New York
Anti-ICE protesters clashed with NYPD officers in Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown, blocking a federal parking garage where agents were reportedly preparing for an immigration enforcement operation.
Around 200 demonstrators, mobilized via social media, hurled trash cans, planters, and debris at police lines, chanting “ICE out of New York” while forming barricades with garbage bags and metal barriers to prevent vehicles from departing. Officers deployed pepper spray and batons to disperse the crowd, resulting in at least 15 arrests on charges including disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration, and assault.
The confrontation, which began around noon, appeared to thwart the raid, underscoring challenges for federal agents in sanctuary cities like New York. ICE Assistant Director Emily Covington stated that agitators in black attire with masks and backpacks escalated the violence, noting a 1,150 percent rise in assaults on officers. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, in a call with Homeland Security’s Ricky Patel, deemed the incident unacceptable and said it put lives at risk.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani condemned the raids as “cruel and inhumane,” vowing to protect immigrants upon taking office.
New York City Council Member Julie Menin announced she has secured commitments from 36 colleagues—well exceeding the 26 needed for a majority—to become the next Council speaker when the body convenes on January 7. As a moderate Democrat representing the Upper East Side, Menin would make history as the first Jewish woman to lead the 51-member legislative body, a role that sets the agenda and negotiates the city’s $116 billion budget.
Her supporters, spanning all five boroughs and including labor unions and the United Federation of Teachers, praise her pragmatic experience as a former city commissioner and small-business owner, emphasizing her focus on affordability, childcare expansion, and consumer protections.
Menin represents a faction of Democrats who opposed Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s rise, withholding endorsement even after his primary victory due to policy differences on issues like rent freezes and pro-Palestinian stances.
The Trump administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City on Monday, all from the courts at 26 Federal Plaza, the ICE headquarters serving as a hub for migrant arrests and deportations.
The dismissals included Amiena A. Khan, the assistant chief immigration judge supervising the facility, and represent the latest in a nationwide purge totaling more than 149 judges since January. Justice Department officials cited performance reviews and alignment with enforcement priorities, though union representatives from the National Association of Immigration Judges described the moves as abrupt and without cause, exacerbating a 3.4 million–case backlog.
The firings, part of broader efforts to streamline deportations under Attorney General Pam Bondi, have drawn criticism for politicizing the bench, with affected judges often having prior immigrant-defense experience.
Mayor Eric Adams announced a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks, resolving claims that the coffee chain violated New York City’s Fair Workweek Law more than half a million times since 2021 by failing to provide stable schedules and arbitrarily cutting hours at more than 300 locations.
The agreement, the largest worker-protection settlement in the city’s history, requires Starbucks to pay $35.5 million in restitution to more than 15,000 current and former hourly employees, with most receiving $50 for each week worked from July 2021 through July 2024. An additional $3.4 million covers civil penalties and costs, while the company commits to full compliance moving forward, including offering shifts to existing workers before new hires.
Marc Klein, an Orthodox Jewish resident of Borough Park, won the top prize in the New York Lottery’s “$10,000 A Week For Life” scratch-off game, lottery officials announced Wednesday. Klein purchased the winning ticket on 18th Avenue and chose the one-time lump-sum payout of $6,600,000 before taxes instead of lifetime weekly installments.
After mandatory state and federal withholdings, he received a net check for $4,372,060. The 52-year-old father of four, who works in real estate, told lottery officials he plans to use the windfall to support his children’s education and make charitable donations.
U.S.
Two West Virginia National Guard members, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were ambushed and shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., during a high-visibility patrol.
Beckstrom died from her injuries the following day, while Wolfe remains in critical but stable condition after emergency surgery. The suspect, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly drove thousands of miles from Washington State before opening fire at point-blank range, striking the victims multiple times. He was shot by a third Guard member and taken into custody, now hospitalized under guard.
Authorities identified the attack as a targeted act of international terrorism, with Lakanwal facing charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and weapons possession.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program as a humanitarian parolee, having previously worked with the CIA as part of an elite Afghan partner force in Kandahar that guarded U.S. troops during the chaotic withdrawal. The Trump administration granted him asylum earlier in 2025, a decision now under federal review amid calls for reexamination of all Afghan admissions.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the arrest of Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, a 29-year-old Afghan national, on Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas, after he posted a TikTok video appearing to show him constructing an explosive device with threats targeting a building in the Fort Worth area.
Alokozay, who entered the U.S. in September 2022 as a lawful permanent resident through the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program for Afghan evacuees, faces state charges of making a terroristic threat, with federal involvement from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutor Peter Skandalakis formally dropped the racketeering case against President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, citing insurmountable legal complexities including presidential immunity under the Supreme Court’s Trump v. United States ruling, jurisdictional challenges, and venue issues that would delay any trial until 2029 or later.
The historic indictment, filed in August 2023 by then–District Attorney Fani Willis under Georgia’s RICO statute, accused Trump and allies including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and John Eastman of orchestrating a conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory through fake electors, pressure on state officials, and a January 2023 breach of the Georgia Capitol.
Skandalakis, who assumed control after Willis’ disqualification over an ethics scandal, argued in a 22-page motion that pursuing the case would burden taxpayers without serving justice, as federal probes by Special Counsel Jack Smith already addressed similar conduct. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted the dismissal minutes later, stating the case “is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
Trump hailed the outcome as the end of “lawfare” by a “corrupt” system, while Willis decried it as a “political surrender” undermining accountability.
The National Park Service announced that starting January 1, international visitors will pay an additional $100 per person surcharge on top of standard entrance fees at 11 popular national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, and the Everglades.
This “America First” policy also raises the annual America the Beautiful Pass to $250 for non-residents, while U.S. citizens and permanent residents retain the $80 rate. Fee-free days, such as Memorial Day and Independence Day, will be reserved exclusively for Americans, with eight “patriotic” dates planned for 2026.
The move follows President Trump’s July executive order directing higher fees for foreign tourists to fund infrastructure amid staffing shortages.
Israel
The Israel Defense Forces notified the family of Dror Or, a 49-year-old father from Kibbutz Be’eri, that forensic experts confirmed the identity of his remains returned from Gaza late Tuesday. Or was murdered and his body abducted by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists during the October 7 Hamas-led massacre at his home, where his wife, Yonat, was also killed.
The couple’s children, Noam and Alma, were kidnapped but released in November 2023 as part of an earlier hostage deal. Hamas and Islamic Jihad handed the body to the Red Cross in Gaza City that afternoon, which transferred it to IDF custody for processing at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv.
The Prime Minister’s Office expressed deep sorrow for the Or family, reaffirming Israel’s commitment to recovering all captives.
Or’s funeral drew thousands to Be’eri on November 30, where his sons eulogized him as a “free spirit spreading light.” With this return, only two deceased hostages remain in Gaza: Master Sgt. Ran Gili, an Israeli soldier, and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, both killed on October 7.
The Israel Defense Forces reported that troops from the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit killed a Palestinian terrorist who hurled an explosive device at them during a counterterrorism raid in Qabatiya, a town near Jenin in the northern West Bank.
The assailant was neutralized by return fire with no injuries to Israeli personnel. A subsequent search of the suspect’s vehicle uncovered several additional explosive devices, which were safely destroyed on site by military engineers.
The operation targeted a local terrorist cell suspected of planning imminent attacks on civilians and security forces, amid ongoing efforts to dismantle weapons networks in the region.
The Jerusalem Municipality announced that it would withdraw funding for a planned Hanukkah concert aimed at the charedi community at the International Convention Center, after organizers canceled the women’s section and converted the event to men-only.
The concert, featuring popular singer Naftali Kempeh, was originally intended to include gender-segregated seating in line with haredi customs. Organizers cited pressure from rabbinic authorities, including letters from rabbis such as Rabbi Dov Lando and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who deemed even separated mixed-gender musical events forbidden.
In a message to ticket holders, they described the change as a “difficult and demanding decision” to avoid enabling non-compliant events. The municipality, which had approved a “Yerushalmi discount” subsidy, revoked support to uphold principles of equality and inclusion. Kempeh and producer Shalom Wagschal subsequently canceled the concert entirely, apologizing for the inconvenience.
Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced plans to establish its first operational base at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by March or April 2026, potentially injecting more than $1 billion into the local economy through increased flights and job creation.
The commitment came from CEO József Váradi during meetings with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who hailed the move as a step to enhance competition and lower airfares amid post-conflict recovery.
Wizz Air, which resumed operations to Israel in May 2025 after a pause due to regional tensions, currently offers 117 weekly flights to 21 European destinations from Tel Aviv, carrying 1.55 million passengers annually.
The base would allow stationing of up to 10 aircraft, expanding to 50 routes and adding 4 million seats yearly, with potential sites including Ben Gurion or Eilat’s Ramon Airport.
WORLD
Two Jewish teenagers, aged 13 and 14, were chased and threatened in Montevideo’s Punta Carretas neighborhood after being identified by their uniforms from Yavne, a local Jewish school.
The attackers, three men in their twenties, shouted “You are Jews, we know what you did,” pushed the boys, warned them to “get lost,” and pursued them while grabbing construction tiles as potential weapons.
The teens escaped to one boy’s home, where the mother was also threatened before the assailants fled. Uruguay’s Jewish community watchdog, the Comité Central Israelita del Uruguay, condemned the assault as a “clear antisemitic incident” and filed a formal complaint with police.
Interior Minister Nicolás Martinelli confirmed an investigation is underway, with security camera footage being reviewed. The attack marks the third reported antisemitic incident in Montevideo in two weeks, prompting heightened patrols near Jewish institutions.
A 180-year-old synagogue central to the Sadigura Hasidic dynasty in Chernivtsi’s Sadgora district suffered extensive damage in an arson attack, leaving Ukraine’s Jewish community in shock.
The Kloyz Kadisha, restored in 2017 after decades of disuse, was entered by a 30-year-old local man when the security guard briefly stepped away. He gathered sacred books and objects in the prayer hall, ignited them, and sat calmly until police arrived and arrested him on site.
No injuries occurred, though the blaze heavily damaged the historic structure, once the court of four generations of Sadigura rebbes including founder Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhin. Authorities confirmed the suspect, registered at a psychiatric facility, attempted to commit arson at a local church weeks earlier, with no evidence of broader motives.
Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving his 27-year and three-month prison sentence for leading a coup plot to overturn his 2022 election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The far-right leader, convicted in September by a five-justice panel on five charges including conspiracy and attempting to abolish the democratic order, was transferred from house arrest to a federal police facility in Brasília after tampering with his ankle monitor.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled Bolsonaro a flight risk, rejecting defense pleas for leniency due to health issues from a 2018 stabbing, and barred him from public office until 2060.
Prosecutors detailed a scheme starting in 2021, including plans to assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and de Moraes himself, as well as storming government buildings on January 8, 2023. Bolsonaro, 70, denies wrongdoing and his lawyers plan appeals, calling the sentence “absurdly excessive.”
Australia has formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a state sponsor of terrorism, marking the first such listing under the new Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Act 2025.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the decision following intelligence from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation linking the IRGC to at least two antisemitic attacks on Jewish sites in Melbourne and Sydney earlier that year.
The IRGC, Iran’s elite military branch, now faces severe penalties: funding, recruiting, assisting, or associating with it carries up to 25 years in prison under Division 110 of the Criminal Code.
Wong stated the move deters terrorist activity and protects Australia’s multicultural society. The designation aligns Australia with the United States, which labeled the IRGC a terrorist group in 2019, and follows the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador in September.