On Monday, June 16th the Senate Finance Committee released its text of the Big, Beautiful Bill. It includes a game-changing, $4 billion annual tax credit that will enable students to receive K-12 scholarships which can be used for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Most importantly, the Senate version makes the proposed scholarship tax credit permanent! “School Choice is here to stay,” said Rabbi Avi Schnall, Agudath Israel of America’s Director of Federal Education Affairs.

When an Iranian missile slammed into this central Israeli city, Miryam was huddled inside the concrete safe room in her family’s apartment. Miryam was unscathed by the blast. But four people in the building next door were killed, and the explosion blew off the doors to the apartment and destroyed the kitchen and bathroom. “This was the scariest thing I’d ever experienced,” said Miryam, who spoke to AP on condition that her last name not be used because she serves in the military. “But the right thing is to attack Iran; I don’t want them to have this power over us.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long identified Iran as Israel’s greatest enemy, citing its hostile rhetoric and support for terror groups and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

A third victim of the Iranian missile attack that struck a high-rise building in Petach Tikvah in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning was identified as Daisy Yitzchaki, H’yd, 85. Yitzchaki’s aide was injured in the strike. Two more victims of the missile strike on the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa were also identified: Uri Levy, H’yd, 58, and Igor Fradkin, H’yd, 50. The two men, along with the previously identified victim, Dani Avraham, H’yd, worked at the refinery. Levy, z’l, a resident of Haifa, left behind his wife, three children, and a granddaughter. Fradkin, z’l, a resident of Kiryat Ata, left behind three children. The three men took shelter in the most protected room in the refinery before the strike but a fire broke out at the site, trapping them inside. Hashem Yikom Damam.

President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that he would likely extend a deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest the popular video sharing app. Trump had signed an order in early April to keep TikTok running for another 75 days after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. “Probably yeah, yeah,” he responded when asked by reporters on Air Force One whether the deadline would be extended again. Trump also said he thinks Xi would “ultimately approve” a deal to divest TikTok’s business in the United States. He indicated in an interview last month with NBC that he would be open to pushing back the deadline again. If announced, it would be the third time Trump has extended the deadline. The first one was through an executive order on Jan.

In a new development, Israeli authorities have begun preliminary preparations to assist foreign nationals who remain stranded in Israel due to the ongoing security situation. While no official exit plan has yet been announced, Chaim V’Chessed has learned from sources that the developing arrangement may include evacuation by air or sea to a third country. At this stage, the government is focused on collecting data from those affected. Tourists and other foreigners currently in Israel who wish to return to their home countries are encouraged to submit their personal details using this online form. This move comes as part of broader efforts to support the large number of foreign nationals who have found themselves unable to leave the country following the closure of commercial air routes.

Iranian state television on Tuesday afternoon urged the country’s public to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging the app — without offering specific evidence — gathered user information to send to Israel. In a statement, WhatsApp said it was “concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.” WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning a service provider in the middle can’t read a message. “We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” it added.

Israeli military officials say they are nearing completion of their objectives in their sweeping operation targeting Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure and ballistic missile systems, with a full conclusion expected within the next one to two weeks. The IDF launched the offensive with the stated goal of eliminating what it called the “existential threat” posed by Iran’s nuclear program and long-range missile capabilities. According to briefings by senior military officials, Israel has so far delivered devastating blows to key nuclear and military targets across Iran, significantly weakening the Islamic Republic’s ability to wage war or develop nuclear weapons.

New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday at an immigration court in Lower Manhattan while escorting an individual out of a courtroom at 26 Federal Plaza. According to reports, Lander was observing immigration hearings and had stated his intention to “accompany” individuals exiting the courthouse to prevent their detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While walking arm-in-arm with a man whose immigration case had reportedly been dismissed pending appeal, Lander was approached by federal agents, some wearing masks and tactical vests. Videos show Lander repeatedly asking to see a judicial warrant as agents attempted to separate him from the individual.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob,” according to his own lawyer. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it’s likely he’ll end up in the camp. The prison is about 118 miles (190 kilometers) west of New York City.

Retail sales fell sharply in May as consumers pulled back after a sharp increase in spending in March to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports. Sales at retail stores and restaurants dropped 0.9% in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, after a decline of 0.1% in April. The figure was pulled down by a steep drop in auto sales, after Americans ramped up their car-buying in March to get ahead of Trump’s 25% duty on imported cars and car parts. Excluding autos, sales fell 0.3%. The sales drop comes after sharp declines in consumer confidence this year. Still, inflation has cooled steadily and unemployment remains low, which could fuel steady spending in the coming months, as the economy has remained mostly solid.