Republican lawmakers representing blue states are engaged in intense private negotiations over potential changes to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, with proposals ranging from $30,000 to as high as $100,000. Their aim is to secure inclusion of the provision in President Trump’s sweeping new tax legislation, sources told The Post.
On Wednesday, GOP representatives from states like New York, New Jersey, and California met with House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith of Missouri. The group discussed potential figures to propose as a new cap on SALT deductions as part of a massive tax reform bill expected to total several trillion dollars.

The IDF announced that approximately 400 chareidim have been drafted into the military this week. The new recruits include 196 combat soldiers and 167 soldiers assigned to combat support roles. Another 23 are still awaiting placement. Among the combat troops, 105 have joined the Netzach Yehuda Battalion of the Kfir Brigade—an IDF unit composed of religious soldiers. Others have been assigned to the Chashmonean Brigade (48), the Tomer Company in Givati’s Rotem Battalion (19), the Hetz Company in the Paratroopers’ 202nd Battalion (20), and four to the ground defense unit at Nevatim Airbase. In addition to the newly drafted soldiers, 26 older charedi men joined the reserves after completing the Shlav Bet (“Stage B”) track—an expedited training process for older recruits.

[COMMUNICATED]
The Reform Movement’s Legal Campaign Against Religious Life in Eretz Yisroel
By: Dovid Gold

China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that Beijing is evaluating multiple approaches by the Trump administration for trade talks, but steep tariffs imposed by Washington must go. A ministry statement reiterated China’s stance that is open to talks, but also that Beijing is determined to fight if it must. It said one-sided tariffs of up to 145% remain an obstacle, undermining trust. “The tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the U.S., if the U.S. side wants to talk, it should show its sincerity, and be ready to take action on issues such as correcting wrong practices and canceling the unilateral imposition of tariffs,” it said. An unnamed ministry spokesperson was cited as saying that Beijing had taken note of various statements by senior U.S.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese authorities warned the Hamas group Friday that it would face the “harshest measures”

President Donald Trump’s nuclear negotiations with Iran bear striking resemblance to the very deal he famously tore up in 2018, Reuters reports. The rapid commencement of talks last month has stunned regional allies, most notably Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had arrived in Washington expecting a green light for military action against Iran — only to learn hours before a joint appearance that the U.S. was heading back to the negotiating table. Since then, three rounds of high-level U.S.–Iranian talks have taken place with a fourth expected soon in Rome.

Home ownership is receding further out of reach for most Americans as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices stretch the limits of what buyers can afford. A homebuyer now needs to earn at least $114,000 a year to afford a $431,250 home — the national median listing price in April, according to data released Thursday by Realtor.com The analysis assumes that a homebuyer will make a 20% down payment, finance the rest of the purchase with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, and that the buyer’s housing costs won’t exceed 30% of their gross monthly income — an often-used barometer of housing affordability. Based off the latest U.S. median home listing price, homebuyers need to earn $47,000 more a year to afford a home than they would have just six years ago. Back then, the median U.S.

The Reform Movement’s Legal Campaign Against Religious Life in Eretz Yisroel By: Dovid Gold Over the past decade or so, a wave of lawsuits targeting the lifestyle of the religious communities in Eretz Yisroel has been brought before the powerful and left-leaning Israeli Supreme Court. While not all of these cases have succeeded, they’ve complicated life for hundreds of thousands of religious people. Moreover, these petitions have deepened the divisions among Israeli society. But who is spending time and money to bring these cases? And why do they care how the frum community chooses to live?  A close look into each of these cases reveals a fascinating pattern. The fingerprints of the Jewish American woke left, organized into the Reform movement, are present each time.