President Donald Trump campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign wars, but it didn’t take long to convince him to come to the direct aid of Israel, hitting Iranian nuclear targets with bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a submarine. Beyond the attack’s immediate impact on helping bring the 12-day war to a close, experts say Trump’s decision to use force against another country also will certainly be reverberating in the Asia-Pacific, Washington’s priority theater.

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate vying for the mayoralty of New York City, marked “Black or African American” on his 2009 application to Columbia University, despite now saying he doesn’t consider himself Black, according to a Thursday report in The New York Times.
The revelation comes from leaked Columbia admissions data, which surfaced after a cyberattack on the Ivy League university exposed archived applications and internal records.
At the time, Mamdani was a senior in high school. On the application, he also selected “Asian” and handwrote “Ugandan” in a section that allowed applicants to elaborate on their heritage. Although his father teaches at Columbia, Mamdani was ultimately not admitted.

President Donald Trump stunned observers Thursday night by reviving an anti-Jewish slur while taking a victory lap over his newly passed spending bill — then veering into a tirade against congressional Democrats, declaring bluntly, “I hate them.” Speaking before cheering supporters in Des Moines, Trump boasted about pushing through a massive spending package that extends his 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid and SNAP. In private meetings with GOP lawmakers the day before, Trump had reportedly been unaware of nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts buried in the bill. In his rally speech, Trump praised the bill’s elimination of the estate tax, telling the crowd: “No death tax, no estate tax.

PARIS (AP) — About 40% of flights were canceled Friday at all Pa

In an interview with Sky News Arabia, opposition leader Yair Lapid asserted that the horrific events of October 7, carried out by Hamas, would have been avoided had he remained in charge of the Israeli government.
“If I were Prime Minister, I don’t think something like October 7 would have happened. I would have worked to replace the regime in Gaza. When I was Prime Minister, the border was quiet,” said Lapid.
Lapid used the interview as a chance to deliver a broader appeal to the Arab world, urging regional players to take action against Hamas and emphasizing the importance of humanitarian concern for Gazans.

Israeli forces reportedly staged a prolonged incursion into Syrian territory overnight Friday, according to the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen network and Syrian sources. Three IDF helicopters are said to have landed at a facility once tied to the presidential guard of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in the Yafour area, roughly 10 kilometers west of Damascus. The Israeli troops allegedly held their position for nearly five hours before withdrawing. Simultaneously, three IDF armored vehicles reportedly crossed into Syrian territory near the Lebanese border, entering the village of Rakhla under the cover of night.

The Fourth of July holiday, also known as Independence Day, celebrates the Second Continental Congress’ unanimous adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. A year later, according to the Library of Congress, a spontaneous celebration in Philadelphia marked the anniversary of American independence. But observations weren’t commonplace until after the War of 1812, when they quickly took off. Congress was late to the party, finally passing a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870. Here’s what is open and closed this year on the Fourth of July: Government buildings Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed. Banks and the stock market U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Friday.

Israel’s coalition government is weighing a proposed change to one of the state’s most foundational laws — the Law of Return — that would dramatically alter the criteria for who may claim citizenship as a Jew, JTA reports.
The legislation seeks to abolish the clause that currently allows individuals with at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel, even if they are not considered Jewish by halacha. Since 1970, that clause has enabled roughly half a million people to move to Israel, but it has also sparked growing internal debate and international concern, particularly among Jewish communities abroad.

During a press briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump was asked whether he still supports the idea of the United States taking control of Gaza, a concept he introduced several months ago. In response, he emphasized concern for the local population, saying, “I want to see the people of Gaza safe, they have been through hell.”
The president also addressed the topic of Iran, expressing a willingness to reengage diplomatically. “Iran does want to speak and I think they’d like to speak to me and it’s time that they do,” Trump said. He made clear that the United States is not seeking confrontation, stating that he hopes Iran can “be a country again,” and remarked, “Iran had been beat up really bad.”