TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he would halt new planned attacks on Iran pending renewed talks to wind down the war and revive stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
It was the latest in a pattern of announcements the U.S. president has made to first threaten massive strikes and then later call them off. The abrupt shifts have been a defining feature of the five-month conflict that has sent prices of oil and basic goods soaring — and the announcements to date have been upended by renewed attacks days or even hours afterward.
Here is a look at some of Trump's past major announcements about pausing strikes against Iran:
The United States and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire to end the intense fighting that began on Feb. 28 with Israeli and U.S. attacks. Trump makes the announcement less than two hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to capitulate or face attacks on bridges and power plants — strikes he said would mean "a whole civilization will die."
Trump announces that the U.S. is indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran a day before it was to expire. He adds that he has been asked by mediators to hold off on attacks to give Iranian leaders time to come up with additional proposals. The fragile ceasefire lasts until May 8, when the U.S. carried out strikes on Iranian tankers.

#Iran #ceasefire

As fighting in the Middle East grinds on, the United States has had a steadfast ally in Israel, but support from the American public is plunging. The Iran war, along with Israel's bombardment of Gaza has exposed strains between the U.S. and Israel with President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu occasionally at odds. NBC's Keir Simmons reports in this week's Sunday Focus.

#east

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump in a Saturday evening social media post claimed that Mideast allies have reached the parameters of a deal to end the Iran war and said that he would hold off on ordering new strikes in the five-month old conflict for now.
Trump added that the emerging deal "would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat."
"Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL," Trump said.
He said that Israel has agreed to join the U.S. in the commitment to try to complete the agreement with Iran that would bring about an end to the war.
Iran did not offer any immediate public reaction to Trump's announcement.

#Iran #Trump #donald #saturday

Props to Bayshore High's baseball program, which starts the new school year on a meaningful note. For the first time in school history, the Bruins were recipients of the American Baseball Coaches ******* ociation Team Academic Excellence Award for 2025-26 with a 3.62 GPA.
They were one of 10 state high school ballclubs honored.
"Can't give enough credit to every guy's willingness to be disciplined in the classroom all year. This goes way beyond baseball," said Head Coach Mike Rupp, who also credited ******* istants Scott Hutsko, Jerad Paparella and Armando Sierra.
The 2025-26 Bruins were seniors Gabriel Falcon, Jordan Greene, Angelo Magloire, Bryant Ortiz, Tucker Pope, Fabio Rondon and Carsen Smalley; juniors Diego Falcon, Israel Garcia, Daniel Hutsko and Jashun Judge; sophomore Diego Orozco; and freshmen Herminio Nieves, Sergio Oropesa Marchena, Ismael Rosario and Patrick Schaefer.
· Grenadene Harder is 100 years young.

#Baseball #falcon #diego

By Yasmine Ghania and Menna AlaaElDin
CAIRO, August 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said late on Saturday the U.S. would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and other Middle ‌Eastern countries asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to "the Immediate, Complete and Total" reopening of the vital strait and "an end to Iran's nuclear ‌threat," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He did not name the countries in the post, which followed a call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally.
"Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL," Trump wrote.
Israel "joins me in this commitment," he said. Israel did not immediately respond on Sunday to a request for comment on the U.S. president's posts.

#deal #wrote

Progressive groups celebrated a major victory when 29-year-old Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros ousted 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado's 1st Congressional District in June. But the Democratic primary upset heightened safety concerns among Denver's Jewish leaders, who warn her sharp rhetoric will fuel antisemitic hostility and violence in their city.
Local Jewish leaders told Fox News Digital that Kiros has left many in the community on edge because of her controversial comments — including describing the Oct. 7 attacks as "inevitable," refusing to label a local firebombing as antisemitic, and accusing Israel of genocide and apartheid.
In the hours after Kiros claimed victory, Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield, director of the Jewish Outreach Initiative in Denver, wrote on social media that he felt fearful knowing that many of his neighbors seemed to support the kind of anti-Israel rhetoric Kiros campaigned on. After his post was met with a barrage of antisemitic comments, Lehrfield published an op-ed explaining how for observant Jews like himself, just wearing a yarmulke down the streets in Denver now feels like a dangerous thing to do.
Just 24 hours after publishing his op-ed, those fears became a reality.
Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros speaks to supporters at an election-night watch party after winning the Colorado primary on June 30, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. Kiros defeated incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., in the Democratic primary.

#kiros #democratic #antisemitic #june

WASHINGTON (AP) — Palestinian authorities asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to halt for now a $656 million judgment in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.
The emergency appeal comes after a lower court reinstated the damages in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that followed more than two decades of litigation.
The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said in court documents that paying the hefty judgment now would "destabilize critical government services Petitioners provide in the West Bank, injure innocent citizens, and jeopardize regional security."
They asked the justices to pause payment as they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict.
The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more. Families brought their lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law aimed at opening U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks.

#wounded

We at Sherdog provide regular, in-depth preview coverage for allmajor events, including our oft-praised preview column along withour "Sheehan Show" handling all sorts of related matters includingbetting. With those official sources for picks handled, we wouldlike to take the edge off here and get a bit lighter with one finalbreakdown.

The industry of sports betting is exploding before our very eyes,with billions of dollars pumping in since legalization stateside.Oftentimes, those driving the lines are right on the money withtheir openings, valuations and ***** yses. Occasionally, they are wayoff, or otherwise merit some additional conversation. That is wherewe come in with this reinvigorated series of Prime Picks, where,swiping a line from game show host Sam Reich, we hold hands andjump into the abyss together for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's maiden voyageto Serbia on Saturday. Try it out.
JanBlachowicz (+260)
OR
MarcinTybura (+280)
Why Not Both Total: (+1268)

First off, we are not suggesting that one should go out on a limbfor both Blachowicz and Tybura, but rather that one should choosetheir poison. The most daring, optimistic bettors might be temptedto throw a few bucks on the flier, but we see that as just a way topad the betting company's bank account. One or the other, however,could pull off the upset as elder statesmen in their respectivedivisions of light heavyweight and heavyweight. The "fightinguncle" movement is still very much in play.

Having turned 43 in February, former champ Blachowicz isunquestionably on the tail end of his UFC career. The last time hewon a fight, GloverTeixeira held the belt in their weight class and future starPaddyPimblett just picked up his second win under the UFC banner.There is an age cliff that every athlete encounters, and thatincludes Yoel Romeroeven as he draws Darren Tillsoon without gloves on. With that gloom-and-doom surrounding thePolish vet's tenure out in the open, there are still ample ways hecan pick up the win. After all, if a top-10 BogdanGuskov—whom he drew with in December—is the worst loss he hassuffered in that stretch, who is to say how "washed" he is againstburgeoning talent?

Blachowicz is an equal opportunity finisher despite his reputationof "Polish Power," with that expectation looming so large that mostforget he posts an equal number of subs to knockouts. It has notbeen since 2018 that he landed one, and it is not the implicationthat he will put NavajoStirling in danger with offensive submission grappling, butrather that he has demonstrated a wherewithal in the field to addanother wrinkle to his game. Additionally, Blachowicz serves ***** neakily effective takedown artist, practically shutting downIsraelAdesanya in a performance that at the time seemed shockingwhile in hindsight might have been predictable. Blachowicz canspoil the record of the unbeaten upstart in a variety of ways, aslong as he does not keep his chin on the proverbial gunnery rangehoping to s

Everything in the world of Gonzaga basketball hinges on the courtroom right now. Mario Saint-Supery was lured away from his upcoming sophomore season by a four-year contract to play professionally in Valencia, and Mark Few was left without a point guard. That vacated roster spot, as well as the one left open by one-time commit Jack Kayil, however, may have come at exactly the right time. UCLA's Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark are among the group of fifth-year seniors suing the NCAA for one more season of eligibility, and Gonzaga is reportedly in the mix for both. If the Zags are able to land both, this roster stops looking like an eleventh-hour rebuild and starts looking like the key ingredients for a top-five squad.
This is particularly vital because Gonzaga's non-conference slate for the 2026-27 season is arguably the toughest Mark Few has ever scheduled. The Bulldogs are already projected in the AP preseason top 20-to-25 range even before the eligibility rulings (hopefully) break their way, and the schedule does not let up from November through February.
Gonzaga has never been the type of team to schedule a patty-cake non-conference schedule and hopefully start firing on all cylinders by the time conference play rolls around. Rather, the Zags have spent the last decade scheduling a grueling non-conference slate to serve as a preview of the kind of competition they expect to see again in late March. Here are the games Zag fans should circle on their calendars now, regardless of who will or won't actually be suiting up for the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga has unfinished business with Purdue, which ended the Zags' 2024 season in the Sweet 16 behind Zach Edey's 27 points and 14 rebounds. This one opens the season on a neutral floor.
The roster picture has flipped since then. Purdue finished 30-9 and ranked No. 2 on KenPom last year, but its entire veteran core is now gone. Braden Smith, the NCAA's all-time ******* ists leader, and Trey Kaufman-Renn were both drafted in June, while Fletcher Loyer exhausted his eligibility and signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Clippers. Matt Painter didn't chase a portal fix. Instead, Purdue is leaning on sophomore Omer Mayer out of Tel Aviv, Israel, who played alongside Smith last season and is the presumptive starter, with five-star freshman Luke Ertel, Indiana's reigning Mr. Basketball, waiting behind him.

#zags #conference

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is yet to publicly respond to an invitation from a prominent Holocaust museum to visit in order to "truly understand" what "genocide looks like" as he faces criticism from the Jewish community for repeatedly using that label to describe the situation in Gaza.
"You keep using the word 'genocide' when talking about Israel," Jeff Miller, chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, posted on X on Friday, inviting Mamdani to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
"If you truly want to understand what genocide looks like, as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, I would be happy to personally arrange a tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for you."
Miller was responding to a post from the UJA-Federation of New York expressing grief over a pair of recent stabbings in New York City carried out by an attacker who allegedly yelled "Allahu Akbar" during the attacks. Authorities say one of the victims is Jewish, and the attack is being investigated as a hate crime.
Jewish Leaders Fault Mamdani Rhetoric As Upper West Side Stabbing, Hate Crime Probe Continues

#jewish #states #museum

Piers Morgan had a heated exchange with Cornell University student Austin Franco Tuesday after Franco stood by his comments saying he would not want to be "working for a Jew" after rejecting an internship last month.
Franco came under fire last month after rejecting New York City startup VryfID co-founders Gabe and Aiden Einhorn for an interview by attacking their religious background.
"Not interested in working for a Jew. Thanks," Franco reportedly wrote back.
While listening to Franco's side of the story on his show, "Piers Morgan Uncensored," Morgan was shocked that Franco refused to take back or apologize for his incendiary comment despite him and his parents facing backlash.
Cornell Board Clears President Of Wrongdoing After Confrontation With Anti-israel Students

#cornell

Joe Rogan claims there will be little debate in the future that Israel committed a "genocide" in Gaza.
The veteran comic made the claim during the Wednesday episode of his podcast, in which he said the idea of genocide by Israel would become "universally accepted."
Rogan said he can't see how anyone can support Israel's war in Gaza, even when considering it was spurred by the Hamas terror attack in October 2023 where about 1,200 people were slaughtered and hundreds of hostages were taken.
"Like, how could anybody defend that? I don't even know how many people are dead," Rogan said. "You have a complete wipeout of a city — like 90% of Gaza is gone, or whatever the percentage is. You look at the buildings — you look at what it used to look like, [and] you look at what it looks like now — like, this is defensible?"
He got onto the topic after his guest, actor Tim Robbins, complained it was "nuts" ex-wife Susan Sarandon lost her agent and had a hard time finding work because of her criticism of Israel and comments after the 10/7 attack.

#Gaza

Roma have been searching for a wing-back for quite some time, even more so after Zeki Celik's about-face, and they have recently been focusing their efforts on Ivan Fresneda, while Abde Ezzalzouli has emerged as a candidate to shore up their frontline, Alfredo Pedullà reports.
The Giallorossi have spoken with Sporting CP and the defender's camp three times recently. His valuation is around €17/18M plus hefty bonuses. They haven't decided to push for him for the time being, but he's one of the few players on their list. He headed to Portugal from Real Valladolid for €9M in 2023 and has racked up 81 appearances, scoring 4 goals and dishing out 3 **** ists.
In addition to tracking Fresneda, Roma poked around Ezzalzouli, but he's as pricey as their other offensive targets, some of whom have fallen through. He has hit the net 29 times and provided 18 helpers in 128 games with Real Betis. He has starred 37 times with Morocco.
The Giallorossi haven't given up on trying to acquire Antonio Nusa, but the negotiation is very complex. Instead, on the wing, they placed a small bid for Club America's Israel Reyes. They tendered €2.5M, while the counterparty asked for a lot more, €7M, Mexican publication Excelsior reports. He's been a stalwart for his current team for the past 5 seasons, featuring 146 times.
They need multiple wingbacks after the Celik fiasco and likely won't be able to splurge for two, especially since their interest in signing a big-ticket attacker hasn't waned despite capturing Santiago Castro. Wesley and Devyne Rensch's versatility gives them flexibility, but they should decide where they prefer using the former before adding.

#ezzalzouli

DUBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - Iran has proposed to Oman a temporary arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz ‌under which one direction of traffic would pass through Iranian ‌waters and part of the opposite route would also be in Iranian waters, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television on Tuesday.
Gharibabadi said Tehran rejected an Omani proposal for an equal division of transit routes between the two countries, saying such a plan did ‌not address Tehran's security ⁠concerns until long-term regional stability is achieved.
He said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed if Muscat ⁠rejected Iran's proposal, adding that Tehran had never recognised the southern route along Oman's coast.
Gharibabadi also said Tehran had made it clear to Muscat that it no longer recognised the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), ‌arguing that this pathway roughly in the middle of the waterway lies mostly within Omani waters and runs contrary to Iran's need to monitor transiting vessels after being attacked by the U.S. and Israel in late February.
The TSS, adopted by the International Maritime ‌Organization, is currently unusable due to the risk of mines and has been replaced with Iran's northern route and Oman's southern route.

#route #tehran #muscat #TRAFFIC

The Red Sea heated up as the rising front in the U.S.-Iran war as Houthi rebels on Sunday attacked two refinery and export sites on Saudi Arabia's west coast. U.S. supplied Patriot missiles reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting oil installations in Yanbu. Damage to the Saudi refinery in Jizan was unconfirmed, but Al Jazeera reported a large column of smoke following the attack.
In Iran, as of Sunday morning, no new air attacks by U.S. or Israeli forces were reported since Friday.
But the Houthi-Saudi escalation appears set to make the Red Sea's choke-point effect on oil prices, supplies and tanker day rates central to the coming week's market action. Another focal point will be the Federal Reserve and its stance on rate hikes.
But the most prominent discussions will probably involve the balance sheets and artificial intelligence-related spending levels of Magnificent 7 names Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), all of which report during the week.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) dived nearly 8% and broke critical technical support last week as spending levels and guidance disappointed investors. That played a large role in dragging the Nasdaq below its early June lows, setting the stage for the index to dive to a test of support at its 200-day moving average.

#reported #large

BEIRUT (AP) — Kozo Okamoto, the ***** anese militant who took part in a deadly attack on Tel Aviv's airport more than five decades ago, died Thursday in Beirut, the Palestinian group that had been protecting him said. He was 78.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a faction that is the second-largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Okamoto had been ill for a long time.
Okamoto, who made rare public appearances since he settled in Lebanon after being released from Israel, was known within the PFLP as Ahmad al-Yabani, or Ahmad the ***** anese.
The PFLP said in its statement that Okamoto's journey was "marked by immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of struggle in support of the Palestinian cause." The Palestinian group added that Okamoto "never compromised nor faltered but remained steadfast to his principles."
Okamoto had served 12 years in an Israeli lockup for a May 30, 1972 attack on the international airport outside Tel Aviv that was thought to be carried out by members of the ***** anese Red Army guerrilla group in a joint operation with the PFLP.

#okamoto #beirut

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., came under fire after claiming the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would "merge parts of our military with the Israel Defense Forces," drawing accusations that she distorted what the legislation actually does.
The fight centers on Section 219 of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, a provision that calls for deeper U.S.-Israel defense integration through expanded cooperation on military technology, supply chains, research, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and joint exercises.
On Wednesday, the House passed its version of the FY2027 NDAA in a 219-206 vote, leaving Section 219 intact.
But ahead of the vote, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that the NDAA "includes a provision to merge parts of our military with the IDF."
The Us-israel Strategic Alliance – Partnership, Not Charity

#passed #national #authorization

By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain
July 23 (Reuters) - Defense giant Lockheed Martin lifted its 2026 sales and profit forecasts on Thursday as the Pentagon ‌looks to replenish weapons stockpiles amid a wave of global conflicts.
Shares ‌of the company rose 7% in premarket trading.
President Donald Trump has been urging defense contractors to increase production as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict drain the Pentagon's inventory.
Revenue for Lockheed's missiles and fire control business rose nearly 20% to $4.1 billion, driven by a production ramp-up of its PAC-3 and Precision Strike missiles, both of which ‌have been used in the ⁠war on Iran in the last few months.

#jain

Several Jewish Michigan Democrats admitted Tuesday they or people they know will be backing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in the upcoming election if Abdul El-Sayed becomes the Democratic nominee.
Ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election, Jewish donors spoke with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) about the possibility of El-Sayed, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel, becoming the party's nominee for the Michigan Senate seat.
JTA reported that several prominent Jewish fundraisers have already begun to see Rogers as a "hedge" and are planning to raise funds for him against El-Sayed.
Michigan Democrat Accuses Abdul El-sayed Of 'Deeply **** ist Attacks' On Female Political Rivals
"There are leaders in our Jewish community who are longtime, lifelong Democrats and Democratic fundraisers who are very concerned with where their party's going," said Dennis Bernard, Jewish Federations of North America national chair of government relations.

#election

EXCLUSIVE - Far-left Democratic congressional candidate Oliver Larkin of Florida says he supports abolishing the U.S. Senate, agrees with socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested during his upcoming trip to the U.S., and refers to Israel's ruling coalition as a "religious supremacist regime."
Larkin, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in next month's Florida primary, is one of just four congressional candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The 33-year-old Larkin, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 Democratic presidential campaign, is also the only DSA-endorsed House candidate running in one of the roughly two dozen key swing districts that will determine if Republicans hold onto their razor-thin majority in the midterm elections.
Moskowitz, who is running for re-election in Florida's newly redrawn 25th Congressional District, a Broward County-anchored seat in the southeastern corner of the red-leaning state, is heavily supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). He currently holds a polling and fundraising lead over Larkin.
Midterm Battle For The House: Check Out The Fox News Power Rankings

#midterm

Listen
(2 min)
Good morning. We now have a price tag for the U.S.-Iran war: $37.5 billion. Pete Hegseth shared the updated estimate yesterday—some $9 billion higher than earlier projections. The rising bill comes as fighting intensifies. Our latest reporting shows Iran’s ballistic missiles remain a deadly threat to U.S. forces and regional allies. Yet Israel is staying out of the fight—for now—at Washington’s request, to preserve room for diplomacy. Meanwhile, President Trump has approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could bring large profits for American companies, but could also raise concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
This is an edition of The 10-Point newsletter, a guided tour to the best coverage in The Wall Street Journal. If you’re not subscribed, sign up here. If you’re reading this in your inbox, tap the headline above for online and audio versions of this newsletter.

#Iran #newsletter #Israel

CNN legal ****** yst Elie Honig called out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday for saying he was looking at whether the city's authorities could arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits.
"So, Elie, give us a reality check here. Can Mamdani have Netanyahu arrested?" CNN's Brianna Keilar asked Honig.
"Absolutely not. It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu or any visiting foreign head of state. First of all, the mayor of New York City has zero law enforcement authority. He does not tell the Manhattan D.A., the NYPD, who to arrest, who to indict," Honig responded.
Honig noted that the U.S. was not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and therefore the arrest warrant the ICC issued for Netanyahu has no impact here.
Mamdani's 'Deranged' Israel Take Resurfaces As He Targets Netanyahu

#city #arrest

The benchmark diesel price used as the basis for most fuel surcharges rose this week by the second-largest amount since the start of the Iran war.
The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price climbed 33.8 cents/gallon to $5.134/g, published Tuesday but effective Monday.
The size of the increase is the second largest since the benchmark price rose 96.2 cts/g on March 9, the first time the DOE/EIA price measured a full week of market movement following the launch of military action against Iran by the U.S. and Israel on February 28/March 1.
With the benchmark price having moved up sharply two weeks in a row, it is now 55.6 cts/g more than where it stood just three weeks ago.
Retail prices, as they generally do, are reacting after the fact to increases in the price of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange.

#price #march

The House passed its $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill Wednesday after a bipartisan revolt over a provision expanding U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation.
The fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act passed 216-212, with Republicans largely supporting and Democrats mostly opposing the measure.
The annual bill, which sets Pentagon policy and typically draws broad bipartisan support, received only six Democratic votes as much of the caucus objected to Section 219 and Republican-backed amendments restricting transgender care and easing access to personal guns on military bases.
House Democrats Fracture Badly Over Massie Amendment To Cut $3.3B In U.s. Aid To Israel
Opposition came from a coalition of progressive Democrats and Republican skeptics of U.S. support for Israel, who accused congressional leaders of shielding the provision from scrutiny after lawmakers were denied a separate vote to remove it.

#policy #bill

New York City socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani was widely mocked by conservatives on social media Tuesday after announcing that one of his campaign platforms, arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, isn't a tool he has at his disposal.
In a video post on X that was viewed over 36 million times, Mamdani called Netanyahu a "war criminal" while conceding that New York City could not enforce the International Criminal Court's warrant for the Israeli leader's arrest on its own despite the mayor saying he had looked at exploring avenues to do so.
Mamdani has often said on the campaign trail and as mayor that he wanted to arrest Netanyahu over what the mayor calls a "genocide" in Gaza.
While Mamdani's post was well received by many on the political left, conservatives on social media quickly mocked the mayor over the situation while taking issue with his determination to enforce the ICC warrant, which the United States government does not recognize.
Mamdani's 'Deranged' Israel Take Resurfaces As He Targets Netanyahu

#mayor #mamdani #york #conservatives

Former campaign official for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Joel Rubin called out the Vermont senator last week for pushing the "most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates" he's seen in recent years.
"I think what Sanders and the Sanders operation have done is shove into our system the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we've seen in a generation — if ever, certainly within the Democratic Party — and it's by design," Rubin said in an interview with Jewish Insider.
"The goal is to undermine Democratic unity and even rationality on Israel at this stage," Rubin said.
Sanders Under Fire For Propping Up Platner As Dems Torch His Toxic Endorsement 'Pattern'
Joel Rubin, who previously helped lead Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, criticized the senator for embracing antisemitic candidates.

#sanders

The benchmark diesel price used as the basis for most fuel surcharges rose this week by the second-largest amount since the start of the Iran war.
The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price climbed 33.8 cents/gallon to $5.134/g, published Tuesday but effective Monday.
The size of the increase is the second largest since the benchmark price rose 96.2 cts/g on March 9, the first time the DOE/EIA price measured a full week of market movement following the launch of military action against Iran by the U.S. and Israel on February 28/March 1.
With the benchmark price having moved up sharply two weeks in a row, it is now 55.6 cts/g more than where it stood just three weeks ago.
Retail prices, as they generally do, are reacting after the fact to increases in the price of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange.

#retail #week

CAIRO (AP) — The Israeli military is quietly but quickly building a giant earthen barrier separating the over 50% of the Gaza Strip it controls from the rest of the territory, according to satellite imagery, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave.
More than 23 kilometers (14 miles) have been constructed in recent months, running through Palestinian communities demolished by the military. That is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal strip, which is some 40 kilometers (25 miles) long and 11 kilometers (7 miles) wide, and home to over 2 million Palestinians.
When presented with the satellite images, Israel's military confirmed to The ******* ociated Press it has built a physical barrier in the area of the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. The line was envisioned in the U.S.-backed agreement as a temporary division of the territory pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal.
But as the truce stagnates, it appears Israel is digging in, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a border. Neither U.S. Central Command, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, nor the Board of Peace, the body led by U.S. President Donald Trump meant to eventually oversee Gaza, would comment on the barrier.
Along with the barrier, the military told AP it has developed a "security zone" around the line, equipped with intelligence and technological ******* ets. It declined to give details on the route of the barrier when asked how far it would be extended. It said the barrier aimed to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and Israeli communities near Gaza.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin is launching an investigation into whether Jeffrey Epstein acted as an unregistered foreign agent for multiple countries, requesting records from the Trump administration on the scope of the late convicted ***** offender's foreign ties.
In the Republican-controlled House, Raskin's demands to the Department of Justice, Department of State and intelligence community are likely to go unanswered, but his push as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee serves as a preview for how Democrats will pursue investigations if they reclaim the House majority in the next Congress, which would give them control of committees with subpoena power.
In a new letter, Raskin points to documents released by the Department of Justice and the House Oversight Committee and says that he has found "substantial evidence" that Epstein "acted to advance the interests" of the Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti governments, advised the Russian government and worked as a consultant for a former Israeli prime minister. Raskin also raises concerns about the potential security risks Epstein's foreign ties posed, given he was never registered as a foreign agent.
"Our examination of available evidence has already revealed ***** ing indications of Mr. Epstein's activities on behalf of foreign states," Raskin wrote.
CNN has reached out for comment to the Justice Department, the State Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is accusing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of attacking the Jewish state to distract from his record in New York after calling Netanyahu a "war criminal."
The prime minister's office fired back Sunday after the Democratic mayor said his administration was exploring whether it could arrest the Israeli leader during an expected visit to the city under the International Criminal Court's warrant.
"The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis," Netanyahu's office wrote in an X post Sunday, amid recent reports he is nearing a trip to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump.
Potential 2028 Dem Contender Unloads On Netanyahu, Admits Us-israel Ties At 'Crossroads'
"Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of ******* ual misconduct against him became public," Netanyahu's office said. "It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny."