President Trump issued a new proclamation on Wednesday that bans foreign nationals from a dozen nations from coming into the United States, citing threats to national security as the reason behind the decision.
“I have determined to fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen,” the president wrote in the order.
In addition to the full bans, the administration has also chosen to implement more limited entry restrictions on citizens from seven other nations, which include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Elon Musk has ramped up his public opposition to the budget reconciliation bill currently being debated in Congress, imploring the American public to pressure their representatives to vote it down. He labeled the legislation—central to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda—as deeply harmful to the country.
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL,” Musk posted on X, the platform he owns.
Just days after ending his temporary appointment as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk renewed his criticism of the legislation, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” On Tuesday, he took to X to call it a “disgusting abomination.”

Mediators involved in the ongoing hostage negotiations are increasingly hopeful that Hamas will soon present a revised proposal more closely aligned with the plan recently outlined by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to three individuals with direct knowledge of the talks who spoke to The Times of Israel on Wednesday.
Hamas had initially submitted a counteroffer to Witkoff’s plan on Shabbos, but the US envoy dismissed it as entirely unacceptable.

The United Nations Security Council met on Wednesday to consider a resolution that demanded an immediate halt to fighting in Gaza. The draft resolution made no mention of the hostages being held by Hamas or requiring their release as part of the ceasefire.
Fourteen of the Council’s fifteen members backed the resolution, but it was ultimately blocked by a United States veto.
Before the vote was held, Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea explained America’s stance. “The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” she said.

The BBC pushed back on criticism Wednesday after the White House accused it of uncritically echoing claims from Hamas regarding the deaths of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense organization, at least 31 individuals were killed by Israeli gunfire on Sunday in proximity to a humanitarian aid location funded by the United States.
The IDF firmly denied any involvement in civilian casualties around the area, while both the Israeli military and the aid site’s management accused Hamas of spreading disinformation to manipulate public perception.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the matter on Tuesday, pointing a finger at the BBC’s reporting on the situation.

A federal court intervened on Wednesday to block the planned deportation of Mohamed Sabry Soliman’s wife and children following his arrest in connection with Sunday’s firebomb assault targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado, according to The Associated Press.
Judge Gordon P. Gallagher of the US District Court approved an emergency request to pause deportation procedures against Soliman’s family, who were taken into custody by immigration enforcement officials on Tuesday.
The individuals include Soliman’s spouse, his 18-year-old daughter, and four younger children. All of them are Egyptian nationals and have not been implicated in the criminal act. Soliman, 45, is currently facing both federal hate crime allegations and attempted murder charges under state law.

In a pointed message, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik, rosh yeshiva of the Brisk Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, addressed a group of new talmidim and urged them to refrain from davening in the shtieblach of Zichron Moshe, warning that doing so often leads to bitul zman (wasted time).

In a series of bombshell recordings aired for the first time Wednesday evening on Channel 13, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is heard speaking in English with Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, pleading for more time to pass the chareidi draft law. Netanyahu tells Rav Hirsch that the reason he removed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was because they stood in the way of the legislation.
“We need to save not just the State of Israel, but also the Torah world,” Netanyahu is heard saying in the recording. “That is what I strongly believe in. With G-d’s help, that’s what we’ll do. In order to do it, we need time to pass the law properly, so it can’t be challenged.”

A new survey conducted by Channel 12 reveals that if national elections were held in Israel today, the coalition currently led by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would only secure 48 Knesset seats—well below the 60 seats needed to maintain power.
The poll shows that opposition parties, led by Naftali Bennett under the banner of his newly established political party, would garner 72 seats. Even without the backing of Arab-majority factions Chadash-Ta’al and Ra’am, Bennett’s alliance would still cross the majority threshold with 62 seats.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a stern ultimatum on Wednesday to California’s High-Speed Rail Authority, warning that the federal government may revoke billions in grant money after the agency spent close to $7 billion over fifteen years without constructing a single inch of track.
A comprehensive 310-page review outlined numerous missed milestones and runaway costs. Duffy gave the state agency until July 11 to justify its performance or risk losing nearly $4 billion in federal funding. “This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget,” he stated.