The United States and China have reached an agreement — again — to deescalate trade tensions. But details are scarce, and the latest pact leaves major issues between the world’s two biggest economies unresolved. President Donald Trump said late Thursday that a deal with China had been signed “the other day.” China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed Friday that some type of arrangement had been reached but offered few details about it. Sudden shifts and a lack of clarity have been hallmarks of Trump’s trade policy since he returned to the White House determined to overturn a global trading system that he says is unfair to the United States and its workers. He’s been engaged for months in a battle with China that has mostly revealed how much pain the two countries can inflict on each other.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu expressed appreciation to President Donald Trump for his vocal support, after Trump denounced what he described as a “political witch hunt” designed to destabilize Israel’s leadership. Trump’s endorsement included a variation of his signature phrase, calling to “Make the Middle East Great Again.”
Responding on the platform X, Netanyahu thanked Trump and echoed the president’s phrasing, writing, “Together, we will make the Middle East great again!”
The wording mirrored President Trump’s recent slogan usage, which he employed to call for assertive and visionary leadership throughout the region.

A devastating ambush in northern Idaho has left at least two firefighters dead and several others injured after they were shot while responding to a brush fire near Canfield Mountain, according to local reports. Authorities suspect the fire was deliberately set to lure first responders into a deadly trap, escalating what began as a routine emergency call into a mass casualty event. The incident unfolded Sunday afternoon around 2:47 p.m. local time near East Nettleton Gulch Road in Coeur d’Alene, when firefighters from the Northern Lakes Fire Protection District arrived to combat a small but growing brush fire. According to Kootenai County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Howard, the crews were immediately met with gunfire from an unknown assailant hiding in the wooded area.

Socialist New York City mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed on Sunday his intention to raise property taxes in what he described as “richer and whiter neighborhoods,” maintaining that billionaires should not exist in society.
Mamdani, labeled by one wealthy opponent as “the Fidel Castro of New York,” defended his tax-the-wealthy platform as not racially motivated—even as it focuses on white homeowners in particular areas.
“That is just a description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being under-taxed versus over-taxed,” Mamdani told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

President Donald Trump is actively engaged in promoting a comprehensive agreement intended to secure the release of Israeli hostages and bring the fighting between Israel and Hamas to a close, according to individuals familiar with the ongoing diplomatic discussions who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
“We’re optimistic a deal can be reached,” a US official stated.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu convened a high-level meeting with several cabinet ministers and senior members of Israel’s defense establishment at the IDF’s Southern Command to assess the state of military operations in Gaza and consider future steps.

Recent satellite images reveal ongoing activity and fresh evidence of significant damage at Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment facility following last week’s Israeli and U.S. airstrikes. The site was struck by Israeli forces on June 23, just one day after the U.S. conducted airstrikes using bunker-buster bombs. High-resolution imagery from Maxar Technologies shows an excavator and several personnel near the northern shaft on the ridge above the underground complex. A crane is also seen operating at the entrance to the shaft, with multiple vehicles parked along an access path built to reach the site. Maxar’s photos also show the complete destruction of a facility north of the main compound, surrounded by impact craters and a cloud of dust.

Like clockwork, Carla Johnson sends out letters every spring asking for donations to help pay for the annual Fourth of July fireworks show that draws tens of thousands of people to New Mexico’s largest lake. And she has no reservations about doling out verbal reminders when she sees her patrons around town. There’s too much at stake to be shy about fundraising when donations collected by Friends of Elephant Butte Lake State Park are what make the tradition possible. But even Johnson’s ardent efforts as the group’s fundraiser might not cut it next year if the U.S. and China remain locked in a trade war.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Sunday of deliberately sabotaging international efforts to bring about a ceasefire and end the ongoing war in Gaza. His comments were conveyed to the United States in an official message, expressing frustration with what he described as Israel’s escalating military actions.
According to a statement from Abbas’s spokesman, the Palestinian leader issued a warning regarding what he called an Israeli “threat” to evacuate additional residents from Gaza. Abbas claimed this was a precursor to “a new and destructive military operation.”

A pair of newly dedicated Lakewood wedding halls — Ateres Blima and Ateres Esther — held their kvias mezuzah on Sunday, marking the beginning of a new era in local simcha planning. Located at 400 Oak Street, in a building named in memory of Mrs. Matel Leah Schron a”h, the halls were built to address a pressing need in the community: lowering the overwhelming cost of weddings. Backed by numerous donors and overseen by a board of askanim including R’ Mordy Schron, R’ Menashe Frankel, R’ Ari Stern, and R’ Avraham Meir Retkinski, the project was designed with a clear purpose — to reset community expectations and bring weddings back to a simpler, more manageable standard.

In the aftermath of twelve harrowing days of war, many voices encourage us to be gentle with ourselves, to ease slowly back into routine. But perhaps that isn’t the point at all. As a people — Am Yisrael — we witnessed nissim. The entire world saw them. The numbers, the outcomes, they defy logic. An enemy with an arsenal nearly matching our entire country, one that could have crushed us in an instant, did not. Our lives were shaken: schools shuttered, travel paralyzed, families huddled in safe rooms. Plans were upended without warning. But is the message of those days simply to pick up where we left off? It is like a woman who endures a long, high-risk pregnancy. There are sleepless nights, frightening medical opinions, whispered tefillos. Then, she delivers a healthy child.

The Israeli government on Sunday approved the immediate return of residents to seven of the 13 southern communities devastated during the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault. These communities were among the hardest hit during the brutal terror onslaught.
All military restrictions in these areas have been removed, and critical infrastructure has been restored to allow residents of Re’im, Kerem Shalom, Nirim, Ein Hashlosha, Sufa, Nir Yitzchak, and Netiv Ha’asara to come back starting Tuesday if they choose.
Those who do not return by July 31 will lose access to government-funded rental housing.
Work is expected to wrap up in Nachal Oz during August, opening the door for residents there to return in time for the new academic year.

Famed investor Warren Buffett is donating $6 billion worth of his company’s stock to five foundations, bringing the total he has given to them since 2006 to roughly $60 billion, based on their value when received. Buffett said late Friday that the shares of Berkshire Hathaway will be delivered on Monday. Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico, Dairy Queen and a range of other businesses, and Buffett is donating nearly 12.4 million of the Class B shares of its stock. Those shares have a lower and easier-to-digest price tag than the company’s original Class A shares, and each of the B shares was worth $485.68 at their most recent close on Friday. The largest tranche is going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which will receive 9.4 million shares.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is expected to face mounting pressure from the Trump administration when he arrives in Washington tomorrow, according to a U.S. official and an Arab diplomat who spoke with The Times of Israel. The administration is urging Israel to bring the conflict in Gaza to an end.
According to the two sources, international mediators have been hoping Israel would send representatives to Cairo to finalize negotiations on several unresolved matters. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opted to send Dermer to Washington instead, aiming to align with the U.S. position ahead of renewed proximity talks in Egypt.

The British government acknowledged Saturday that the incoming chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, had a paternal grandfather who was a Nazi spy known for his brutal wartime collaboration — but stressed that Metreweli had no personal connection to him. Metreweli, who is set to become the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service on October 1, was revealed earlier this week to be the granddaughter of Constantine Dobrowolski, a Ukrainian who defected from the Red Army during World War II and became a key Nazi informant in occupied Ukraine. According to archival documents uncovered in Freiburg, Germany, and reported by the Daily Mail, Dobrowolski was known to Nazi commanders as “The Butcher” or “Agent No.

President Donald Trump disclosed in a Fox News interview on Sunday that momentum is building among nations considering joining the Abraham Accords in the wake of recent U.S. military actions against Iran.
“We have some really great countries in their write now, and I think we’re going to start loading them up. Because Iran was the primary problem,” the President stated.
In a surprising twist, Trump revealed that Iran itself had once been viewed as a potential signatory to the historic peace agreements. “We had a period of time when I thought Iran would join the Abraham Accords along with everyone else. Frankly, they would have been better off than where they are write now.”

On Sunday evening, the Mossad posted a message on its official X account, taking aim at several high-ranking Iranian officials: IRGC Commander Mohammad Pakpour, Iran’s military chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The Israeli intelligence agency wrote that it “conducted a thorough review of the page’s followers and was not surprised to find that the honorable gentlemen Pakpour, Mousavi, and Araghchi are among our most loyal viewers.”
The post also pointed out that these officials make efforts to conceal their activity. “Of course, they use their ‘secondary’ phones, and two of them even utilize private internet connections.”
The message continued with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “As a token of appreciation, we are also following them.”

NEW YORK – New York City’s Department of Education is offering free halal meals at more than two dozen sites as part of its summer food initiative for youth — yet kosher meals are on

Chrysler is voluntarily recalling some of its 2022-2025 Pacifica and Voyager vehicles to replace their side curtain airbags, if needed. The recall potentially affects 250,651 vehicles, and it’s because some side curtain airbags may not hold enough pressure during deployment to limit the risk for passengers during certain types of crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The administration said it’s due to improperly sealed seams, and dealers will inspect and replace the side curtain airbags, as necessary, free of charge. Chrysler’s parent company said it’s not aware of any related injuries or accidents, but it’s urging customers to follow the instructions on their recall notices. (AP)

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