Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall. That’s if their plan is even still available in 2025. More than a million people will probably have to find new coverage as major insurers cut costs and pull back from markets for Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run version of the federal government’s coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and older. Industry experts also predict some price increases for Medicare prescription drug plans as required coverage improvements kick in. Voters will learn about the insurance changes just weeks before they pick the next president and as Democrat Kamala Harris campaigns on promises to lower health care costs. Early voting has already started in some states.

Congress is off for the campaign season, as lawmakers from one of the most chaotic and unproductive legislative sessions in modern times try to persuade voters to keep them on the job. The House Republicans led the tumult — painstakingly electing their speaker in a bitter public feud then swiftly booting him from office, something never before seen. But the deeply divided Senate was not immune from the inaction, lumbering through a modest agenda. Taken together, the lack of big-ticket accomplishments is underscoring a volatile November election season with control of Congress a toss-up. “The good thing is Congress didn’t allow much to go through law,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke, a former Trump administration Cabinet secretary who is now running for re-election to his House seat in Montana.

Former President Donald Trump meandered Saturday through a list of grievances against Vice President Kamala Harris and other issues during an event intended to link his Democratic opponent to illegal border crossings. A day after Harris discussed immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump spoke to a crowd in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, about immigration. He blamed Harris for migrants committing crimes after entering the U.S. illegally, alleging she was responsible for “erasing our border.” “I will liberate Wisconsin from the mass migrant invasion,” he said. “We’re going to liberate the country.” Trump hopes frustration over illegal immigration will translate to votes in Wisconsin and other crucial swing states.

SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year. The capsule rocketed into orbit to fetch the test pilots whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month because of safety concerns. The switch in rides left it to NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Because NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions.

A long-range missile fired by Hezbollah toward Maale Adumim and Binyamin fell in Binyamin on Motzei Shabbos. Shrapnel fell in an open area next to Mitzpe Chagit, near Kfar Adumim. An IDF spokesperson confirmed that a Hezbollah missile fell in Binyamin and caused a fire in Mitzpe Chagit and an electricity outage in Gush Adumim. “A fall was identified in the Binyamin area,” the IDF spokesperson said. “Fire teams are working to quell the fire that broke out in the area.” B’Chasdei Hashem, the missile fell in an open area and there were no injuries. According to security estimates, Hezbollah has about 5,000 long-range missiles. The Binyanim Regional Council announced that the rocket fall caused electricity outages in several yishuvim.

Residents of northwest Syria celebrated the news of the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with great joy. Syrians opposed to Assad’s regime detest Hezbollah and Iran for supporting Assad and committing atrocities against the Syrian people. Last week, Syrians celebrated the deaths and maiming of Hezbollah members in the  “exploding devices” operation.   (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, is one of the few remaining senior Hezbollah officials who was not present at the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut during the IDF’s strike on Friday. Safieddine, who has long been considered a potential successor to Nasrallah, may soon be appointed as Hezbollah’s new secretary-general. Safieddine is the head of Hezbollah’s executive council and is part of the Jihad Council. In 2017, the US State Department added Safieddine to its terror blacklist. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The Iranian Mehr news agency confirmed that Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force, was eliminated in the IDF strike on Beirut on Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He was described as “the Revolutionary Guards’ deputy operations commander  and the commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.” Nilforoushan, 58, was also directly involved in various military and security operations, including suppressing protests within Iran.

The IDF struck the Hezbollah headquarters in southern Beirut with over 80 tons of bunker-buster bombs to eliminate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. The bombs were dropped for a period of several minutes. The New York Times reported that Israeli security officials have been aware of Nasrallah’s hideout location for months and decided to eliminate him this past week because they believe he would soon move to a different location. According to the report, Hezbollah members found Nasrallah’s body early Saturday along with that of Hezbollah No. 3 Ali Karaki, whom Israel tried to eliminate last week but failed. The Israeli Air Force squadron that eliminated Nasrallah: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The Houthi terror group in Yemen fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile at the Tel Aviv area on Shabbos afternoon. The IDF intercepted the missile with the Arrow long-range missile defense system before it entered Israel. Before the interception, air raid sirens wailed across central Israel due to the risk of falling interceptor shrapnel. Residents of Beitar Illit and southern Jerusalem heard the sounds of explosions. On Motzei Shabbos the police said that shrapnel was found near Tzur Hadassah, right next to Beitar Illit. B’Chasdei Hashem, no one was injured by the shrapnel. The IDF previously intercepted a Houthi missile fired from Yemen on Thursday night.