NEW YORK (AP) — More than 460 laid-off employees at the nation’s top public health agency received notices Wednesda

A high-stakes meeting between chareidi representatives and the Knesset’s legal adviser, Sagit Afik, ended in a dramatic breakdown Wednesday evening, as negotiations over the proposed draft law failed to yield any agreement.
According to a participant in the meeting, the discussion reached a dead end. “We feel like there’s no one to talk to,” the source said. Former minister Ariel Atias, who has been spearheading the draft law talks on behalf of the chareidi parties, stormed out of the room in anger.

A string of recent cyberattacks and data breaches involving the systems of major retailers have started affecting shoppers. United Natural Foods, a wholesale distributor that supplies Whole Foods and other grocers, said this week that a breach of its systems was disrupting its ability to fulfill orders — leaving many stores without certain items. In the U.K., consumers could not order from the website of Marks & Spencer for more than six weeks — and found fewer in-store options after hackers targeted the British clothing, home goods and food retailer. A cyberattack on Co-op, a U.K. grocery chain, also led to empty shelves in some stores. Cyberattacks have been on the rise across industries.

During his court appearance on Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu informed the judges that he was feeling unwell. The trial session, which had just begun, was promptly cut short after only thirty minutes due to his condition.
Even so, Netanyahu was still expected to make his way to the Knesset later in the day to cast his vote opposing the opposition’s proposal to dissolve the parliament.
Two days earlier, during the third round of Netanyahu’s cross-examination at the Tel Aviv District Court, his attorney, Adv. Amit Hadad, asked for the hearing to wrap up early—specifically by 1:45 p.m.—citing what he referred to as “an important diplomatic call.”

Israeli security forces announced on Wednesday that they had retrieved the remains of two people held captive in Gaza, among them was Yair (Yaya) Yaakov, who had been killed during the October 7 Hamas attack and taken into Gaza. The second victim has yet to be publicly identified, though the family has been notified. According to official estimates, 54 hostages are still being held by Hamas, with 20 of them believed to be alive.

With nuclear tensions mounting and the clock ticking toward a sixth round of high-stakes talks, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a grim assessment Tuesday, saying he’s “less confident” than ever that a deal can be reached with Iran — as Tehran threatened to unleash attacks on American military installations across the region. “I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more — less confident about it,” Trump said on the Pod Force One podcast with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine. “They seem to be delaying… Something happened to them.” Trump said that regardless of whether a deal is ultimately reached or not, he won’t allow the regime to get a nuclear weapon. “If they don’t make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.

The body of Yair Yaakov HY’D, has been recovered in Gaza, his family says. Yagil Yaakov says IDF troops recovered his father’s body during an operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has yet to issue an official statement regarding the operation. Yair Yaakov, 59, was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, alongside his partner, Meirav Tal, during the brutal Hamas terrorist assault on the community. That same day, Yaakov’s sons, Or and Yagil, were also taken captive from their mother’s nearby home in Nir Oz. Meirav Tal and the Yaakov brothers were freed in a November 2023 hostage exchange with Hamas. Tragically, Yair Yaakov was murdered during the initial October 7 attack, with his death confirmed by the IDF in February 2024.

LA Mayor Karen Bass suggests things won’t be “peaceful” in Los Angeles until the Trump Administration stops enforcing immigration law and removing violent criminal illegals from the streets.

A meeting of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) that was scheduled to be held next week at a hotel in Sarajevo was cancelled after a Bosnian minister called to ban it, saying its presence in the “city of openness” would “morally humiliate our capital and country.” Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), wrote, “The CER’s biannual Standing Committee meeting was due to be held at the Swisshotel in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, next week. Chief Rabbanim from all over Europe, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, were due to convene to discuss the most pressing issues facing European Jewish life today and matters of freedom of religion or belief.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee pushed back strongly against allegations accusing Israel of committing genocide or using disproportionate force in Gaza. In an interview with CBN, Huckabee derided the accusations, saying, “They’re doing a lousy job at genocide. If they wanted to do genocide, they could drop a few bombs and everybody would be dead.”
Huckabee praised Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties during its operations in Gaza. “The fact that they are surgically going into Gaza, trying to move the civilians out of harm’s way. They announced to them with leaflets, with paging, with cell phone texts, with loudspeakers, and they’ve put it on every media outlet and social media and say, ‘If you’re in this area, get out. We’re going to attack it.'”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved the voluntary departure of military dependents from multiple locations across the Middle East.

BREAKING IN FALLSBURG: Catskills Hatzolah and other emergency personnel are on the scene at Estate Drive and Laurel Park Road, where a child was struck by a vehicle. The child is reportedly unconscious, and a medevac has been requested. Catskills Scoop will share a name for Tehillim once it becomes available. Updates to follow.

The Trump administration has called on nations to steer clear of an upcoming United Nations conference in New York that will focus on the possibility of a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a report by Reuters.
A classified diplomatic message, dated June 10, warned that any country taking steps against Israel following the conference could be viewed as acting in opposition to American diplomatic objectives. The cable suggested that such actions might carry consequences for those countries’ relationships with the United States.
The communication made it clear that Washington remains strongly opposed to any move to recognize a Palestinian state outside of a negotiated process.

BREAKING: IDF troops recovered the body of slain hostage Yair Yaakov during an operation in the Gaza Strip, his son Yagil says. The military has not yet commented on the operation.

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