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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration is facing criticism over a city-run program that provides immigrant residents with $575 scholarships to complete a 10-week course in civic engagement, community organizing and advocacy, while U.S.-born Bostonians are not eligible to participate.
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The program, Immigrants Lead Boston, is administered by the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement and is intended to develop what the city describes as emerging leaders within Boston’s immigrant communities.
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Under the eligibility requirements for the current program, applicants must be Boston residents, at least 18 years old and immigrants. They must also be proficient in English, Spanish or Haitian Creole and commit approximately four hours per week to the program.
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Because participants must be immigrants, U.S.-born residents of Boston are excluded from applying for the program, regardless of how long they have lived in the city or whether they otherwise meet the requirements.
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The city explicitly states that applicants do not need to have a particular legal immigration status to qualify.
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“Interested applicants are encouraged to apply regardless of their immigration status.”
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That means undocumented immigrants are eligible to apply alongside legal permanent residents, refugees and other immigrants, although applicants are not automatically admitted and must be selected for the program.
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Those chosen for the fall 2026 class are participating in a course running from September 21 through December 5. Participants who complete the required sessions, projects and activities receive a $575 scholarship at the conclusion of the program.
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The city describes the payment as compensation recognizing the time participants devote to the course and says the money is intended to ensure that residents who might otherwise be unable to make the commitment can participate.
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“The scholarship rewards participants for their time and commitment to learn, lead, and advocate for their communities. Because not every resident can make this commitment without support, this scholarship ensures equitable access to government for all residents.”
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The curriculum includes instruction on civic engagement and community organizing, interacting with Boston government officials, developing leadership teams, public speaking and using personal stories to advance community goals.
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“Classes cover organizing, public narrative, city government, immigration history, racism, and equity,” according to the New Bedford Guide.
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Participants are also expected to engage in civic activities during the course and use the skills and relationships they develop to advocate on issues affecting immigrant communities.
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The program’s stated goal is to teach participants how Boston’s government works, help them establish relationships with city officials and develop their ability to organize and advocate on behalf of their communities.
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Immigrants Lead Boston is not a new initiative created specifically for 2026. It began in 2020 under then-Mayor Marty Walsh and has continued under Wu, with successive classes of immigrant residents completing the program.
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The 2025 class consisted of 28 participants representing 16 countries and 16 Boston neighborhoods and speaking 15 languages. The 2024 cohort included 27 participants from 14 countries and nine Boston neighborhoods.
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For the 2026 program, the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement partnered with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, known as MIRA, one of New England’s largest immigrant advocacy organizations.
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MIRA has advocated for numerous immigration-related policies in Massachusetts, including limits on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and government support for legal representation for immigrants facing deportation.
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The organization’s participation has contributed to criticism from opponents who argue that Immigrants Lead Boston goes beyond ordinary educational programming and amounts to taxpayer-supported training for political and community activism.
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Past graduates have used skills developed through the program to advocate on public-policy issues. Alumni have described involvement in campaigns involving Massachusetts driver’s licenses for people regardless of immigration status, housing issues and rent-control efforts.
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The program itself, however, is structured around civic engagement and advocacy rather than partisan electoral activity. Its publicly stated curriculum does not direct participants to support a particular political party or candidate.
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Boston’s own descriptions of previous classes emphasize advocacy and community organizing. Participants have been encouraged to learn how local government operates, communicate with city officials and become active on issues affecting their communities.
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The city has also highlighted alumni who went on to become more deeply involved in Boston civic life. Information published about an earlier class noted that at least one participant subsequently joined a board and two others became interested in potentially running for City Council.
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The financial support connected with Immigrants Lead Boston has also expanded beyond the individual $575 scholarships.
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In 2025, the city introduced Community Action Project grants allowing participants to work with community-based organizations on projects serving Boston’s immigrant communities.
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Organizations participating in those projects could seek grants of up to $10,000, with the projects required to fall within categories including civic engagement, economic development, education, access to services, community leadership and public safety.
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The $10,000 grants were not individual cash awards to every Immigrants Lead Boston participant. They were project grants involving participants and community organizations, a distinction that has sometimes been blurred in criticism of the program.
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Boston has also substantially increased broader spending aimed at immigrant residents. Earlier this year, the Wu administration announced approximately $4.5 million in combined public and private funding for immigrant services, including legal assistance, citizenship services, workforce programs and other initiatives.

{Matzav.com}

​House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that China is helping fuel the growing American backlash against artificial intelligence data centers, describing the campaign against the massive facilities as a “Chinese psyop” as the issue becomes increasingly prominent ahead of the midterm elections.
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Johnson made the remarks during an appearance on Fox Business after host Cheryl Casone said she had heard from technology executives and lawmakers who believe China is encouraging American opposition to data centers.
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“This is what Democrats do. Every election cycle they find something to glom onto and say that this is doom and gloom and everyone will die if we don’t win,” Johnson said. “Don’t buy it. This is a Chinese psyop. I really believe that. That’s not a conspiracy theory.”
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The controversy comes as artificial intelligence data centers have emerged as a significant political and local issue across the United States. The enormous facilities require vast amounts of electricity, considerable amounts of water for cooling in some configurations, and large tracts of land, prompting opposition in communities considering proposed projects.
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There is evidence that China-linked actors have sought to amplify American concerns about data centers and artificial intelligence. Researchers and technology companies have identified foreign influence efforts involving online messaging about the environmental, economic and energy consequences of America’s AI expansion.
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President Trump has also raised the possibility of Chinese involvement in the backlash, saying earlier this month that he had heard claims that Beijing was attempting to encourage American resistance to data center construction.
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Other administration officials and Republican lawmakers have raised similar concerns, arguing that China has a strategic interest in slowing the expansion of American artificial intelligence infrastructure while aggressively developing its own AI capabilities.
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At the same time, researchers who have studied foreign influence operations say the evidence does not establish that China created the opposition to data centers. Instead, they say foreign actors appear to be attempting to exploit and magnify concerns that already exist among Americans.
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Jessica Brandt, who previously served in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has drawn that distinction.
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“Foreign actors aren’t manufacturing American debates over the future of A.I., they are exploiting them,” said Brandt, adding that the goal was to “deepen our divisions in order to dent our appeal and weaken us from within.”
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Brandt has also cautioned against assuming that the existence of a foreign influence operation proves that it has successfully shaped American public opinion.
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“That’s what they do — work to amplify splits that already exist in our society. Evidence of an attempt is not evidence of success,” she said. “Their goal is to divide us, distract us, and prevent us from playing a forward-leaning role in the world that might constrain their interests.”
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Polling has shown substantial domestic opposition to having data centers constructed in local communities.
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A Gallup survey conducted earlier this year found that 71 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly opposed construction of an AI data center in their area, including 48 percent who were strongly opposed. By comparison, 53 percent opposed construction of a nuclear power plant nearby.
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“A Gallup poll in May found that 71 percent of Americans were somewhat or strongly opposed to having a data center built near them, almost 20 percentage points higher than those who opposed construction of a nearby nuclear power plant,” reported the Times.
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“Many have broad concerns about the effects of A.I. on jobs and the climate, while people who live near data centers complain they are eyesores and emit annoying sounds. Some cities and counties have enacted temporary or permanent moratoriums on new construction,” it added.
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More recent polling has found similarly widespread resistance. An August survey from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 61 percent of Americans opposed construction of new data centers in their area, an increase of 12 percentage points from earlier in the year.
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That opposition crossed party lines, with 69 percent of Democrats, 54 percent of Republicans and 53 percent of independents saying they opposed new data centers in their communities.
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A separate Economist/YouGov survey found nearly two-thirds of Americans opposed construction of data centers in their own communities.
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The reasons cited by opponents extend well beyond broader concerns about artificial intelligence itself. Gallup found that Americans worried about water and electricity consumption, environmental consequences, noise, increased utility bills, traffic, land use and changes to local quality of life.
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The opposition has already affected proposed projects around the country. Data Center Watch reported that nearly 120 data center developments were blocked or delayed across the United States during a six-month period.
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Local governments in numerous communities have imposed moratoriums or additional restrictions while officials consider the impact that enormous data centers could have on electrical grids, water supplies, property values and infrastructure.
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The controversy is particularly consequential because the United States and China are locked in an intensifying competition over artificial intelligence.
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Supporters of rapid data center construction argue that the facilities are essential infrastructure for training and operating increasingly powerful AI systems, and that restricting their development could weaken America’s ability to compete technologically with Beijing.
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Opponents counter that the strategic importance of artificial intelligence does not eliminate legitimate concerns about what enormous computing facilities could mean for communities required to host them.
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Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor and co-director of its media forensics hub, has said China maintains an extensive propaganda apparatus but that researchers have not found evidence of an unusual concentration of Chinese state-media activity specifically targeting American data centers.
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“China has an extensive state media apparatus that they use for a range of propaganda and influence operations, but we don’t see a particular focus on this issue from Chinese state media,” Linvill said. “Chinese state media mostly wants to talk about how great Chinese AI technology is, which is typical of their purpose.”

{Matzav.com}

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​The USS Theodore Roosevelt departed San Diego on Sunday for an extended deployment expected to take the aircraft carrier to the Middle East, where it will reinforce a major U.S. naval buildup as the war with Iran enters its eighth month and American forces continue enforcing a blockade against Iranian ports.
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The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 9, left Naval Air Station North Island and began moving west across the Pacific. A U.S. defense official confirmed that the Theodore Roosevelt had begun its planned deployment.
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The carrier is expected eventually to enter the U.S. Central Command area and relieve the Japan-based USS George Washington, which was dispatched to the Middle East in August.
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The Theodore Roosevelt is deploying with Carrier Air Wing 11 and a strike group that includes Destroyer Squadron 23, Information Warfare Squadron 9 and the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin.
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Its air wing includes F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets, F-35C Lightning II stealth fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare aircraft, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft and Navy helicopters.
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The deployment comes as the United States maintains an unusually large concentration of naval power across the Middle East and surrounding waters. The USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike groups are currently operating in the region, while the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group is also deployed there.
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The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Arabian Sea in support of U.S. operations in the Middle East. Additional American destroyers and a cruiser are positioned in the Indian Ocean, while other U.S. warships are operating in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean.
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The Theodore Roosevelt is expected to replace the George Washington rather than permanently add a third carrier strike group to the region, but its arrival will allow the Navy to maintain its two-carrier presence as the conflict continues.
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The buildup reflects the enormous demands that the Iran war has placed on the Navy since President Donald Trump launched U.S. military operations against Iran on Feb. 28. American aircraft carriers have since played a central role in strikes, air-defense missions and maritime operations throughout the region.
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The Theodore Roosevelt’s deployment also comes as Washington continues enforcing its renewed maritime blockade of Iran.
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U.S. Central Command said Friday that American forces had redirected 122 commercial vessels since the current phase of the blockade began in July. Ships seeking to enter or depart Iranian ports are subject to the restrictions.
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CENTCOM has emphasized that the blockade is directed at Iranian ports and does not prohibit commercial vessels from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian destinations.
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American officials have pushed back against Iranian claims that Tehran exercises complete control over the strategic waterway, arguing that thousands of vessels have successfully transited the strait in recent months.
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The first phase of the American blockade ran from April 13 until June 18. During that period, more than 140 commercial vessels were redirected, according to CENTCOM. The blockade was subsequently resumed in mid-July, with Friday’s figure of 122 applying to the renewed operation.
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The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most consequential flashpoints in the conflict because of its enormous importance to the global energy market. Before the war, approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that petroleum flows through the strait averaged approximately 21.6 million barrels per day during the final quarter of 2025. By the second quarter of 2026, amid the fighting and disruption to shipping, that figure had fallen to approximately 4.9 million barrels per day.
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The agency has cautioned, however, that tracking commercial vessels in the region has become considerably more difficult since hostilities began in February, making current shipping estimates less certain.
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The Roosevelt’s departure comes as another carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, finally makes its way home following an extraordinarily long Middle East deployment.
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The Abraham Lincoln was sailing near Hawaii on Sunday as it headed toward California following more than eight months in the region without a port call. As of Monday, the carrier had been deployed for 311 days.
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The Lincoln and its embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 spent months supporting U.S. military operations connected to the Iran conflict before beginning the long voyage back to the West Coast.
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The extended deployment has highlighted the growing strain that sustained Middle East operations are placing on Navy personnel and their families.
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“We’ve been in conflict pretty much the whole time I’ve been in the seat, and that’s certainly stressed the force. If we know we’re going into harm’s way, we should be able to project with a little bit more fidelity how long the carrier and the strike group is going to stay on station,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in August.
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Caudle said that repeatedly extending deployments for short periods creates particular difficulties for sailors and their families because they cannot reliably determine when service members will return home.
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“We do these extensions in little chunks, and the families don’t see any end point so they can plan their own lives. That creates a lot of stress for sailors.”
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Navy leadership has already been preparing Theodore Roosevelt families for the possibility that the carrier will remain away from home for an extended period.
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Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman said in August that families connected to the Theodore Roosevelt were preparing for a deployment exceeding seven months. The carrier’s commanding officer had provided families with an eight-month estimate for planning purposes.
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The new deployment comes at a particularly sensitive moment in the conflict. Washington and Tehran are again communicating indirectly through mediators in an attempt to find a formula for ending hostilities, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear program.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has presented a proposal under which the United States would end the blockade and ease economic pressure while Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations. Trump said Saturday that he rejected Iran’s latest proposal, although both sides have indicated that further negotiations remain possible.
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The continued movement of American naval forces demonstrates that Washington is simultaneously maintaining military pressure while diplomatic efforts continue.
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With the Theodore Roosevelt now crossing the Pacific, the George Washington and George H.W. Bush operating in the Middle East, the Abraham Lincoln finally returning home after 311 days, and additional American surface warships positioned across surrounding waters, the Navy is continuing one of its most demanding sustained carrier operations in recent years.

Sunkist Fruit Gems are coming back.
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Just days after reports that the iconic kosher candy had been discontinued — prompting dismay, stockpiling and a frantic search for alternatives across the Jewish community — Sunkist announced that Fruit Gems will return to store shelves under a new manufacturer, with the company promising to preserve the familiar taste, quality and kosher certification.
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“We hear you, Sunkist Fruit Gems fans!” the company announced. “The good news: Sunkist Fruit Gems are not going anywhere. ”
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Sunkist said it has been working with a new family-owned candy manufacturer to resume production of the longtime favorite.
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“We’ve been working with a new trusted family owned candy maker to help us bring back the same great flavor, quality, kosher certification, and fruit-forward goodness you know and love.”
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The company cautioned that Fruit Gems will remain unavailable temporarily as the transition takes place, but indicated that the disappearance from shelves is expected to be short-lived.
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“While they’re temporarily unavailable, we’re aiming to have them back on shelves very soon.”
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“Thank you for your patience and continued support. We can’t wait to share more updates soon! ”
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The announcement brought an abrupt reversal to what had appeared only days earlier to be the end of a candy that has become deeply embedded in Jewish simchos across the United States.
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Fruit Gems had been discontinued earlier this year after Ferrara Candy Company, which owns Jelly Belly, determined that nationwide consumer demand was insufficient to continue producing them. News of the decision only became widely known last week, setting off a wave of reaction in Jewish communities where the individually wrapped, sugar-coated fruit candies have been a fixture for decades.
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The candies have achieved an unusual status in American Jewish life, particularly at aufrufs, bar mitzvahs and other simchos. Their combination of kosher certification, individual wrapping and relatively soft texture made them particularly suited to the longstanding custom of showering a chosson or bar mitzvah bochur with candy.
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For many shuls, Fruit Gems had effectively become the standard candy for the job.
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“There’s a lot of nostalgia with this product,” Dani Klein, founder of YeahThatsKosher, said as news of the discontinuation spread. “It’s a staple for the Jewish community. I can’t think of many bar or bat mitzvahs that I’ve attended where these candies were not thrown and given out.”
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Candy wholesaler Jon Prince, owner of CandyFavorites.com and McKeesport Candy Co., said remaining supplies had dwindled rapidly once word got out.
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“They’re an iconic American candy brand,” Prince said. As inventories disappeared, he observed, “They’ve gone from being a classic candy to being a collectible.”
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Some shuls and individuals began purchasing large quantities of the remaining Fruit Gems, fearing that once existing inventory was exhausted, the candy would disappear permanently.
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The shortage also sparked an immediate hunt for replacements, with other manufacturers and retailers promoting similar individually wrapped kosher fruit jellies as substitutes. Among the alternatives that surfaced were Sunsations Assorted Fruit Jel Candies, Lieber’s Fruit Jewels and newly introduced Fruit Gem-style products.
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But the reaction also demonstrated something the company may not have fully appreciated: Fruit Gems occupied a far more significant place within the Jewish community than their overall national sales figures suggested.
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Dani Klein said after the reversal that Sunkist “did not realize how integral” Fruit Gems were to Jewish communal life.
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“As long as they were able to find a way to make it work financially, which it looks like they did, they’re able to bring it back,” he said.
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Fruit Gems have a history stretching back more than seven decades. The candy was introduced in 1955 by the Los Angeles-based Ben Myerson Candy Company, which later entered into a licensing arrangement with Sunkist. The family-owned candy business eventually became part of Jelly Belly Candy Company in 2006.
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Jelly Belly itself was acquired by Ferrara in 2023. Ferrara is owned by the Ferrero Group, the international confectionery company behind numerous major candy brands.
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When the discontinuation became public, Ferrara attributed the decision to insufficient nationwide demand.
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“Believe it or not, it’s due to lack of consumer demands across the country,” a company representative said. “If something doesn’t perform, [the company] move[s] onto something else.”
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That explanation did little to console Jewish consumers, for whom Fruit Gems were hardly an obscure candy. In many American shuls, they had become almost synonymous with the custom of throwing sweets during a simcha.
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The tradition itself long predates Fruit Gems. The practice of throwing sweets at a chosson during an aufruf developed from older customs of showering a bride and groom with foods symbolizing sweetness, prosperity and blessing. Over time, candy became the preferred projectile, and Fruit Gems emerged as an especially practical choice because they were kosher, individually wrapped and soft.
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“We want the Torah to be sweet,” Rabbi Gershon Albert of Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland explained while discussing the tradition. “So we throw it at our kids after they read from the Torah or share words of Torah with our community. We want them to feel that the Torah is sweet — but not painful, so we use something soft like the Sunkist.”
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The initial news of the candy’s demise prompted some amusing panic buying. Shuls and families placed bulk orders for whatever supplies remained, while consumers joked online about hoarding enough Fruit Gems to get through upcoming weddings and bar mitzvahs.
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One social-media user reacted to the announcement of the comeback by writing, “Thank you. It’s not an official simcha without Sunkist gummies being pelted at you full force by overenthusiastic 12-year-olds.”
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Another summed up the reversal somewhat differently: “Turns out, you can have your candy and chuck it too.”
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For those who rushed to stockpile the supposedly extinct candy, the announcement came with a little buyer’s remorse.
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“I may have bought 10 pounds last week,” one person acknowledged. “Anyone need a bridge stash?”
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Another wrote, “I panic-bought in bulk for my wedding next year. Now I feel foolish. But enjoying a bunch of very yummy gummies.”
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Sunkist has not yet announced the identity of its new family-owned manufacturing partner or provided a firm date for Fruit Gems to return to stores. The company’s statement also did not specify which kosher certification the relaunched product will carry, though it explicitly promised that kosher certification will be maintained.
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For now, the candies may remain difficult to find as old inventories disappear and the new manufacturer prepares to take over production.
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But after several days in which generations of Jewish simcha-goers contemplated a future without the familiar sugar-coated ammunition flying across the shul, Sunkist’s message was unequivocal: Fruit Gems are not finished.
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They are merely between manufacturers.

{Matzav.com}

More than 100 Israeli rioters descended on the Palestinian village of Jalud in the Shomron overnight Monday, setting fire to buildings and vehicles, blocking roads and hurling stones at Israeli security forces, leaving three Border Police officers lightly injured and preventing a Palestinian family from returning to its home.
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IDF and Border Police forces were dispatched to Jalud, near Shechem, as part of a coordinated operation intended to return the Palestinian family to a home it had previously left following repeated incidents of nationalist violence directed against the family.
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The operation could not be completed because of the violence that erupted as the security forces arrived.
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According to the IDF and Border Police, more than 100 Israeli rioters were present in the village during the confrontation. Some blocked roads and set tires ablaze, while stones were thrown at the Israeli forces attempting to disperse the gathering.
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The violence then spread to Palestinian property, with rioters setting fire to buildings, vehicles and other possessions in the village.
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Three Border Police officers suffered light injuries during the clashes, and a security vehicle was damaged.
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Security forces used riot-dispersal measures to break up the gathering and restore order. Two suspects were arrested at the scene and transferred to the Judea and Samaria District Police for questioning.
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Police investigators and forensic teams were expected to enter the area under IDF protection to collect evidence, document the damage and take testimony as the investigation continued.
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The Palestinian family at the center of the incident had reportedly left its Jalud home in July following repeated harassment and violent incidents. Monday night’s operation had been coordinated by Israeli authorities to facilitate the family’s return.
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The area surrounding Jalud and nearby Qusra has been the scene of repeated violent incidents in recent weeks. In late August, IDF and Border Police forces were dispatched to Qusra after dozens of Israeli rioters entered the village and some barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while its residents were still inside.
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During that incident, a Palestinian woman was injured and evacuated for treatment by the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israeli security forces confiscated vehicles suspected of having been used by the rioters to reach the village and transferred evidence to police investigators.
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A day later, an NBC News crew reporting in Jalud was attacked along with a Palestinian woman whom the journalists were interviewing. According to video and accounts of the incident, masked Israelis armed with sticks assaulted the woman and three members of the television crew and damaged equipment and a vehicle.
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Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu condemned that attack at the time, referring to those responsible as “a handful of rioters.”
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Following Monday night’s violence, Israeli security officials issued another forceful condemnation, emphasizing that attacks on soldiers and police officers interfere directly with their ability to carry out security operations in the Shomron.
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The security establishment said that violence against security personnel, vandalism and attacks on property divert forces from their primary missions, undermine stability in the area and interfere with ongoing defensive and counterterrorism operations.

Five chareidi men were arrested in Yerushalayim early Tuesday morning after violent disturbances erupted near a large Sukkos gathering associated with Rav Shalom Arush, with police deploying stun grenades and a water cannon as dozens of people blocked the light rail tracks and surrounding roads.
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The unrest began at approximately 3 a.m. in the area of Chaim Bar-Lev Boulevard and Zaks Street, where a crowd gathered following turmoil at the nearby Sukkos event.
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According to police, dozens of people moved into the roadway, blocking both the light rail route and private vehicles and disrupting traffic through the area.
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Police alleged that members of the crowd then began throwing stones and other objects at officers who arrived at the scene.
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Yerushalayim District Police were joined by Border Police and riot-control units as the confrontations continued and spread into nearby streets.
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Police said officers attempted to disperse what they described as an unlawful gathering, but the disturbances continued.
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“Yerushalayim District Police officers, Border Police forces and riot-control units acted to disperse the unlawful gathering using a water cannon and stun grenades, after the rioters continued confronting police in the surrounding streets.”
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Footage from the scene showed stun grenades being used amid the crowd as security forces worked to clear the area.
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At the same time, police said they received a report of a separate serious violent incident inside the Sukkos gathering itself that endangered participants.
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Authorities did not immediately provide additional details about what allegedly occurred inside the compound or whether anyone was injured in that incident.
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{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump on Monday forcefully denied a report claiming that his administration had offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen assets in exchange for concessions on Tehran’s nuclear program, demanding that Axios withdraw what he called a “HOAX” story.
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Trump issued the denial on Truth Social shortly after Axios reported, based on unnamed U.S. officials, that Washington was prepared to consider economic incentives if Iran took concrete steps to curb its nuclear activities.
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“Axios just released a story that ‘Trump’ offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!” Trump wrote.
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Trump followed with an unusually direct demand that the news organization retract its report.
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“Axios’ story, like most others, is a HOAX, used only for purposes of satisfying their Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he added. “They should withdraw this fake story, IMMEDIATELY!”
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Axios subsequently updated its report to include Trump’s denial but did not withdraw the article. The outlet continued to report that U.S. officials had described potential sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian funds as possible incentives if Tehran agreed to concrete nuclear concessions.
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The dispute emerged as Qatar and other mediators were conducting a new round of indirect diplomacy between Washington and Tehran in an effort to find a way out of the months-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi remained in New York following the United Nations General Assembly and held discussions with Qatari intermediaries. U.S. officials were separately communicating with the mediators as they considered an amended version of Iran’s latest proposal.
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One U.S. official characterized the indirect discussions as “positive and constructive,” while acknowledging that significant disagreements remained between Washington and Tehran.
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At the center of the dispute was the fundamental difference between the two sides over what should come first in any agreement. The Trump administration was pressing Iran for concrete steps involving its nuclear program, while Tehran was demanding relief from U.S. economic and military pressure and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Iran’s latest proposal called for a phased process under which hostilities would cease, billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets would be released, restrictions on Iranian oil exports would be lifted and the U.S. blockade would end. Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations over its nuclear program.
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Trump said that he had rejected the Iranian proposal, arguing that Tehran was seeking terms Washington was unwilling to accept.
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“We’re winning tremendously,” Trump said. “We have total control of the Hormuz Strait.”

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Israel’s Health Ministry ordered the immediate shutdown of all medical activity at the private Medica Tel Aviv medical center Monday evening after a surprise inspection uncovered serious violations in its operating rooms, including medical procedures allegedly performed by personnel who were not professionally authorized to carry them out.
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The sweeping closure order applied to the entire medical facility at 28 HaBarzel Street in Tel Aviv’s Ramat Hahayal neighborhood and was to remain in effect until further notice.
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The decision followed an unannounced inspection carried out by Health Ministry representatives last Thursday. According to the ministry, inspectors discovered multiple serious problems involving medical practices, operating-room procedures and patient safety.
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Among the most troubling findings were instances in which members of the medical staff allegedly performed procedures and treatments that exceeded the authority granted to them under their professional licenses and violated mandatory medical regulations.
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Israeli reports said that some of the findings involved nursing personnel performing surgical functions that were required to be carried out by qualified physicians.
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The Health Ministry said the violations could not be viewed as isolated problems, but rather reflected broader failures in the way the facility was being operated.
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“The totality of the findings indicates a profound systemic failure in the hospital’s operations, posing a serious and immediate danger to the well-being, health, and safety of patients.”
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In response to the inspection, the district physician issued an administrative closure order prohibiting all medical activity at Medica Tel Aviv until further notice.
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The breadth of the order was significant. Rather than restricting specific operating rooms or particular procedures, the ministry halted medical activity throughout the facility because of the seriousness of the findings.
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The Health Ministry also announced that senior figures connected with the institution would be summoned for an urgent hearing. Those expected to be called include Medica network management, the network’s owners and members of its board of directors.
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Authorities were also considering action against individual medical professionals and other officials believed to have exceeded the limits of their professional authority or participated in procedures conducted contrary to regulations.
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The Health Ministry said it “views with severity any deviation from the rules and authorities designed to ensure safe medical treatment” and indicated that it would use the enforcement tools available to it to protect patients.
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The shutdown represented the second major intervention by the Health Ministry involving the Medica network in a little more than two months.
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In July, inspectors conducted a separate surprise inspection at Medica Raphael, another private medical facility in northern Tel Aviv, and discovered serious problems involving its operating rooms.
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That inspection found improper procedures in the operating-room system and central sterile supply operations, as well as a significant shortage of personnel that the Health Ministry said had reached the point of endangering patient safety. Problems were also identified involving the handling of sterile medical instruments intended for surgery.
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The ministry responded at the time by ordering the immediate suspension of all activity in Medica Raphael’s operating rooms.
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Medica Raphael described the matter at the time as “an isolated incident that is being handled immediately and in full cooperation with the Ministry of Health” and said that the rest of the hospital continued functioning normally.
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Several weeks later, after the facility took corrective measures, the Health Ministry partially lifted the closure order and permitted Medica Raphael to gradually resume surgical activity.
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Initially, four of the hospital’s nine operating rooms were permitted to reopen for major surgery after ministry officials determined that the required deficiencies had been addressed. Management also committed to complying fully with licensing conditions and remaining within the scope of its authorized medical activity.
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The latest case involving Medica Tel Aviv, however, resulted in a broader response. While July’s order at Medica Raphael was directed at the operating rooms, Monday’s order halted all medical activity at the HaBarzel Street facility.
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The nature of the latest findings was also different, with the Health Ministry specifically identifying medical procedures allegedly performed outside the professional authority of those carrying them out.
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The ministry’s decision to summon the network’s management, owners and board members for a hearing, while simultaneously considering disciplinary and individual action against medical personnel, indicated that the investigation would extend beyond correcting physical or procedural deficiencies at the facility.
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For the Medica network, the closure marked another serious regulatory setback only weeks after surgical operations at Medica Raphael had been permitted to resume following its own surprise inspection.
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Medica Tel Aviv was ordered to remain closed to medical activity until further notice, with any resumption of operations dependent upon further action and approval by the Health Ministry.

Israel summoned Spain’s top diplomat in the country for a formal reprimand Monday after Spanish Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego declared that Spanish society supports a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea,” triggering another sharp escalation in the already badly strained relationship between Yerushalayim and Madrid.
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Spanish chargé d’affaires Francisca Pedrós was called to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, where Israeli officials lodged a formal protest over Rego’s remarks. Israel and Spain have been represented at the chargé d’affaires level amid the deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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Rego made the remarks at an event in Madrid attended by Palestinian Ambassador to Spain Fadi Elhusseini. During her address, she defended Spain’s approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pointed to steps Madrid has taken against Israel, including its recognition of a Palestinian state and measures involving arms sales.
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The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Rego had asserted that the Spanish public supports a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea,” a slogan referring to the territory stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Israel and many Jewish organizations have long condemned the slogan as a call for the elimination of the Jewish state, while some pro-Palestinian activists maintain that they use it as a call for Palestinian freedom.
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The Foreign Ministry said Rego’s latest comments were part of what it described as a broader pattern by the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, accusing Madrid of pursuing a “systematic anti-Israel policy”.
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Israeli officials also pointed to Rego’s reaction following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, noting that she refused to condemn the attack and made statements defending what she characterized as Palestinian resistance.
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Israel subsequently barred Rego from entering the country in September 2025. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz was also barred from entering Israel as relations between the two governments deteriorated further.
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“The Spanish government has lost its moral compass,” the Foreign Ministry said, accusing Madrid of turning Israel into “a punching bag for its foreign policy.”
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The ministry further accused the Spanish government of embracing a position that “entails the destruction of the State of Israel” while simultaneously condemning Israel for defending itself against Iran and Hamas.
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The latest confrontation was another chapter in a diplomatic dispute that has intensified steadily since the October 7 massacre and the ensuing war in Gaza.
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In November 2023, Israel summoned Spain’s ambassador after Sánchez accused Israel of violating international law and carrying out indiscriminate attacks in Gaza.
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“Israel is violating international law and is carrying out indiscriminate killings in Gaza.”
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Several months later, in April 2024, Sánchez again sharply criticized Israel’s military campaign, describing its response to the Hamas attack as “disproportionate” and warning that it could “destabilize the Middle East, and as a consequence, the entire world”.
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Tensions increased further the following month when Spain formally recognized a Palestinian state. Sánchez’s government maintained that the move was intended to advance a two-state solution and was not directed against Israel.
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Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares subsequently called for international sanctions against Israel over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, further straining ties between Madrid and Yerushalayim.
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Relations reached another low point in 2025 when Sánchez announced additional measures against Israel, including steps to strengthen Spain’s arms embargo. Israel responded by banning Rego and Díaz from entering the country.
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The dispute has extended beyond traditional diplomacy. Spain boycotted the Eurovision Song Contest because Israel was participating, a decision Sánchez defended by saying that Spain was on “the right side of history”.
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Sánchez also publicly supported FC Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal after the soccer star displayed a Palestine Liberation Organization flag during celebrations following the club’s La Liga championship.
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Monday’s reprimand of Spain’s chargé d’affaires underscored the extent of the diplomatic rupture between the two countries. With relations already severely strained and both governments having taken retaliatory measures against the other, Rego’s “from the river to the sea” remarks opened yet another front in the increasingly bitter dispute between Israel and Spain.