Helicopter carrying Iran’s president suffers ‘hard landing’

 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/19/helicopter-iran-president-hard-landing-00158791

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Some began urging the public to pray for Raisi and the others on board as rescue crews sped through a misty, rural forest where his helicopter was believed to be.

The likely crash comes as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel just last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.

Aircraft carrying Iranian President Raisi crashes, state media says

 https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/raisi-iran-president-helicopter-crash/index.html

Rescuers have not reached the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and have no update on their status, according to Iran government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi. 

Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz says he’ll quit Israel’s war Cabinet on June 8 unless new Gaza plan devise

 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-rival-benny-gantz-says-ll-quit-israels-war-cabinet-june-8-un-rcna152916

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s three-man war Cabinet, has threatened to resign from the government if it doesn’t adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza, a move that would leave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more reliant on his far-right allies.

His announcement on Saturday escalates a divide within Israel’s leadership more than seven months into a war in which it has yet to accomplish its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack.

Gantz spelled out a six-point plan that includes the return of scores of hostages, ending Hamas’ rule, demilitarizing the strip and establishing an international administration of civilian affairs. It also supports efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.

Left-wing organization to compensate farmer

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390175

The Beit Shemesh Magistrate's Court ordered the left-wing organization 'Kerem Navot' to compensate Tzvi Bar-Yosef, an owner of an agricultural farm near Neve Tzuf, after claiming that he is a "violent person".

In the verdict, it was determined that there is no evidence that Bar Yosef acted in physical violence himself, and it was even hinted that the international sanctions imposed on him were based on 'hearsay evidence' received from Israeli left-wing activists.

Gantz's ultimatum for the Prime Minister

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390157

Minister Benny Gantz made a statement to the press Saturday evening in Kfar Maccabiah.

"The unity brought great achievements, we gave our soldiers on the front a sense of partnership in our fate, but recently something went wrong. Vital decisions were not made. Leadership actions required to ensure victory were not taken," he said.

"A small minority took control of the ship that is Israel and is sailing it towards the rocks. I am here today to tell the truth. And the truth is hard: while Israeli soldiers exhibit supreme bravery on the front - some of the people who sent them to battle act in cowardice and irresponsibility."

Iran’s regime slated to execute innocent young Jew on Monday

9https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/irans-regime-slated-to-execute-innocent-young-jew-on-monday-801589

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s opaque judicial system is expected to execute a young Iranian Jew on Monday for an altercation involving his self-defense that led to the death of a Muslim man, the Jerusalem Post has confirmed.

Gantz to Netanyahu: If you don't change course by June 8 we will withdraw from the government

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-801652

Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a deadline until June 8 to come up with a more clear war program or Gantz will withdraw from the government.

Gantz listed six objectives that Netanyahu must adopt or face his withdrawal from government:

Benjamin Netanyahu Confronted With Ultimatum and Deadline

 https://www.newsweek.com/benjamin-netanyahu-confronted-ultimatum-deadline-1902219

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, threatened to resign his centrist party from the government if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not give him a plan on how to deal with the conflict in Gaza by June 8.

A mystery illness stole their kids’ personalities. These moms fought for answers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/05/12/down-syndrome-regression-disorder-mothers-support/

But because people with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21, they have extra copies of these immune genes — which appear to dysregulate and ramp up the immune system’s response. The result, Espinosa said, is a body that acts like it’s “constantly trying to fight a virus that is not there.”

How Far Trump Would Go

https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/ 

What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.

Another outrageous statement: UN chief equates October 7 and Gaza situation

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390098

In a post on social media, Guterres wrote, “Nothing can justify the 7 Oct terror attacks by Hamas” but then added, “Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

He then added, “It’s high time for a humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza.”

Guterres has long been criticized for his attempts to create a moral equivalence between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.

What Would a U.S.-Iran War Look Like? One Word: Bloody.

 https://www.cato.org/commentary/what-would-us-iran-war-look-one-word-bloody

Going to war against Iran would be no minor matter, and President Trump is irresponsible to act in such a flippant manner. Attacking Iran could trigger a prolonged, costly nightmare in both treasure and blood. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D‑HI), a Democratic presidential candidate, likely is prophetic that a war against Iran would make the Iraq War look like a cakewalk. Tehran certainly has a multitude of ways to retaliate for U.S. aggression and to escalate the bilateral confrontation. U.S. leaders would be wise not to venture farther down that perilous path.

Why Iran and Israel Stepped Back From the Brink

 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/why-iran-and-israel-stepped-back-brink

The diplomatic surge succeeded in keeping the crisis contained. It also made clear that the United States’ highest priority is to prevent the war in Gaza from igniting a regional conflagration and dragging the United States into another costly war in the Middle East. A fact working in Washington’s favor is that neither Iran nor Israel is keen on direct conflict, their recent show of force notwithstanding. Iran understands that Israel is a nuclear state with superior conventional capabilities and that war with Israel would ultimately mean war with the United States. Israel, for its part, knows that a larger conflict with Iran would compel Hezbollah to fire many more missiles at Israeli cities and military facilities. Still, if the tenuous truce between Iran and Israel is to hold, Washington must remain deeply engaged. It must work closely with Israel to address the country’s security concerns, and it should build on the diplomatic progress it has made with Iran in recent weeks.

‘Delusional’: Bolton blasts Trump for saying Iranian attacks wouldn’t have happened on his watch

 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/14/bolton-trump-israel-iran-attacks-00152132

Former President Donald Trump told supporters Saturday that Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend “would not have happened if we were in office.” His former national security adviser says it was a ridiculous statement.

“I just think Trump is delusional on this point,” John Bolton said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It’s a point that nobody can refute or confirm one way or the other. He doesn’t have any idea what to do in the Middle East in this situation.”