Waves of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine haven’t inflicted the devastating blow to Moscow’s economy that some had expected. In a new report, two researchers are offering reasons why. Oleg Itskhoki of Harvard University and Elina Ribakova of the Peterson Institute for International Economics argue that the sanctions should have been imposed more forcefully immediately after the invasion rather than in a piecemeal manner. “In retrospect, it is evident that there was no reason not to have imposed all possible decisive measures against Russia from the outset once Russia launched the full scale invasion in February 2022,” the authors state in the paper.

A bipartisan congressional task force investigating the assassination attempts against Donald Trump is set to hold its first hearing Thursday as lawmakers rush to ensure candidate safety just weeks before the U.S. presidential election. The panel — comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats — has spent the last two months trying to decipher the security failures that allowed a gunman to scale a roof and open fire at the former president during a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, killing a spectator. Now they are also investigating this month’s Secret Service arrest of a man with a rifle on Trump’s Florida golf course who also allegedly sought to assassinate the GOP presidential nominee.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted Thursday on charges that he took illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish officials get fire safety approvals for a new diplomatic building in the city. Adams, a former police officer, faces conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in a five-count indictment that describes a decade-long trail of crimes. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan alleges in the indictment that Adams “not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions” to his mayoral campaign.

With the impending implementation of new Israeli draft laws that threaten to force thousands of bnei torah into the military, posing an unprecedented threat to limud hatorah in Eretz Yisroel – the very lifeblood of the Jewish nation, the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva have issued a Kol Korei for everyone to join this monumental Atzeres Tefillah on Sunday in the heart Lakewood. The Atzeres which will be attended by leading gedolim and Roshei Yeshiva, will start out with Mincha, and then Tehillim for our brethren in Eretz Yisroel and around the world, as the unprecedented threats continue to endanger Klal Yisroel. The Atzeres will also feature short speeches describing the gravity of this new law, and the threat it poses to the Olam Hatorah.

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Sefas Tamim Foundation To subscribe to a weekly newsletter on Emes please email the author at yairhoffman2@gmail.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject line. The height of the golden era of the healing baths of Marienbad was in the late 1800’s until the Second World War.  Many famous people used to visit this resort town including King Edward VII of England, Emperor Franz Josef I of the Astro-Hungarian empire, Russia’s last Czar Nicholas II, Alfred Nobel, Rudyard Kipling, and lehavdil, the great Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva, Rav Yeruchem Levovitz zt”l among other Gedolim.

FBI agents entered the official residence of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and seized his phone early Thursday morning, hours before an indictment detailing criminal charges against the Democrat was expected to be made public. Adams was indicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges that remain sealed, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Federal law enforcement agents were seen entering the mayor’s Manhattan residence at dawn Wednesday, with several vehicles bearing federal law enforcement placards parked outside.

The IDF spokesperson announced on Thursday afternoon that fighter jets carried out a targeted airstrike in Dahieh, a suburb of Beirut. “Details to follow,” the statement said. Israeli media reports say that the target of the attempted elimination is the head of Hezbollah’s aerial forces.   (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Dozens of US troops were deployed to Cyprus amid the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, four US officials told CNN on Wednesday. The troops are preparing for a range of possible scenarios including a possible evacuation of US citizens from Lebanon in the case of an all-out war breaking out. Cyprus was heavily involved in aiding the evacuation of foreign nationals from Lebanon during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Last month, Cyprus’s deputy government spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou told Reuters that the island nation is ready to assist again if needed. The UK announced on Tuesday that it is sending 700 troops to Cyprus to prepare for the possibility of an emergency evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon.

As Operation Northern Arrows continued on Thursday morning, Hezbollah resumed rocket fire at northern Israel after about 20 hours of quiet, with the last barrage fired on Wednesday at about 3 p.m. A barrage of about 45 rockets was fired at the Akko area, Haifa Bay, and the Upper Galil late Thursday morning. Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell in open areas or the sea, as seen in the video below. B’Chasdei Hashem there were no injuries. Two people were treated for shock. Some of the interceptions over Akko: Residents of communities in Ramat HaGolan and the Galil were instructed on Thursday morning to stay in close proximity to their bomb shelters until further notice. Meanwhile, the IDF has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon.

Hamas terrorists fired four rockets at IDF troops in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. Three of the rockets were intercepted and the fourth fell inside Gaza. Baruch Hashem, there were no injuries. Israelis in southern Israel saw interceptor missiles over Kibbutz Sufa during the incident. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)