Jooish News

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Pentagon says that about 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in the 10 days of conflict with Iran.

“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement. Eight U.S. service members are currently “severely injured,” Parnell added.

The new figure is the first insight into the broader toll of injuries that have been sustained by U.S. troops in the wake of a barrage of retaliatory rocket and drone strikes from Iran that have also claimed the lives of seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Complaints about potholes across New York City have climbed sharply this year following heavy winter storms, with nearly half of the reports coming from Queens, according to city 311 data analyzed by the New York Post.

More than 11,000 pothole complaints have been filed so far in 2026, representing about a 33% increase compared with the same period last year.

Queens accounts for the largest share of the complaints, with over 5,000 reports, far more than any other borough. Brooklyn follows with just over 2,000 complaints, while Staten Island has reported about 1,500, Manhattan around 1,400, and the Bronx roughly 1,200, the newspaper reported.

Several major roadways in Queens have generated the highest number of complaints, including Northern Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, and Union Turnpike.

Drivers have also taken to social media to complain about road conditions, with one user saying the potholes were so widespread that their “tires are literally crying.”

Transportation officials say potholes typically form when water seeps into pavement and expands as it freezes, weakening the asphalt and causing it to break apart during repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

The city’s Department of Transportation says it typically repairs potholes within about two days after a complaint is filed, though a review of city data cited by the Post found that more than a quarter of reports filed this year were still open or pending as of recent days.

Officials say winter conditions — including snow, road salt and heavy traffic — accelerate damage to road surfaces. The city says it fills roughly 170,000 potholes each year and is increasing repair efforts following this winter’s storms.

Israel’s government has approved another extension of the “special situation on the home front” across the entire country, pushing the wartime emergency framework out by roughly two more weeks, through March 26. The same mechanism was first declared by the defense minister on February 28 at the start of the Iran campaign and had already been extended once, through March 12.

Under Israel’s Civil Defense Law, it gives the security system and Home Front Command broader authority to impose and enforce civilian protection measures during active conflict. In practice, it keeps the legal infrastructure in place for rapid changes to schooling, workplaces, gatherings, and other daily-life restrictions if the threat picture worsens.

For now, the current Home Front Command policy remains unchanged through Saturday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m. Nationwide, Israel is still under “limited activity”: educational activity remains banned except for specific exceptions, gatherings are generally capped at 50 people if a protected space can be reached in time, and workplaces may operate only under the same shelter-access conditions. The extension signals Jerusalem is preparing for the possibility that the fighting and missile threat will continue beyond the immediate next phase.

An inspector issued a closure order on Tuesday to the Ponevezh Yeshiva Ketana in Bnei Brak for operating during wartime.

The order states: “By virtue of my authority under Section 35(a) of the Unique Cultural Educational Institutions Law, 2008, I hereby order the closure of the Ponevezh Yeshiva school located at 5 Rabbi Meltzer Street, Bnei Brak, which is owned by the Ponevezh Yeshiva.”

“On February 28, 2026, a ‘special situation on the home front’ was declared by the Minister of Defense, and on the same date the declaration came into effect. Accordingly, a defensive policy issued by the Home Front Command was distributed to all Israeli citizens, which includes a prohibition on gatherings throughout the country, as well as an explicit prohibition on conducting educational activities.”

“Failure to comply with the above directives constitutes a real risk to the safety and security of the students and staff at the educational institution. Operating an educational institution during wartime, contrary to the provisions of the Civil Defense Law, 1951, and contrary to the guidelines, is prohibited. On March 5, 2026, an inspection was carried out by representatives of the Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Education, and it was found that the educational institution was operating, contrary to the guidelines and while endangering the safety and security of the students and staff.”

“The closure order will take effect upon its delivery. This decision was issued in Jerusalem. An administrative petition against this decision may be filed with the Jerusalem District Court. The closure order will remain in effect until it is revoked by the Director-General or by the court.”

Officials at the yeshiva claim there is persecution against religious institutions, arguing that malls remain open as usual while yeshivas receive closure orders.

Additionally, Shas MK Moshe Abutbul sent a letter on Tuesday to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir about the restrictions at the Kosel, where only 50 mispallelim are allowed at one time, while hundreds of visitors are allowed to enter shops and malls without restrictions.

In a letter entitled “Restricting Mispallelim at the Kosel While Malls Remain Open Without Restrictions,” MK Moshe Abutbul wrote: “I have been informed that the Kosel has been limited to a maximum of only 50 mispallelim at one time. This restriction stands in stark contrast to the situation in shopping centers and malls across the country, where regular activity continues and hundreds of visitors enter without any restrictions.”

“This reality creates a deep sense of injustice among a broad public of mispallelim and visitors, particularly those who regularly daven at the Kosel. It is difficult to understand how precisely the holiest place for the Jewish people is subject to strict limitations, while places of commerce and leisure are open almost without any restrictions.”

“From inquiries I conducted with the Center for Holy Places, it appears that they received approval from the Home Front Command to allow up to 150 mispallelim. It was also stated that the Kosel administration is prepared and ready to accommodate a larger number of visitors while fully maintaining public safety and even to quickly set up additional protective shelters if necessary. However, there is opposition within the senior ranks of the police to increasing the number of people permitted to attend tefillos.”

“In light of this, I ask for your intervention to reconsider the decision and ensure that enforcement and restriction policies are fair and equal so that a central place of tefillah like the Kosel will not be treated less favorably than commercial centers.”

MK Abutbul added: “We all support safeguarding the public. The holy Torah teaches us, ‘You shall carefully guard your lives,’ and therefore it is clear that protecting public safety allows no compromises. However, since we see that the guidelines for commercial centers are more lenient, it follows that the authorities responsible for public safety believe there is no violation of the regulations. Therefore, it is only appropriate that entry to the Kosel be governed by the same regulations, allowing mispallelim to come and daven—especially in these days when Am Yisrael so greatly needs tefillot and yeshuot.”

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(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the U.S. Once considered a disease that primarily affected older adults, it is increasingly being diagnosed in younger people with an increase in the death rate for this population as well. The good news is that awareness and screening are powerful tools in the fight against this disease.

Overall incidence rates in colorectal cancer have steadily declined since the mid 1980s due to increased screening activity and a shift in risk factor patterns. When it comes to younger people, the news is more sobering, with a 2.9% annual increase in incidence rates reported between 2013 and 2022 for those under age 50.

While overall death rates from colorectal cancer also have been on a downward trend, the story is different for younger individuals in this category also. Mortality rates in those younger than 55 years have seen a 1% increase annually since the mid-2000s.

What’s particularly concerning is that many of these younger patients are otherwise healthy, with no obvious risk factors or known genetic predispositions. In fact, colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second for women in the same age group.

Experts at Hackensack Meridian Health and other institutions are observing this trend firsthand and are working to understand the contributing factors. While the exact causes are still being explored, it’s believed that a combination of lifestyle and environmental factors may play a role. These include a poor diet, characterized by high intake of processed meats, sugar and refined grains and low intake of fruits, vegetables and fiber. In addition, excessive alcohol and tobacco use, and a lack of physical activity – all considered modifiable risk factors. More than half of all colorectal cancers can be attributed to these factors, highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle. A family history of colorectal cancer or certain inherited conditions, like Lynch syndrome, also can significantly increase your risk.

One of the most effective weapons against colorectal cancer is early detection with colonoscopy – considered the ‘gold standard’ screening method. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its screening recommendations in response to the rise in cases among younger adults, now advising that those at average risk begin screening at age 45. Those with a family history of colorectal cancer, genetic predisposition, or those with unusual gastrointestinal symptoms or changes in normal gastrointestinal function, should speak to their doctor about a screening schedule that’s right for them.

While the preparation for a colonoscopy can seem daunting and unpleasant, it is a small inconvenience compared to undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, which can involve surgery, chemotherapy, and more. The colonoscopy itself lasts about 30 minutes on average and is usually done with sedation making this a more comfortable procedure. While the patient is under sedation, a thin, flexible fiberoptic tube containing a small camera is inserted in the rectum where it is guided through the intestines to check for abnormalities. Colonoscopy enables polyps to be identified and removed before they develop into cancer. It can also address the disease at an earlier stage when it is easier to treat.

The impact of early detection on survival rates is dramatic. According to the CDC, nearly 89% of adults diagnosed with early-stage colorectal cancer live for five years or more. This is in stark contrast to the 16% five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with late-stage cancer. These numbers powerfully illustrate why screening is so crucial.

[Press Release]

A senior Iranian official issued another threat against U.S. President Donald Trump, warning him to “watch out” so as “not to get eliminated.”

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures, made the remarks in a post on X on Tuesday.

“The nation of Iran does not fear your empty threats,” Larijani wrote. “Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Watch out for yourselves.”

It is the second time in recent days that Larijani has implied Trump could be targeted. Over the weekend, he warned that Trump would have to “pay the price” for U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.

Trump dismissed the threat when asked about Larijani’s earlier comments.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about or who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Trump said.

Larijani’s latest remarks came in response to a post by Trump warning that Iran would face overwhelming retaliation if it attempted to block the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump wrote that if Iran interfered with shipping in the strategic waterway, the United States would respond by hitting Iran “twenty times harder” than previous strikes and would target infrastructure in a way that would make it “virtually impossible” for the country to rebuild.

In a follow-up message, Larijani warned that the Strait of Hormuz “will either be a Strait of peace and prosperity for all or will be a Strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.”

Tensions between the two sides have been escalating sharply. In November 2024, the U.S. Justice Department announced federal charges tied to a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate Trump ahead of the presidential election that year.

According to national security officials, the case was one of several alleged Iranian plots uncovered by U.S. prosecutors targeting the former president.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Several police officers were injured Tuesday after a gunman opened fire near a shul in Baltimore, Maryland.

Authorities rushed to the scene on a block along Park Heights Avenue in the city’s northwest section after receiving reports of a suspect shooting from a window in a building located near the Agudah of Baltimore.

Two officers were struck during the incident. One was transported to Shock Trauma in serious condition, while the second officer sustained injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening.

Police said the suspect was also shot during the confrontation, though officials did not release further details regarding the individual’s condition.

{Matzav.com}

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The widening war in Iran has ground tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a halt and oil prices have been swinging sharply, highlighting the important role the narrow passageway plays in global energy supply.

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran. Most of that oil goes to Asia.

Any disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is highly disruptive to the oil trade. Disruptions caused oil to spike Monday, only for it to swiftly fall back after President Donald Trump suggested the war could be near an end.

“The scale of what is at stake cannot be overstated,” said Hakan Kaya, senior portfolio manager at investment management firm Neuberger Berman. He said a partial slowdown lasting a week or two could be absorbed by oil companies. But a full or near full closure lasting a month or more would push crude oil prices “well into triple digits” and European natural gas prices “toward or above the crisis levels seen in 2022.”

Here’s what to know about the strait and the widening Iran war.

A key waterway for global shipping
The Strait of Hormuz is a bending waterway, about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. From there, ships can then travel to the rest of the world. While Iran and Oman have their territorial waters in the strait, it’s viewed as an international waterway all ships can ply. The United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, also sits near the waterway.

The strait long has been important for trade
The Strait of Hormuz through history has been important for trade, with ceramics, ivory, silk and textiles moving from China through the region. In the modern era, it is the route for supertankers carrying oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran. The vast majority of it goes to markets in Asia, including Iran’s only remaining oil customer, China.

While there are pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that can avoid the passage, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says “most volumes that transit the strait have no alternative means of exiting the region.”

Threats to the route have spiked global energy prices in the past, including during the Israel-Iran war in June.

Is the strait closed?
Iran has attacked several ships in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened any ships that try to pass through, effectively but not officially closing it.

President Donald Trump said on social media that the U.S. would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been targeting energy infrastructure and traffic through the strait, which is a vital waterway for traded oil.

Previously, Iran temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill. In past times of tension and conflict, Iran has at times harassed shipping though the narrows, and during the 1980s’ Iran-Iraq war, both sides attacked tankers and other vessels, using naval mines to completely shut down traffic at points. But Iran had not carried out repeated threats to close the waterway altogether since the 1980s, even during last year’s 12-day war when Israel and the U.S. bombarded Iran’s key nuclear and military sites.

The U.S. is rolling out ship reinsurance in the region through the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., a government agency that partners with the private sector to back global investment projects, in an effort to get ships moving through the Strait again.

Political risk insurance is a type of coverage intended to protect firms against financial losses caused by unstable political conditions, government actions, or violence. Marine insurers had been canceling or raising rates for insurance in the region.

The U.S. reinsurance facility will insure losses up to approximately $20 billion on a rolling basis, according to the International Development Finance Corp., focusing on insuring cargo and physical damage to a ship’s structure and operating machinery to start.

Trump said that, if necessary, the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The Navy has at least eight destroyers and three, smaller, littoral combat ships in the region. These ships have previously been used to escort merchant shipping in the region and in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to dispatch additional warships to the Eastern Mediterranean. There is a French-led initiative in the works that will involve European and non-European nations helping to escort oil and gas tankers with the aim of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz off Iran “as soon as possible after the most intense phase of the conflict is over.”

Global shippers suspend operations
Global shippers have issued service alerts saying they have suspended operations in the area. Danish shipping company Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, said Sunday it is suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice. Other ocean carriers including Hapag-Lloyd, CMA-CGM and MSC made similar announcements.

“Those ships that got stuck in the Gulf are not going anywhere,” said Tom Goldsby, logistics chairman in the Supply Chain Management Department at the University of Tennessee. “There’s also a whole host of ships that were heading into the Gulf to replace them, and of course they’re anchored or going elsewhere now.”

There are currently about 400 oil and product tankers idle in the Gulf, and one oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident on Monday, according to data from MarineTraffic, a project that tracks the movement of vessels around the globe using publicly available data.

(AP) – Commuters, residents and tourists who take to social media during warm months to complain about sweltering subway systems in New York, Boston and London should feel vindicated — new research says they aren’t alone.

As temperatures rise aboveground, the number of subway riders reporting uncomfortable heat belowground increases, according to a new study in the journal Nature Cities on Tuesday. This could worsen as climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, makes for a hotter planet.

Northwestern University researchers analyzed more than 85,000 crowdsourced social posts on the social platform X and Google Maps reviews from 2008 to 2024 in those three major cities’ subway systems. They searched for keywords related to being too hot — or what they called “thermal discomfort” — in those metropolises, which are some of the world’s oldest and busiest. The experts looked for terms such as “hot” and “warm” while filtering out results that did not seem to relate to temperature, such as “hot dog.”

The study’s authors said subway riders may expect temperatures to be naturally cooler underground. They found that a 1-degree Fahrenheit (0.56-degree Celsius) increase in outdoor temperature led to a 10% increase in complaints in Boston, 12% in New York and 27% in London. Earth’s average temperature warmed 1 degree F (0.56 degrees C) from 2008 to 2024, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The researchers analyzed posts across seasons, time of day and day of week.

“Interestingly, over the weekend, people complained less,” said Giorgia Chinazzo, assistant professor in Northwestern’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who co-authored the study with associate professor Alessandro Rotta Loria. Chinazzo speculated that one reason may be that people were dressing differently than on workdays.

Some limitations
Flavio Lehner, an assistant professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell University who was not involved in the work, said the research “follows the template of previous studies that link environmental conditions to human behavior using social media data.” He has also studied how warm conditions trigger a stronger online reaction.

Lehner said limitations of the research include only monitoring three city transit systems, and it being difficult to control for other factors influencing social media behavior.

University of Washington public health and climate professor Kris Ebi, who was also not involved in the study, said the actual impact of subway heat is likely to be greater than researchers found because vulnerable groups are underrepresented on social media.

Ebi said the size of the study “provides compelling evidence that cities should be planning for measures to keep people safe during hot weather.”

The potential for energy savings
Work such as this could certainly play a role in influencing how policymakers and subway operators adjust to heat extremes.

“We’re all experiencing rising temperatures. So those above will be reflected underground, and this will be reflected in people complaining more and more,” Chinazzo said. “Mitigation and adaptation strategies are things that will be much more implemented in the future.”

This could mean installing fans or operating cooling at more specific times of day. It could also mean offering drinking water at certain times.

“We need new technologies and tools, new methodologies that people can use to face these changes in temperatures that everyone is aware of and experiencing nowadays,” she added. “And it will be worse in the future.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has authorized the use of up to $40 million in emergency funds to pay for evacuation charter flights for Americans to leave the Middle East because of disruptions in transportation caused by the Iran war.

The department had approved the use of money from a fund normally reserved for emergencies involving diplomatic and consular staff, according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The State Department confirmed the use of the emergency funds but declined to specify the amount.

“We have sufficient funding to cover our efforts to date,” it said in response to a query from the AP. “The administration will work with Congress should additional funding be necessary.”

Under federal law, private Americans are obligated to reimburse the government for such transportation, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived that requirement last week.

The State Department has faced accusations from lawmakers and travelers of not adequately planning for the war that the U.S. and Israel launched in Iran and not acting quickly enough to help Americans in the region. The U.S. has advised Americans in 14 countries in the Middle East to leave, issuing a warning two days after the war began as closed airspace and flight cancellations made travel difficult.

Criticism of the State Department for its actions in crisis situations has been consistent through Democratic and Republican administrations, from the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 to the chaotic 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan.

The department said in a statement Tuesday that more than 40,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, although the vast majority of those have made it home commercially without government assistance.

It said it has organized more than two dozen charter flights that have carried thousands of U.S. citizens from various Mideast countries to either the United States or Europe but that most of the more than 27,000 who have sought help “have declined assistance when offered, opting either to remain in country or book more convenient commercial flight options.”

“At this time, seats available on the department’s charter options are significantly greater than the demand from Americans in the region,” it said, adding that those charter flights “continue to operate with less than 40% occupancy on average.”

The IDF announced Tuesday that its failure to intercept two missiles Monday — one of which landed in Ramle and the other in Mateh Yehuda Regional Council near Beit Shemesh, lightly wounding a number of civilians — was due to a technical failure and not because Iran had created a new technology that could evade detection.

The missile that landed near Beit Shemesh caused some infrastructure damage to a satellite station and, according to emergency responders, injured two people. Hezbollah claimed the station was the “Communications and Cyber Defense Division of the Israeli enemy army.” However, it is a civilian structure operated by SES, a European company.

A dashcam video shows the impact of a Hezbollah missile landing near Beit Shemesh. (From a post on X)

The missiles did not trigger a warning siren, and the interceptors missed their mark. Nevertheless, most of the missiles that were launched at Israel that day were safely intercepted. The IDF said that following its investigation, “adjustments were implemented to strengthen interception capabilities against similar threats in the northern area.

Since Hezbollah waded into the fray on the second day of strikes, Israel has responded with force, obliterating 70 rocket launchers in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. In addition, an aircraft on Tuesday carried out a strike against Hezbollah infrastructure, killing a cell of terrorists.

(AP) – A massive fire broke out Tuesday morning on a barge carrying huge piles of scrap metal on the Delaware Bay.

The barge appeared to be standing still as boats on both sides of it fired water cannons into the piles of burning metal. Smoke billowed from several fires that were burning on the boat.

It was unclear whether there were any injuries from the morning fire or if shipping traffic in the bay had been impacted.

Smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a massive blaze that erupted on a barge on the Delaware River on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in New Castle, Del. (WPVI via AP)

The United States has intensified its campaign against Iran’s military infrastructure, focusing on deeply buried missile launch facilities and drone production sites, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. military recently carried out a series of strikes using powerful bunker-penetrating munitions designed to destroy underground targets.

“Strategic Command bombers recently dropped dozens of 2000 pound GPS penetrating weapons on deeply buried missile launchers across the southern flank. We also have struck several one-way drone factories to get at the heart of their autonomous capability,” Caine said during a news conference at the Pentagon this morning.

Caine appeared alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and both officials stressed that crippling Iran’s ability to launch and manufacture missiles has become one of the U.S. military’s top priorities amid escalating tensions in the region.

According to the Pentagon, recent strikes have not only focused on missile launch sites but also on elements of Iran’s military industrial base — particularly facilities hidden beneath the surface that support missile production and drone development.

While Caine indicated that progress is being made in degrading Iran’s missile capabilities, questions remain regarding how the U.S. plans to address Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure. Several of those facilities are believed to house highly enriched uranium and are heavily fortified deep underground, posing a significant challenge for military planners.

The Pentagon has not disclosed additional operational details about the strikes or whether further attacks on Iran’s subterranean military facilities are expected.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

An Orthodox Jewish professor is suing his employer for what he alleges is a decades-long pattern of anti-religious discrimination and harassment. Tal Ben-Zvi has filed a lawsuit against the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., for what he says were refusals to accommodate his religious needs, such as scheduling meetings during holidays and not providing kosher food while accommodating the dietary restrictions of others.

The Israeli-born tenured professor, who has been teaching at the university since 2006, said that he was subjected to retaliation after he filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged professional harm, including delayed pay and denied promotions.

Ben-Zvi said that after approaching the university to discuss the problematic nature of scheduling meetings on Jewish holidays, the dean of the business school treated him with marked hostility, while an assistant dean questioned whether the holidays were in fact legitimate.

Tal Ben-Zvi. (Courtesy: Tal Ben-Zvi)

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the university cited a traditional Jewish prayer it considered misogynistic as evidence of Ben-Zvi’s gender bias in his refusal to recommend a female professor for tenure. The lawsuit includes complaints by students who said they felt pressured to attend class during Jewish holidays so as not to harm their grades and that university leadership declined to meet with them following the Oct. 7 attack and during ensuing hostilities directed at Jewish students on campus.

The lawsuit also includes an allegation of discrimination based on disability, due to a medical leg condition.

The lawsuit is demanding unspecified damages for financial, professional and emotional harm, along with an acknowledgment from the university that the institution promoted a “culture of silence, discrimination and immorality — masked as progress.”

The university, which maintains academic partnerships with Tel Aviv University and the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, denied wrongdoing and pushed back in a statement.

“Each of Dr. Ben-Zvi’s various complaints over the years has been thoroughly investigated, and no evidence of discrimination — religious, disability-related or otherwise — was found,” the statement said, adding that the school “takes pride in its inclusive and diverse campus community.”

The statement also emphasized that Stevens enforces policies prohibiting discrimination based on religion or disability and that it grants religious accommodations, including time off for religious holidays.

Emes Travel says that it has assisted hundreds of passengers in leaving Israel through Egypt during the current crisis, and stated that all travelers using its arrangements have completed the trip safely.

In a letter dated today, the company wrote, “Since the beginning of this time of need, Emes Travel has helped hundreds of passengers arrange and complete travel packages via Egypt for those departing Israel — including coordinated ground transportation, guided border crossings, and onward international flights through Sharm el-Sheikh Airport.”

The company said the departures were handled with extensive support from staff and local teams. “Each departure was carefully managed in partnership with experienced local teams, with our staff available around the clock to answer questions and guide travelers through every step of the process,” the letter stated.

Emes Travel also addressed concerns that have reportedly been circulating about the route, saying that those claims have not been borne out by its own experience. “Baruch Hashem, all travelers have completed their trips safely, with no injuries and no substantiated security incidents reported,” the company wrote.

The letter continued, “We are aware that unsubstantiated claims regarding security concerns along this route have been circulating. To date, none of these claims have been verified, and they are not reflective of the experience of any of our travelers.”

According to the company, those who have used the service have responded positively. “The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive, with travelers expressing appreciation for the attentiveness of our staff and the peace of mind that came from having a dedicated team in their corner,” the statement said.

Emes Travel said additional options remain available for those still seeking to leave Israel. “For anyone still in need of assistance, we encourage you to visit emestravel.com/marketplace to view our current offerings — including departures on Wednesday, March 11 and Sunday, March 15,” the company wrote.

The agency added that travelers whose needs are not met by the currently scheduled departures can join a waiting list. “If these don’t meet your needs, you can sign up for our waitlist to be notified as soon as new options become available,” the letter said.

Emes Travel closed by reaffirming its focus on passenger safety. “Emes Travel remains committed to providing responsible, well-supervised travel solutions, with the safety and well-being of every passenger as our highest priority,” the letter concluded.

{Matzav.com}

Authorities in Ocean County are actively investigating a triple homicide that occurred this morning in Berkeley Township.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, preliminary findings indicate that three individuals were fatally shot. The suspected shooter subsequently turned the weapon on himself and was later pronounced deceased at Community Medical Center.

The investigation is being conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, alongside the Berkeley Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

“This investigation remains active and ongoing, and additional information will be released at the appropriate time,” said Bradley D. Billhimer.

ODAKA, Japan (AP) — Fifteen years after the 2011 nuclear disaster, color-coded radiation maps hang on the wall of Futabaya Ryokan, the family-run inn Tomoko Kobayashi operates in her near-deserted hometown in northeastern Fukushima.

Kobayashi conducted her own radiation surveys before reopening the inn in 2016. Now, she and other monitors share radiation data as part of efforts to rebuild this once-bustling textile town.

“These empty lots used to be filled with shops,” Kobayashi says of the pre-disaster town as she heads to a radiation monitoring lab, walking past a kindergarten she attended as a child. It’s now used as a museum because there are too few children since the nuclear crisis.

“There used to be businesses, community activity and children playing,” she says. “We used to live our ordinary daily lives here, and I hope to see that again.”

Only about one-third of Odaka’s pre-disaster population of 13,000 have returned over the past decade.

“The town was destroyed, and we need to rebuild it. It’s a time-consuming process that cannot be accomplished in just a couple of decades,” she said. “But I hope to see the progress, with new people and new development added to what this town used to be.”

Tomoko Kobayashi looks at a color-coded map of radiation levels created by local residents during an interview near a radiation monitoring lab in Odaka, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Facing an invisible dangerWhen a magnitude 9.0 quake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, Kobayashi was at the Futabaya inn. Despite the long, violent shaking, the inn’s walls didn’t fall. But about an hour later, a tsunami poured into the kitchen “like a river,” she said.

A much higher wave hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It destroyed key cooling systems and caused meltdowns at three reactors.

The No. 1 reactor building was damaged by a hydrogen explosion on March 12. Two days later the Unit 3 reactor building exploded, followed by the No. 4 reactor building, spewing radioactive particles that contaminated the surroundings and caused hundreds of thousands of residents to flee. Some areas remain unlivable today.

Kobayashi’s family first headed to a gymnasium in nearby Haramachi town, but it was full. Eventually they made it to Nagoya, where she and her husband stayed for a year.

In 2012, the couple returned to Fukushima to start measuring radiation while living in temporary housing near Odaka, which was still off-limits.

The town has recovered some since then. Her guests include students and others who want to learn about Fukushima, as well as people interested in opening new businesses.

“I had to understand what the nuclear accident was about. I thought someone had to go back and keep an eye out,” she said. As she kept measuring, she started seeing what used to be invisible to her and understanding radiation. “Now it has become my lifetime mission.”

A worker walks past the Unit 4 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Citizens document radiation from the disasterKobayashi and her comrades gather twice a year, spending two weeks each time measuring the air at hundreds of locations so they can produce the color-coded maps. They have also set up a lab to test local produce to determine what they can safely eat and serve.

“We are not professional scientists, but we can measure and show the data. What’s important is to keep measuring, because the government maintains that it’s safe, as if radiation no longer exists,” she says. “But we know for a fact that it’s still there.”

Their lab now sits next to a free folklore museum with paintings, sculptures, photographs and other artwork inspired by the Fukushima disaster.

Fukushima Daiichi gets a facelift, but a mess remains
Fifteen years ago, the plant looked like a bombed factory because of the hydrogen explosions at the reactor buildings where workers risked their lives to keep the crisis under control. Radiation levels have since come down significantly, and the plant has built enhanced seawalls designed to withstand another big tsunami. Now, for the first time since the disaster, all of the plant’s reactor buildings have their rooftops enclosed.

“Our decommissioning work at the plant is about how to reduce risks of radiation,” says Akira Ono, head of decommissioning at the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Holdings Company. Remote-controlled robotics, careful planning, and practice are key to keeping workers safe, he said.

At Unit 1, under its brand-new roof, top floor decontamination will begin ahead of the planned removal of spent fuel from the cooling pool.

The three reactors contain at least 880 tons of melted fuel debris with radiation levels still dangerously high and their details little known.

TEPCO successfully took tiny melted fuel samples last year from the Unit 2 reactor. To examine melted fuel inside the Unit 3 reactor, workers last week deployed micro-drones, a technology not quite realistic 15 years ago, Ono said.

TEPCO plans remote-controlled internal probes to analyze melted fuel and to develop robots for more fuel debris removal that experts say could take decades more.

‘Pressure to be silent’
Fukushima prefecture tests thousands of pre-distribution samples every year and says all farm, fisheries and dairy products in stores are safe.

Sale of some fruits, mushrooms, river fish and a number of other harvests in former no-go zones is still restricted.

“Radiation levels have come down significantly over the past 15 years, but I wouldn’t use the word ‘safe,’ just yet,” says Yukio Shirahige, a former decontamination and radiation survey worker at Fukushima Daiichi who now helps Kobayashi’s monitoring project.

When he tested wild boar meat recently, he found it was more than 100 times over the safety limit and could not be consumed.

In a major reversal after a decade of working to phase out nuclear technology, Japan in 2022 announced plans to accelerate reactor restarts and bolster nuclear power as a stable energy source.

Shirahige was at Fukushima Daiichi when the quake and tsunami struck in 2011. After evacuating his family, he returned in late March to help the emergency cleanup at the plant for six months.

Shirahige has received support and equipment from university researchers and is in charge of testing locally produced food and other samples.

Shirahige, now 76, says measuring radioactive material and sharing that data is his life’s work.

As the government pushes Fukushima’s safety and recovery, Shirahige says, “we are under growing pressure to be silent.”

WASHINGTON (VINnews) — Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday called former Fox News host Tucker Carlson “the single most dangerous demagogue in the country,” criticizing him for spreading antisemitic ideas to younger audiences.

Speaking at a symposium on antisemitism hosted by conservative and Jewish organizations, Cruz cited Carlson’s past programming, saying the host gave a platform to guests who questioned the legitimacy of Israel and promoted revisionist views of World War II. “I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right in the last 18 months than at any other point in my lifetime,” Cruz said.

Cruz also referenced past disagreements with Carlson over U.S.-Israel policy and the Trump administration’s stance toward Iran. He said Carlson’s influence has contributed to growing antisemitic sentiment and pledged to confront it directly.

.@tedcruz rips Tucker Carlson's revisionist history on WWII: "This [professor] says that America should have sided with the Nazis in Germany in WWII." #StopAntisemitism pic.twitter.com/rTo2589May

— National Review (@NRO) March 10, 2026

YS GOLD 

This week’s captured moment takes us to the center of Boro Park and to the Loft… not The Loft of today, but what was seemingly a clothing store. 

A sharp observer will notice the Woolworth’s store peeking out on the right of this picture. 

Did we just give away the location of this establishment? 

___ 

Answer to the previous captured moment:

The “Mishenichnas Adar” sign in question hung in the shul of Rav Yosef Yitzchok Parnes of Boro Park who established his shtiebel in the 1920’s. 

The sign hung there for many decades, and was over one hundred years old by the time the shul closed.

Early reports on social media Tuesday indicate that an Iranian missile landed in an open area near Beit Shemesh. First responders were called to the area but have reported no injuries thus far.

This constituted the fourth attack from Iran Tuesday. Sirens had alerted residents across Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and parts of southern Israel.

A video shows the impact of a missile landing in an open area outside of Beit Shemesh Tuesday. (From a post on X)

Fox News host Sean Hannity revealed in a new interview that he no longer has contact with Tucker Carlson and strongly disagrees with much of Carlson’s recent public commentary, marking a clear break between the two longtime conservative media figures.

Speaking on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Hannity addressed the current state of his relationship with Carlson and indicated that the two have not communicated since Carlson’s departure from Fox News in 2023.

Carlson’s exit from the network two years ago marked a turning point in his media career, after which he began publishing content on alternative platforms such as X and YouTube.

Since leaving Fox News, Carlson has used those platforms to conduct a series of high-profile and often controversial interviews. Among them were discussions with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and Holocaust denier who has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Those appearances drew significant criticism, particularly because Carlson was accused of giving a platform to figures widely described as Holocaust revisionists and white nationalists, including Fuentes.

The controversy intensified in 2024 when Carlson hosted podcaster Darryl Cooper, whom he called the “best and most honest popular historian” in the U.S.

During that interview, Cooper sparked outrage by portraying the Holocaust as an “unintended consequence” of logistical failures rather than a planned genocide. He also described Winston Churchill, Allied Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945, as the “chief villain” of WWII.

Following Carlson’s comments and the broadcast of that interview, both the White House and several Jewish organizations publicly criticized him, accusing him of amplifying Nazi propaganda. The backlash added to the scrutiny Carlson has faced since leaving Fox News.

Against this backdrop, Hannity said the views Carlson has recently expressed are far removed from the colleague he once worked alongside during their years together at Fox.

“I don’t ever talk to him, ever,” Hannity said. “I wish him well. I’ve read a lot of what he says. I just completely disagree with it. And it’s not the person that I knew when he was at Fox.”

Carlson’s positions have also contributed to growing tensions within the broader MAGA movement, particularly over his strong criticism of President Donald Trump’s military strikes against Iran.

During the podcast interview, host Katie Miller asked Hannity whether he believed conservative media figures had been spending too much time attacking one another. Hannity said he shares that concern and explained that he deliberately avoids participating in such conflicts.

“I do . . . And I’ve stayed out of it, if you’ve noticed . . . That’s by design. To me, the big fight in this country is against the radical left. And [if] they all want to kill each other, have at it,” he continued.

Hannity, who has been with Fox News since 1996, also discussed personal changes in his life. He recently relocated his home and his broadcasting base from Long Island, New York, to Florida, where he now lives.

Reflecting on the controversies and disputes that have emerged in conservative media circles, Hannity said he no longer feels compelled to engage in public feuds.

“I’m way past the point in my career, Katie, that I care at all about what other people are doing or saying,” Hannity added. “I watch it ’cause I have to be aware — and I read so much news, I can’t miss it. However, my interest in involving myself in it is zero. I don’t believe my success is predicated on tearing somebody else down, or their failure.”

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI found explosive materials in a Pennsylvania storage unit after two men were charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest outside the home of New York City’s mayor, authorities said Tuesday.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told investigators after their arrests Saturday near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law enforcement officials and a criminal complaint. Both men are from the Philadelphia suburbs.

FBI agents bring out evidence from Public Storage in the early morning hours of March 10, 2026 following three controlled detonations on March 9, 2026 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. FBI agents are combing through the storage facility for several hours in connection with the… pic.twitter.com/mafY2Shbqg

— Kyle Mazza (@KyleMazzaWUNF) March 10, 2026

Much remained undisclosed about their motives, how much they planned and how they knew each other. Tests were being performed on some of the explosive devices recovered at the scene.

The FBI said Monday that it had conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation. The police department in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that the FBI conducted controlled detonations of explosive materials found at a Public Storage facility in Langhorne, near where Balat’s family lives. Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) north of Langhorne.

Residents “may have heard several loud bangs during the overnight hours,” the police department said in a Facebook post. “While the noise may have been startling to some residents, there was no danger to the public at any time.”

Balat’s lawyer has portrayed him as a confused teenager who didn’t know what he was doing.

Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi drove to New York City on Saturday and joined a throng of counterprotesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by the far-right Christian nationalist Jake Lang.

Journalists photographed Balat hurling a device, smoking with a lit fuse, that was later found to contain the explosive TATP. The object, which also contained nuts and bolts, extinguished itself without harming anyone.

Balat then dropped a second object near some police officers and tried to run, but was tackled and arrested, according to a court complaint.

Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. They were not required to enter a plea.

Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client, a high school senior, had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life.

“I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing,” Essmidi said. He added that he didn’t believe Balat and Kayumi had known each other for long.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday there were no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran.

After Balat was arrested, police officers asked him whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people.

“No, even bigger,” Balat replied, according to a criminal complaint.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked a storm of fury and outrage Monday when he hosted anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion for an iftar feast breaking the daily fast of Ramadan.

Mahmoud Khalil, leader of violent campus protests at Columbia University, was arrested for his involvement in the protests in March 2025.

Khalil, a Syrian with Palestinian ancestry, came to the U.S. on a student visa and received a green card when he married an American. As a student at Columbia University, he led protests on campus in 2024 and also led a group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which had been banned for promoting violence.

In his green card application, Khalil failed to disclose his former employment at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has been shown to employ Hamas terrorists, and his ties to the banned student group.

Mahmoud Khalil, former Columbia University graduate student known for his role in the 2024 Columbia University anti-Israel protests, leads an anti-Israel “March for Humanity” against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on August 16, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Khalil was released from detention but is subject to rearrest.

After his high-profile arrest, the American left rallied around Khalil as a cause for promoting free speech rights. Newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani came to his defense after the recent ruling that ordered his release.

“Mahmoud Khalil is a New Yorker,” Mamdani said Thursday at a press conference. “He should remain in New York City. We have seen this attack on him as part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for Palestinian human rights.”

Mahmoud Khalil justifies resistance by any means in this video. (From a post on X)

After his release, Khalil continued his activities, appearing at pro-Palestinian protests and making controversial statements, such as defending the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as justified and calling for the dismantling of the State of Israel.

Mamdani said in a statement on X that he and his wife invited Khalil to an iftar feast on Monday.

“Last night, as we marked the one year anniversary of his detention, Rama and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud, Noor, and their son Deen to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together,” he wrote. The mayor praised the anti-Israel activist for his “courage” and criticized his arrest.

“For Mahmoud Khalil, this past year has been marked by profound hardship — and by profound courage,” he posted. “A year ago, Mahmoud was walking home through our city after sharing an iftar with his wife Noor when he was detained by federal agents, flown to Louisiana, and then held in an ICE facility for months. In that time, he was forced to miss the birth of his first child. All of this for exercising his First Amendment rights in protesting the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

Mahmoud is a New Yorker, and he belongs in New York City,” the mayor concluded.

Posters on X blasted Mamdani for his decision to host Khalil.

“Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil refers to Hamas as ‘we,'” posted Internet personality and Jewish advocate Eyal Yakoby. “Tonight, he dined with Zohran Mamdani in the mayor’s mansion. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Islamists launched an IED at New Yorkers over the weekend — they feel empowered.”

“Mahmoud Khalil’s org: ‘We are fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.’ Mamdani just hosted him as an honored guest in his mansion,” wrote Libs of TikTok, a popular right-wing account.

Stop Antisemitism also issued a statement on X, writing, “NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani breaking bread with one of the city’s most vile antisemites, Mahmoud Khalil. By the way, he should already have been deported back to Syria. What is he still doing here, dining lavishly at Gracie Mansion at taxpayers’ expense?”

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Approximately 50% of the ballistic missiles Iran has launched at Israel during the ongoing war have been equipped with cluster bomb warheads, according to fresh assessments by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

These warheads release dozens of submunitions, each containing several kilograms of explosives, that disperse indiscriminately over a radius of about 10 kilometers (6 miles), military officials said. The spread increases the risk to civilian areas and complicates interception efforts.

IDF officials noted that while Israel’s multilayered air defense systems have proven effective against many incoming threats, defenses are not impervious. Intercepting missiles with cluster warheads poses particular challenges, as the submunitions can deploy mid-flight even if the main projectile is struck.

The attacks have targeted both population centers and military installations, along with critical infrastructure, the IDF said. In recent days, Iranian barrages have involved only one or a small number of missiles at a time rather than large coordinated salvos.

Military sources indicated that Iran appears to be facing difficulties in mounting larger, synchronized attacks toward Israel.

The use of cluster munitions has drawn international criticism in past conflicts due to their indiscriminate nature and the long-term dangers posed by unexploded ordnance. Recent strikes have caused injuries and damage in central Israel, with reports of multiple impact sites from single missiles.

Tehran staged a highly unusual show of loyalty, as supporters of the Iranian regime gathered for a public ceremony pledging allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, the country’s newly appointed supreme leader. Instead of appearing in person, however, Mojtaba was represented by a life-size cardboard cutout placed prominently at the event.

State television aired footage from Revolution Square showing large crowds waving Iranian flags and chanting in support of the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The younger Khamenei was recently elevated to the position of supreme leader after his father was killed in Israeli airstrikes on February 28.

Despite the public display of loyalty, Mojtaba himself did not attend the ceremony. Reports circulating in recent days suggest that he was wounded in a separate Israeli strike last week and has remained out of public view since then. Some reports claim he may still be unconscious, leaving the regime to rely on a cardboard likeness during the ceremony rather than risk exposing his condition.

The unusual spectacle came as Iran’s leadership works to project stability during an intensifying conflict with Israel and the United States. Shortly after Ali Khamenei’s death, hardline clerics in Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts moved quickly to name Mojtaba as the next supreme leader, seeking to demonstrate continuity within the regime.

At the ceremony, commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and representatives of allied militias were seen publicly declaring their loyalty to Mojtaba, reinforcing the regime’s effort to rally supporters and maintain internal cohesion.

{Matzav.com}

Attorney General Gali Baharav‑Miara has come under sharp criticism after sources in the legal system say that she has delayed handling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s pardon request for months.

According to the sources, she is also preventing the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department from publishing its legal recommendation on the request, despite the fact that the recommendation was completed and submitted on Sunday. According to a Channel 13 report, the opinion concludes that the prime minister’s request does not meet the criteria required for granting a pardon.

The report describes what it describes as the extent of Baharav-Miara’s obstruction, stating, “Channel 13 has learned that the reason no legal opinion was written regarding Minister Levin’s potential conflict of interest is that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara believes this is not a pardon request at all.”

The pardon request was transferred to Baharav-Miara about three months ago, but she has not yet issued an official legal opinion or decision. In previous cases, Baharav-Miara found the time to act far more quickly, such as in the case of petitions demanding the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir, when she published a legal opinion days before the required deadline.

Baharav‑Miara has also failed to respond for three months to a technical inquiry from Justice Minister Yariv Levin on a potential conflict of interest in handling Netanyahu’s pardon request due to his close relationship with the prime minister. Levin is also considered the second most senior figure in the Likud party, a factor that sources say could prompt claims of a conflict of interest and attempts to stall the legal proceedings for months.

Levin gave up on receiving a reply from Baharav-Miara, and to prevent further delays, he transferred responsibility for the matter to Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit), who regularly handles cases in which Levin is barred from involvement.

The move is intended to preempt any potential claims that the recommendation could be invalidated due to a conflict of interest, allowing the decision-making process to proceed without unnecessary delays.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon may continue even after the end of the war with Iran, the Financial Times reported.

“The Israelis are preparing international players for the prospect that the war with Hezbollah could drag on and last longer than the war with Iran,” an Arab diplomat said.

Another source said that Israel’s goal is “to inflict enough damage [so] that there is not this constant fear of having to evacuate the northern residents.”

Channel 12 reported that Israeli security officials are expecting Hezbollah to increase its attacks in the coming days in order to force Israel to divert resources from the war with Iran.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Monday evening, security officials warned that Hezbollah plans to fire larger missile barrages at Israel, including at strategic infrastructure.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Police in Toronto are investigating after gunfire struck the United States consulate early Tuesday morning. Authorities confirmed that no injuries were reported, and investigators have not yet identified any suspects.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of a meeting of the city council’s executive committee, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow noted the shooting occurred against a backdrop of recent violence targeting Jewish institutions in the city.

“This morning the U.S. consulate was shot at,” Chow told reporters. “This comes after shootings at synagogues over the past two weekends. This cannot stand.”

The mayor said Toronto police have deployed a heavy security presence around both the U.S. and Israeli consulates in the city while the investigation continues.

“Toronto’s Jewish community has the right to practice their faith and culture and to live their day-to-day lives without fear, intimidation or violence,” Chow said.

She added that investigators from the Toronto Police Service are working together with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of the investigation.

“As we have seen too many times, antisemitic incidents spike when international tensions rise,” Chow said. “It is never acceptable to target the Jewish community.”

Officials have not yet said how many people were inside the building when the shots were fired.

Police are now carrying out standard investigative procedures, including collecting physical evidence, reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with potential witnesses in the surrounding area.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

You can book an appointment online here.

BREAKING: Ballistic missile launches detected from Iran targeting Israel. Air defense is engaging the threats. Take shelter immediately.

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(AP) – Peaceful and violent, in video game screenshots and movie clips and on professional playing fields, the icons come fast and furious in quick-cut footage — some of the most renowned slivers of 21st-century American popular culture, harnessed by the Trump administration to promote the freshly launched war with Iran.

The White House’s social media feed has issued a series of pumped-up videos that mix real Iran war explosions with movie action heroes, gaming footage and bone-crunching football tackles, leading critics like a top cleric of the U.S. Catholic Church to condemn a trivialization of deadly real-life conflict.

Clips from “Braveheart,” “Superman,” “Top Gun,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Iron Man.” All appear cut between declassified imagery of what is presumably the Iran war. Even the cartoon likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants is spliced in, asking, “You wanna see me do it again?” in between images of buildings, planes and vehicles blown up by American bombs. The caption on one bomb-heavy post: “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” — the title of a post-9/11 Toby Keith song about war that is subtitled “The Angry American.”

The fiction-meets-reality product of the White House’s aggressive social media team cuts a wide swath through cultural touchstones that resonate with young men, including the video games Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Halo. Two videos feature NFL and college football tackles and Major League Baseball home runs — with the cracks of bats interspersed with explosions.

They’re set to ominous or aggressive music, including Childish Gambino’s “Bonfire,” Miami XO’s “Bazooka” and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” One of the White House postings described the video as “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY,” accompanied by flag and fire emojis.

It’s hard not to see the thinking here: The more cinematic the content, the more people might support the war.

Two actors call for their depictions to be removed from videos
The sounds and images of American popular culture, a sure attention-getter in many contexts, have increasingly been used in politics in recent decades, at least as far back as Bill Clinton’s use of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” during his 1992 presidential campaign. Never, though, has a White House built and disseminated content quite like this, drawing explicit parallels between the aggressive moments of modern entertainment — a video game kill shot, a hard football hit, a towering home run — and battle footage to amplify the enthusiasm for war.

What’s happening with the White House videos, which some call the “gamification” of war, hasn’t landed well in some quarters.

Two actors whose work appeared in the videos — Ben Stiller, who starred in the 2008 movie “Tropic Thunder,” and Steve Downes, who portrays Master Chief, the protagonist in Halo — said the material was used without permission and called for their depictions to be removed.

Stiller said on X that he had “no interest in being part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.” Downes called the videos “disgusting and juvenile war porn.” Neither the NFL nor Major League Baseball would comment on the use of their footage in the war videos.

The discussion reached a high level in the U.S. Catholic Church as well. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said he found it sickening to see a war that has brought real death and suffering being treated like a video game. That approach, he said, dishonors the people who have died, including U.S. servicemen.

“Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store,” Cupich said in a weekend statement. “But, in the end, we lose our humanity when we are thrilled by the destructive power of our military.”

Asked for comment, the White House would not say whether or not it would accommodate artists who said their work was used without permission.

“America’s heroic warfighters are meeting or surpassing all of their goals under Operation Epic Fury,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. “The legacy media wants us to apologize for highlighting the United States Military’s incredible success, but the White House will continue showcasing the many examples of Iran’s ballistic missiles, production facilities, and dreams of owning a nuclear weapon being destroyed in real time.”

It’s not the first time this White House has trotted out game-related memes. Last year, it posted a drawing of Trump dressed as Master Chief. In another, it made Trump look like a blocky Minecraft character with the caption: “America’s most pro-gamer president.”

Every war has a psychological dimension, and this seems to be part of it, said Zia Haque, director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. “We live in a digital age, and I see this as a use of the space to propagate the message across the board,” he said.

A motivation to be cool?
Some observers also cast the administration’s content as potential efforts to encourage gamers to join the military. It wouldn’t be a first: The Pentagon’s efforts to recruit players date to at least 2002, with the release of a first-person shooter called America’s Army. The Defense Department also sends recruiters to video game conventions and esports tournaments.

Today, many of Trump’s loudest fans are young white men who are gamers and heavy consumers of sports and popular culture — and thus likely a receptive audience for such imagery and music.

Many young men are motivated to join the military because they want to be cool like the people they see in action movies, said Ray Deptula, who recently retired from the U.S. Navy after 24 years and rose to the rank of commander. That’s what motivated him, he said. So he can see the appeal of the videos.

But, he says, there’s a caveat — a big one.

“That’s not what your life is going to be like,” said Deptula, who recently wrote a novel, “A Dog Before a Soldier,” about a young man who joined the military out of desperation during the Revolutionary War. “Your life is going to be about hard work and humility.”

But Jeff Fromm, co-author of “Marketing to Gen Z,” has doubts about the videos’ long-term effectiveness.

Many young people in Generation Z are keenly interested in transparency and the values of organizations they are seeking to join, and Fromm questions whether the current administration rates highly in those areas.

Sometimes the overlap between real life and game culture is accidental. Last week, Trump posted on Truth Social that defense contractors had agreed to “quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry.” Policy experts were puzzled — but Final Fantasy XIV players were reminded of the game’s most powerful weapons. Still, the president probably wasn’t calling for the game’s Exquisite Wrathgrinder to go into production.

photo: Avrumi Berger

The governments of Israel and Somaliland announced that MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, has trained a group of Somaliland water engineers in Israel’s innovative water technology. A delegation from Somaliland arrived in Israel to observe firsthand how Israel defeats water shortages through its ingenious innovations.

The new technologies are vital to the arid desert region and will improve Somaliland’s ability to provide water for agriculture, livestock and industry, helping to solve food insecurity and improve economic conditions.

Credit: The Republic of Somaliland X account.

Last year, Israel recognized Somaliland’s independence, the first and only country to do so.

In a statement on X, Somaliland thanked Israel for its partnership.

Huge thanks to Israel for training the Republic of Somaliland’s first cohort of water engineers,” the statement read. This vital support strengthens our ability to manage water for people, livestock, agriculture, and industry — boosting food security and economic growth when it matters most. A true friend shows up when it counts.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The parents of a girl critically wounded in a school shooting in Canada alleged in a civil lawsuit Monday that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI knew the shooter was planning a mass attack.

OpenAI has said it considered but didn’t alert police about the activities of the person who months later committed one of Canada’s worst school shootings in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Feb. 10.

OpenAI came forward to police after Jesse Van Roostselaar killed eight people and then herself last month, saying the attacker’s ChatGPT account had been closed but that she evaded the ban by having a second account.

The legal claim filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court alleged that OpenAI had “specific knowledge of the shooter utilizing ChatGPT to plan a mass casualty event like the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.”

The lawsuit said OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT was used by the shooter as a trusted confidante, collaborator and ally, and it behaves willingly to assist users such as the shooter to plan a mass casualty event.

A spokeswoman from OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said that as a result of the company’s conduct Maya Gebala was shot three times at close range, with one bullet hitting her head, another her neck and the third grazing her cheek. It said she has a catastrophic brain injury that will leave her with permanent cognitive and physical disabilities.

ATLANTA (VINnews) – CNN deleted an X (formerly Twitter) post Tuesday about two men charged with throwing makeshift bombs outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home, following widespread criticism from conservatives and the White House.

A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted.

— CNN (@CNN) March 10, 2026

The original post described Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, as “two Pennsylvania teenagers” enjoying what “could’ve been a normal day” in the city before their arrest — language critics called sympathetic and tone-deaf.

CNN deleted their sympathetic post about New York City’s ISIS bombers. This comes after CNN praised the Islamic Republic of Iran last week. https://t.co/V0Man84Ev7 pic.twitter.com/rxeG88Bslq

— Loomer Unleashed (@LoomerUnleashed) March 10, 2026

Authorities say the men threw two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during an anti-Muslim protest outside the mayor’s home. They are charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction, and told officials they were inspired by ISIS.

No, they're radical Islamic terrorists who threw an IED at a protest. We don't do that in America.

Fake News CNN (which employs @kaitlancollins and @KristenhCNN, et al) is not a serious organization. pic.twitter.com/efwxAWsPFD

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 10, 2026

In a follow-up X post, CNN said the original message “failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted.”

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement.

After Turkey intercepted two missiles from Iran in the last few days, it has stepped up its protection with a U.S. Patriot air defense system deployed to the country’s southeast, near the Kürecik NATO radar base in Malatya province, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced Tuesday.

Officials said the move is partly to help NATO improve its ability to detect and intercept missiles after Turkey endured two such attacks recently. The Turkish Defense Ministry said that placing the system in Malatya will help NATO coordinate with Turkish defense systems and NATO efforts while protecting Turkish airspace. It also said that the Kurecik radar base provides key data to NATO and played a critical role in detecting and identifying the ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward Turkey.

Despite Turkey’s repeated warnings to Iran not to violate its airspace, Iran has continued to fire into Turkey while denying that it is intentionally targeting Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

During talks Monday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iran’s newly elected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the two leaders discussed the ongoing situation.

“In addition to the measures we take on a national level, air and missile defence measures by NATO have been increased. In that framework, one Patriot System is being deployed to Malatya to contribute to defending our air space,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Turkey will remain on the alert as it coordinates closely with NATO allies, according to Turkish officials. Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to move its Patriot missile defense systems stationed in South Korea and other military equipment to new locations, according to a Reuters report.

Turkey credited the NATO alliance with helping it to intercept missiles from Iran that had invaded its airspace. NATO’s air defense systems, operating in the Mediterranean Sea, coordinated with Turkey in bringing down the missiles. The Kürecik radar base in Malatya province, a key NATO facility that detects and sends early warnings about missile threats, also helped to detect the incoming missiles from Iran.

The addition of the Patriot missile system brings the number of Patriot missile systems in Turkey to two, the first one having been provided by Spain, another NATO ally, as part of Turkey’s air defense system.

As of now, Turkey’s military operations are focusing purely on defense, following NATO protocol and coordinating closely with the alliance to maintain protection of the country.

A second suspect involved in a carjacking that occurred in Howell earlier this year has been identified and arrested after fleeing the state, authorities said today.

According to the Howell Township Police Department, the suspect has been identified as Baldemar Sandoval-Herrera, a 20-year-old resident of Asbury Park. During the investigation, Sandoval-Herrera fled New Jersey, prompting the issuance of an arrest warrant.

He has been charged with first-degree carjacking, second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Detectives continued working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force to locate Sandoval-Herrera. Authorities ultimately tracked him down in Georgia, where he was apprehended and is currently being held in a county jail while awaiting extradition back to New Jersey for further court proceedings.

Police also confirmed that the other suspect in the case, Melvin J. Cruz-Salmoran, 19, of Neptune Township, was previously arrested on February 3. He remains in custody at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution.

Major Boro Park Kehilos, including Bobov, Belz, Satmar, and Bobov 45 joined with community members and patient advocacy organizations to file a lawsuit today in New York State Supreme Court, Albany County, seeking to block the proposed transfer of Maimonides Medical Centerto NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), the city’s municipal hospital system, unless and until the transaction receives required State approval.

The lawsuit, brought as an Article 78 proceeding, challenges the State Health Commissioner’s decision to allow the transaction to proceed without the approval of the Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC or Public Health Council), as required by New York law.

The transaction would transfer substantially all of Maimonides’s assets, operations, and governance to H+H, thereby converting a private, not-for-profit community hospital into a municipal facility under the control of the City of New York. If consummated, it would be one of the largest hospital transactions in New York history and would permanently alter the healthcare landscape in South Brooklyn, where Maimonides serves an extraordinarily diverse patient population including large communities of Orthodox Jews, Arabs, Chinese, Latinos, Russians, Caribbean people, and residents from South and Southeast Asia.

The lawsuit is in addition to a suit filed by seven Trustees of Maimonides, who alleged irregularities in the manner in which the Board of Trustees pursued the transaction. This lawsuit, filed in Albany, alleges that the Board failed to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals prior to closing. The presence of these major institutions as Petitioners reflects growing community concern that the conversion of Maimonides into a municipal hospital will have a negative impact on public health.

New York’s Rigorous Certificate of Need Process New York maintains one of the most rigorous Certificate of Need (CON) approval processes in the country. Under Public Health Law § 2801-a, no hospital may be established, and no change in hospital operator may occur, without the written approval of the PHHPC—a body of over two dozen public health experts, including physicians, nurses, health care executives, consumer advocates, and community representatives.

The Council is required to evaluate four statutory criteria before approving any such transaction: public need, character and competence, financial feasibility, and such other matters as the Council deems pertinent. None of these reviews has been conducted for this transaction.

This process exists to protect public health in the event of a hospital transaction. In recognition that that changes in hospital ownership can profoundly affect public health, the Legislature created the PHHPC to ensure that such changes are reviewed by experts before they take effect. “Allowing a multi-billion dollar transfer of one of Brooklyn’s largest hospitals to proceed without any independent review of the impact on public health would undermine the very purpose of New York’s regulatory framework,” said Martin Bienstock, at attorney for the Petitioners.

The Petition also raises significant concerns about H+H’s fitness to operate Maimonides. H+H’s own facilities have been the subject of recurrent regulatory violations, including multiple “immediate jeopardy” citations—the most severe level of regulatory finding, indicating that noncompliance has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, or death. In fiscal year 2023 alone, H+H paid $51.5 million in malpractice claims. Avoiding Public Health Council review means that none of these criteria will be evaluated.

At a New York City Council hearing on March 2, 2026, H+H CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz sought to reassure Council members that the acquisition would not fundamentally change Maimonides.

Bienstock rejected that characterization. “Today, Maimonides is governed by an independent board of community members with fiduciary duties to the hospital and the community it serves,” he said. “Under this deal, the board is being replaced. The CEO is being replaced. Operational control is being handed to NYC Health + Hospitals, which is owned and controlled by the City of New York. That means Maimonides will be subject to the priorities, budget decisions, and political needs of Mayor Mamdani and whatever administration follows. If that’s not a takeover, I don’t know what is.”

The Petition asks the Court to declare that the Commissioner of Health lacks authority to waive or satisfy the statutory requirement of Public Health Council approval; and to prohibit Maimonides and H+H from closing the transaction without that approval. The Petitioners also seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the transaction from closing while the case is pending.

“It is a travesty that Maimonides and the City of New York, through H+H, are trying to have their flawed deal rubberstamped by the Commissioner of Health behind closed doors, instead of going through the Public Health Council review-and-approval process, which ensures transparency and public participation in evaluating important hospital transactions,” said Akiva Shapiro of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, co-counsel for the Petitioners. “The Legislature gave the Public Health Council—and only the Public Health Council—the authority to approve changes in hospital operators.”

“This case is about whether agency heads can unilaterally bypass the rigorous review process the Legislature created to protect public health,” Shapiro added. “If the Commissioner can declare that his own approval satisfies a statute that assigns that authority to a different body, then the Public Health Council’s review authority is meaningless. That is not what the Legislature intended.”

The Petitioners are represented by Martin Bienstock of Bienstock PLLC and Akiva Shapiro of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sharing a stage, Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh sparred Monday over the many emergency orders the court has issued allowing President Donald Trump to move ahead with key parts of his agenda.

The setting was extraordinary, a federal courtroom filled with legal luminaries, including the federal judge singled out by Trump after blocking part of the president’s immigration crackdown.

Kavanaugh, 61, and Jackson, 55, sat a few feet apart in a courtroom in which they both heard cases when they served on the federal appeals court in Washington. They were separated only by a federal judge who asked questions of them both. The occasion was an annual lecture in memory of a former federal judge and prosecutor, Thomas A. Flannery.

Trump appointed Kavanaugh to the high court in 2018. Jackson moved up from the appeals court in 2022, appointed by President Joe Biden.

The issue in emergency appeals is whether a policy that has been challenged in court should be allowed to take effect while a legal case that could last for years continues.

Jackson, a frequent dissenter from the emergency orders, said Kavanaugh and the other conservatives who repeatedly sided with Trump last year were not serving the court or the country well.

“The administration is making new policy … and then insisting the new policy take effect immediately, before the challenge is decided. This uptick in the court’s willingness to get involved in cases on the emergency docket is a real unfortunate problem,” Jackson said to loud applause.

The court is “creating a kind of warped” legal process by intervening in an early stage of a case and essentially predicting the outcome before arguments are fully developed, she said.

The Justice Department’s rush to the Supreme Court is not unique to the Trump administration, Kavanaugh said, explaining that as enacting legislation through Congress gets harder, administrations “push the envelope in regulations. Some are lawful, some are not.”

He said some critics of the recent orders had no objection when the justices allowed challenged Biden administration policies to take effect even as court cases were proceeding.

Many of the judges in attendance have been involved in high-profile challenges to administration policies, including U.S. District Judge James Boasberg. His clash with the administration over deportation flights to a notorious prison in El Salvador prompted Trump to call for Boasberg’s impeachment.

Also on hand was U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who ruled two days ago that Kari Lake, Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, did not have legal authority to take the actions she’s done to largely dismantle the Voice of America.

Neither Jackson nor Kavanaugh mentioned judges by name. But Jackson repeated a complaint she and the other liberal justices have made in their dissents.

“Should the Supreme Court be superintending the lower courts when they are hearing and deciding the issues?” she asked.

Kavanaugh, who joined an opinion criticizing lower-court judges for ignoring Supreme Court rulings, said the issues for the justices are often complicated and cases, close.

“None of us enjoys this,” he said.

Tucker Carlson is once again facing backlash after making a shocking claim about President Donald Trump’s Iran policy, accusing the president of pursuing a strategy that would allow American soldiers to commit atrocities against Iranian civilians.

The controversy erupted after Carlson released an interview criticizing Trump’s demand that Iran agree to unconditional surrender. In the interview, Carlson argued that historically such demands have meant total defeat and occupation.

“If there is one consistent lesson of history, it means unconditional surrender means foreign troops get to rape your wife and daughter if they want,” Carlson said while discussing Trump’s position toward Iran.

Carlson went further, suggesting that forcing Iran into unconditional surrender could push the United States toward using weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.

“It would require weapons of mass destruction. It would require presumably nuclear weapons… we’re moving toward that,” Carlson said.

The comments quickly sparked outrage online, including from prominent figures and elected officials.

Screenshot

Political philosopher H.A. Hazony summarized the moment in a widely circulated post, writing that after Trump said Carlson is “not MAGA” and “not smart,” Carlson responded by releasing an interview criticizing Trump’s war policy and alleging that Trump wants American soldiers to “rape” Iranian women and is “moving towards” using nuclear weapons in Iran.

Congressman Randy Fine also condemned Carlson’s remarks in a sharply worded post, writing that Carlson had claimed President Trump seeks unconditional surrender in Iran so that American troops can rape Iranian women and girls.

Screenshot

“What a disgusting thing to say about both Trump and our military,” Fine wrote. “Tucker is not MAGA. He is bat-shit crazy.”

Carlson’s comments mark the latest escalation in his growing feud with Trump, who recently dismissed the former Fox News host and declared that Carlson is no longer part of the MAGA movement.

The latest remarks are likely to further inflame tensions between Carlson and Trump allies, many of whom argue that the claims cross a line by accusing American troops of potential war crimes.

BERLIN — German prosecutors said Tuesday that a Lebanese-born man was arrested in Larnaca, Cyprus, in connection with an alleged effort to procure weapons for the militant group Hamas.

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany, the suspect, identified as Kamel M., was detained Friday upon arrival from Lebanon under a European arrest warrant issued by the Federal Court of Justice of Germany. Authorities also searched the suspect’s residence in Berlin on Sunday.

Prosecutors allege the suspect is a member of Hamas and helped transfer about 300 rounds of live ammunition through intermediaries in August 2025. Authorities say the ammunition was intended to support preparations for attacks targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The suspect is expected to be transferred to Germany, where a judge will formally present the charges and decide whether he will remain in pretrial detention.

(AP) – The hourslong security lines at a handful of U.S. airports this week highlight the potential problems when a government shutdown coincides with the busy spring break travel season.

Houston’s secondary airport weathered the worst problems, with lines consistently lasting over three hours for much of Sunday and Monday. Passengers also had to wait more than an hour to get through security at several other airports, including in New Orleans and Atlanta.

The surge of millions of travelers as schools take spring breaks would put pressure on even a fully staffed airport system. With the staffing problems that tend to accompany a government shutdown, some airports are are beginning to feel more pressure. Still, most airports have not experienced significantly long security lines.

The longer Transportation Security Administration officers have to work without pay during the partial shutdown, the more likely it is that some will miss work as they take on second jobs to pay for necessities like gas and child care and their other bills. Many may still be rebuilding finances after the 43-day shutdown last fall, the longest in history.

TSA officers still recovering
Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the TSA union’s bargaining unit, said workers will miss their first full paychecks this weekend since the shutdown began Feb. 14. He said morale among the workforce “has taken a severe hit.”

“Over the last 15 months, TSA officers have went through three government shutdowns,” he told The Associated Press.

Jones, who also works as a TSA agent, said it took months for him to financially recover from the 43-day shutdown.

“I refilled my water buckets and now I’m starting to empty them again. Some people were not so fortunate to be able to refill their water buckets,” he said.

Immigration drives funding dispute
This current shutdown has only affected the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats in Congress refused to fund the department because they objected to its immigration enforcement tactics. Democratic lawmakers have said DHS won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The TSA and Homeland Security have consistently blamed Democrats for the long security lines.

“This chaos is a direct result of Democrats and their refusal to fund DHS. These political stunts force patriotic TSA officers, who protect our skies from serious threats, to work without pay,” said Lauren Bis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Homeland Security. “These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”

Chris Sununu, president and CEO of the Airlines for America trade group, reiterated his plea for Congress to end the shutdown.

“More than 2.7 million people cleared through TSA yesterday, but too many had to wait in extraordinarily long—and painfully slow—lines at checkpoints,” Sununu said in a written statement Monday. “It’s unacceptable to have wait times of 2 or 3 hours. And it’s unacceptable that TSA officers will have $0 in their paychecks this week.”

But Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee rejected the notion that they were to blame for TSA officers going unpaid.

“FACTS: Democrats introduced a clean bill to fully fund TSA with no conditions. Republicans blocked it,” the Homeland Democrats group said on X. “Republicans would rather disrupt our travel than rein in ICE. It’s shameful.”

Security delays seem to ease
The country’s longest security lines have been reported at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, with wait times topping three hours. Video from New Orleans on Sunday showed the security line stretching out of the terminal and across a parking garage as the wait there peaked at 77 minutes.

The lines at both those airports had eased by Monday afternoon, but Hobby airport was still reporting a two-hour wait for security and officials were urging travelers to get to the airport at least three or four hours ahead of their flights. The wait time in New Orleans was reported at 10 minutes in the late afternoon.

But more problems could pop up if a security shift is short on screeners when it’s busy.

Neither the Houston airport authority nor TSA would answer questions Monday about why Hobby airport is so prone to long delays during the shutdown. Hobby is smaller than George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which handles roughly three-quarters of all the passengers passing through Houston. But Hobby still handled nearly 15 million passengers in 2024.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said his vice president, JD Vance, was “philosophically a little bit different than me” at the outset of the war in Iran even as he dismissed the notion of a disagreement between the two.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at his golf club in Doral, Florida, the president said Vance was “maybe less enthusiastic about going” but insisted that his decision to launch airstrikes in Iran alongside Israel was necessary.

“I felt it was something we had to do,” Trump said. “I didn’t feel we had a choice.”

Heading into a challenging election year, the war in Iran has stoked tension among Republicans, with some expressing reservations about how the operation fits into the “America First,” isolationist-leaning movement the party has embraced during the Trump era.

Few have embodied that movement as prominently as Vance, who over the course of a decade rose from an author to U.S. senator and ultimately vice president. He’s now considered a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, giving him the opportunity to carry Trump’s movement into the future.

Vance reinforces Trump’s vision
Alongside his political rise, Vance, a former Marine, has often reinforced Trump’s vision of an America more focused on solving problems at home than intervening in conflicts abroad. In a 2023 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that’s garnered renewed attention after the Iran strikes, Vance wrote that Trump has his support because “I know he won’t recklessly send Americans to fight overseas.”

On the eve of the strikes, Vance told The Washington Post there was “ no chance ” that the U.S. would become involved in a drawn-out war as it did in Iraq.

Since then, the administration has provided conflicting messages about how long the war would last. Trump has said it could go on “as long as necessary.” Amid intensifying economic turmoil on Monday, Trump described the war as a “short-term excursion.”

If Vance has the reservations Trump hinted at on Monday, he has been publicly supportive of the president since the strikes began. In a Fox News interview with Jesse Watters, Vance rejected comparisons of the Iran operation to earlier wars, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“If you think back to Afghanistan, 20 years of mission creep, 20 years (of) not having a clear objective and 20 years (of) the United States trying to bring liberal democracy to Afghanistan,” Vance said at the time. “Iraq was a little bit shorter, but we were still in that country for nearly a decade with no clear mission, no clear definition.”

“What’s so different about this, Jesse,” Vance added, “is that the president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish.”

On Monday evening, Vance was at Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer for Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, the seventh U.S. service member to die in combat during the Iran war.

Trump has long maintained a hawkish Iran outlook
When it comes to Iran, Trump, over his five years in the White House, and long before, has shown a steadiness in his hawkish views toward Tehran, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a research fellow focused on Iran security issues at the Foundation for Defense Democracies.

The president, in his first term, moved to end a landmark Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration, in the face of strong objections from European allies. Later in his first term, he boasted of serving up “American justice” by ordering a drone strike to take out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, while jeering Democratic leaders for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress.

At the time, the killing of Soleimani, the Quds Force commander and arguably the most powerful figure in Iran after the supreme leader, was widely considered the most provocative U.S. military action in the Middle East in years, marking a severe escalation in tensions with Tehran.

Trump’s deep skepticism toward the Islamic Republic’s cleric leadership dates back to his days as a young New York real estate developer when he publicly urged military intervention during the Iran hostage crisis.

“There’s this narrative with Trump on Iran that Bibi’s in his ear,” said Taleblu, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Or that Vance is in his ear. But Trump has had a fundamental view and personal interest on Iran for years.”

And on Monday, Trump insisted there was no disagreement between him and Vance.

“We get along very well on this,” Trump said.

Myth #1: A Therapy License Means Someone Proved It Works

Let’s start with a simple question most people never stop to ask. When you hear the words “licensed therapist,” what do you naturally assume? Most people assume something very reasonable. They assume that before someone was allowed to practice therapy professionally, serious authorities must have studied the methods being used. They assume someone tested the therapies, reviewed the results, and made sure the system actually heals emotional sickness in people and actually solves their emotional problems.

In other words, people assume the license means someone stands behind the effectiveness of the therapy itself.

That assumption feels logical. Broad relational therapy often deals with the most important parts of life — marriages, children, family conflicts, emotional suffering, and identity. People spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours talking to therapists. They open their private lives and allow another person’s interpretation to influence how they see their spouse, their parents, their children, and even themselves, most times with life-altering consequences.

So naturally people assume that if something with that amount of consequences carries professional authority, the system behind it must be extremely strong.

But when you actually examine the structure, something surprising appears.

A state therapy license does not prove per se effectiveness at all.
Not long-term effectiveness.
Not short-term effectiveness.
Not even minimal effectiveness. Absolutely no effectiveness at all.

And this is not hidden. The system simply never claimed to prove that.

A state therapy license proves only that the person completed a required route:

• They finished an approved degree program.

• They completed supervised training hours.

• They passed a written exam.

• They agreed to follow professional ethics/HIPAA rules.

That is all the state license itself proves.

The state license allows the person to use a protected professional title such as psychologist, clinical social worker, or marriage and family therapist. It also allows them to bill insurance companies or charge money under that professional designation.

But the state license does not mean the government tested the therapy model the person uses. It does not mean the government approved the psychological framework guiding the therapy. It does not mean anyone tracked whether the therapist’s clients improved.

The state authorizes the practitioner.
It does not validate the helpfulness of the modalities, the therapy, or the therapist.

And that distinction is almost never explained to the public.

The Hidden Reality: The License Mostly Controls Who Can Charge

There is another structural fact most people never hear. The license mainly regulates who is legally allowed to use a professional title to charge money for that license. That is it.

It regulates legal entry into the paid professional lane. It does not regulate the modalities or therapies themselves.

Legally, anyone can give advice, counsel, or guidance. Anyone can help a friend through emotional struggles. In that respect, nothing is added with a license. What the license controls is who can charge money for a protected professional credential when giving that very counsel or guidance.

This is completely different from medicine.

In medicine, you cannot perform a medical act without a license. Nor can you prescribe drugs, perform surgery, or practice medicine. The license means that the government stands behind the safety and effectiveness of the practices and medications. Medicine has regulatory mechanisms reviewing treatments, even though the license itself may not necessarily be doing that.

In therapy, the state government is not regulating the act of conversation at all. It is regulating the credential used to charge for it.

That tells you something about the structure.

The license is only a green light to enter the professional lane. It is not proof that the system with its modalities and therapies is what we may consider safe or whether they actually solve emotional problems.

Myth #2: Accreditation Means the System Was Scientifically Checked

If the government doesn’t test therapy methods, many people assume it must at least inspect the schools that teach them.

However, in reality, the government does not inspect therapy schools directly. Instead, it relies on something called accreditation.

Most people hear that word and assume it means some kind of scientific approval.

However, it does not.

Accreditation is done by private organizations, not the government. There are a few national accrediting bodies connected to different therapy professions such as psychology, social work, counseling, and marriage and family therapy, most of which were created by the profession itself over the past several decades.

These organizations are usually made up of psychology professors and professionals already working inside the universities. They review university programs to see whether those programs follow certain training standards. They look at things like course hours, subject areas, faculty credentials, supervision requirements, and administrative policies.

Accreditation bodies do not independently test whether the psychological theories or therapeutic modalities have actually been proven to solve people’s emotional problems.

Their role is to verify that universities are teaching the theories the psychology field already circulates and accepts — not to determine whether those theories truly work.

In other words, accreditation confirms that the system is teaching what the profession believes, not that those beliefs have been independently proven to produce real-world results.

It is essentially a formalization of the profession’s current teaching patterns, not a scientific verification of whether those ideas reliably heal people’s emotional problems.

In other words, accreditation evaluates the structure of the education. It checks whether the school follows the psychological theory and models of psychology.

It does not test whether the modalities and theories being taught actually work.

It does not measure whether graduates help clients improve.
It does not compare therapy models and eliminate ineffective ones.

Accreditation boards act mainly as the body that formalizes the training expectations of the universities’ psychology programs and ensures programs meet those standards.

It is not meant at all to be any sort of scientific validation of effectiveness.

It is simply a compliance stamp and a formalization stamp of the therapy field’s already accepted ideas, not a truth stamp. It does not add anything of its own to verify truth or effectiveness.

The people formalizing these standards often come from the same academic community that teaches the theories in graduate programs. Their role is essentially administrative: ensuring that university programs teach the profession’s accepted frameworks and that students receive supervised clinical experience before obtaining licenses.

The structure therefore works like this:

• Academics in universities develop theories and therapeutic models.

• Accreditation bodies verify that schools teach those models and provide proper training in them.

• Licensing boards rely on those accredited programs to determine who qualifies for a license.

The verification is about formal education and professional standards, not about experimentally proving the truth of any of the therapy frameworks themselves.

That distinction becomes especially relevant when discussing broad relational therapy. Because these approaches deal with complex life issues — identity, family conflict, emotional narratives, meaning, and interpersonal interpretation — they are harder to test in controlled experiments, let alone in a way aligned with real life.

As a result, much of their authority comes from professional tradition and theoretical development within universities rather than from strong long-term outcome studies.

Accreditation bodies themselves describe their role only as evaluating educational structure and training standards, not as conducting independent verification of therapeutic effectiveness.

The central point is not that therapy never helps people, but that the public authority surrounding licensed therapy is often mistaken for proof that the system itself has already been independently tested and verified — when structurally, that verification never actually occurs.

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The IDF said that a research and development complex used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was among several sites targeted in overnight strikes by the Israeli Air Force in Tehran. The IAF struck key infrastructure used by Iran’s security forces and military apparatus.

The military noted that the R&D complex used an underground tunnel system to carry out its research and testing of ballistic missiles and other key aspects of weapons development and manufacturing. The site was at Imam Hussein University, the military university of the IRGC that also functioned as an emergency facility and a meeting spot for military officials and operations.

The IDF dismantled a Hezbollah rocket launcher used to fire toward Israel, killing a terrorist in the process. (From the IDF X account)

The IAF continued attacking key targets connected to the Iranian governing body in Tehran, damaging the headquarters of the Quds Force as well as other sites used to manufacture weapons and defensive systems.

“These strikes were conducted as part of the effort to deepen the damage to the core arrays of the Iranian regime,” the military said in a statement.

Iranian officials from Kerman province reported damage to two aircraft and part of a local airport. Meanwhile, Iran International, an Iranian opposition Persian-language outlet, reported that two central Iranian banks, Bank Melli and Bank Sepah, had been targeted in a cyberattack, shuttering their services.

Separately, the IDF issued evacuation notices to villages in southern Lebanon, with Lebanese media reporting strikes on villages in the area later on. The Israeli military said that in response to rockets fired toward Israel from Lebanon Sunday, it had attacked Hezbollah command centers and other key sites housing military infrastructure.

The IDF accused Hezbollah of embedding its military infrastructure in civilian population centers.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization embeds terrorist infrastructure within civilian areas, thereby endangering the residents of Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement. “The placement of launchers and the firing from civilian areas in Lebanon constitutes a deliberate and cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians in order to advance Hezbollah’s terrorist objectives.”

[Multiple Notices]

BID T01-2627 PUBLIC NOTICE

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BID T03-2627 PUBLIC NOTICE

BID T04-2627 PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Notice - 133 MLK Drive REBID

Public Notice - Bid 04-2526 Sale of Vacant land

JERUSALEM (VINnews)  — An emotional milestone occurred on Monday in the charedi town of Modi’in Illit, when a well-known local family welcomed another birth, their 21st child.

The remarkable birth quickly became a topic of conversation in the city. Residents noted with amazement that all the children were born in separate births, and the family has no sets of twins.

According to information obtained by the Kikar HaShabbat site, the oldest son in the family is only 22 years old. This means that over the past two decades, the family has celebrated almost every year a brit milah or kiddush, and all the children are unmarried and still living in their parents’ home.

It was also reported that the family is known as a special and beloved family, well liked by neighbors in the city. The mother works as a teacher in one of the educational institutions, while the father is an avrech who dedicates his time to Torah study.

Friends of the family related that after the birth of their first son, the parents visited the home of Rav Chaim Kanievsky. He blessed them and said:“You will have many healthy children.”

According to those close to the family, this blessing appears to have come true.

When news of the birth spread, neighbors quickly expressed joy and offered help and assistance to the large family, volunteering to support them in whatever they might need.

(AP) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday will be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran as the Islamic Republic, its firepower diminished, vowed to fight on. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said “we are breaking their bones” and said the war’s aim is a popular overthrow of Iran’s government.

“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny, ultimately it depends on them,” Netanyahu said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, for his part, sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, causing wild swings Monday in financial and fuel markets.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any suggestion Tehran has sought a ceasefire.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back suggestions by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism.

The agency said it approved leucovorin for children and adults with a genetic condition that limits delivery of folate, an essential form of vitamin B, to the brain. FDA officials estimate the ultrarare condition impacts fewer than 1 in a million people in the U.S.

It’s a major step back from statements made at a White House news conference in September, when Trump and FDA commissioner Marty Makary announced the drug was under review to benefit patients with autism, some of whom have a form of the vitamin brain deficiency.

“It might be 20, 40, 50% of kids with autism,” Makary said at the news conference.

The White House event followed promises from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to determine the cause of autism by September.

But senior FDA officials told reporters Monday that their review was narrowed to focus on the strongest evidence, which only supported the drug’s use by patients with the rare mutation that impacts folate levels in the brain.

The FDA officials also pointed out that one study supporting the drug’s use for autism was retracted earlier this year.

Leucovorin is a metabolite of folate, which is essential for healthy pregnancies and is recommended for women before conception and during pregnancy. The current FDA label covers leucovorin’s use in reducing side effects of certain chemotherapy drugs and treating a rare blood disorder.

Patients affected by the condition targeted by Tuesday’s approval experience movement disorders, seizures and other neurological problems that can resemble symptoms of autism.

But professional medical societies say it’s far from clear whether the drug helps people with autism.

The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend routine use of leucovorin for autistic children, including those with the brain condition known as cerebral folate deficiency. Some trials in that subset of patients “suggest potential benefit,” the group states, but the research comes from small-scale studies.

Unresolved questions about the drug haven’t stopped U.S. doctors from prescribing it.

A paper published in The Lancet last week found that leucovorin prescriptions for children aged 5 to 17 were 71% higher than normal in the three months immediately following Trump’s late September news conference. And families of children with autism have reported trouble getting prescriptions filled in recent weeks.

FDA officials told reporters the agency is allowing imports of the drug by foreign drugmakers to help boost supply. The drug’s original manufacturer, GSK, does not plan to relaunch its version of the drug.

Trump officials originally decided to review the drug after speaking with an Arizona-based neurologist who prescribes the drug for autism patients and runs an online education business focused on the experimental treatment.

The theory behind the drug’s use is that some people with autism have specific antibodies that block folate from entering the brain. But the Autism Science Foundation and other groups note that non-autistic relatives of people with the disorder often have the same antibodies, suggesting they’re not a factor in the condition.

While there is no single cause behind autism, most researchers say science points to genetic and environmental factors as playing a role.

Simultaneous attacks from Iran and Hezbollah pounded Israel’s north as sirens first sounded in Netanya Monday afternoon from Iranian missile attacks, followed by warnings spreading to Haifa and much of the Galilee area from Hezbollah strikes. There were no reports of injuries or damage, as whatever missiles were not intercepted landed in open areas.

A munition from Iran heads toward Israel. (From a post on X)

Sirens also sounded in Beit Yanai and Mikhmoret out of caution to prevent injuries from falling debris. As the alerts spread along the coastal plain into northern Israel, Red Alert maps showed that dozens of communities were susceptible.

Officials urged residents to seek shelter immediately upon hearing the sirens and receiving the alerts and to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command to avoid danger. So far, there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Two of the construction workers killed in an Iranian missile strike near Tel Aviv have been identified as Uzbek Jewish immigrants and residents of Petah Tikva.

The two were killed on Monday when an Iranian missile with a fragmentation warhead fell on the construction site where they were working in the central city of Yehud.

The two workers were named as Rostam Guliamov (61) and Amir Mortozov.

MDA medic Liz Gurel said:
“Immediately after the sirens, we at Magen David Adom received reports about several impact sites in central Israel and went out to scan all of them. One of the sites in central Israel was at a construction site. It was a harsh scene. The two injured people were lying unconscious and suffering from severe shrapnel wounds to their bodies. After performing resuscitation efforts, we were forced to declare the death of a man about 40 years old, and we evacuated the second injured person in serious condition to the hospital in an intensive care ambulance.”

MDA emergency medical technician Alon Boni, one of the first to arrive at the scene, said: “We arrived with large Magen David Adom forces at a construction site and immediately began conducting searches. We noticed extensive destruction at the location and two men who were unconscious and suffering from severe shrapnel injuries to their bodies. We began providing them with initial medical treatment at the scene, but in the end we were forced to declare the death of one of the injured.”

The mayor of Petah Tikva, Rami Greenberg, said:

“With great sorrow we were informed of the murder of residents of the city who were killed last night as a result of a missile strike in the city of Yehud. This crushing event reminds us once again what kind of murderous enemy we are facing and how important it is to eliminate it.

“I would like to send my condolences to the families, their friends, and acquaintances. The city of Petah Tikva embraces you in this difficult time and shares in your deep grief. The Petah Tikva Municipality will accompany the families during this difficult period and provide any assistance required.

“May their memory be blessed.”

Gallery includes: Chernobyl, Skolya, Viznitz Y-M, Kosov, Ungvar, Yoka, Navaminsk, Pupa BP, Hivniv, Sanz Zmigrad, Spinka, Krasna, Skver of BP, Bluzhiv Ribatich, Gorlitz, Alexander, Bluzhiv, Tenka, Mezbish, Zidichoiv Beer Sheva, Zmigrad, Spinka, Faltishan.

photos by: Avrumi Berger, Hershy Rubinstein

Chernobyl

Skolya

Viznitz Y-M

Kosov

Ungvar

Yoka

Navaminsk

Pupa BP

Hivniv

Sanz Zmigrad

Spinka

Krasna

Skver of BP

Bluzhiv Ribatich

Gorlitz

Alexander

Bluzhiv

Tenka

Mezbish

Zidichoiv Beer Sheva

Zmigrad

Spinka

Faltishan

As U.S. forces joined Israel in launching major strikes against Iran on February 28, President Donald Trump spent the evening at his Mar-a-Lago resort speaking with political allies and donors — and sounding them out about the future of the Republican Party.

According to NBC News, Trump asked a group of roughly two dozen GOP donors which potential successor they would prefer to see lead the party in 2028: Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Vice President JD Vance.

Several attendees said Rubio drew the strongest reaction when the room was asked to choose.

“It was almost unanimous for Marco,” said one person present at the discussion, who spoke to NBC on condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.

Another attendee described the reaction as closer to an even split between the two men.

The event included about 25 Republican donors and political allies, among them Robert Kraft and Georgia businessman Rick Jackson, who is running for governor.

While the informal poll does not indicate Trump has decided whom he might back in the next presidential race, it reflects the president’s growing interest in shaping the party’s future leadership.

Rubio’s profile inside the administration has risen in recent weeks as the White House concentrates heavily on international crises, including the confrontation with Iran. As secretary of state and national security adviser, Rubio has played a central role in foreign policy decisions.

Vance, meanwhile, has taken a quieter public role.

Rubio was reportedly present at Mar-a-Lago during the Iran strike discussions, while Vance remained in Washington monitoring developments from the White House Situation Room. Administration officials said the vice president stayed in the capital under security protocols designed to avoid having both the president and vice president away from Washington during a major military operation.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A majority of “connected” American Jews support the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, according to a new survey released by the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute.

Roughly two-thirds of respondents said they back the war effort, the poll found, even as many expressed concern that the conflict could fuel antisemitism and anti-Israel hostility at home.

The survey, conducted last week, suggests that Jewish attitudes toward the conflict are notably more supportive than those of the general U.S. electorate. Multiple national surveys conducted during the same period found that roughly 60 percent of American voters oppose the military action against Iran.

That gap appears especially pronounced along partisan lines. Among American Jews who identify as politically conservative, support for the war was nearly universal, according to the JPPI poll.

But even among those who lean left — traditionally the dominant political orientation among American Jews — a majority still backed the military campaign. Fifty-seven percent of respondents who described themselves as “leaning liberal” said they support the war.

The only subgroup to oppose the conflict outright was respondents identifying as “strong liberals.” Among that cohort, just 28 percent expressed support for the war.

The findings highlight the complicated political terrain surrounding the escalating conflict, particularly within a Jewish community that has historically aligned with the Democratic Party but often maintains strong ties to Israel.

The survey draws from a standing panel maintained by the Jewish People Policy Institute that is designed to reflect the denominational makeup of American Jewry. However, the institute notes that its sample is intended to represent what it calls “connected” Jews — those who are more engaged with Jewish communal life.

As a result, the panel includes fewer intermarried Jews, a higher share of respondents affiliated with religious denominations, and more participants who have lived in Israel than demographic data suggests exists across the broader American Jewish population.

That distinction means the results likely capture the views of Jews who are more closely tied to Jewish institutions and to Israel itself – though it doesn’t necessarily mean they are observant.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli and American forces have succeeded in destroying a large portion of Iran’s ballistic missile launch platforms, a development that significantly limits Tehran’s ability to carry out missile attacks, according to former Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.

Speaking Monday on Newsmax, Conricus said the campaign against Iran has focused heavily on eliminating the launchers used to fire missiles, which he described as the critical weak point in Iran’s missile capabilities.

“So I’m happy to say that Israel and the U.S. have been successful in taking out approximately 70% of Iran’s missile launchers, the ballistic missile launchers,” Conricus said on “Bianca Across the Nation.”

Conricus explained that destroying the launch infrastructure is strategically more important than the number of missiles Iran still has in its arsenal.

“And that’s a very important figure because that is the bottleneck, and that is the most important number,” he said. “If we take out all the launchers, then they can have stockpiles of weapons — of missiles — but they won’t be able to fire them.”

According to Conricus, Israeli and American forces have concentrated on tracking and striking mobile launch systems across western Iran. The effort involves a combination of intelligence gathering, aerial operations, and precision long-range strikes.

“And that’s what we are hunting now over western Iran in Iranian skies and with continuous steady success,” Conricus said.

The current campaign began on Feb. 28, when President Donald Trump authorized Operation Epic Fury, a sweeping military effort targeting Iran’s missile and drone infrastructure, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command systems, military installations, and air defense networks after tensions escalated in the region.

Defense officials say the results of those strikes have already been visible on the battlefield. Iranian missile and drone launches have dropped significantly as launch platforms and support systems have been destroyed.

Military briefings and open-source analysis indicate that Iranian missile barrages have declined by more than 80 percent since the operation began, largely due to the systematic targeting of the transporter-erector-launchers used to deploy ballistic missiles.

Even with those gains, Conricus noted that Israeli civilians still face the threat of incoming attacks.

“Granted, Israelis still rush to shelters,” he said. “I had to go to shelters … three or four times today.”

Missiles launched from Iran and rockets fired from Lebanon continue to target Israeli population centers despite the damage inflicted on Iran’s launch capabilities.

“We have incoming missiles from Iran and rockets from Lebanon,” Conricus said.

The continued attacks have also resulted in civilian casualties inside Israel.

“Sadly, today, two Israeli civilians were killed,” he said, adding that the total number of civilians killed in Israel from Iranian ballistic missile strikes had reached 14.

“That’s, of course, a tragedy for us,” he said.

Still, Conricus said Israeli society remains determined to withstand the current conflict.

“But Israeli society is strong,” he said. “I think we’re resolute here, and we understand that this is a period that we will have to tough through.”

He added that the broader goal of the military campaign is to weaken Iran’s capabilities to such an extent that the regime will no longer be able to threaten Israel or other countries in the region.

“And eventually, I think when you boil it down to the military mechanics of it, Israel and the U.S. will be able to really degrade military capabilities of Iran and bring that regime to a situation where they don’t have the teeth or the muscle to actually do anything,” Conricus said.

{Matzav.com}

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The statement made on Monday night by Donald Trump gave the oxygen and adrenaline that Iran and Hezbollah needed during their attempts to survive the onslaught of Israel and the US, according to Maariv military analyst Avi Ashkenazi.

Trump signaled that the war may be approaching its end. The surge in fuel prices, domestic pressure, the cost of the war to American taxpayers, and above all the fear in the United States of becoming entangled in an “Iranian quagmire” pushed the U.S. president to indicate the direction: moving toward an exit from the war.

There is concern in Israel that Trump might repeat what critics call the “Yemen move.” When attacks began against the Houthis, who had attacked ships in the Gulf of Oman and disrupted maritime traffic between East and West, the U.S. carried out several days of airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

But afterward, Trump announced that the war was over, leaving Israel to deal alone with the Houthis, who continued launching missiles at Israel.

If the war with Iran ends tomorrow or the day after without the collapse of the regime, the army, or the Revolutionary Guards, without handing over 430 kilograms of enriched uranium to the United States or another Western country, and without dismantling the ballistic missile program, not only the launch capability but also the underground stockpiles and production capacity, then it can already be said that the biggest winners will be Iran and Hezbollah, along with the entire so-called “axis of evil.”

From the perspective of the ayatollah regime, simply remaining standing after 10–12 days of attacks would already count as a major victory.

This is similar to how Hamas interpreted its position after Operation Protective Edge. Hamas concluded that it could become not only the “defender of Gaza” but also the “liberator of Jerusalem,” which eventually led to the planning of the attack on Israel that resulted in the October 7 attacks.

If Iran remains standing after the current assault, the region may begin to see it as a powerful and strengthened terrorist power. If Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, succeeds his father as leader of Iran, Israel and the region could face an Iranian regime that is even more extreme.

After all the warnings inside the Israel Defense Forces, the understanding in Israel is that rapid and extensive action is required to push Iran toward internal collapse.

The Israeli Air Force launched waves of strikes in Iran last night, and it is likely that these waves will become more frequent, larger, and more intense in the coming hours and days. The key test now is whether Israel will succeed in persuading the American administration to end the war with Iran’s surrender, or whether the war will end with the ayatollah regime still standing and claiming victory in the campaign—until the next round in a few months.

A New Jersey teenager is facing bias intimidation charges after police say he fired a pellet-style gun more than ten times at a man walking through a Teaneck neighborhood, allegedly targeting him because he was Jewish.

The incident unfolded around 6:10 p.m. Sunday along the 600 block of West Englewood Avenue, according to the Teaneck Police Department.

The 19-year-old victim told officers he was walking down the street when a black sedan pulled alongside him and someone inside the vehicle asked whether he supported Israel or Palestine.

The man did not respond and continued walking while beginning to record the encounter on his cellphone, police said.

Moments later, one of the three males inside the vehicle said something in Arabic before firing an Orbeez-style gel pellet gun, striking the victim once.

The vehicle initially drove away, but the encounter did not end there.

According to investigators, the sedan returned minutes later and stopped on nearby Jefferson Street, where someone inside the vehicle shouted for the victim to approach. When the man again ignored the call and continued recording the vehicle, a teenager leaning out of a passenger window allegedly opened fire.

Police say the suspect shot the victim approximately 10 times with gel pellets, striking him repeatedly in the upper torso before the sedan sped away eastbound on Ogden Avenue.

The victim, who did not require medical attention, called police.

Responding officers quickly located small orange gel beads scattered on the ground, evidence consistent with ammunition used in gel pellet guns, said Teaneck Deputy Police Chief Seth B. Kriegel.

“These toy-style devices use a spring-loaded or battery-powered electric mechanism to propel small water-absorbing gel beads through a barrel using compressed air,” Kriegel said. “While often marketed as toys, these devices are capable of causing injury, particularly when fired at the face or exposed skin.”

The victim told police he believed the attackers targeted him because of his religious background, noting that he had been wearing visible religious garments at the time of the encounter.

Detectives later tracked the suspect vehicle using Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras, which captured imagery showing a person leaning from the car window holding what appeared to be a pellet gun.

Police said officers located the vehicle shortly after detectives arrived at the registered owner’s residence and conducted a traffic stop nearby.

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody and his parents were notified.

The teen, whose identity was not released due to his age, has been charged as a juvenile with second- and fourth-degree bias intimidation, fourth-degree conspiracy, a third-degree weapons offense, and simple assault.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Thirteen residents, including five children, were injured early Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in a residential building on Harav Asi Street in Bnei Brak. Emergency call centers received multiple reports of heavy smoke filling the four-story building.

Four firefighting teams, along with a ladder truck and the shift commander, were dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered flames coming from an electrical cabinet on the first floor, which caused thick black smoke to quickly spread throughout the building’s stairwell. Authorities believe the fire may have been sparked by a heating device that ignited within the electrical cabinet.

Firefighters immediately began extinguishing the flames and conducted thorough searches of all floors to locate and rescue trapped residents. At the same time, crews worked to ventilate the building and remove the heavy smoke. Medical teams who were called to the scene treated 13 individuals suffering from smoke inhalation and transported them to Sheba Medical Center for further treatment.

Due to concerns that smoke could enter apartments, fire dispatchers instructed residents by phone to remain inside their homes until emergency crews arrived.

United Hatzalah issued a statement saying: “United Hatzalah medical teams were dispatched to Harav Asi Street in Bnei Brak following reports of a fire in a residential building. Medics provided treatment at the scene to thirteen victims in light condition (ages 13–70) who were suffering from breathing difficulties caused by smoke inhalation.”

Hatzalah night-duty coordinator Yoel Shechter said: “When I arrived at the scene, I saw an active fire on the first floor of a residential building and a large number of people trapped inside. After firefighters conducted searches and rescues, we, together with medics and paramedics from MDA, provided initial medical treatment to 13 victims, including five children, who showed signs of smoke inhalation. They were evacuated with the assistance of MDA ambulances staffed by Hatzalah volunteers to receive further medical care at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.”

{Matzav.com}

Footage circulated on Monday on social media has reignited the public debate over the conscription of charedim into the Israeli army and sparked anger among reservists.

In the video, published on the charedi channel “HaPargod”, the head of the Orayta Yeshiva, Rabbi David Shaffer, is seen raising a glass in a “L’chaim” toast at Ben Gurion Airport after successfully putting about 90 yeshiva students on a flight for the traditional trip to the tomb of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk in Poland for his Yahrzeit during the ongoing war.

הפרגוד: ראש ישיבת “אורייתא” הרב דוד שפר שותה לחיים בשדה התעופה על שהצליח להעלות לטיסה 90 בחורים לנסיעה המסורתית לליזענסק כמידי שנה למרות המלחמה. pic.twitter.com/DrDJd4BorG

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) March 9, 2026

Following the publication, criticism erupted on social media. Dozens of users, including reservists, strongly criticized both the trip itself and its timing during wartime, arguing that it highlights the sense of inequality in the burden between those serving in the military and parts of the public who do not participate in the fighting.

Bereaved mother Lily Dery responded by posting Rabbi Elimelech’s prayer “Aderaba”, which includes the line:“And let no hatred arise from one person toward another, Heaven forbid,” adding the comment: “Those who understand will understand.”

Communications adviser Dvir Luzon, who is currently serving in the reserves, wrote:

“I was called up to reserve duty. I left at home a wife who is still recovering from childbirth and a one-month-old baby, and I have no idea when I’ll see them again.”

He added: “But the main thing is that Rabbi David Shefer flew 90 guys abroad for a vacation. While we’re suffocating from longing and our wives are collapsing alone, there are those living in a movie and hanging out in duty-free. It’s a spit in the face of every reservist. Simply disgraceful.”

Comedian Matan Tzur also reacted to the publication, writing:“This fracture, one that parts of the charedi sector are creating with their own hands, I don’t know how we will fix it.”

Argentina’s President Javier Milei visited Yeshiva University this week during a high-profile trip to New York, taking part in a special event in the university’s “Great Conversations with Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman” series ( a program aims to expose students to influential voices from around the world while fostering meaningful dialogue rooted in the university’s mission of integrating Torah values with engagement in the broader world).

Milei joined Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman for an in-depth discussion before a packed audience of students, faculty, and community members. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, including global economic policy, Argentina’s sweeping economic reforms, the role of moral leadership in government, and the growing relationship between Argentina and Israel.

The appearance marked Milei’s only university engagement during his three-day visit to New York City, which also included meetings with financial leaders, investors, and diplomats. The visit comes at a pivotal moment for Argentina as the Milei administration continues implementing aggressive economic measures designed to stabilize the country’s economy after years of runaway inflation and financial instability.

During the conversation, Milei spoke about his approach to economic policy, emphasizing the need for fiscal discipline, free-market reforms, and structural changes aimed at restoring confidence in Argentina’s economy.

Argentinian President Javier Milei and Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman

Rabbi Dr. Berman highlighted the significance of hosting a sitting world leader on campus, noting that the university’s mission includes engaging with global ideas and leaders while grounding those discussions in the ethical framework of Jewish values.

The discussion also touched on Milei’s unusually warm relationship with the Jewish world. The Argentine president has drawn international attention for his outspoken support of Israel, repeatedly defending the country on the global stage and strengthening diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Milei has also expressed personal admiration for Jewish tradition and scholarship. In past interviews and speeches, he has spoken about studying Jewish texts and developing a deep respect for Jewish ethical teachings and the intellectual tradition of Torah learning.

Students attending the event asked questions about leadership, economic policy, and the challenges of governing during times of national crisis. Milei encouraged young leaders to pursue truth, intellectual honesty, and moral clarity when confronting complex political and economic problems.

The event was part of Yeshiva University’s “Great Conversations” series, which regularly hosts prominent world leaders, policymakers, scholars, and thinkers for discussions about major issues shaping global society. The program aims to expose students to influential voices from around the world while fostering meaningful dialogue rooted in the university’s mission of integrating Torah values with engagement in the broader world.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

It is a story of a dying priest, a Chassidic psychiatrist, and a Vatican ruling shaped by a responsum of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt“l. But embedded within it is a fascinating and consequential halachic dispute regarding bisulfit: Is commercially produced grape juice actually considered halachically valid wine? The answer is a debate between two of the greatest poskim of the twentieth century: Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt“l and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt“l.

THE STORY

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel Twersky zt“l (1930–2021) was a fascinating figure in the Torah world. A scion of the Chernobyl Chassidic dynasty tracing his lineage back to the Baal Shem Tov himself, he was simultaneously a board-certified psychiatrist who spent twenty years as director of psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – a Catholic hospital.

Among his patients was a Catholic priest in the grip of severe alcoholism. The situation was dire: the priest’s addiction had sent him to the intensive care unit, where he spent five days and received his last rites. The very day he emerged from the ICU, he was found drinking mouthwash.

Rabbi Dr. Twersky was direct: “You have no self-control. If you take a drop of alcohol you are going to die from alcoholism. I have to put you on Antabuse, a medicine that makes it impossible to drink alcohol.”

Antabuse (disulfiram) causes a violent physical reaction when even a trace of alcohol enters the bloodstream. This created a serious religious problem: Catholic priests are required to use real wine when celebrating Mass. For this priest, consuming even sacramental wine could be fatal.

Rabbi Twersky posed a question to his patient: “Aren’t your sacraments based on the Jewish Passover Seder? Well, Jewish law, when necessary, permits grape juice to be used instead of wine for the Seder.” He cited the ruling of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt“l in the Igros Moshe permitting grape juice as a substitute for wine.

The priest brought the question to his bishop, and it traveled up the ecclesiastical chain to Rome. The Vatican asked for the Jewish legal reasoning in writing. Rabbi Twersky forwarded the responsum of Rav Moshe Feinstein from the Igros Moshe. The Vatican accepted the reasoning, and a new dispensation was issued: alcoholic priests may use grape juice for the Mass.

The ruling rested on the premise that grape juice carries the halachic status of wine. But does it? That question, it turns out, is far from simple.

In earlier generations, grape juice was simply unfermented grape juice. Its potential to become wine was real and immediate; only the intervention of human beings — by consuming it or preserving it before fermentation — prevented it from becoming wine. Its halachic classification as wine was therefore uncontested.

Today, the situation is fundamentally different. Virtually all commercially produced grape juice contains a fermentation-preventing substance known as bisulfit (potassium metabisulfite), added either in liquid form to the bottle or introduced as a gas during processing. Bisulfit inhibits the yeast that causes fermentation, rendering the grape juice chemically incapable of becoming wine.

This raises a halachic question: if the grape juice cannot ferment- does it still carry the halachic status of wine? Or has it been reduced to the status of a mere fruit juice, over which one recites SheHakol rather than Borei Pri HaGefen?

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt“l addressed this question directly in Teshuvos v’Hanhagos (Chelek Beis, Siman 243). His ruling was stringent: since the bisulfit prevents the juice from ever reaching fermentation, it has no status of wine. One recites SheHakol over it, and it carries no consideration of wine whatsoever.

The practical consequences of Rav Elyashiv’s ruling are sweeping. Grape juice used for Kiddush on Shabbos or Yom Tov with a SheHakol blessing would not fulfill the mitzvah of Kiddush, which requires wine. The Four Cups at the Seder would be invalid. Affecting Catholics as well, lehavdil, the Vatican’s aforementioned dispensation, rooted in the assumption that grape juice carries wine status, would rest on shaky ground.

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt“l, however, reached the opposite conclusion in Minchas Shlomo (Siman 4). His ruling was lenient: grape juice retains the status of wine and one recites Borei Pri HaGefen over it, even when it contains bisulfit.

Rav Shlomo Zalman’s reasoning is as follows: At the moment of pressing, when the grape juice first emerged from the fruit, it was entirely capable of fermentation. It possessed the full potential to become wine. The subsequent addition of bisulfit — an external intervention that prevented fermentation from occurring — does not retroactively strip the juice of the wine-status it had already acquired. The juice did not fail to ferment because of some intrinsic deficiency; it was prevented from fermenting by outside action.

Those who wish to avoid the dispute entirely can do so by purchasing grape juice that is certified as not containing bisulfit, or by using wine. Such grape juice does exist, though it is less common. And now, to some other halachos on the same topic.

The Four Cups: What Kind of Wine Should Be Used?

Ideally, the four cups should be filled with actual alcoholic wine. This is the ruling of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l (cited in his son’s hagaddah – Kol Dodi), who adds that one should make every effort to fulfill the mitzvah in this preferred way (see also Pri Chadosh end of siman 483).

Can the Wine Be Diluted?

If necessary, wine may be diluted with grape juice or water. Rav Heinemann, shlit”a, rules that the final mixture must contain at least 4% alcohol. So, for example, wine with 12% alcohol can be mixed as ⅓ wine and ⅔ grape juice or water, or as ⅓ wine, ⅓ grape juice, and ⅓ water. While the Gemorah allow wine to be diluted as much as one part in six and still keep the bracha of Borei Pri Hagafen (M.B. 204:32 and 272:16), the wine for the four cups should not be diluted that much, since the mixture would barely be alcoholic. The common custom is to mix ⅓ wine with ⅔ grape juice (Hilchos Chag Be’chag, Chag HaPesach, page 422), provided the 4% alcohol level is maintained (Rav Heinemann, shlit”a).

What If Someone Cannot Drink Wine?

A person who cannot drink wine may use grape juice for the four cups. This applies to someone who is sick or elderly, and both the Chebiner Rav and the Brisker Rav followed this practice (see also Mishna Brurah 472:37).

Can Grape Juice Be Diluted?

Grape juice may be diluted with water, but the mixture must remain at least 51% grape juice — meaning no more than 49% water. “Light” grape juice should not be diluted at all

What If Someone Cannot Handle Four Cups?

A person who would become seriously ill or incapacitated from drinking the four cups is not required to do so (see Mishna Brurah 472:35). However, it is worth noting that even someone who finds wine unpleasant or harmful should still try to fulfill the mitzvah if at all possible (SA 472:10).

A Chag Kasher v’sameach! 

The author can be reached at [email protected]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Large forces from the Israel Border Police and the Israeli Civil Administration operated last night (Monday) at the “Givat Shirat Zion” outpost, north of Kedumim, and demolished the structures there. The operation took place just one day after the Malkiel family moved into one of the buildings on the hill.

According to residents, the forces arrived during the night and ordered the family to leave the house within a short time. After the residents evacuated, heavy machinery began demolishing the structures, following an order by the commander of the Israel Defense Forces Central Command, Major General Avi Bluth.

Residents claim that although they were told they would be given time to remove personal belongings from the house, the demolition was carried out quickly and the structure was destroyed together with its contents. According to them, furniture, clothing, and household items that remained inside the building were also destroyed.

Residents said: “We woke up to loud knocking on the door. Police were standing at the entrance to the house and ordered us to leave within minutes, and then smashed the house to pieces.”

They added: “It’s absurd that during a war, and after it was reported that offensive activities in villages in Judea and Samaria had been halted, security forces are being directed to demolish family homes at frontline points. It feels like someone in the security leadership doesn’t know how to aim the weapon properly—we are not the enemy.”

The Malkiel family, who moved to the hill earlier this week, said after the demolition:

“We moved here to live in challenging conditions in order to strengthen the pioneering settlement in this place. We are not willing to accept the persecution of the settlement movement. We will continue settling the land and will not despair. The train of the redemption of the land has already left the station, anyone who wants is welcome to get on. It will reach its destination even if people try to put sticks in its wheels. In Shirat Zion there will one day be a large and flourishing community, with God’s help.”

The “Givat Shirat Zion” outpost was established about four months ago in the area north of Kedumim. The site is named after Shir Hajjaj, an Israeli lieutenant who was murdered in the 2017 Jerusalem truck attack at Armon HaNatziv in Jerusalem in 2017.

According to the residents, establishing the outpost is a significant step in an area without a Jewish presence, connecting the communities of Kedumim and Shavei Shomron.

On the ridge where the hilltop outpost was established are remains of an ancient Jewish village from the Second Temple period. At the site, houses and guard towers, ancient water pools, and a ritual bath (mikveh) were discovered. According to the residents, these remains were saved from antiquities looting thanks to the establishment of the outpost.

Residents also noted that there are many quarries in the area, which archaeologists believe were used to quarry stones for the biblical city of Samaria (Sebastia).

After the initial stage of establishing the site, which included opening access paths and setting up basic infrastructure, the area was prepared for a family to move in.

According to the residents, living conditions on the hill are challenging, partly due to the lack of a regular water line and reliance on limited solar electricity, which does not allow adequate heating or meet other basic needs.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Monday that a significant portion of Iran’s uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels is believed to remain stored at a tunnel complex in Isfahan, a site that appears to have escaped the severe damage inflicted on other Iranian nuclear facilities during joint Israeli and American strikes last June.

Speaking to reporters, Grossi indicated that close to half of Iran’s uranium enriched to roughly 60% purity—just below the threshold considered weapons-grade—had been stored at the underground facility prior to the attacks and is likely still located there.

The tunnel complex at Isfahan is believed to be the only major location tied to Iran’s nuclear program that did not suffer extensive destruction during the strikes carried out last summer by Israel and the United States.

For years, diplomats have maintained that the Isfahan installation served as a storage location for uranium enriched to the 60% level. The IAEA confirmed in a report distributed to member states last month that such material had indeed been stored at the facility, although the agency did not publicly disclose the total amount kept there.

According to IAEA estimates, when Israel initiated its first wave of strikes in June, Iran had accumulated approximately 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. Based on the agency’s calculations, if that material were enriched further, it could yield enough fissile material to produce as many as ten nuclear weapons.

Grossi told reporters that a large share of that stockpile had been kept at the Isfahan site. “What we believe is that Isfahan had until our last inspection a bit more than 200 kg, maybe a little bit more than that, of 60% uranium,” Grossi told reporters in Paris.

He explained that most of the material had been stored there, while some uranium located at other facilities may have been destroyed during the strikes. “The widespread assumption is that the material is still there. So we haven’t seen – and not only us, I think in general all those observing the facility through satellite imagery and other means to see what’s going on there – movement indicating that the material could have been transferred,” Grossi said.

Since the June attacks, Iran has not updated the IAEA about the condition or whereabouts of its highly enriched uranium, and it has not permitted agency inspectors to return to the nuclear sites that were targeted.

Before the strikes, Iran had three active enrichment facilities: two located at Natanz and another at Fordow. All three installations were either destroyed or sustained major damage during the June attacks.

Grossi also noted that some enriched uranium could still be present at Natanz. “There is an amount (of 60% uranium) in Natanz also, which we believe is still there,” he said.

In recent days, the IAEA chief reiterated his concern about Iran’s growing reserves of uranium enriched to levels approaching weapons grade and the government’s refusal to allow inspectors full access to its nuclear facilities.

“I have been very clear and consistent in my reports on Iran’s nuclear program: While there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb, its large stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and refusal to grant my inspectors full access are cause for serious concern,” Grossi wrote in a post on social media.

He added that the lack of cooperation from Tehran prevents the agency from offering assurances about the nature of the country’s nuclear program. “For these reasons,” he added my previous reports indicate that unless and until Iran assists the IAEA in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

As the ongoing war continues to disrupt air travel to and from Israel, frustration is growing among longtime passengers of El Al, with many saying the airline they trusted most during a crisis has instead left them stranded.

Across social media, travel forums, and community message boards, travelers describe a similar story: flights suddenly canceled, little to no communication from the airline, and no clear path to getting home.

One passenger traveling with children described the shock after deliberately booking with Israel’s most trusted airline to avoid exactly this situation.

“Same happened to me and my three kids. Booked with El Al to prevent this. Now they canceled and we have no way of going back.”

Others say the cancellations happened without even a notification.

“Our flight was pushed off by three days and we were never told,” one Israeli passenger wrote in Hebrew. “We almost went to the airport with a baby before discovering it ourselves. No email, no WhatsApp message — nothing.”

Another traveler described how his family is now stuck in Israel during an active conflict.

“Our flights were canceled by you and not rebooked. My wife and I and our two kids are now stranded in a country in the middle of a war because we chose to trust you and book with you.”

Some passengers say they were initially reassigned to so-called rescue flights — only to later discover the flights disappeared entirely from the departure boards.

“I understand there are constraints,” one passenger wrote. “But the way El Al is handling this is a disgrace. Our original flight was canceled, we were placed on a rescue flight, and now that flight doesn’t even appear on the schedule. There’s no new date and no way to reach the airline.”

Travelers say the situation is especially frustrating because many of them intentionally paid higher fares to fly with El Al during wartime, believing the airline would prioritize its passengers and provide reliable evacuation options.

Credit: @jewishvlogs Instagram.

Many communities report they have been inundated with complaints from travelers describing experiences strikingly similar to one another. Bochurim, seminary students, families, and couples say their flights were abruptly canceled without being offered alternative arrangements, forcing some to purchase entirely new tickets at dramatically inflated prices.

El Al has said that rebooking notifications were sent via WhatsApp. However, passengers have presented screenshots indicating that in many cases, such messages were never received.

Due to the state of emergency, EL AL and Sundor flights that were part of the regular flight schedule prior to the start of Operation Roaring Lion, and were scheduled to depart up to and including March 14, 2026, are canceled. The corresponding return flights are also canceled.… pic.twitter.com/Ik5xeQdwci

— EL AL USA (@ELALUSA) March 9, 2026

Adding to the confusion, many travelers, thousands of them, do not use WhatsApp at all, raising further questions about how the airline expected those passengers to receive critical updates.

Israel is using Iraqi airspace to carry out strikes on Iran, but it is still not taking action against the Shiite militias inside Iraq, Kan News reported on Tuesday morning.

According to a source familiar with the details, Israel is currently “not in the Iraqi arena,” and the only party striking the Shiite militias in recent days—whether targeting facilities or individuals—is the United States.

Kan 11 correspondent Roi Kais reported that the reason is that, at the moment, the pro‑Iranian militias in Iraq are focusing on American targets, not Israeli ones. Although militia officials threaten that attacks on Israeli targets could come later, as seen in the previous war, this is not their current priority.

Two Iraqi sources familiar with the militias’ internal thinking told Kan 11 that the groups prefer not to provoke a situation in which Israel also begins striking them. In other words, they fear that Israel’s response would be powerful—especially since Israel still has an “open account” with these militias from the previous conflict.

In an attempt to reduce the burden on their patron in Tehran, there is a division of labor within the Iranian axis: the pro‑Shiite militias in Iraq attack American targets, while Hezbollah attacks Israeli targets.

This was expressed clearly by the military spokesman of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, who wrote over the weekend that “our first mission is to humiliate the Americans and harm their security until they are removed from Iraq.” At the same time, he praised Hezbollah in Lebanon for its steadfastness against Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

WATCH:

Following reports on Monday that the Lebanese government proposed direct negotiations with Israel to end the war in Lebanon and potentially reach a peace agreement between the two countries, Lebanese President Joseph Anoun on Tuesday published his initiative for a ceasefire with Israel.

The ceasefire proposal includes four clauses.

1. A full ceasefire, with Israel immediately halting all strikes on Lebanon via land, air, and sea.
2. The acceleration of the provision of the necessary international logistical support to the Lebanese Army.
3. The immediate deployment of the Lebanese army to take control of areas of tension and confiscate Hezbollah’s weapons and supplies.
4. The simultaneous launch of direct negotiations under international auspices to implement the terms of the proposal.

The unprecedented offer comes after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on the second day of Operation Roaring Lion, prompting Israel to send ground forces into southern Lebanon and attack Beirut. Over 600,000 Lebanese civilians have fled their homes.

According to an Axios report, the Lebanese government approached the Trump administration via US envoy Tom Barrack last week, requesting mediation with Israel and even proposing direct ministerial‑level talks in Cyprus, an unprecedented step. An Israeli source said that the Lebanese government even claimed that some Hezbollah members were open to a ceasefire deal.

The US and Israel responded with great skepticism to the proposal, with Barrack rebuking Lebanon to stop with the empty offers. “If it’s not real action about Hezbollah’s weapons, there’s no point,” he said.

Israel rejected the offer as “too late,” saying that it is now focusing on eliminating Hezbollah.

It should be noted that Lebanese Army chief Rodolphe Haykal has refused to deploy forces against Hezbollah amid the war, prompting the US to pressure Aoun to fire him.

Lebanon now finds itself without military capabilities and without US support. “There is no interest from the Trump administration to deal with Lebanon,” one source told Axios.

“Nobody in Washington is taking their calls,” a U.S. source said. “The Lebanese government was warned and warned and warned this would happen if they didn’t take action against Hezbollah,” a third source said.

“The Lebanese military remains unwilling — some say unable — to enforce the government’s decision outlawing Hezbollah’s military and security activities,” said Firas Maksad, managing director for Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group.

Maksad added that Lebanon’s goal is to create a diplomatic exit path for the day after the war, with the hope that Hezbollah will no longer dominate the country.

“The Lebanese state will not, perhaps cannot, create the military conditions to get there,” he said. “But it will meet Israel and the U.S. at the table once the guns go silent.”

Kan News reported that Lebanon, through intermediaries, asked Israel to reduce its attacks. Israel responded that Lebanon must stop Hezbollah’s rocket fire. Lebanon replied that it cannot.

Channel 13 reported that Israel believes Hezbollah intends to expand its attacks and increase its rocket fire. Israel is considering several responses to the escalation, including striking dual‑use targets in Lebanon.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

LISTEN:

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By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Chazal tell us (Pirkei Avos 2:9) that we must always anticipate possibilities of what might happen and look for solutions. 

Iran — with a GDP smaller than the state of Texas — has pressed pause on the global economy. The Strait of Hormuz, barely 21 miles wide, carries 20 percent of the world’s oil supply every single day. And right now, it is closed.

Crude oil has surged past $100 a barrel. Kuwait, Iraq, and the UAE are shutting down their oil wells — not for lack of buyers, but because storage tanks are overflowing with oil that cannot move.

My father, zichrono livracha, Dr. Nate Hoffman z”l, whose yartzeit is coming up shortly, earned some of his degrees from the Colorado School of Mines. There are two basic and essential pieces of information that need to be known in order to understand both the underlying problem and it’s potential solution.  Firstly, there is a basic essential of oil knowledge. Once an oil well goes dark, It cannot simply be switched back on. The laws of geology do not permit it. Each day the strait remains closed does not add to the damage. It multiplies it.

Secondly, there is something called LNG – which stands for Liquefied Natural Gas — it is simply natural gas that has been super-cooled to around -260°F (-162°C), which shrinks it to about 1/600th of its original volume, making it practical to transport by ship in massive insulated tankers.

This, of course, would be Iran’s preferred first target. LNG tankers are essentially floating bombs. Unlike crude oil tankers, which burn, a breached LNG tanker can cause a massive vapor cloud explosion. The Beirut port blast was caused by ammonium nitrate. It killed over 200 people and was felt hundreds of miles away.

An LNG tanker explosion in the crowded strait of Hormuz would be a catastrophe — both in human terms and in the psychological shock it would send through global energy markets.

The Mullahs of Iran have not left this to chance. The Revolutionary Guard has seeded the strait with mines, suicide boats, and shore-based missile batteries. Intelligence analysts believe Iran will target LNG tankers first — vessels that could, as one source grimly noted, “explode like the Beirut bomb” — followed by oil tankers to maximize global chaos. This is a trap, deliberately constructed. Iran wants America to send in the Navy. It wants the footage of a burning ship.

The conventional response — to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, broker a ceasefire, rush the tankers through — is available.

It is also a missed opportunity of historic proportions. There is another path in which Sefer Bereishis can illuminate the path.

The Medrash Tanchuma (Mikeitz 4) explains that Yoseph HaTzaddik did not merely interpret Pharaoh’s dream — he presented an actionable plan, because wisdom without application is incomplete. Yoseph HaTzaddik used the seven years of plenty — while others were eating — to build the architecture that made Egypt the indispensable provider when crisis struck. “And all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Yosef, because the famine was severe in all the earth” (Bereishis 41:57). He did not eliminate the famine. He restructured who held the leverage when it arrived.

President Trump and the government of Israel can employ the same logic.

Instead of scrambling to reopen the strait as fast as possible, the United States can use this crisis — while the world is maximally motivated — to permanently restructure global energy architecture so that the Strait of Hormuz can never again hold civilization hostage.

Step One:   The Announcement

The President can address the nation — not to manage expectations but to announce a transformation. Every pending domestic LNG permit can be fast-tracked. Every stalled offshore drilling license can be approved.

The message to global markets can be immediate and credible: a supply surge will be coming. Energy futures are driven by expectations. A believable announcement begins suppressing speculative crude prices before a single additional barrel flows.

Step Two: A Western Hemisphere Energy Compact

Canada holds the third-largest proven oil reserves on earth. Venezuela holds the largest. Together with surging American output, a Western Hemisphere energy compact — formalized now, while the world is watching — can create a parallel global oil architecture that flows entirely through the Atlantic. None of this oil passes near Iran.

The Gemorah (Brachos 60b) states that everything happens for a reason – and a good one. The Venezuela chapter is bashert. It should be implemented now.

This would not merely be a short-term fix. It would be a permanent construction of a second circulatory system for the global economy, one that bypasses the Iranian chokepoint forever.

Step Three: Split Russia From Iran

Treasury Secretary Bessent has already floated un-sanctioning stranded Russian oil. The instinct is sound, but the execution must be surgical. The United States could offer Moscow a targeted, time-limited swap: relief on specific stranded cargoes in exchange for routing that oil through non-Hormuz channels. The implicit message is stark: Iran’s closure is costing Russia money too. Every day the strait stays closed, Moscow bleeds revenue. The question is whether they prefer solidarity with Tehran or dollars in their accounts. Drive a wedge between them now, at the moment of maximum Iranian vulnerability.

Step Four: The Coalition of the Paying

Japan imports 90 percent of its energy. South Korea imports 80 percent. Europe is very exposed right now.

These nations have every incentive to become co-investors. Convene an emergency summit and offer them a proposition: jointly fund the naval escort operation in exchange for guaranteed priority access lanes and long-term American LNG supply agreements. Transform an American military burden into a multilateral investment with commercial returns.

Step Five: Let Time Work Against Iran

Iran closed the strait to inflict pain on America. What it failed to calculate is that its own economy runs on oil revenue — and the same closure is strangling Iranian exports too. Every week the Shock Doctrine operates — American production ramping, the Western Hemisphere compact solidifying, Russian oil finding alternative routes — is a week in which Hormuz becomes slightly less relevant and slightly more costly to Iran. The leverage Tehran thought it held depreciates daily. The military option remains ready. But the most powerful threat is one that has not yet been used.

The Political Transformation

Every prior administration caught in an energy shock has found itself on defense — managing, reassuring, pleading for patience.

This idea inverts this entirely. If we are given lemons – let’s turn it into lemonade. Every crisis carries within it the potential for new creation. The question is only whether the leadership has the wisdom to recognize what is being born, and the courage to midwife it into existence.

Conclusion: Two Doors

There are two doors. The first leads back to the status quo — strait reopened, prices fall, crisis forgotten. A tactical win. But in six months, the same chokepoint, the same Iranian leverage, the same crisis waiting to happen again.

The second door is harder. It requires absorbing short-term pain, communicating a vision under fire, and executing a multi-front transformation simultaneously. Let us create a world where the Strait of Hormuz has been structurally demoted — where American energy, Western Hemisphere solidarity, and allied burden-sharing have built something genuinely new.

Yosef HaTzaddik was not remembered because he survived the famine. He was remembered because he used it. Last week we read about Betzalel. Hashem endowed him with particular wisdom. History does not remember crisis managers. It remembers leaders who looked at the same thing everyone else was seeing — and created a remarkable work-around.  The pasuk states, “And Yosef — he was the ruler over the land; he it was who provided grain to all the people of the earth.”  We can do the same.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stories4Life-Shiur-548-Complete-R-Shmuel-Rozovsky.mp3

New York City officials are now considering eliminating free street parking across the five boroughs as the city is dealing with a $5.4 billion budget shortfall, a move that directly contradicts campaign promises made by Mamdani to make NYC more affordable.

During his campaign, Mayor Zohran Mamdani promoted expanding benefits and lowering costs for residents. But months into the administration, New Yorkers are instead seeing the possibility of yet another new charge and this time for parking spaces that have long been free.

The proposal would require drivers to pay for millions of curbside spaces currently available without charge. Supporters within city government argue the plan could generate over $1 billion annually while improving parking turnover by discouraging drivers from leaving cars parked for long stretches.

Critics, however, say the idea highlights the growing tension between the administration’s promises and fiscal reality. With congestion pricing already in place and living costs continuing to rise, charging for street parking would simply become another financial burden on city residents.

If implemented, the change could impact roughly three million free street parking spaces, or 75 percent of the parking spaces in the city, representing one of the most sweeping changes to New York City’s parking system in decades.

An Israeli military commander urged citizens to strictly follow emergency shelter instructions after Iranian cluster munitions struck several locations in central Israel, killing one person and seriously injuring two others.

Speaking from the site of one of the impacts, Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper, head of the IDF Home Front Command, said the attacks demonstrated both the destructive power of the weapons and the lifesaving importance of Israel’s civil defense system.

Cluster munitions from Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly struck six separate locations across central Israel, according to officials. First responders said all of the casualties occurred outside bomb shelters, underscoring the danger posed to civilians caught in the open during missile strikes.

Standing inside an apartment that had been hit by one of the missile’s submunitions, Klapper praised Israelis for their resilience but warned that the threat remains serious.

“I want to express appreciation to the citizens of the State of Israel for the steadfastness and resilience you are demonstrating,” he said.

“This apartment was hit by a cluster bomb. I know the scope of the launches is somewhat lower, and it may be that the amount of sirens are a bit higher, but this apartment illustrates that a cluster bomb also causes enormous damage.”

Despite the significant destruction inside the residence, no one in the family was injured. Klapper said that was because the occupants followed official guidance and moved immediately to shelter when warning sirens sounded.

“Therefore, from here I call on the citizens of Israel to continue to stand with resilience and courage, to follow the Home Front Command’s instructions — they save lives,” he said.

The homeowner, Amir Shahar, echoed the message, crediting the military’s emergency guidelines with protecting his family during the attack.

“My son and my granddaughters ran to the neighborhood shelter,” Shahar said. “The apartment will be rebuilt, the home will recover, but no one was hurt, and I am full of appreciation for the response of the authorities.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Lebanon’s president issued one of his strongest warnings yet against Hezbollah, accusing the Iran-backed terrorist group of endangering the country and risking a devastating new war with Israel that could transform Lebanon into “a second Gaza.”

Speaking during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized the recent rocket fire launched from Lebanese territory toward Israel.

Although he did not mention the group by name, Aoun’s comments were widely understood as a rebuke of Hezbollah.

“The launch of a few rockets from Lebanon toward Israel was a trap and an almost overt ambush for Lebanon and the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people,” Aoun said, according to a statement released by his office.

The warning comes amid escalating tensions across the region following the assassination of Ali Khamenei in an Israeli strike on February 28. In response to the killing, Hezbollah resumed rocket and drone attacks against Israel last week after a prolonged lull.

Aoun dismissed the attacks as both reckless and strategically meaningless. He argued that the rocket fire neither deterred Israel nor served as meaningful retaliation for Khamenei’s death. Instead, he suggested the strikes may have been designed to provoke a wider Israeli military response inside Lebanon.

“There are those who wanted these rockets to lure the Israeli army to infiltrate inside Lebanon, and to invade some of its regions, and perhaps even to occupy them,” Aoun said.

Such a scenario, he warned, could leave Lebanon trapped between two disastrous choices: either confronting Israel directly in a full-scale war or allowing Israeli forces to expand their operations inside the country.

“That would lead to turning Lebanon into a second Gaza,” Aoun cautioned.

His remarks come as the IDF pushes deeper into southern Lebanon amid ongoing clashes along the border.

The Lebanese president said his government intends to enforce a renewed ban on Hezbollah military activity “in a clear and decisive manner,” signaling a potential confrontation between the state and the powerful militia, which has long operated as an independent armed force inside the country.

Aoun also appealed to the international community for help stabilizing the situation. He called for diplomatic efforts to secure a full ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, increased support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, and assistance in disarming Hezbollah.

He further urged a return to direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in hopes of preventing the conflict from spiraling into a wider regional war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)