Former President Donald Trump is forecasted to secure a second term with 287 electoral votes, surpassing Vice President Kamala Harris’s 251 votes, according to RealClearPolitics’ latest “no toss-up” map. Trump is predicted to win key battleground states Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, while Harris takes Michigan and Wisconsin. This projection contrasts with the 2020 election, where Trump lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to Joe Biden. Overall, experts consider the race a toss-up, with CNN’s Harry Enten emphasizing uncertainty. The final NPR/Marist poll shows Harris leading in the blue wall states. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF has announced the deaths of three soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion during combat in northern Gaza over Shabbos. The soldiers have been named as: – Staff Sgt. Itay Parizat, 20, from Petah Tikva – Staff Sgt. Yair Hananya, 22, from Mitzpe Netofa – Shneur Zalman Cohen, 20, from Yitzhar Cohen, a Lubavitcher, is survived by his parents, Ze’ev and Dina, and eight siblings. Raised in Yitzhar, he studied at Mitzpeh Yitzhar yeshiva and served with distinction in the Givati Brigade. His family is among the earliest residents in Yitzhar. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF announced today that Cpt. Yarden Zakay, a 21-year-old platoon commander with the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion from Hadera, has died from injuries sustained in a September battle in southern Gaza. Zakay was critically injured on September 17 during intense fighting in Rafah. The same incident claimed the lives of four of his comrades: Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri, and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, with several others also wounded. An IDF investigation found the soldiers were caught in an explosion caused by weaponry inside a building they were operating in. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

White House press officials altered the official transcript of a call in which President Joe Biden appeared to take a swipe at supporters of Donald Trump, drawing objections from the federal workers who document such remarks for posterity, according to two U.S. government officials and an internal email obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Biden created an uproar earlier this week with his remarks to Latino activists responding to racist comments at a Trump rally made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to the U.S.

After six days of ignoring the glaring facts, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, has finally been charged with felony terrorism and hate crime charges for shooting and wounding a Jewish man in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago last Shabbos. The victim, 39, was shot by the illegal migrant who was released by federal authorities, while walking to shul Shabbos morning on the city’s North Side. According to Chicago Police Department Chief Larry Snelling, Abdallahi fired multiple shots at the victim before opening fire on responding police officers and paramedics from various locations. Officers returned fire, striking Abdallahi, who remains hospitalized.

Israeli intelligence has indicated that Iran may be planning a large-scale attack on Israel from Iraqi territory, potentially launching within days and before the U.S. presidential election on November 5, according to a report by Axios on Thursday, citing two unidentified Israeli sources. The planned assault is expected to involve a substantial number of drones and ballistic missiles, reportedly deployed from pro-Iranian militias based in Iraq. According to the report, the use of Iraqi territory could be a strategic move by Iran, allowing it to maintain plausible deniability while avoiding direct repercussions from Israel on Iranian soil.

With Election Day just around the corner, Vice President Kamala Harris is positioned within striking distance of victory, yet tensions and finger-pointing have already started to ripple through Democratic ranks in anticipation of a potential loss to former President Donald Trump, The Hill reports. While some Democrats express optimism about Harris’s prospects, others voice growing frustration over messaging missteps, particularly around the economy, that have dogged her campaign from the start. Blame is being directed not only at Harris and her team but also at President Biden, with some insiders suggesting he waited too long to step aside, leaving Harris little time to define her campaign identity fully.

HaRav Kalman Ber has been elected as Israel’s next Ashkenazi chief rabbi, set to serve a 10-year term. He secured the position after winning a second-round vote, defeating Rabbi Micha Halevi by a margin of 77-58. The initial election earlier in the month ended in a tie between the two candidates. Previously, HaRav Ber held the role of Ashkenazi chief rabbi in the city of Netanya. Though he has roots in the Bnei Akiva and religious Zionist movements, Ber received strong support from Degel HaTorah. Joining Ber for the next decade as Sephardic chief rabbi is Hagaon HaRav David Yosef, who was elected earlier in the month. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A rocket attack this afternoon near Kiryat Ata, just outside Haifa, claimed the lives of two people and injured a third, according to Magen David Adom (MDA). The incident occurred at 3:27 PM local time in an olive grove near the Gil’am Junction, where MDA’s 101 emergency call center received an alert reporting casualties. Large MDA forces, including ambulances, mobile intensive care units, and medicycle responders, were quickly dispatched to the scene. Paramedics found a woman in her 60s and a man in his 30s and immediately began resuscitation efforts. Despite their efforts, both were pronounced dead on the scene. A third individual, a man in his 70s, sustained mild injuries.

A rocket attack from Lebanon struck an agricultural area near the northern Israeli town of Metula, killing five people and leaving one person seriously injured. Among the victims, one was an Israeli citizen, while the other four were foreign nationals. The rockets landed in an orchard, tragically ending the lives of a local farmer and four foreign workers who were in the area at the time. A sixth person sustained severe shrapnel injuries across his body and was rushed to the hospital for emergency care.