipalities have the legal authority to prevent public kapparos ceremonies involving chickens. According to the organization, procedures issued by Israel’s Veterinary Services allow individual local authorities to prohibit the use of live chickens for kapparos within their jurisdictions.

Even in municipalities where the practice is not prohibited, organizers of chicken kapparos are required to receive authorization from the local veterinary department, according to the report. That requirement applies whether or not the actual shechitah is performed at the location where the kapparos take place.

The animal rights organization maintains that the handling and transportation of large numbers of chickens for kapparos can cause suffering to the birds and has called upon municipal leaders to use their authority to prevent the ceremonies from taking place in public areas.

{Matzav.com}

Federal immigration officers working on the Trump administration’s expanding investigation into possible noncitizen voting may have violated state laws by using voters’ personal information to access restricted state election databases while effectively posing as the voters themselves, according to a new whistleblower complaint.

The allegations concern an initiative being carried out by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, as the administration intensifies efforts to identify noncitizens who may have illegally registered to vote or cast ballots ahead of November’s midterm elections.

According to the whistleblower, USCIS directed personnel in its Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate to examine individual voter-registration and voting records on state election websites. In some states, however, access to those records is restricted to the voter or someone specifically authorized by the voter.

The whistleblower alleges that officers raised concerns internally that entering personally identifiable information into those state websites could violate state law. According to the complaint, supervisors nevertheless instructed personnel to proceed with the searches.

The allegations were detailed in a report prepared by the Democracy Defenders Fund and provided to lawmakers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., subsequently wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow demanding that the searches be stopped and that DHS provide Congress with information about the program. Padilla said the directive could result in “thousands of violations of state laws.”

One example highlighted by the report is Virginia. To access an individual voter’s information through the state’s online portal, a user must provide identifying information and certify that he is either the voter or has been authorized by that voter.

“I certify and affirm that the information provided to access my voter registration is my own or I am expressly authorized by the voter to access this information. I understand that it is unlawful to access the record of any other voter, punishable as computer fraud under Va. Code § 18.2-152.3,” the certification states.

The whistleblower did not specifically allege that federal officers improperly accessed Virginia voter records. However, Virginia’s portal was reportedly among the state election websites included on an internal FDNS resource designed to help officers conduct the voter-record searches.

Florida’s voter portal was also reportedly included. That website states that it “is intended for use by a registered voter to determine his or her voter registration and voting status.” Other states, including California, similarly require personal identifying information before providing access to an individual voter’s records.

The whistleblower also raised concerns about the accuracy of the information federal officers are being told to use. According to the complaint, USCIS personnel were directed to examine voter records using DHS data that officers had been warned could be incomplete or unreliable.

Despite those concerns, the complaint alleges, officers were required to create federal law-enforcement records known as TECS records for people identified through the initiative, including individuals who may already be naturalized American citizens.

“The whistleblower’s claim states that officers must create TECS records against a U.S. citizen even when DHS-provided voting data appears unreliable, such as uncertain naturalization dates, multiple entries, or other mismatches,” Padilla’s office said.

“Naturalized U.S. citizens who are falsely flagged as ‘unlawful voters’ are likely to be referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for potential criminal investigation. Targets of this initiative have no knowledge or ability to correct data errors,” it added.

The whistleblower further alleged that hundreds of FDNS officers were assigned to the operation after receiving a single training video lasting approximately one hour and 45 minutes. Officers were reportedly expected to review 40 individuals per day, requiring them to resolve potentially complicated questions involving identity, citizenship, naturalization dates and voting history within minutes.

The allegations come amid a broader Trump administration effort to examine state voter rolls for possible noncitizen registrations and voting. Earlier investigations have involved DHS comparing voter-registration information with federal immigration and citizenship records. An August investigation by ProPublica found that Homeland Security Investigations had been pursuing thousands of leads around the country as part of that effort.

The new whistleblower allegations do not establish that federal agents committed crimes, and the legality of particular searches would depend on the state involved, the information accessed and the circumstances under which officers obtained it. They do, however, raise a new legal question over how federal investigators are obtaining state voter information as the administration presses its investigation into potential illegal voting.

Schumer and Padilla are now demanding an accounting from DHS of how the searches were authorized, what information officers accessed and whether federal personnel complied with state privacy and computer-access laws while conducting the investigation.

The allegations are particularly significant because the administration’s voter-fraud investigation has expanded rapidly just weeks before the November elections, placing increased scrutiny on both the evidence of noncitizen voting being uncovered and the methods federal investigators are using to find it.

Sen. Mitch McConnell is expected to return to the U.S. Capitol this week after a three-month health-related absence, with Republican lawmakers anticipating that the 84-year-old Kentucky senator will be back in time for a critical committee vote on the stalled farm bill.

McConnell’s office has not publicly confirmed his precise return date since announcing last month that he had left rehabilitation and returned home. Still, expectations of his imminent return have increased among Kentucky Republicans and McConnell’s Senate GOP colleagues.

According to people familiar with private discussions, McConnell’s staff has informed senior Republicans that he plans to be at the Capitol for a Wednesday meeting of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where lawmakers are expected to make another attempt at advancing the farm bill. The legislation failed to clear the committee earlier this summer while McConnell was absent.

McConnell’s presence could prove decisive. Republicans hold 12 seats on the 23-member Agriculture Committee, but his absence prevented the GOP from mustering enough in-person support to advance the Republican-written legislation during the previous markup. Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., has said he intends to bring the measure up for another vote.

Asked Sunday about reports that McConnell was preparing to return, a spokesperson referred back to an August statement saying the senator would undergo physical therapy at home during the Senate’s five-week summer recess. The spokesperson did not immediately provide additional comment about whether McConnell would participate in the Agriculture Committee meeting.

McConnell has not cast an in-person Senate vote since his office announced on June 14 that he had been hospitalized. The limited public information surrounding his condition and lengthy absence prompted speculation online and calls from several political figures, including Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, for additional information about the senator’s health.

In July, McConnell issued a detailed update explaining that his hospitalization began after a fall and that he subsequently developed pneumonia. He said at the time that he planned to return to Washington and complete the remainder of his Senate term, though he did not specify when he expected to resume his duties at the Capitol.

By Monday morning, attention surrounding McConnell’s possible return had intensified. Reporters and social media personalities gathered outside his Capitol Hill residence, watching for signs that the longtime Kentucky senator would leave for the Capitol ahead of an evening Senate vote.