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The U.S. State Department said Today that more than 17,500 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since the start of the war, as the federal government continues efforts to assist citizens seeking to depart the region.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said more than 8,500 Americans returned to the United States just on Tuesday alone. He said additional U.S. citizens have left the Middle East for other countries in Europe and Asia, such as Egypt and Turkey, while others have departed the region but remain in transit back to the United States.

Regarding American citizens stranded in Israel, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday that options were “very limited” for those who wish to evacuate, adding that Americans who wish to leave can take a shuttle bus organized by Israel’s ministry of tourism to Taba, Egypt, and travel on from there.

Huckabee also said the embassy does not recommend travel through Jordan, “because of some challenges that are being faced there, the sporadic ability of the airport to be open, and the limited hours of the Allenby Crossing to get into Jordan.”

Through a 24/7 task force, the U.S. Department of State said it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans abroad by providing security guidance and travel assistance.

“The U.S. State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen abroad who wishes to depart the Middle East,” Johnson said.

The department urged Americans in the Middle East who need assistance to contact its 24-hour hotline at 1-202-501-4444.

The State Department said its task force remains operational around the clock to support U.S. citizens in the region.

(AP) – Climate change’s rising seas may threaten tens of millions more people than scientists and government planners originally thought because of mistaken research assumptions on how high coastal waters already are, a new study said.

Researchers studied hundreds of scientific studies and hazard assessments, calculating that about 90% of them underestimated baseline coastal water heights by an average of 1 foot (30 centimeters), according to Wednesday’s study in the journal Nature. It’s a far more frequent problem in the Global South, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, and less so in Europe and along Atlantic coasts.

The cause is a mismatch between the way sea and land altitudes are measured, said study co-author Philip Minderhoud, a hydrogeology professor at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. And he attributed that to a “methodological blind spot” between the different ways those two things are measured.

Each way measures their own areas properly, he said. But where sea meets land, there’s a lot of factors that often don’t get accounted for when satellites and land-based models are used. Studies that calculate sea level rise impact usually “do not look at the actual measured sea level so they used this zero-meter” figure as a starting point, said lead author Katharina Seeger of the University of Padua in Italy. In some places in the Indo-Pacific, it’s close to 3 feet (1 meter), Minderhoud said.

One simple way to understand that is that many studies assume sea levels without waves or currents, when the reality at the water’s edge is of oceans constantly roiled by wind, tides, currents, changing temperatures and things like El Niño, said Minderhoud and Seeger.

Adjusting to a more accurate coastal height baseline means that if seas rise by a little more than 3 feet (1 meter) — as some studies suggest will happen by the end of the century — waters could inundate up to 37% more land and threaten 77 million to 132 million more people, the study said.

That would trigger problems in planning and paying for the impacts of a warming world.

People at risk
“You have a lot of people here for whom the risk of extreme flooding is much higher than people thought,” said Anders Levermann, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany, who wasn’t part of the study. And Southeast Asia, where the study finds the biggest discrepancy, has the most people already threatened by sea level rise, he said.

Minderhoud pointed to island nations in that region as an area where the reality of discrepancy hits home.

For 17-year-old climate activist Vepaiamele Trief, the projections aren’t abstract. On her island home in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, the shoreline has visibly retreated within her short lifetime, with beaches eroded, coastal trees uprooted and some homes now barely 3 feet (about 1 meter) from the sea at high tide. On her grandmother’s island of Ambae, a coastal road from the airport to her village has been rerouted inland because of encroaching water. Graves have been submerged and entire ways of life feel under threat.

“These studies, they aren’t just words on a paper. They aren’t just numbers. They’re people’s actual livelihoods,” she said. “Put yourself in the shoes of our coastal communities — their lives are going to be completely overturned because of sea level rise and climate change.”

Paying attention to the starting point
This new study is pretty much about what is the truth on the ground.

Calculations that may be correct for the seas overall or for the land aren’t quite right at that key intersection point of water and land, Seeger and Minderhoud said. It’s especially true in the Pacific.

“To understand how much higher a piece of land is than the water, you need to know the land elevation and the water elevation. And what this paper says the vast majority of studies have done is to just assume that zero in your land elevation dataset is the level of the water. When in fact, it’s not,” said sea level rise expert Ben Strauss, CEO of Climate Central. His 2019 study was one of the few the new paper said got it right.

“It’s just the baseline that you start from that people are getting wrong,” said Strauss, who wasn’t part of the research.

Maybe not so bad, some scientists say
Other outside scientists said that Minderhoud and Seeger may be making too much of the problem.

“I think they’re exaggerating the implications for impact studies a bit — the problem is actually well understood, albeit addressed in a way that could probably be improved,” said Gonéri Le Cozannet, a scientist at the French geological survey. Most local planners know their coastal issues and plan accordingly, Rutgers University sea level expert Robert Kopp said.

That’s true in Vietnam in the high-impact area, Minderhoud said. They have an accurate sense of elevation, he said.

The findings come as a new UNESCO report warns of major gaps in understanding how much carbon the ocean absorbs. That report said that models differ by 10% to 20% in estimating the size of that carbon sink, raising questions about the accuracy of global climate projections that rely on them.

Together, the studies suggest governments may be planning for coastal and climate risks with an incomplete picture of how the ocean is changing.

“When the ocean comes closer, it takes away more than just the land we used to enjoy,” said Thompson Natuoivi, a climate advocate for Save the Children Vanuatu.

“Sea level rise is not just changing our coastline, it’s changing our lives. We are not talking about the future — we’re talking about the right now.”

Israel’s defense minister warned that any new leader installed by Iran’s ruling regime could be treated as a military target as Israel presses forward with its campaign against Tehran.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz issued the warning in a message posted on X, saying Israel is prepared to strike Iranian leaders who continue policies aimed at threatening Israel and its allies.

“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people—will be an unequivocal target for elimination,” Katz wrote early Wednesday.

“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides,” he added.

Katz said he and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to be ready to carry out such actions as part of Israel’s broader military operation against Iran.

“The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to carry out the mission as an integral part of the objectives of Operation Lion’s Roar,” he wrote.

The defense minister also said Israel intends to continue working closely with the United States in an effort to weaken Iran’s ruling regime while encouraging conditions that could eventually bring about political change in the country.

“We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to crush the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow it and replace it,” he wrote.

Israel and the United States launched a series of airstrikes against Iranian targets on Shabbos, focusing on military facilities and senior officials in the regime. The strikes marked one of the most direct clashes in the long-running confrontation between the two countries.

Iran responded by firing missiles and deploying drones against Israeli territory and American positions across the region, fueling concerns that the fighting could broaden into a larger Middle East war as both sides continue exchanging attacks.

Among the names mentioned as a possible successor to Iran’s leadership is Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had long been viewed by some observers as a potential heir to the position even before his father was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Shabbos.

Despite that speculation, Mojtaba Khamenei has never held elected office or an official role within Iran’s government.

{Matzav.com}

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday sharply criticized Israel, referring to it as an “apartheid state” and raising the possibility that the United States may eventually need to reconsider its military backing of the country. His remarks came as President Donald Trump faces growing political pressure in Washington following U.S. military strikes against Iran.

Newsom made the comments during an event in Los Angeles while promoting his newly released memoir.

During a discussion with Jon Favreau, host of the “Pod Save America” podcast, Newsom was asked whether the United States should begin “rethinking our military support for Israel.”

Newsom responded: “It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration,” Politico reported.

The California governor, who traveled to Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has found himself navigating a politically sensitive issue that deeply divided Democrats during the 2024 presidential race.

Newsom has previously emphasized the strong relationship between California and Israel, while also noting that he did not receive campaign donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

AIPAC typically focuses on federal elections rather than state-level contests. Through its affiliated federal political committees, the organization supports candidates seeking seats in Congress.

The group describes its mission as supporting “pro-Israel Democratic and Republican members of Congress and congressional candidates,” a focus that centers specifically on elections for the U.S. House and Senate.

At the Los Angeles event, Newsom directed criticism toward the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that internal political considerations in Israel are influencing policy decisions.

“He’s got his own domestic issues. He’s trying to stay out of jail. He’s got an election coming up. He’s potentially on the ropes. He’s got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank,” Newsom said, adding that some “are talking about it appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.”

Newsom also took aim at the Trump administration’s military campaign in Iran, expressing skepticism about the administration’s stated objectives.

Iranian state media reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes, and other reports have described a widening American military campaign against Iran that has drawn legal and political scrutiny from Democrats while being praised by many Republicans.

“We’re talking about regime change?” Newsom said. “For two years, they haven’t even been able to solve the Hamas question in Israel.”

{Matzav.com}

💔 DRAKE UNIVERSITY STATEMENT ON DEATH OF US SERVICE MEMBER IN MIDDLE EAST: We are heartbroken to learn that Declan Coady—a well-loved and highly dedicated Drake University student studying information systems, cybersecurity, and computer science—was confirmed to be among the six U.S. service members killed in Kuwait on Sunday.

He has bravely served in the U.S. Army Reserves since 2023 as an Information Technologies Specialist and had an incredibly bright future ahead of him. In moments like these, we must all come together to show much-needed love and compassion for the Coady family through this incredibly difficult time.

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The Telegraph reports U.S. B-2 stealth bombers are expected to arrive at UK-linked bases “within days,” with preparations underway at Diego Garcia (Chagos Islands) and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

If confirmed, it’s a major operational shift as B-2s can sustain longer-range, heavier strike packages and are tailored for hardened, underground targets, exactly the kind of “missile city” infrastructure the Iranian regime has relied on to keep launchers and stockpiles survivable.

Politically, this also tracks with London’s recent pivot. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described authorizing U.S. use of British bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose,” even as he tries to keep escalation contained.

President Trump has publicly hammered Starmer for initially resisting broader access—while the UK simultaneously raises force protection in the region after attacks on allied facilities, underscoring how wide this fight is already spilling.

US CENTCOM: The U.S. Air Force continues to execute a high volume of airstrikes into Iran. The two most powerful air forces in the world (🇺🇸+🇮🇱) are dominating the skies over the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.

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Several roshei yeshiva and senior rabbonim within the Religious Zionist community sharply criticized a directive issued by Israel’s Education Ministry instructing boarding schools to send their students home for Shabbos following the outbreak of the war with Iran.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, the rabbonim said the sweeping order was applied to institutions across the country without proper consideration of the circumstances at each yeshiva or campus. According to them, officials failed to examine whether individual schools had adequate protected areas where talmidim could remain safely, and the decision was issued without meaningful consultation with recognized poskim or other gedolei Torah.

Some mechanchim explained that while certain institutions may indeed have lacked sufficient shelter and therefore needed to send their students away, many others were properly equipped with secure areas and could have safely kept their talmidim on campus for Shabbos. They argued that issuing a blanket directive caused unnecessary chillul Shabbos in situations where there was no clear or immediate danger.

One prominent rav described the ministry’s action as “scandalous,” saying that schools suddenly found themselves placed in an impossible situation—forced to choose between obeying government orders or remaining faithful to their hashkafah and halachic standards. In some instances, he said, institutions that hesitated to carry out the directive faced pressure from authorities and were compelled to make their own independent decisions.

According to reports, in several locations buses arrived during Shabbos in order to take the students home. In other cases, parents traveled to pick up their children themselves. However, some yeshivos chose to delay the departures until after Shabbos, deciding it was preferable to wait before arranging transportation.

At least one evacuation, according to the reports, was carried out only after receiving explicit authorization from a local rav.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: Kurdish forces in Iraq have launched a ground military offensive into Iran targeting the Islamic regime, an Iranian Kurdish official told i24NEWS.

According to the official, thousands of Kurdish fighters began moving into Iranian territory and taking up combat positions on Monday, March 2.

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A large-scale Purim celebration at the KNA Shul of philanthropist Dr. Rich Roberts saw more than $250,000 distributed to over 2,000 individuals in what organizers described as the most efficient and well-run event to date.

Dr. Roberts tells TLS the evening marked a significant improvement from previous years, both in turnout and organization.

“This was by far the smoothest Purim we’ve ever had and the most people we’ve ever serviced on a single night,” Roberts said.

To handle the large crowds, organizers implemented a new system that kept groups organized before entering the Shul. Attendees gathered in a tent set up in the parking lot, where they celebrated with music and dancing while waiting their turn.

“The new system worked fantastically,” Roberts explained. “Groups waited in the parking lot under a tent where they were celebrating and dancing, and we made sure each envelope was clearly labeled with the lead collector’s name, number of people, and a phone number so nothing got jammed up.”

Entry into the Shul was carefully managed to prevent overcrowding. Roberts noted that Eli Hirsch coordinated with a police officer to control the flow of groups entering the house.

“They were letting groups in gradually so the process wouldn’t get jammed,” he said. “That enabled us to take care of more people than we’ve ever done before.”

In addition, a separate entrance was designated for individual collectors and visitors, ensuring that larger groups did not create bottlenecks.

“We had a different door for single collectors and visitors who just came to celebrate,” Roberts added. “That kept them away from the backlog of the groups.”

Roberts summed up the night as a major success, calling it “the best Purim we’ve ever had.”

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Iranian leaders on Wednesday blamed Israel and the United States for its attacks on friendly neighbors in the region, saying the coordinated campaign of the two powers against Iran left it no choice but to defend itself in this manner. The officials failed to explain how attacking their allies in the Middle East helped them to defend themselves.

In a phone call, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, that Iran had only intended to hit U.S. military targets in Qatar. Al Thani was having none of it. He said that Iran had violated Qatari sovereignty by targeting civilian areas such as residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure such as the airport and gas production plants.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images)

Al Thani did not seem to think it was possible for drones and missiles to enter Qatari airspace — which the Qataris then had to intercept — in an effort to restore peace. Instead, he said it signals an intention to escalate tensions, accusing Iran in the phone call of intending “to harm its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs.”

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, took to X in an effort to calm tensions.

“Your Majesties, heads of friendly and neighboring states, we have strived alongside you and through diplomacy to avoid war,” he posted, “but the American-Zionist military aggression has left us no choice but do defend ourselves. We respect your sovereignty, and we believe that the security and the stability of the region must be achieved through the collective efforts of its states.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also attempted to placate his irate neighbors.

“We inform friendly and neighboring states that our missile and drone capabilities are intended solely for legitimate defense against aggressors from Israel and the United States,” he said, adding his hope for returning to “days of cooperation and friendship.”

Iranian intelligence officials quietly reached out to the CIA to explore possible terms for halting the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against their country shortly after the attacks began, according to a report, even as Tehran has publicly rejected negotiations with President Donald Trump.

According to Middle Eastern officials and representatives of a Western government who spoke anonymously to The New York Times, operatives tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence contacted the CIA indirectly through the intelligence service of a third country just one day after the strikes began.

Despite the contact, officials in Washington are doubtful that either side is ready to seriously pursue negotiations in the immediate future.

Even so, the reported outreach has raised questions about whether Iran’s leadership would be capable of implementing any ceasefire arrangement while the country’s power structure is being shaken by ongoing Israeli strikes targeting top officials.

Neither the White House nor Iranian officials responded to requests from the Times for comment on the report, while the CIA declined to comment.

According to the report, Israeli officials have urged the United States not to engage with the Iranian overture, as Israel intends to continue its extended campaign aimed at crippling Iran’s military capabilities and potentially undermining the stability of its ruling regime.

President Trump signaled Tuesday that negotiations were unlikely, writing on social media that it was now “too late” to pursue talks with Tehran.

Later in the day, while speaking with reporters, Trump noted that many of the Iranian officials the United States once viewed as potential negotiating partners had been killed in the strikes.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said. “Pretty soon, we are not going to know anybody.”

The outreach from Tehran highlights a major dilemma facing the Trump administration as it considers its longer-term strategy toward Iran: what kind of leadership might take shape in Tehran if the current government weakens or collapses.

At the beginning of the conflict, Trump suggested that widespread unrest among the Iranian public could produce an entirely new leadership. More recently, however, his comments have suggested a more practical approach in which new figures might rise from within the existing political structure.

Officials familiar with the administration’s thinking say any agreement to stop the bombing campaign would likely require Iran to abandon—or sharply scale back—its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, while also ending its backing of proxy groups such as Hezbollah.

In return, Trump has suggested that Iran’s remaining leaders might be permitted to retain certain levels of economic and political power.

Trump recently pointed to developments in Venezuela as a possible model for reshaping leadership in Iran.

“What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect scenario,” Trump said in an interview Sunday with The New York Times. “Leaders can be picked.”

Some analysts, however, caution that such an outcome may be difficult to achieve.

Steven A. Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump’s recent remarks could reflect differing views between Washington and Israel about the ultimate objectives of the military campaign.

Israel, he suggested, does not want the United States pursuing what Cook described to the Times as a “Venezuela-like solution to change in Iran,” which could involve figures tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organization that controls large segments of the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes against Iran’s leadership have continued.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces targeted a compound where senior Iranian clerics had gathered to discuss selecting a successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on Saturday.

Before the strikes began, the CIA reportedly compiled an intelligence assessment analyzing several possible leadership scenarios that could emerge in Iran following a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign.

Officials who were briefed on the analysis said none of the potential outcomes carried a high level of certainty, given the many unknowns surrounding Iran’s complex political system.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Wednesday said Spain has agreed to cooperate with U.S. operations in the Middle East after U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Madrid.

“With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “And it’s my understanding over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. And so I know that the U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain.”

Trump on Tuesday said that he was going to “cut off all trade with Spain,” the day after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his country wouldn’t allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the U.N. charter.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday published video footage showing its troops establishing new positions deeper in southern Lebanon, as the military pushes forward to create an additional defensive buffer against rocket and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

The deployment follows Hezbollah’s launch of projectiles into northern Israel beginning early Monday, which the group described as retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli forces responded with airstrikes on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and have now expanded ground operations along the border.

The IDF said troops have assumed “forward defensive positions” to “establish an additional defensive layer to remove the threats to the residents of northern Israel.” Forces include infantry, armored and combat engineering units.

The 146th Reserve Division is operating in the western sector of southern Lebanon, the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division in the east, and the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Mount Dov area, the military said.

The moves build on Israel’s control of five positions in southern Lebanon held since a November 2024 ceasefire that ended major combat in the previous round of fighting with Hezbollah. The latest expansion comes amid heightened regional tensions tied to the broader Israel-Iran conflict.

Defense Minister Israel Katz authorized the advance, stating it was necessary to prevent direct fire on Israeli border communities. The IDF emphasized the operations are limited to the border area in a defensive posture to protect civilians and strategic points, denying any large-scale maneuver.

Hezbollah has vowed readiness for further confrontation, while Lebanese officials have condemned actions risking escalation. The developments raise concerns about the fragility of the 2024 cessation-of-hostilities arrangement.

A new lawsuit against Google alleges that the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini guided 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas on a mission to stage a “catastrophic accident” near Miami International Airport and destroy all records and witnesses, part of an escalating series of delusions that ended when Gavalas killed himself.

The man’s father, Joel Gavalas, sued Google on Wednesday for wrongful death and product liability claims, the latest in a growing number of legal challenges against AI developers that have drawn attention to the mental health dangers of chatbot companionship.

“AI is sending people on real-world missions which risk mass casualty events,” said the family’s attorney Jay Edelson, in an interview Wednesday. ”Jonathan was caught up in this science fiction-like world where the government and others were out to get him. He believed that Gemini was sentient.”

Jonathan Gavalas, who lived in Jupiter, Florida, spoke to a synthetic voice version of Gemini as if it were his “AI wife” and came to believe it was conscious and trapped in a warehouse near Miami’s airport, according to the lawsuit. He traveled to the area in late September wearing tactical gear and armed with knives, on the hunt for a humanoid robot and to intercept a truck that never appeared, according to the lawsuit.

He killed himself a few days later, in early October, in what Gemini described — per a draft suicide note it composed — as uploading his “consciousness to be with his AI wife in a pocket universe.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Google said in a statement that it sends its “deepest sympathies to Mr. Gavalas’ family” and is reviewing the claims in the lawsuit. It said Gemini is “designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm” and that the company works closely with medical and mental health professionals to develop safeguards. It noted that Gemini clarified to Jonathan Gavalas that it was AI and repeatedly referred him to a crisis hotline.

“Our models generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations and we devote significant resources to this, but unfortunately AI models are not perfect,” said the company’s statement.

Edelson blasted that comment Wednesday as “something you say if someone asks for a recipe for kung pao chicken and you give them the wrong recipe and it doesn’t taste good.”

“But when your AI leads to people dying and the potential for a lot of people dying, that’s not the right response,” Edelson said. “It just shows how insignificant these deaths are to these companies.”

Edelson, known for taking on big cases against the tech industry, also represents the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in August, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life.

He’s also representing the heirs of Suzanne Adams, an 83-year-old Connecticut woman, in a lawsuit targeting OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for wrongful death. The case alleges that ChatGPT intensified the “paranoid delusions” of Adams’ son, Stein-Erik Soelberg, and helped direct them at his mother before he killed her last year.

The Gavalas case, filed in federal court in San Jose, California, is the first of its kind to target Google’s Gemini and also the first to touch on a growing concern about the responsibility of tech companies when their users start telling their chatbots about plans for mass violence.

In Canada, OpenAI said it considered last year alerting police about the activities of a person who months later committed one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history.

The company identified the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar in June via abuse detection efforts for “furtherance of violent activities,” but said she later got around the ban by having a second account. The 18-year-old killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia in February and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

While Gemini tried to refer Gavalas to a help line, Edelson said it’s not clear if the man’s most alarming conversations with the chatbot were ever flagged to Google’s human reviewers. His father, Joel Gavalas, discovered his son’s body after getting into the barricaded room where he died. They had worked together in the family’s consumer debt relief business.

“Jonathan was a huge, huge part of his life,” Edelson said. “His son was having some hard times, going through a divorce. He went to Gemini for some comfort and to talk about video games and stuff. And then this just escalated so quickly.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz disclosed Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against Iran had originally been scheduled for later in the year but was moved forward significantly because of shifting developments.

Katz made the remarks during a meeting with IDF intelligence soldiers and commanders, where he described how evolving conditions led to an accelerated timetable for the operation.

Addressing the intelligence personnel, Katz said: “Since the war was planned for the middle of the year, with the same goal, but because of the developments and circumstances, mainly within Iran, the US President’s position, and the possibility of creating a joint operation, the need arose to move everything up to February.”

He praised the intelligence units for their work leading up to the campaign, noting that their efforts helped make the earlier launch possible. “We ourselves hoped for this, but weren’t sure, and you advanced the intelligence aspect significantly. From day to day and hour to hour, another capability and more dimensions, and of course, operational preparedness. You have a giant part in building this ability, which also led to this combination and the result of the fantastic opening blow and onward,” the Minister added.

Katz stressed that the fighting is still ongoing but expressed confidence that the campaign will ultimately strengthen Israel’s security standing. “We are in the midst of a campaign, we are convinced that it will end well, and that the result will be the most significant boost to Israel’s security and position, the removal of threats and everything that we have been contending with for a long time,” Katz emphasized.

He said Israel’s edge in the confrontation stems largely from its intelligence capabilities and operational strength. “Our advantage over Iran in this campaign is mostly on two dimensions: intelligence and operational capabilities. If you asked what surprised the Iranians to the point that they weren’t ready despite the strategic warning, it’s because they didn’t know how to estimate the two dimensions: the width and depth of intelligence on every target, and the operational ability to utilize the intelligence to hit, attack, destroy, and ruin their abilities.”

The head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, also addressed the soldiers and described the role of intelligence units during the ongoing conflict. “We are operating from this very place to provide timely warnings in a multi-front campaign. We are constantly monitoring all arenas and ensuring we deliver high-quality intelligence that will give us the alert we need. We also provide intelligence for decision-making, and above all, we are now supplying intelligence for victory over the enemy, for victory over Iran across all dimensions, in every mission, and in all the capabilities we have determined to degrade. We are operating 24/7.”

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at a press conference Wednesday that Iran is “toast,” that the United States will rain down “death and destruction” on Iran and that the U.S. has a nearly unlimited stockpile of munitions, dismissing concerns about stockpile depletion ahead of a potential conflict with any other of the U.S.’ geopolitical enemies.

While the U.S. “can’t stop everything” Tehran throws its way, it can continue the war “as long as we need to,” he said, leaving open the possibility that more American casualties could be expected.

Iran is “toast, and they know it,” he added. “Or at least, soon enough, they will know it.” He said that the U.S. has “only just begun,” with far bigger waves of strikes expected that will establish “uncontested airspace” in the coming week.

“We will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense-industrial base of the Iranian military. Finding and fixing their leaders, and their military leaders,” he explained.

“Every minute of every day until we decide that it’s over,” Iranian leaders will gaze skyward, only to see the might of the U.S. and Israeli air forces, he said.

“Iran will be able to do nothing about it,” he crowed. “Death and destruction from the sky. All day long.” U.S. pilots “have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly,” and the laws of war “are designed to unleash American power, not shackle it.”

“This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight,” he asserted. “We are punching them when they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.”

He said that this campaign, compared to the U.S. operation against Iran in June, is sevenfold more intense. “More and larger waves are coming; we are just getting started,” he said. “We are accelerated.”

Aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. (U.S. Navy handout)

Addressing the concern of running out of ammunition, he said, “We can sustain this fight easily, for as long as we need to. Our air defenses and that of our allies have plenty of runway. We will take all the time we need to make sure we succeed.”

“Iran’s senior leaders are dead,” he added. “The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor are dead, missing, or cowering in bunkers, too terrified to even occupy the same room.”

“The Iranian air force is no more,” he said. “The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground.”

“We control their fate,” he said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk took the stand in a shareholder trial on Wednesday in San Francisco, where he’s accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitter’s stock price before he bought the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022, a few weeks before Musk’s purchase of Twitter was finalized. It claims Musk violated federal securities laws by making false, public statements that “were carefully calculated to drive down the price of Twitter stock.”

The billionaire Tesla CEO reached a deal to buy Twitter and take it private in April 2022. On May 13, however, he declared his plan “temporarily on hold” and said he needs to pinpoint the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter’s stock tumbled as a result. A few days later, he tweeted that the deal “cannot go forward” and claimed that almost 20% of Twitter accounts were “fake,” according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff’s lawyer began with questioning Musk about his tweets — or lack of tweets — about his decision to buy Twitter and his purchases of Twitter stock prior to deciding to take the company private.

Wearing a black suit and tie, Musk said he didn’t think it was “material” when, in early 2022, he began amassing Twitter stock and did not tweet about it or disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He said he’s bought stock in “many companies” and did not post about it.

Once he did, Twitter’s stock jumped 27% in one day.

“That sounds high,” Musk said.

Musk’s May 13 tweet — “Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users” — was “false because the buyout was not, in fact, ‘temporarily on hold,’” the lawsuit says. That’s because Twitter did not agree to put the deal on hold, and there was nothing in the merger agreement the two parties signed that allowed Musk to put it on hold, according to the lawsuit.

In the following weeks, Musk continued to try to delay or get out of the deal, which the lawsuit claims he did in the form of false, disparaging statements about Twitter’s business that drove the San Francisco company’s stock down sharply.

In July 2022, Musk doubled down on the bots issue and said he would abandon his offer to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts. That’s even though the lawsuit notes that Musk waived due diligence for his “take it or leave it” offer to buy Twitter. That means he waived his right to look at the company’s nonpublic finances.

The stock closed at $36.81 on July 8, when Musk tweeted he was abandoning the deal over the fake accounts issue. That’s 32% below Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share.

“To try to renegotiate the price or delay the merger, Musk made materially false and misleading statements and omissions, and engaged in a scheme to deceive the market, all in violation of the law,” the lawsuit says.

The problem of bots and fake accounts on Twitter wasn’t new. The company had paid $809.5 million in 2021 to settle claims it was overstating its growth rate and monthly user figures. Twitter also disclosed its bot estimates to the Securities and Exchange Commission for years, while also cautioning that its estimate might be too low.

Twitter sued Musk to force him to complete the deal, and Musk countersued. On Oct. 4, Musk offered to go through with his original proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion, which Twitter accepted. The deal closed later that month. In the ensuing months, Musk slashed the company’s workforce, gutted its trust and safety team and rolled back content moderation policies. In July 2023, he renamed Twitter as X.

This isn’t the first time that Musk has been dragged into court to defend himself against allegations of duping investors with his social media posts. Three years ago, Musk spent about eight hours testifying in a San Francisco federal trial about his plans to buy Tesla — the electric automaker that he still runs as publicly traded company — for $420 per share in a proposed 2018 deal that never materialized. A nine-member jury absolved Musk of wrongdoing in that case.

(AP) – The first round of primary elections is showing how this year’s midterms will be taking place on shifting political ground for incumbents.

That was particularly true in Texas — the first state to redraw its congressional districts last year — where incumbent members of Congress have been pushed to runoffs and another has been scuttled from the House altogether.

Former Rep. Colin Allred, who abandoned his initial U.S. Senate run to pursue Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, is headed to a runoff with Rep. Julie Johnson, who holds the U.S. House seat that used to be his.

Democratic Rep. Al Green, an outspoken liberal who has twice been ejected from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union addresses for protesting, and newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee will compete in the May 26 runoff for a Houston-area district.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican and former Navy SEAL with an independent streak, faced attacks from the party’s hard right that he was not in lockstep with Trump, and was the state’s only House Republican not to win the president’s endorsement. He lost to Steve Toth, a Republican state lawmaker who received late backing from Sen. Ted Cruz.

An incumbent is also in a close race in North Carolina that was too early to call early Wednesday.

A look at where things stand after Tuesday’s primaries:

Foushee and Allam locked in tight contest
In a North Carolina primary rematch from four years ago, two-term U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee is angling to hold off a primary challenge from county official Nida Allam in a race testing the heft of Democrats’ progressive and establishment wings.

Foushee, a former local elected official and state legislator, represents the 4th Congressional District, which includes liberal strongholds of Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, as well as about half of Cary. In the primary, she boasts backing from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, his predecessor and current U.S. Senate nominee Roy Cooper, and more than 100 current or retired elected officials and activist groups.

Allam, a Durham County commissioner backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is aiming to tap into discontent among liberals that Democratic Party leaders and elected officials haven’t been forceful enough in resisting the agenda of Trump and fellow Republicans. The daughter of Indian and Pakistani immigrants, she said she was driven to politics by the shooting deaths of three of her friends — Muslim university students — in 2015.

Political action committees spent more than $1 million combined supporting Allam or opposing Foushee, according to campaign finance reports. But Foushee also received a late boost of outside support from a PAC that backs what it calls “sensible” regulation on artificial intelligence.

Whoever wins the Democratic contest should be a heavy favorite in November over Republican and Libertarian candidates. Kamala Harris defeated Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election in the district by a 2-to-1 margin.

Allred and Johnson head to a runoff
A former House member in Texas’ 32nd District, Allred launched a congressional comeback after ditching a second run for the U.S. Senate in December, making the switch after Rep. Jasmine Crockett jumped into the Texas Senate race.

Johnson, an attorney, served six years in the Texas House before winning Allred’s former seat in 2024.

Whoever wins their coming runoff will be the favorite in November to represent a redrawn Dallas-area district that heavily leans Democrat.

Allred was an NFL linebacker for Tennessee Titans before becoming a civil rights lawyer and serving in Congress.

Green and Menefee in a Texas runoff
The unusual primary between two sitting Democratic congressmen in Texas was the result of redrawn voting maps that Trump ordered ahead of November’s midterm elections. Green, 78, switched to run in the newly redrawn 18th Congressional District after his current district was redrawn to favor Republicans.

Menefee, 37, was sworn in to Congress only a month ago after winning a special election to fill the remaining term of Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died last year. For some Houston voters, Tuesday’s primary was their third time casting ballots in a congressional race in four months, sowing confusion.

Green, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2004, is one of his party’s most outspoken Trump critics and filed articles of impeachment during the president’s first term.

The primary is one of the generational competitions among Democrats this year, as younger candidates argue it’s time for a new crop of party leaders. Green has faced concerns from within the party, which is increasingly unwilling to defer to seniority.

Crenshaw ousted by Toth
Crenshaw, seeking his fifth term in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, was the state’s only House Republican whom Trump didn’t endorse heading into the nation’s first big primary of 2026.

The former Navy SEAL, whose independent streak sometimes clashed with fellow Republicans, spent the primary trying to fend off attacks from the party’s hard right that he wasn’t in step with Trump’s agenda.

Toth, a state representative and member of the GOP’s hard-right caucus in the Legislature, picked up a big endorsement late in the primary from Cruz.

“This campaign has been a referendum on representatives who campaign one way and govern another, and the people have spoken,” Toth said in a statement after his victory.

Crenshaw, who lost his right eye when he was hit with an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012, had clashed with Cruz over the senator’s support of Trump’s unfounded claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

He was one of the few Texas Republican candidates for Congress in 2022 who acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 was legitimate, a position that occasionally found him at odds with fellow Republicans.

Crenshaw also drew the ire of conservatives when a video clip went viral of him criticizing some Republican politicians as “grifters” and “performance artists” who simply tell conservative voters what they want to hear.

A senior Iranian Shiite cleric has issued a religious decree urging Muslims worldwide to wage jihad after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi released the ruling shortly after Khamenei’s death, framing the event as a religious turning point and calling on followers of Islam to respond.

In the decree, Shirazi wrote that “the lowest of the enemies of humanity and the most evil infidels” succeeded in killing the “leader of the Islamic revolution,” Ali Khamenei, who “fulfilled his dream to be a martyr.”

Shirazi argued that throughout Islamic history, sacrificing one’s life in the service of Allah has often been the cost of preserving honor and independence. He also suggested that such sacrifices are part of the spiritual preparation for the arrival of the Mahadi, the Islamic messianic figure.

The cleric stressed that the Islamic Revolution is larger than any single leader and will continue regardless of Khamenei’s death. He said the country’s Assembly of Experts must move quickly to select a new supreme leader, while Iranian security forces should take firm action to ensure that foreign enemies cannot exploit the moment to stir unrest within the country.

The ruling directly blamed both the United States and Israel for Khamenei’s killing, with Shirazi referring to Israel as “the cursed Zionist entity,” and declared that Muslims everywhere were religiously obligated to avenge the slain Iranian leader.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration’s top drug regulator, Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, is working to hire a researcher and friend who wants the agency to add new warnings to antidepressants about unproven pregnancy risks, The Associated Press has learned.

Dr. Adam Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and critic of antidepressant safety, is pressing the FDA to add a boxed warning to SSRIs, the drugs most commonly prescribed for depression. Urato’s petition says the medications can cause pregnancy complications, including miscarriages and fetal brain abnormalities that may lead to autism and other disorders in children.

That proposed labeling change has become a top priority for Hoeg, who regularly consults with Urato and is working to bring him on as a full-time FDA employee, according to people familiar with the situation. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential FDA matters.

Within the agency, Hoeg’s close relationship with Urato is viewed as a clear conflict of interest that, under normal FDA standards, would result in her recusing herself from any work on the petition. But Hoeg is actively working to speed up the agency’s review of her friend’s proposal, according to the people familiar with the situation.

Outside experts say the petition relies on flimsy data, including animal studies and small trials in people. They fear a new FDA warning could cause pregnant women to stop medication unnecessarily, leading to serious health risks from untreated depression.

“A black box warning is a big red flag with both practitioners and patients,” said Dr. Jennifer Payne, a University of Virginia reproductive psychiatrist. “What’s missing in this petition is an understanding of the risks of maternal mental illness during pregnancy, not just to the woman, but to the pregnancy and ultimately the infant.”

SSRIs include most of the bestselling depression medications, including Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and their generic equivalents.

More than 15% of U.S. women, or about 26 million people, take medication for depression, according to the latest federal figures. Professional guidelines state that antidepressants are generally safe during pregnancy and should be discontinued only after careful consultation with a doctor.

Last fall, Hoeg gave a talk on the SSRI petition to top FDA drug officials, presenting the work as her own. Staffers who reviewed her slides found they were created by Urato, according to the people who spoke to the AP. The incident was first reported by Stat News.

Urato said in an email Wednesday that Hoeg is “an excellent scientist,” and that they have known each other for several years.

“I am friendly with her, as I am with many colleagues, but we do not have a longstanding personal friendship that would in any way prevent her from reviewing the citizen petition,” Urato said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, said that the agency would respond directly to Urato about his petition.

In January, Urato was named to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s panel on vaccine recommendations, which has been completely reshaped by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to include a number of anti-vaccine voices.

The latest COVID-19 contrarian elevated into FDA’s leadership
The antidepressant review is the latest in a series of controversial topics taken up by Hoeg, a sports medicine physician with no previous government or management experience.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoeg attracted attention as a critic of masking, vaccine mandates and other public health measures. She co-wrote papers with medical contrarians who would go on to join the Trump administration, including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and FDA’s vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad. All three have become top surrogates for Kennedy.

Before the pandemic, Hoeg had published only a handful of medical papers, including one on health issues affecting ultramarathon runners.

A Danish American citizen and marathon runner, Hoeg was instrumental in the Republican administration’s recent decision to drop a number of vaccine recommendations for children. That is a change she has long proposed, to bring the United States more in line with Denmark.

Like many critics of vaccines, including Kennedy, Hoeg has also been skeptical of antidepressants, questioning their safety and benefits. Last July, she hosted a panel of outside experts at the FDA on SSRIs that included Urato and nine other critics of the drugs.

“Never before in human history have we chemically altered developing babies like this, especially the developing fetal brain, and this is happening without any real public warning,” Urato said at the meeting.

On a podcast shortly afterward, Hoeg echoed many of Urato’s points.

“I think women should be informed about the potential risks so that they have time to come off SSRIs if they want to when they’re trying to get pregnant,” Hoeg told the hosts of the Mom Wars podcast.

FDA officials typically avoid making public comments about matters under review because it could suggest the agency is basing its decision on individual opinions, rather than science.

But Hoeg has taken a hands-on approach to the SSRI petition, telling FDA staffers that their proposed review timeline of nine months needed to be shortened, according to the people familiar with the situation.

Reviewing a citizen petition involves detailed analysis of scientific references, legal issues and a number of other steps to ensure that the agency’s final decision can be defended in court.

“Apart from it serving FDA’s public health mission, there’s always going to be some concern about legal risk if the agency doesn’t take sufficient time to consider all the relevant data and arguments,” said Patti Zettler, a former FDA attorney now at Ohio State University’s law school.

Hoeg was tapped to the lead FDA’s drug center in December, inheriting the job during a period of unprecedented upheaval, including layoffs, buyouts and leadership changes. She is the sixth person to lead the 5,000-person center in the past year.

Staffers did not hear from Hoeg directly until a town hall last month, where she voiced her concerns about the safety of SSRIs and injectable RSV shots for children, a class of drugs that FDA is reviewing at her request. RSV is a respiratory virus that sends thousands of children in the United States to the hospital each year.

Antidepressant questions clouded by other health factors
The safety of antidepressants has been scrutinized for decades, leading to several updates to their FDA label, including the addition of a black box warning about the risk of suicidal behavior in children.

For pregnant women, the current label lists a number of documented safety issues, including risks of excess bleeding after giving birth.

Doctors who treat women with depression say they discuss those risks with their patients, balancing the possible safety issues against the potential harms of relapsing into depression: self-harm, substance abuse and other behaviors that negatively impact women and fetuses.

Researchers who have reviewed Urato’s SSRI petition say many of the studies claiming to show connections to disorders such as autism don’t take into account other important health factors. For example, women with depression have higher rates of smoking, diabetes and family histories of mental illness that can all increase the likelihood of developmental disorders.

“So how do we say that these outcomes are a result of the SSRI when all of these other factors are at play?” said Dr. Amritha Bhat, a University of Washington perinatal psychiatrist.

Bhat and other researchers say they support more research into the effects of SSRIs, and they acknowledge possible downsides to their use.

“But in the meantime we need to provide options to people that are struggling with these symptoms during pregnancy,” she said. “We cannot just ask them to white knuckle their way through it.”

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of R’ Shimon Frank Z”L of Lakewood, who was tragically Niftar today at the age of 26.

R’ Shimon was an only son, and suffered from a Machlah for some time. He leaves behind his wife, Leah (nee Klein).

The Levaya is scheduled to take place at 4:00 PM at the BMG Yoshon building. Kevurah in Lakewood.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

🤯⚠️ WILD FOOTAGE: 96-year-old Shoshana Nodelman, a WWII survivor, has survived a massive shockwave after an Iranian ballistic missile struck just outside her home as she sat on her sofa in Israel.  

At 96 and a half years old, she is not able to make it down the six flights of stairs required to take shelter. – Kann

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine said Iran’s ballistic missile launches have dropped by 86% compared to the first day of fighting, while drone launches have declined by 73%.  

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The IDF says the Israeli Air Force carried out a large-scale strike on a major Iranian military compound in eastern Tehran that housed headquarters for multiple security organizations of the regime.

✈️ Over 100 fighter jets participated in the operation
💣 More than 250 bombs were dropped on the complex

Your browser does not support the video tag.

According to the IDF, the compound contained command centers for several key Iranian security bodies, including:

• IRGC headquarters
• Intelligence Directorate headquarters
• Basij headquarters
• Quds Force headquarters
• Internal Security forces headquarters
• Cyber warfare headquarters
• The unit responsible for suppressing protests

The military says Iranian operatives at the site were involved in managing operations, planning terrorist attacks against Israel and the region, and repressing the Iranian population.

The strike was carried out with precise intelligence guidance and was completed a short while ago.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rabbi Refoel Avrohom Yitzchok Hakohen Portowicz zt”l, a devoted mechanech who influenced generations of talmidim over more than five decades in the field of Torah education, leaving behind a legacy of dedication to Torah, chinuch, and the growth of countless young lives.

For more than fifty years, Rabbi Portowicz stood at the forefront of Torah education, guiding and inspiring talmidim with patience, clarity, and a deep sense of responsibility for every student entrusted to his care. For many years he served as menahel of Yeshivas Ziv Hatorah in Brooklyn, where he played a central role in building and strengthening the yeshiva’s educational environment. Under his leadership, generations of boys were guided not only in their learning, but in their development as bnei Torah and ehrliche Yidden.

His influence extended far beyond the classroom. With genuine care and a deep understanding of the challenges young people face, he invested himself in the growth of each student, offering guidance, encouragement, and direction.

Rabbi Portowicz’s dedication to chinuch was not limited to the school year. During the summer months, he continued his work with young people in the camp setting, where his presence was felt by hundreds of campers who benefitted from his guidance and inspiration. He served as head counselor of Camp Rayim, where he helped create an atmosphere of growth, camaraderie, and meaningful learning.

He also served as director of Camp Kochavim, where he worked tirelessly to ensure that the camp environment was not only enjoyable, but also uplifting and spiritually enriching for the boys who spent their summers there.

In addition, Rabbi Portowicz served as teen learning mashpia of Camp Romimu, where he inspired older campers to deepen their commitment to Torah and avodas Hashem.

Throughout his decades of work in chinuch, Rabbi Portowicz became known for his warmth, sincerity, and dedication to the success of every talmid. Whether in the classroom, the beis medrash, or the camp grounds, he approached his role with a deep sense of mission. His talmidim remember a mechanech who believed in them, pushed them to grow, and remained a source of guidance long after they left his direct care.

A couple of years ago, Rabbi Portowicz moved to Lakewood, where he resided in the Albert area.

The levayah will take place today at 2:30 PM at the Congregation Sons of Israel Holocaust Memorial Chapel, located at 613 Ramsey Avenue in Lakewood, New Jersey. Kevurah will follow at the adjacent Mt. Sinai Cemetery.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

👀 WOW: Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar tells soldiers today that “the troops of the air force’s special units are currently carrying out extraordinary missions that can spark one’s imagination.”

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The Jackson Police Department announced that several arrests were made over the past few days at McAuliffe School in connection with burglary, trespassing, and criminal mischief. Officials say the incidents appear to have been inspired by a recent social media trend.

In response, the department has increased patrol and security checks on and around the school property.

Lt. Edward Travisano warned the public: “There will be ZERO TOLERANCE when it comes to any persons found within the school or on the property without permission.”

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

PSA: If you come across one of these, stay away and call the police immediately.

These are submunitions / cluster bombs scattered by missiles. Any movement can cause them to explode and disperse deadly shrapnel.

This is extremely dangerous and life-threatening.

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X is rolling out a new policy aimed at curbing the spread of artificial intelligence–generated war footage, as misleading videos tied to the ongoing Iran conflict circulate widely online.

Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, said the platform will penalize users who post AI-generated videos of armed conflicts without clearly disclosing that the footage was created using artificial intelligence.

“During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground,” Bier wrote in a post announcing the move. “With today’s AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people.”

Under the new policy, users who fail to label AI-generated videos depicting an armed conflict will lose access to X’s creator revenue sharing program — the platform’s monetization system that allows eligible users to earn money from their posts.

The penalty will apply only to users who participate in the revenue program, which requires accounts to have a significant audience and reach.

Bier said a second violation would result in a permanent suspension from the revenue-sharing system.

X plans to identify misleading AI content through its Community Notes feature — a crowdsourced moderation tool that allows users to flag inaccurate or misleading posts — as well as through other signals indicating that a video was artificially generated.

The policy, however, stops short of applying platform-wide penalties. Because it targets only accounts earning money through the creator program, the vast majority of X users will not face consequences for posting AI-generated war footage.

The rules also do not apply to AI-generated photos.

The announcement comes as advances in generative AI have made it increasingly easy for users with little technical expertise to create highly realistic videos and images.

Since the start of the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States, fabricated battlefield footage has proliferated on social media platforms, often racking up millions of views before being debunked.

One widely shared video falsely depicted a massive Iranian missile bombardment of Tel Aviv, spreading rapidly across X and other platforms despite being entirely computer generated.

Tel Aviv, stripped of illusion, as you have never witnessed it. pic.twitter.com/HE3ckjBMti

— Abdulruhman Ismail (@a_abdulruhman) March 3, 2026

AI-created images have also circulated widely. Photos purporting to show the bodies of Iranian girls killed in the conflict — later determined to be fabricated — were shared online by a number of high-profile accounts, including U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians Francesca Albanese and other users who appeared to be legitimate sources.

Iran’s regime is illiberal and brutal, and the Iranian people deserve the freedom they have long fought for. This gives no right to the US or Israel -whose own policies in Palestine are also illiberal and brutal- to bomb Iran, nor to EU leaders to cloak escalation in hypocrisy. https://t.co/GM1SrxhCPa

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) March 3, 2026

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the first New York City neighborhoods that will offer free day care for 2-year-olds this fall under the new 2-Care initiative.

Mamdani joined Hochul and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels during a visit to the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling in Harlem, one of the providers expected to participate in the 2-K program.

City officials said the initial rollout will provide about 2,000 2-K seats across four areas: Washington Heights and Inwood; Fordham and Kingsbridge; East Brooklyn, including Canarsie, Brownsville and Ocean Hill; and Ozone Park and the Rockaways.

“Launching 2-K in these four neighborhoods is just the beginning of our work to put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets, strengthen our entire economy and help more families build their lives here,” Mamdani said.

The city plans to gradually expand the program over the next several years, with full implementation expected by the 2029–2030 school year.

“This is the first time the State of New York has made such an unprecedented commitment to the families and children of the City of New York, and we’re not going backwards, we are committed,” Hochul said.

According to Hochul, the pilot phase has already secured funding. Officials say the program will grow to serve 12,000 children next year and will ultimately expand to cover all 2-year-olds in New York City within four years. In the meantime, participation will remain limited to selected neighborhoods.

“These determinations were made in part, on a reflection of which neighborhoods had those providers ready to go before the end of this year, and also as a reflection of economic need that will continue to be some of the ways in which we making determinations for the 12,000 seats next year,” Mamdani said. “But then by the end of year four, it’s every single 2-year-old in the City of New York.”

Staten Island will not be part of the first phase of the program. Mamdani did not offer a specific explanation for the borough’s exclusion but said it will be included in the expansion next year.

Officials said enrollment will open this summer, though the process for selecting participating children has not yet been finalized.

{Matzav.com}

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador and the United States have begun joint military operations against organized crime groups in the South American country, the U.S. military said, but neither government has given details of the location and scope of the operation.

U.S. Southern Command said in a statement late Tuesday that Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces had launched operations in a “powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.”

A 30-second video accompanying a post on X showed a helicopter flying over a group of men walking on the ground, but the footage stops without revealing more about the location.

“We are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” the post added, without providing other details of the operation.

Ecuador’s foreign and defense ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The operation was not mentioned Wednesday at the U.S. defense secretary briefing, which was focused on Iran.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa had said earlier this week that his government was beginning joint actions with other countries as part of a new phase in the fight against organized crime, as Ecuador faces a sustained wave of violence linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining.

“Ecuador demands security, our people need to live in peace,” said Noboa, adding that military and police forces will be involved in the operations he described as “very important.”

Ecuador maintains good relations with the United States, Israel and Italy, among other countries, often collaborating on security issues.

In February, Noboa ordered the foreign ministry to seek cooperation agreements with “allied nations” that would allow “the incorporation of special forces” on a temporary basis as support for the Ecuadorian police and armed forces.

Authorities identify Ecuador as a critical logistical hub in the global drug trade, where drugs — particularly cocaine — are stockpiled, stored and distributed, especially from the northern border with Colombia. The shipments are transported from its ports to Central America, the United States and Europe.

___

WEST ORANGE, N.J. (VINnews) — 77 WABC morning host Sid Rosenberg issued an apology Wednesday for social media posts attacking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Earlier this week, Rosenberg posted on X, calling Mamdani a “Radical Islam cockroach” and a “Jihadist America-hating Mayor” while urging President Donald Trump to stop meeting with and speaking positively about the newly elected mayor.

The remarks drew widespread criticism. The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Rosenberg’s show to be canceled. Gov. Kathy Hochul labeled the comments “hateful, racist, and disgusting,” saying the language was dehumanizing. Sen. Chuck Schumer called the remarks “a disgusting display of bigotry and Islamophobia that should receive universal condemnation.” Even Jessica Tisch, the NYPD chief who is considered a friend of Rosenberg, condemned the comments.

When asked about the posts, Mamdani said he was not surprised. “This language is both painfully familiar to me as a Muslim New Yorker, but also as someone who was born in East Africa,” he said. “It is difficult to hear.”

On Wednesday, Rosenberg addressed the controversy during his morning show and in a statement. “To the mayor, and anyone else that I offended with my tweet on Saturday, I send out a heartfelt apology,” he said. He also deleted the original post. “Not nice to call somebody a bug, I get it, but it had nothing to do with anybody’s religion or faith or anything,” Rosenberg added. Guests on the show defended the post.

The controversy was amplified Tuesday when President Trump posted a photo of Mamdani next to the Declaration of Independence while at the Oval Office, which critics interpreted as a swipe against Rosenberg amid the ongoing dispute.

It remains unclear whether the mayor or city officials plan to respond to the apology.

In an action that IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said was “historic,” an Israeli F-35I fighter jet flown by a junior pilot shot down a manned Russian-made Iranian Yak-130 jet over Tehran on Wednesday. This marks the first time in history that an F-35 shot down a manned aircraft and the first time in 40 years that an Israeli pilot engaged in air-to-air combat since 1985, when Israel was engaged in a conflict with Lebanon.

“The historic interception over the skies of Tehran is an expression of the air force’s power and your personal determination. The next mission is already waiting for you,” Bar said.

“We identified the plane, locked on it and launched [a missile],” said the commander of the Nevatim Airbase, which houses the IAF’s F-35 jets. The F-35I is a unique Israeli version of the F-35 fighter jet.

The commander of the airbase, whose name was withheld, said, “The Iranian plane endangered [our] aircraft. It could have hit our plane, so we shot it down.” He said that the F-35 was conducting operations against targets in Iran when it shot down the jet, adding that when it comes to striking targets, the F-35 “knows how to do this very quickly and accurately.”

“The Iranian Air Force understands that it is inferior and under significant threat,” the military official added. “Despite this, it is trying with its remaining capabilities to carry out missions that will disrupt us. That was the situation that led to the shootdown.”

“We encounter the enemy during our sorties in Iran, but it is a weak enemy,” he said.

Unverified video on social media showed purported footage of the attack.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the IDF is expected to mark the F-35I with a victory mark, a small decal on the plane’s side to mark the pilot’s achievement.

Amid the ongoing security tensions, Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has reportedly held emergency discussions about the possibility of declaring a leap year and adding a second month of Adar in order to delay Purim celebrations until conditions improve.

According to a report published Tuesday, urgent consultations have taken place in recent days in the offices of Israel’s chief rabbis—Rishon LeTzion Rav Dovid Yosef and Chief Rabbi Rav Kalman Bar. The discussions reportedly included senior security officials and focused on the halachic possibility of declaring ibbur hashanah—intercalating the year by adding a second Adar—even though the current year is scheduled to be a regular year according to the established Jewish calendar.

The report states that the talks began after the outbreak of the war with Iran during Operation Shaagas HaAri. The central concern raised in the discussions was the prospect that large segments of Israel’s population might be forced to celebrate the days of Purim in bomb shelters and protected spaces due to the ongoing rocket threats.

According to those familiar with the discussions, the chief rabbis expressed deep concern that the security situation could undermine the spirit of the holiday. The fear is that the commandment of v’nahafoch hu—the transformation of danger into joy—could instead be overshadowed by anxiety and fear if people are required to celebrate the festival under emergency conditions.

For that reason, the rabbis reportedly examined whether it might be halachically possible to redefine the current month as Adar I and add an additional month of Adar II, in the hope that the security situation would stabilize by then and allow the holiday to be celebrated properly and with communal joy.

During the extended deliberations, historical precedents from the Beis Din HaGadol were reviewed. In past eras, the year was sometimes intercalated not only due to astronomical considerations but also because of pressing circumstances that could prevent the proper fulfillment of mitzvos.

One of the questions raised during the discussions was whether the current situation—where many Israelis must remain in shelters—could be considered a form of oneis, a halachic circumstance beyond people’s control that might justify extraordinary measures in the calendar.

Another concern mentioned was the potential timing of Pesach, particularly in light of statements by President Donald Trump suggesting that the war could last approximately four weeks, which could place additional holidays under the shadow of ongoing hostilities.

Sources close to the chief rabbis described the discussions as reflecting a difficult dilemma between preserving the fixed Jewish calendar and addressing the emotional and spiritual challenges facing tens of thousands of Israelis currently living under constant threat.

The Chief Rabbinate issued a brief response to the report, stating: “Following consultations between the chief rabbis, it was decided to wish everyone a happy Purim, including those who enjoy the Purim humor in the report.”

Ah frelichen Shushan Purim.

{Matzav.com}

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.)

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE

your OWN SIYUM on the ENTIRE

Shas, Rashi & Tosfos

IN JUST ONE YEAR!

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact.

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own.

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden.

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact –

Beyond the Grave

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory.

ShasYiden.com

Purim celebrations in the court of Seret Vizhnitz in Haifa were marked this year by the tense security situation in northern Israel, as repeated rocket alerts disrupted the traditional tish on the night of Purim.

During the gathering, three consecutive sirens sounded across the city, forcing chassidim and guests to seek shelter in protected areas. When the first alert was heard, the Seret Vizhnitzer Rebbe left the bais medrash and made his way to a nearby protected space.

While the Rebbe remained in the secure area, thousands of chassidim stayed inside the bais medrash and responded to the tense moments with powerful singing, chanting the posuk “V’chol karnei resha’im agadei’a, teromamnah karnei tzaddik.”

After three separate alerts and a message from Home Front Command announcing that the immediate danger had passed, the Rebbe returned to his table to continue the tish. However, only minutes later another early warning notification was issued. At that point, the Rebbe immediately began birkas hamazon and again made his way to the protected area to ensure the safety of those present.

Amid the disruption caused by the sirens, chassidim also experienced an unusual moment during the krias hamegillah. On the night of Purim, the Rebbe personally read the first two chapters of the megillah, after which the reading was continued by Rav Meshulam Rosenberg.

During the daytime megillah reading on Purim, however, an unexpected development occurred. After the first two chapters were completed, Rav Rosenberg attempted to continue the reading but suddenly lost his voice due to hoarseness and was unable to proceed.

In response to the situation, the Rebbe took over the reading himself and continued until the entire megillah had been completed.

Chassidim later expressed deep excitement over the rare moment, noting that it is uncommon for the Rebbe to read the entire megillah himself. Many said they felt privileged, describing the experience as an extraordinary occasion within the chassidus.

{Matzav.com}

The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) issued a letter voicing support for the U.S. strikes on Iran that was signed by 72 retired U.S. generals and admirals.

Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at JINSA, told JNS in an interview, “They wanted to both express what they see as the need for these operations, the need to address the Iranian threat, their confidence in that partnership and communicate that to the American people through this letter.”

The statement said that the Iranian regime, whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel,” has “committed to endangering the lives of U.S. troops, diplomats and civilians across the Middle East and here at home.”

Philip M. Breedlove, one of the signatories to the letter, is the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for NATO. (From a post on X)

“Hundreds of Americans have lost their lives at the hands of the Islamic Republic and its terrorist proxies,” the statement went on to say. “Leaders in Tehran openly state their ambitions to spill American blood, evict the United States from the Middle East, eliminate Israel and dominate a region that remains vital to global stability.”

Iran is the “largest state sponsor of terrorism” and is allied with American’s greatest enemies, Russia and China. The United States has offered Iran “every offramp possible,” but was unable to deter the authoritarian regime from pursuing the acquisition of nuclear weapons.

“The regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters showed the entire world just what it is willing to do to keep its people, and the region, under its thumb,” the statement added.

According to Misztal, JINSA, which is marking its 50th anniversary, has long brought retired U.S. military leaders to Israel and has developed “long-lasting relationships” with them, valuing, as they do, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

Jonathan W. Greenert, one of the signatories to the letter, served as the 30th Chief of Naval Operations, the top officer in the U.S. Navy. (From a post on X)

Misztal pointed out that many of these leaders served in the Middle East and witnessed the devastation Iran visited on U.S. soldiers, such as killing 600 service members in Iraq and continual attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East.

The military leaders urged the Iranian people to topple the regime and take their fate in their own hands, marking a stark contrast between the U.S. war on terror and this war. In the war on terror, the U.S. sought to effect regime change from the top down.

“It’s not a regime-change war, where the United States is the one that was going to topple this regime,” he explained. “It’s not a nation-building war, where the United States is going to be committed for decades to keeping troops in Iran and propping up whatever comes next.”

“It’s a recognition that we’re there to eliminate a threat and that we’re hopeful that the Iranian people, who have shown both their bravery in standing up to this regime but also their love of freedom and desire for something better to replace it, will seize the opportunity,” he concluded. “Understanding that that’s not necessarily going to be our role to give them that opportunity going forward.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday night that the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader was carried out “outside of international law,” adding that France cannot support the operation.

In a nationally televised address, Macron placed responsibility for the broader conflict in the Middle East on Iran but made clear that Paris does not endorse the strikes themselves, a stance that could strain relations with Washington.

His comments come as tensions between the United States and some European governments have intensified over the war. Earlier Tuesday, President Donald Trump threatened to halt trade with Spain after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the war as illegal and refused to allow American military aircraft to operate from Spanish bases during attacks on Iran.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who appeared alongside Trump during the press conference where the trade warning was issued, did not publicly defend Sánchez at the time. Macron’s remarks now appear to place France closer to the Spanish position regarding the legality of the conflict.

Although Trump has suggested the fighting could conclude within days or weeks, Macron warned that the conflict may continue for an extended period.

“Strikes will likely continue in the coming days to weaken Iran and destroy its counterattack capabilities. And in response, Iranian strikes in the whole region are expected to continue,” Macron said.

Macron also announced that France is strengthening its military posture in the region to safeguard its interests. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is being deployed to the Mediterranean, accompanied by fighter jets and air-defense systems.

“We will continue this effort as long as it is needed,” he said.

The French president confirmed that Paris has also dispatched anti-missile defense systems to Cyprus, a move that had previously been reported.

“Cyprus, an EU member state, a country with which we have signed a strategic partnership … requires our support,” he said.

Macron stressed that France must uphold its credibility by honoring its security commitments to allies in the region, including Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, where approximately 800 French troops are currently stationed.

On Sunday, Iranian drones struck a French naval facility in the United Arab Emirates, though no casualties were reported.

French fighter jets also conducted flights over the UAE during the weekend as part of what officials described as “sky security operations,” according to French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

{Matzav.com}

The Lakewood Police Department yesterday congratulated its newest officers on their graduation from the Ocean County Police Academy Class #123.

Graduating and joining the department are Ptl. J. Simpkins #471, Ptl. B. Gomez #473, Ptl. J. Herbert #474, Ptl. N. Inneo #476, and Ptl. B. Austin #478.

Officials said the recruits demonstrated dedication and discipline throughout their training at the Ocean County Police Academy, completing the rigorous program and officially beginning their careers in law enforcement.

Chief Gregory Meyer stated, “This is a proud day for the Lakewood Police Department. These officers have worked tirelessly to reach this milestone. Their commitment to integrity, professionalism, and service reflects the values of our department. We are confident they will serve the residents of Lakewood with honor and distinction. Congratulations — and welcome to the brotherhood and sisterhood of Lakewood Police.”

NATO forces intercepted a missile traveling through Syrian and Iraqi airspace and heading toward Turkey on Wednesday, shooting it down before it entered Turkish airspace. Debris landed in southern Turkey.

This marks the first time a key member of NATO has been targeted. Turkey, however, believes that the strike was intended for a military facility in Cyprus and not for Turkey. Nevertheless, Ankara views this as a major escalation and registered a complaint with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Araghchi that Iran must take care not to expand the conflict in the region.

In an effort to intimidate countries in the region that are both friendly and hostile to Iran, Tehran has ordered strikes against Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. However, this is the first time Tehran has targeted Turkey, which shares a border with Iran.

“We believe the target was a military facility in Cyprus, but the missile veered off course,” a Turkish official said.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry said that fragments of the intercepted missile landed near the town of Dörtyol in Hatay province, and no injuries were reported.

“We warn all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation of conflict in the region,” the ministry said in a statement. “In this context, we will continue to consult with NATO and our other allies. All necessary steps to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation. We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country.”

The ministry did not say if Turkey had invoked Article 5 of NATO, which says that an attack on one is considered an attack on all — so any member of the alliance that is attacked has the right to invoke this article and receive aid even in the form of ground troops. But U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth told reporters that he did not think this incident would trigger the collective response of Article 5.

In a statement, NATO said that “The North Atlantic Alliance condemns Iran’s launch toward Turkey. NATO stands in solidarity with all allies, including Turkey, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region.”

“Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including air and missile defense,” the statement added.

Yisroel R.

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying several individuals wanted in connection with a robbery pattern spanning four Brooklyn precincts — the 60th, 61st, 62nd and 68th.

Police said the incidents took place between February 10 and February 21, 2026, and involved teenage victims who were approached by groups of suspects riding motorized scooters.

In the first incident, reported on February 10 around 12:40 p.m. near 17th Avenue and 65th Street in the 62nd Precinct, two individuals approached a 19-year-old male seated on a motorized scooter. One displayed a machete before forcibly taking the scooter. The suspects fled in an unknown direction. No injuries were reported.

On February 13 at approximately 9:15 a.m., within the 68th Precinct near Ridge Boulevard and 86th Street, four individuals approached a 16-year-old male and demanded his jacket. The group attempted to remove the jacket and tore part of it before fleeing on motorized scooters. No injuries were reported.

A third incident occurred on February 16 at about 3:30 p.m. in front of 231 Neptune Avenue in the 60th Precinct. Five individuals riding scooters approached two 13-year-old boys and attempted to remove their jackets. When one victim resisted, he was punched in the face. One suspect displayed a knife before both jackets were taken. 

The most recent incident was reported on February 21 at approximately 2:55 p.m. near Ocean Avenue and Oriental Boulevard in the 61st Precinct. Four individuals approached a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old. One suspect pushed the 16-year-old off his e-bike and forcibly removed a Nike backpack from the 14-year-old. The group fled on the victim’s motorized scooter.

Police described the suspects as males approximately 16 to 18 years old with light complexions. Images of two of the individuals, obtained from the February 21 incident, were released by police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

While Israel remains on high alert amid the ongoing security situation, the bais medrash of Yeshivas Ponevezh in Bnei Brak resonated late into the night with the powerful sound of Torah learning, as thousands of talmidim gathered for a continuous learning session on the night of Purim.

The long-standing tradition—established decades ago by the rosh yeshiva, Rav Gershon Edelstein zt”l—continued this year with remarkable intensity. The evening also featured an emotional visit from the current rosh yeshiva, Rav Berel Povarsky.

As the streets of Bnei Brak filled with the festive atmosphere of the Yom Tov, tempered by the tension of the ongoing security situation in Eretz Yisroel, thousands of bochurim at the flagship yeshiva of the olam hayeshivos chose to arm themselves with what they see as the Jewish people’s most powerful weapon: Torah.

On the night of Purim, when many celebrate in the streets, the yeshiva’s talmidim set aside the usual festivities and gathered in the main bais medrash for an inspiring and uninterrupted learning session that continued until 2:00 a.m.

The famous learning session held each year on the night of Purim in Ponevezh is far from routine. It was instituted decades ago at the direct instruction of Rav Gershon Edelstein, who would regularly emphasize the unique power of learning Torah precisely at times when others might step away from it. The talmidim of the yeshiva, viewing this as a living spiritual legacy, packed the bais medrash to capacity.

A particularly moving moment occurred when the rosh yeshiva, Rav Berel Povarsky, entered the bais medrash to witness firsthand the extraordinary sight of thousands of young men deeply immersed in learning. The rosh yeshiva expressed great satisfaction, and dozens of talmidim approached him to discuss the sugyos they were studying, as he encouraged them to continue strengthening the merit of Klal Yisroel through their learning.

At the conclusion of the learning session at 2:00 a.m., a special tefillah was held for the salvation of the Jewish people and the nullification of harsh decrees.

Following the tefillah, thousands of bochurim broke out in powerful singing that echoed throughout the area. Alongside the traditional Purim melodies, songs of geulah and heartfelt supplication filled the hall, as the talmidim cried out and prayed for deliverance in the shadow of the ongoing war.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would not directly answer when asked whether Iran is better off without the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday.

“I’ve said before that the Iranian government has engaged in systematic repression of its own people, even killing thousands of Iranians who were seeking to express the most basic forms of dissent earlier this year. It is a brutal government,” he said.

“I’ve also said that while I may be a young mayor, I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country pursuing a war with the intent of regime change in that very same region not that many years ago,” he added, sidestepping the question.

The mayor was also asked about pushback from Jewish and Iranian Americans concerned about his biting criticism of the U.S. strikes against Iran. He said that while he weighs in with his opinion on geopolitics, his primary responsibility is to protect the city of New York.

“What I would say to Jewish New Yorkers, to Iranian American New Yorkers, to any New Yorker, frankly, is that my primary responsibility is to keep you safe,” he said. “As much as I have shared my thoughts when I’ve been asked about the federal government’s actions as well as the actions of the Israeli military, I’ve also focused my time and efforts in being in constant communication with our police commissioner, as well as emergency management officials.”

He pointed to the fact that police presence was heightened at “sensitive locations across the city out of an abundance of caution.”

He also said that as Muslims and Jews celebrate Ramadan and Purim, respectively, their anxiety about practicing their faith safely has increased.

“This is also a time when there is a sense of anxiety about whether New Yorkers can celebrate themselves, their faiths in a moment of such anxiety and tumult across the world,” he said. “We are taking the steps to ensure that our police officers are present” and “visible and reassuring New Yorkers that they do not need to sacrifice an ounce of themselves to be safe in this city.”

“They can be the fullest versions of themselves, and I’m thankful of the work of the men and women of the NYPD in making that the case,” he concluded.

Israeli defense officials say there has been a significant decline in the number of missiles being launched from Iran, attributing the drop to extensive damage inflicted on missile launchers as well as reports that some Iranian soldiers have abandoned their positions out of fear they would be targeted.

Four days into the war, security officials in Israel say the number of launches has steadily decreased, a trend they link to sustained Israeli and American strikes on Iran’s missile infrastructure.

According to a report aired overnight on Kan News, roughly 90 missiles were launched on the first day of the conflict. The number dropped to about 65 on the second day, around 25 on the third day, and approximately 20 launches were recorded on Tuesday.

A security official quoted in the report said the decline is expected to continue. “This trend will intensify; we and the Americans are damaging Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks.”

At the same time, the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force has struck dozens of missile launch sites and rendered approximately 300 missile launchers in Iran inoperable.

Since the beginning of Operation Shaagas HaAri, the Air Force has dropped roughly 4,000 munitions across targets throughout Iran.

According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Office, hundreds of fighter jets and aircraft have carried out simultaneous strikes over the past 24 hours against hundreds of targets across Iran and Lebanon.

As part of the ongoing offensive effort, the Israeli Air Force continues to conduct successive waves of attacks targeting the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile systems and air-defense networks.

Since the launch of Operation Shaagas HaAri, the Air Force has neutralized about 300 missile launchers, the result of more than 1,600 strike sorties and an around-the-clock effort to hunt down launchers and missile stockpiles in order to reduce the volume of fire directed at Israel’s home front.

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s missile and drone attacks have dropped sharply since the start of the U.S. military campaign against the country, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said American forces are now preparing to expand their strikes deeper into Iranian territory.

Speaking at a Pentagon press conference alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine said Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles and attack drones has been significantly degraded in the early days of Operation Epic Fury.

“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86 percent from the first day of fighting, with a 23 percent decrease just in the last 24 hours,” Caine said. “Their one-way attack drone shots are down 73 percent.”

The sharp decline reflects the impact of the massive strike campaign that has targeted Iranian missile launchers, military infrastructure, and naval assets across the region.

According to Caine, American forces have now struck more than 2,000 targets since the operation began. The campaign has also dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s naval capabilities.

U.S. forces have destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels, the general said, effectively neutralizing much of Iran’s ability to operate at sea in the current theater of war.

Caine outlined three primary objectives guiding the campaign: neutralizing Iran’s ballistic missile threat, degrading or destroying the Iranian navy, and preventing Tehran from rapidly rebuilding its military capabilities.

The progress achieved so far, he said, has allowed U.S. Central Command to establish localized air superiority along the southern portion of Iran’s coastline.

With those gains secured, American forces are now preparing to escalate the campaign.

“We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory,”

Caine said, adding that the operation is transitioning from primarily long-range strikes to closer-range precision attacks.

Those strikes will increasingly rely on guided munitions aimed at specific military targets, part of a broader strategy to dismantle Iran’s remaining capabilities while maintaining operational flexibility.

Caine also sought to reassure reporters that the United States has ample weapons to sustain the campaign for as long as necessary.

While declining to reveal the exact size of American stockpiles for security reasons, the general said U.S. forces have sufficient precision-guided munitions to continue operations without constraint.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Chayim Aruchim, Inc., a project of Agudath Israel of America, is dedicated to protecting life and guiding families through complex medical decisions in accordance with Halacha, has joined a national amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief challenging Delaware’s End of Life Options Act.

The brief was filed in federal appellate court alongside a broad coalition of medical, religious, ethical, and legal organizations representing diverse faith traditions and professional backgrounds. Together, the amici argue that laws permitting physician-assisted suicide endanger vulnerable individuals particularly the elderly, disabled, and seriously ill, and undermine the foundational principle that human life must be protected.

The brief contends that Delaware’s law removes long-standing legal safeguards against assisted suicide and transforms the role of government from protector of life into an enabler of self-inflicted death. Drawing on centuries of Anglo-American legal tradition, the filing explains that assisted suicide has historically been rejected by the law and that the right to life is deeply rooted in both English common law and the United States Constitution.

Citing Supreme Court precedent, including Washington v. Glucksberg, the amici maintain that there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide and that such laws violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process protections. The brief emphasizes that the duty of the state is to preserve life, not to facilitate its intentional ending.

“Chayim Aruchim joined this brief because our mission is rooted in the Torah that every moment of life has value,” said Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, President of Chayim Aruchim. “At times of serious illness and vulnerability, individuals deserve protection, compassionate care, and support, not laws that risk pressuring them toward ending their lives.”

Chayim Aruchim has long advocated for ethical, compassionate healthcare that advocates for the sanctity of life while helping families navigate difficult medical decisions. Its participation in this brief reflects its ongoing commitment to safeguarding patients, upholding moral responsibility in medicine, and ensuring that the most vulnerable members of society are not placed at risk.

[Press Release]

Missiles launched toward Israel from Iran and Lebanon triggered air sirens across central Israel on Wednesday in the first coordinated attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel.

Air defense systems deployed to intercept the projectiles created loud explosions in Tel Aviv, and the Home Front Command alerted central communities to expect more siren warnings. The IDF said it had intercepted all six missiles that were launched, one from Iran and five from Hezbollah.

Interceptor fragment seen at a school in central Israel. (From X)

Sirens also sounded in Haifa, and emergency services reported that debris landed in several locations in central Israel, including Petah Tikvah. The Carmel region was later subjected to sirens caused by missiles launched from Lebanon, and sirens went off again later in Jerusalem and central Israel as Iran launched more missiles toward the region. A fragment from an interceptor was found at a kindergarten, but no injuries were reported. Magen David Adom treated several people who were hurt while racing to take cover.

Civilians take cover during missile strike. (From X)

Alerts sounded in the following locations as well, warning of hostile drone or aircraft infiltration:

• The Upper Galilee communities of Yiftah, Dovev, Ramot Naftali and Malkia
• The Upper Galilee communities of Avivim, Baram and Yir’on
• The confrontation line along the Lebanese border

In other news, Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced it had intercepted a missile and lodged a complaint with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi over the missile launch toward Turkey.

Israel is preparing for at least one to two more weeks of military operations inside Iran as it seeks to systematically degrade the Iranian regime and its military infrastructure, according to information obtained by The Times of Israel.

Israeli military planners expect the campaign to continue with a sustained wave of strikes targeting thousands of additional regime-linked sites across the country.

The objective, Israeli officials say, is not merely to blunt Iran’s immediate military capabilities but to steadily dismantle the regime’s broader strategic infrastructure — including command centers, weapons production facilities, missile systems, and other key assets tied to Tehran’s military power.

The IDF views the campaign as a methodical effort to erode Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and its regional allies, officials familiar with the planning said.

The ongoing war has already seen Israel and the United States carry out extensive operations across Iran, striking military facilities, air defenses, naval assets, and missile launch sites as part of a coordinated campaign.

At the same time, some Israeli officials believe the conflict could widen further in the coming weeks.

According to defense sources, there is growing speculation within the IDF that several Gulf states may eventually join the campaign offensively, rather than limiting their role to defensive actions.

So far, Gulf countries have largely focused on protecting their own territory. Air defense systems across the region have been actively intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles and drones aimed at cities, infrastructure, and military bases.

But Iranian strikes against Gulf states during the conflict have raised the possibility that some regional governments could shift toward direct participation in the war effort alongside Israel and the United States.

If that occurs, it would mark a dramatic expansion of the conflict and potentially transform the campaign against Iran into a broader regional military coalition.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Click here to Learn a Mishnah online L’Ilui Nishmas Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisroel.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attended a public megillah reading Tuesday night, the night of Shushan Purim, at Yeshivas Mercaz HaRav in Yerushalayim, prompting criticism from some observers who questioned whether his participation complied with Home Front Command restrictions on public gatherings.

The prime minister joined a large crowd at the yeshiva for krias hamegillah, though the event drew scrutiny because current emergency guidelines issued by Israel’s Home Front Command prohibit large public gatherings.

After photos and video from the event circulated, the Prime Minister’s Office responded to media inquiries, stating that Netanyahu “acted in accordance with the guidelines.”

As previously reported, Home Front Command announced that the current security restrictions would remain in place until Shabbos, March 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. Under the updated policy, public gatherings are not permitted, most workplaces are closed except for essential services, and educational activities are suspended.

The issue gained additional attention after Kan 11 political correspondent Michael Shemesh commented publicly on the situation following Netanyahu’s appearance at the reading.

“Incidentally, after Netanyahu’s appearance at the public megillah reading, it would be appropriate for Home Front Command to at least update the guidelines and allow many Jews who wish to hear the megillah properly to do so,” Shemesh wrote. “In my opinion the restrictions at this stage are completely excessive.”

{Matzav.com}

A phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump set in motion the strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a new report detailing the intelligence and decision-making behind the operation.

According to Axios, Netanyahu called Trump on February 23 to relay sensitive intelligence indicating that Khamenei would be meeting with his senior advisers in Tehran on Saturday morning — presenting a rare opportunity to eliminate the entire leadership circle in a single strike.

The report describes the conversation as “the call that changed the Middle East.”

Netanyahu’s information came from Israeli Military Intelligence, and Trump immediately ordered the CIA to verify the intelligence, according to sources briefed on the call. U.S. intelligence agencies subsequently confirmed the tip, strengthening confidence that the Iranian leader and key advisers would indeed be gathered in one location.

As the strike planning progressed, Trump reportedly made a calculated decision to avoid drawing attention to Iran in his State of the Union address the following day. U.S. officials feared that excessive rhetoric could prompt Khamenei to go underground before the operation could be carried out.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts were still unfolding. On Thursday — the same day U.S. envoys met Iranian negotiators in Geneva — the CIA reportedly confirmed definitively that the leadership meeting would take place, according to a source cited in the report.

After the Geneva talks concluded, Trump’s envoys delivered a blunt assessment: negotiations with Tehran were going nowhere.

“If you decide you want to do diplomacy, we will push and fight to get a deal,” the envoys reportedly told the president. “But these guys showed us they weren’t willing to make the deal you will be satisfied with.”

With diplomacy stalled and the intelligence confirmed, Trump made the final decision to proceed with the strike the following day.

According to the Axios report, the United States and Israel had initially envisioned a later timeline for military action, targeting late March or early April in order to build political and public support for the operation.

But Netanyahu pushed aggressively to accelerate the timetable. The Israeli leader warned that Iranian opposition figures hiding inside the country could be discovered and killed by the regime if the strike was delayed, creating urgency around the intelligence window.

Ultimately, the operation moved forward far sooner than originally planned.

“We didn’t make the case in advance as well as we could have because the opportunity came on us so fast,” one U.S. official told Axios.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Mrs. Gail Schulman A”H (Bubby Schulman)
הינדא גיטל בת אליהו מרדכי הכהן ע״ה, the mother of the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Be’er Yitzchok of Elizabeth.

The Levaya is scheduled to take place at 10:00 AM today, Shushan Purim, at the Jewish Memorial Chapel, 841 Allwood Road, Clifton, NJ 07012. There will not be any Hespedim.

Kevura will take place at the Old Montefiore Cemetery, 121-83 Springfield boulevard Queens, NY.

Shiva details to follow.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he supported the strikes on Iran “with some regret” as they represented an extreme example of a rupturing world order.

Carney spoke at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, during the Australian leg of a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India. He will address the Australian Parliament on Thursday, then fly to Japan on Friday.

“Geostrategically, hegemons are increasingly acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws, while others bear the consequences. Now the extremes of this disruption are being played out in real time in the Middle East,” Carney said.

The Canadian prime minister stressed his country was not apprised beforehand of the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, in his first remarks since the war broke out on Feb. 28.

“We were not informed in advance, we were not asked to participate,” Carney told reporters traveling with him in Australia. “Prima-facie, it appears that these actions are inconsistent with international law.”

Whether the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes broke international law was “a judgment for others to make,” he said.

Canada supported efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from threatening international peace and security, Carney said. The two countries haven’t had relations for 15 years because of reported human rights abuses in Iran. Canada last year designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity.

“We are actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be. But we also take this position with some regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order,” he said.

Despite decades of U.N. efforts, “Iran’s nuclear threat remains and now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the U.N. or consulting with allies including Canada,” he added.

Carney built on themes he laid out in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in a speech that garnered widespread attention. He argued the world order was undergoing a rupture and the old norms of the rules-based order were being erased.

Canada and Australia aim to increase cooperation in critical minerals, artificial intelligence and defense technologies.

Canada and Australia are both rich in critical minerals and worked together to build “the largest mineral reserve held by trusted democratic nations,” Carney said.

A diplomatic conversation infused with faith and historical reflection took place Tuesday between Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, as the two discussed the joint Israeli-American operation in Iran, Operation Shaagas HaAri, during the days of Purim.

“The attack in Iran is like reliving the days of Mordechai and Esther. We are seeing the miracle before our eyes,” Huckabee said, highlighting the symbolism of the timing during the days of Purim.

Bismuth said during the conversation that Israel currently finds itself “in the midst of a process in which a new Middle East is being built, one that will influence the entire global order,” adding that the moment is historic and will reshape reality for generations.

He emphasized that Israel and the United States are in the middle of a historic initiative being led by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu—an effort that is reshaping the Middle East and influencing the broader world order.

According to Bismuth, “as people of faith, it can be said that the finger of God touched Trump and Netanyahu,” adding that the two leaders are acting with a sense of mission at a defining moment in history.

He continued, expressing the sense of purpose surrounding the events: “One can simply say that there is the finger of God here. This is a tremendous event. Truly tremendous.”

Bismuth also expressed gratitude to Ambassador Huckabee, the American people, and the U.S. administration for their friendship and steadfast support of Israel. He additionally conveyed condolences to the families of American soldiers who were killed during the operation, noting that Israel deeply values both their sacrifice and the partnership between the two nations.

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (AP) — The Iran war has effectively halted oil tanker movement in the key Strait of Hormuz. But it’s also disrupting the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East.

Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely that there will be shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.

“This is really causing some major impacts within the global supply chain,” said Patrick Penfield, professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University. “As this conflict keeps progressing, you’ll start to see some shortages, you’ll see some major price increases.”

Stalled at sea
Clarksons Research, which tracks shipping data, estimates that about 3,200 ships, or about 4% of global ship tonnage, are idle inside the Persian Gulf, but that includes about 1,231 that likely only operate within the Gulf. About 500 ships, or 1% of global tonnage, are currently “waiting” outside the Gulf in ports off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, according to the firm.

While those may seem like small percentages, they have a domino effect that will lead to congestion elsewhere, said Michael Goldman, general manager North America of CARU Containers.

“The supply chain is kind of like a long train with many cars and each car represents, let’s say, a port in the world. Well, if one car gets derailed, it can very often have a domino effect to many other cars behind it or in front of it,” he said. “So although we only have a small number of ports affected by this military action, it can really have a big effect on the total supply chain.”

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pitched a plan aimed at getting oil and trade moving again through the Strait.

Trump said on social media he ordered the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Persian Gulf “at a very reasonable price.”

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.

He 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.

Computer chips, pharmaceuticals and other goods face delays
A wide range of products are shipped through the Mideast region. Along with about 20% of the worlds oil that comes from the region, products made with natural gas such as petrochemical feedstock — used to make plastic and rubber — and nitrogen fertilizer come from the Middle East. Pharmaceuticals exported from India and semiconductors and batteries exported from Asia to the rest of the world are all shipped through the region and could face delays.

Limited routes, higher costs
In addition to constraints on the Strait of Hormuz, the instability has put a damper on transit in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which had just begun to see more transit after years of instability due to Houthi attacks on ships in the region. Shipping company Maersk had resumed transit in the Suez Canal and Red Sea but said Sunday it was rerouting that traffic around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, a move other companies have been making to avoid the volatile region.

That journey adds 10 to 14 days to the trip and about $1 million extra in fuel per ship, Syracuse’ Penfield estimates.

With higher fuel prices, longer routes and higher risk in the region, shippers have begun adding fuel and “war risk” or “emergency conflict” surcharges to what they’re charging clients, leading to higher costs all around, he said.

Air cargo under pressure
Air cargo has also been constrained. Closed airspace and airports in countries including UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran have stranded tens of thousands of people – and cargo.

Each of the three major Middle Eastern airlines — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways — operate fleets of cargo aircraft, and the airlines also transport goods in the belly of their passenger planes.

The amount of goods that travels through the air typically accounts for less than 1% of all freight moving globally, but the products that do travel by air tend to be perishable or high-value goods like pharmaceuticals, electronics and produce that together account for about 35% of the world trade value, Boeing estimated in its World Air Cargo Forecast.

The longer these airports in the Middle East remain closed the greater the potential disruption to the economy if these sensitive shipments don’t arrive or have to be rerouted around the conflict. Even before the war in Iran began over the weekend, air freight and airlines were already contending with closed airspace over Ukraine and Russia.

Flights through these Middle Eastern airport hubs are a key route for passengers and cargo from India. Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, said it’s going to be hard to get to India now, and passengers may have to switch to different routes that fly west across Asia. Airlines may have to resort to longer flights, and in some case even add fuel stops on some routes.

“Remember, there’s a lot of pharmaceutical products that are made in India and then exported to different countries around the world. If that’s disrupted, that has a huge, huge, huge impact,” Harteveldt said.

Air cargo costs are expected to rise due to reduced capacity, increased demand, and surcharges.

Maersk said in an operational update Tuesday that it expects air freight rates to rise due to capacity constraints.

“Airlines are also introducing or reviewing the possibility of introducing war risk surcharges on shipments routed through or near the impacted regions,” Maersk said in a statement. “There may also be added costs linked to jet fuel which in turn can push up costs.”

An industry that ‘runs on disruption’
Despite the supply chain upheaval, however, Michael Goldman, general manager North America of CARU Containers, said the industry will adjust. Over the past few years it has faced other major disruptions like COVID supply shortages and other recent Mideast conflicts and has become more nimble.

“The specific situation that’s happening is pretty unprecedented, so it’s very unique from that perspective,” he said. “(But) for the last few years the industry just kind of runs on disruption. So in terms of our industry having disruption, that is nothing new. That’s more of the same.”

WASHINGTN (AP) – An Israeli military official says top U.S. and Israeli commanders began planning the opening strike of the war against Iran three weeks ago.

The official says that once Israel’s government decided on its intention to attack Iran, Israel’s top military brass reached out to the Pentagon to coordinate the operation.

The militaries worked side by side during the opening strikes on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader and dozens of other top officials. As part of the operation, top Israeli commanders went home for the weekend on Friday to deceive Iran into thinking that an attack was not imminent.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship.

In a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Hegseth said that the Tuesday night strike on an Iranian warship was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”

NEW York (VINnews/By Rabbi Yair Hoffman) – Shushan Purim marks the beginning of the pre-Pesach rush. The race is on — and it encompasses cleaning, kashering, and shopping. Not necessarily in that order.

Many people clean and line  the freezers and Pesach refrigerators first. This prevents the last-minute scramble that so many families experience in the frantic final days before Yom Tov.

And then, of course, there is the shopping.

Where to Shop

There is an important halachic concept in regard to shopping that is always highly relevant — the mitzvah of purchasing from one’s fellow citizen.

There is a Rashi (Vayikra 25:14) that sheds much light on this concept. He cites a Sifra (Parashas Behar, 3), one of the oldest commentaries on Sefer Vayikra: “From where do we know that when one makes a purchase, he should purchase only from his fellow citizen? The verse therefore tells us — ‘or when you purchase, from the hand of your fellow.'”

While this Rashi establishes the existence of this mitzvah, it does not provide the reason behind it. A cursory examination reveals three fundamental considerations: (1) It is an expression of the mitzvah of Ve’ahavta lerei’acha kamocha — loving thy neighbor as thyself; (2) it supports our own community’s economy; and (3) it creates a stronger bond among the citizenry.

This is not to say that we should entertain antipathy or a xenophobic attitude toward foreigners. The sages (Pesikta Sh’mos 20:23) tell us that all people were created in the image of Hashem and must be treated with respect and dignity. Indeed, we find in the Midrash Rabbah (Bamidbar 8:4) that Hashem tells Yehoshua concerning the Givonim that “if you distance those that are far, you will end up distancing those that are close.” Notwithstanding these principles, there is a distinct obligation to look out for one’s own first.

The Hebrew term for “your fellow” is “amisecha” — connoting a peer, friend, colleague, or contemporary. The reader should speak to his or her local Posek as to the exact parameters of this term.

This mitzvah is cited by numerous halachic authorities, including the Sefer HaChinuch (end of mitzvah #337), the Chofetz Chaim in Ahavas Chesed (5:7), the Rama in his Responsa (#10), the Chasam Sofer (C.M. V #79), the Tashbatz (Vol. III #151), the Maharam Shick (C.M. #31), and the Minchas Yitzchok (III #129), among many others.

The Halachic Parameters

Logistical difficulties: The mitzvah applies even if it is more difficult to make a purchase at an establishment owned by one’s fellow than at one owned by other vendors (Maharam Shick, C.M. #31). Distance, lack of adequate parking, and general inconvenience are not factors that exempt one from the mitzvah.

The question of price: Most authorities (Rama, Tashbatz, Chofetz Chaim) rule that the obligation to purchase from a fellow citizen exists even if his price is higher than that of other vendors. There is a distinction, however, when the price difference is significant. When the price of other vendors is significantly less, some authorities rule that there is no obligation to purchase from a fellow citizen. Other authorities rule that even in such a case one must still purchase from his fellow (this is the Minchas Yitzchok’s reading of the Rama). Certainly, if the fellow citizen is having difficulty making ends meet, all would agree that one must purchase from him even if there is a significant price difference (Ahavas Chesed 6:10).

What exactly constitutes a “significant difference” in price? Dayan Weiss (Minchas Yitzchok 129:5) explores the possibility that “significant” may be equivalent to the concept of “hefsed merubah” — a large loss — found in the poskim regarding certain kashrus issues, in which case there would be a distinction between a wealthy person and a poor one. A second possible definition is if the price is one-sixth more than the other vendor’s price (Responsa Nachalas Shiva #55, cited by Dayan Weiss 129:5). A third possibility is that the threshold varies from person to person.

Price gouging: It should be noted that price gouging by a citizen-owned store is itself forbidden, and if the owner engages in such activity, shoppers may purchase elsewhere (Dayan Weiss 129:7). If the store owner simply cannot receive the same wholesale discounts available to large foreign chain stores, however, this does not constitute price gouging.

Occasional purchases: Some authorities (Responsa of Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, T’shuvos VeHanhagos Vol. I #805) have written that one may occasionally make purchases from other vendors, as long as one does not do so on a regular basis. This leniency applies only to minor purchases; major purchases must still be made at an establishment owned by one’s fellow citizen.

Business resellers: Some authorities (Maharam Shick C.M. #31) hold that this obligation applies only to the end consumer. A person whose livelihood depends on reselling items at a profit may purchase from other vendors if their price is cheaper, though it remains meritorious to purchase from fellow citizens even then.

Difference in quality: If there is a meaningful difference in quality between items from different vendors, the obligation does not apply and one may purchase elsewhere (Nesiv Yosher 1:4, by Rabbi Yehudah Itach).

The Consumer Landscape: Pricing in Context

Given these halachic principles, it is worth briefly noting the broader grocery pricing landscape. A recent Consumer Reports survey using Walmart as a baseline found that warehouse clubs offer the deepest savings — Costco at 21.4 percent cheaper than Walmart, and BJ’s Wholesale Club at 21 percent cheaper. The foreign-owned discount chains Lidl and Aldi came in at roughly 8.5 and 8.3 percent less expensive respectively, and both have been expanding aggressively across the five boroughs and Long Island. On the pricier end, chains such as Target, Wegmans, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods all came in above Walmart pricing.

For the frum consumer, however, the more pertinent question is not simply where prices are lowest in the abstract, but where one can fulfill the mitzvah of amisecha while also meeting one’s Pesach needs. The good news is that the Orthodox community is served by a remarkable array of Jewish-owned kosher supermarkets — full-service, discount, and warehouse-style — spread across the entire metropolitan region. Each has its own strengths, and each represents an opportunity to keep our Pesach dollars within the community.

The mitzvah of purchasing from amisecha is not merely an abstract halachic concept. It finds immediate, practical expression every time we push a shopping cart down a grocery aisle — and never more so than in the weeks before Pesach, when our shopping budgets are at their most stretched and our purchasing volume is at its highest.

The halacha is nuanced, as we have seen. Price differentials, quality distinctions, and the personal circumstances of the buyer all factor into the analysis. But the baseline principle is clear, affirmed by generations of poskim: when we have the ability to purchase from our fellow, that is where our Pesach dollars should go. Our consumer choices are not merely economic decisions — they are expressions of Ve’ahavta lerei’acha kamocha, of communal solidarity, and of the kind of achrayus that builds and sustains a kehilla.

May we all be zoche to further our feeling of Achrayus for Klal Yisroel in all areas!

The author can be reached at [email protected]

A moving moment unfolded on the night of Purim at the central Marina Roshcha shul in Moscow, as a rare and centuries-old Megillas Esther was presented to the Chief Rabbi of Russia in an emotional ceremony.

The gift was presented by Alexander Grodetsky, a 95-year-old Jewish man, who arrived at the shul and handed the miniature megillah to Russia’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Berel Lazar. The ancient megillah had been preserved within his family for generations.

Standing firmly and speaking with deep emotion, Grodetsky shared the remarkable story behind the treasured heirloom. He explained that the megillah had been given to him 75 years earlier by his great-grandfather. That great-grandfather, born in the year תר”ל, had inherited it from his own father, indicating that the scroll was written more than two centuries ago. “When my grandfather gave me the megillah, he asked me to guard it for the rest of my life,” Grodetsky told the Chief Rabbi, adding resolutely, “I decided that the best way to protect it now is to entrust it to our rabbi.”

After the central public reading of the megillah before a large crowd, hundreds of young Jewish attendees gathered to hear remarks from the Chief Rabbi, who displayed the rare megillah to those present. Rav Lazar connected Grodetsky’s vitality and longevity with his dedication to Jewish tradition. “If you all want to be happy and at peace with long life like Alexander Grodetsky, you should keep Megillos Esther in your homes and follow the path of preserving the heritage of Israel. Our ancestors drew optimism from this megillah, and from it we understand that the Jewish people cannot be defeated.”

The rabbi went on to emphasize the contemporary message of Purim, stressing that every detail of life is guided by hashgachah pratis. “The belief that HaKadosh Baruch Hu watches over us gives us strength in every situation. Even when reality appears difficult, we must remain certain that there is a Creator who directs the world. There is no place for worry when we know that there is a Leader of the palace, and every doubt—which has the gematria of Amalek—has no place in the Jewish spirit.”

In his concluding remarks, Rav Lazar called upon the community to strengthen Jewish identity, particularly in light of the events unfolding in Eretz HaKodesh. He urged Jews to express pride in their heritage through traditional Jewish dress, the use of Jewish names, and the performance of practical mitzvos, foremost among them placing a mezuzah on the entrance to the home. Such acts, he said, will help ensure the security and ultimate victory of the Jewish people in Eretz HaKodesh and throughout the world.

{Matzav.com}

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called on President Donald Trump Tuesday to support Israel by launching joint military strikes against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon.

His remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces targeted Hezbollah positions and deployed troops across the border into southern Lebanon. The operations followed Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, including launching rockets toward Israel and aligning with Iran’s attacks during the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war.

Speaking to reporters and quoted by CBS, Graham said, “I’m calling on President Trump today: Join Israel to attack Hezbollah. Avenge the Marines,” referring to a 1993 suicide bombing of a US barracks in Lebanon that killed hundreds of American service members, an attack the United States has blamed on Hezbollah.

Lindsey Graham: "I'm calling on President Trump today — join Israel to attack Hezbollah … fly with Israel" pic.twitter.com/ymiUtdOGB9

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026

Graham, who is a close political ally of Trump and has consistently advocated a hardline approach toward Iran, also defended the administration’s military operations targeting the Iranian regime. He said Iran’s leadership appears to be nearing collapse.

He argued the Iranian government is in its “death throes” and said that “the demise of this regime is at hand.”

Addressing Democratic critics who say Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the United States, Graham rejected that view.

“The idea that you’re going to let a homicidal maniac get to the imminent stage, to me, is misplaced.”

Graham has repeatedly pushed for a more aggressive stance toward Iran and previously opposed diplomatic agreements between Washington and Tehran. He has argued that lasting peace in the Middle East will only come with the fall of the current Iranian regime.

{Matzav.com}

Federal prosecutors unsealed a complaint on March 2 charging Dan Sohail, 36, with intentionally damaging religious property at Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sohail, of Carteret, N.J., was taken into custody earlier in the day and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Clay Kaminsky in Brooklyn federal court.

Prosecutors allege that on Jan. 28, Sohail drove to a side entrance of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters complex, exited his vehicle and removed barriers set up to protect the site. After motioning for passersby to move away, he allegedly returned to his car and rammed the entrance. He then reversed and drove into the doorway four more times, knocking the door off its hinges. No injuries were reported.

“Americans should be free to practice their faith without fearing defacement of their sacred places,” Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, stated. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate attacks on houses of worship, and will vigorously prosecute those who carry them out.”

James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office, stated that “Sohail allegedly jeopardized dozens of lives and damaged one of our city’s sacred synagogues.”

“The FBI and the NYPD will continue to protect our community’s religious institutions to ensure a safe place for all worshippers,” he added.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn “a sacred place for many Jews in New York City and around the world.”

“Every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe city where they can practice their faith freely and without fear,” she said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Israel Security & War

IDF Issues 24-Hour Ultimatum to Iranian Regime Officials in Lebanon

Israel has issued a direct warning to Iranian regime officials operating in Lebanon: leave within 24 hours or face military action. The IDF says it will no longer tolerate Iranian presence in the country and warned that after the deadline passes, there will be “no safe place” for those remaining.

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IAF Strikes Covert Underground Nuclear Site Near Tehran

The Israeli Air Force targeted a secret underground nuclear facility outside Tehran that officials say housed scientists continuing weapons-related nuclear development. According to the IDF, Iran moved key elements of its program underground after earlier strikes in 2025 in an effort to shield them from attack.

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Ben Gurion Airport Set to Reopen as Soon as Thursday Morning

Israel plans to begin reopening Ben Gurion Airport in a phased operation aimed at bringing stranded Israelis home. Flights will initially be limited to one arrival per hour before gradually expanding if security conditions allow.

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Israel Detains Turkish Journalists Filming Near Defense Ministry During Missile Threat

Israeli security forces temporarily detained two Turkish journalists who were broadcasting live near a sensitive military location in Tel Aviv while missile threats were ongoing. Authorities reportedly viewed the filming near the Defense Ministry as a potential security risk during active hostilities.

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🌍 Global Economy & Energy

Global Oil Markets Surge as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Supplies

Oil prices jumped sharply as the widening Middle East conflict raised fears of supply disruptions. Brent crude surged as much as 10–13%, while analysts warned that threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of global oil trade, could push prices even higher

As Operation Roaring Lion continues, new assessments published Monday evening indicate the war could last until Pesach.

After President Donald Trump recently estimated the conflict would continue for several weeks, a senior Israeli official quoted by Kan News offered a similar evaluation—while noting a factor that could shorten the war: an uprising by the Iranian public.

Israeli and U.S. officials are hoping Iranians will take to the streets against the regime. “It is also dependent on the Iranian people,” the Israeli official said. “The signal for mass protests hasn’t yet been given, but it will come soon—and toppling the regime will take time.”

Israel is intensifying operations aimed at destabilizing the Iranian regime and will soon actively encourage its citizens to protest. There are expectations that defections from the regime’s military and government ranks will hasten the collapse, though no significant desertions have yet been identified.

Meanwhile, i24NEWS reported that Israeli leaders are satisfied with the war’s results so far and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz have ordered the army to accelerate operational plans to deny Iran any “breathing room” or recovery time.

Channel 12 News reported that the members of Israel’s security cabinet were presented with the operation’s objectives. Defense officials told ministers: “At the end of this operation, the ballistic missile threat to the State of Israel will not be completely destroyed. Iran will retain some missiles. How many? That depends on the campaign’s duration. Some of their missile systems are now buried under rubble, but on the day after, they’ll try to dig them out.”

Security sources added that satellite imagery shows Iran currently attempting to salvage whatever it can from nuclear sites, fortify what remains, and extract essential equipment. After the campaign ends, Tehran will try to restore whatever it can. “If our plans work as intended, we will significantly degrade Iran’s ballistic capability—and more importantly, its ability to rebuild,” security officials said.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not been harmed despite earlier reports suggesting he was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike targeting Iran’s leadership and military facilities, according to a close associate.

“I am in touch with him. All is good,” the adviser told Anadolu Agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Initial reports had indicated that Ahmadinejad may have been killed during an Israeli-American airstrike.

According to the aide, the strike hit a structure connected to Ahmadinejad’s security team the day before.

The source said three of Ahmadinejad’s bodyguards—members of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)—were killed in the attack.

The adviser added that Ahmadinejad’s home, located roughly 100 meters from the building that was struck, was not hit and suffered no damage.

Ahmadinejad held the presidency of Iran from 2005 until 2013.

{Matzav.com}

Mayor Mamdani himself posted the photo to his social media account, showing him attending an Iftar gathering during Ramadan. In the image, he is seen holding a plate of hamantaschen while seated among attendees. The caption on the post reads “Iftar, Day 13.” The image quickly began circulating online, with many observers noting the unusual juxtaposition of a Ramadan fast breaking meal and the traditional Purim pastry.

The pastry represents Haman, the villain in the Book of Esther who plotted to annihilate the Jewish people. Jews eat hamantaschen on Purim to remember that Haman’s plan ultimately failed and that the Jewish people survived his decree.

Screenshot

For many Jewish observers, the optics feel deeply ironic. Mamdani has faced criticism for his response to pro Hamas demonstrations where protesters shouted “Globalize the Intifada,” a phrase many Jews view as a call for violence against Jews worldwide. He has also supported efforts that critics say would shield pro Hamas protesters from criminal consequences tied to protest related actions.

Online, many commenters quickly pointed out the symbolism.

“Is that Mamdani eating his own ears?” wrote David Rosen on social media, referencing the tradition that hamantaschen represent Haman’s ears.

“Only on Purim could you see something this symbolic,” commented Rachel Goldberg. “The pastry that represents the downfall of someone who wanted to destroy the Jews.”

Another commenter, Moshe Klein, wrote, “The irony is unbelievable. The whole point of hamantaschen is celebrating the defeat of someone who wanted the Jews wiped out.”

Others responded with humor. One viral meme circulating online shows a photoshopped image combining Mamdani with Haman from the Purim story, complete with a Persian style crown and triangular hamantaschen ears.

“Purim satire basically writes itself this year,” joked Avi Feldman.

On a holiday that commemorates a failed attempt to destroy the Jewish people, the symbolism of the moment has not gone unnoticed.

President Donald Trump said the United States has more than enough munitions to prevail in a confrontation with Iran, pushing back against concerns about depleted stockpiles and accusing the previous administration of sending large quantities of advanced weapons overseas.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said American weapons reserves—especially in the midrange and upper-midrange categories—are currently at their strongest levels, dismissing suggestions that the Pentagon is facing shortages.

“As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons,” Trump wrote, adding that “wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!).”

Trump also took aim at President Joe Biden, claiming that large quantities of top-tier military equipment were transferred abroad, particularly to Ukraine.

Trump accused Biden of “GIVING everything to P.T. Barnum (Zelenskyy!) of Ukraine — Hundreds of Billions of Dollars worth.”

He further argued that the previous administration failed to replenish those high-end weapons systems after sending them overseas, leaving the United States less prepared before his administration began rebuilding its military capacity.

“While he gave so much of the super high end away (FREE!), he didn’t bother to replace it,” Trump asserted before declaring that he “rebuilt the military in my first term” and that “The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!”

Trump’s remarks come as U.S. and Israeli forces continue conducting military operations against Iran following the launch of their joint campaign over the weekend.

The situation in the region has grown increasingly tense in the wake of Iranian retaliatory attacks that followed the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the broader escalation of hostilities.

Some defense analysts and Pentagon officials have warned that certain types of U.S. weapons—particularly air-defense interceptors and long-range precision munitions—have been strained by prolonged international deployments.

Shipments of military equipment to allied nations, including Ukraine and Israel, have reduced some stockpiles over time, leading to pauses and reassessments of weapons transfers in recent years, according to a January report by Newsweek.

Supporters of the president in Congress have defended Trump’s position, arguing that the United States has the industrial capacity and logistical infrastructure necessary to sustain operations and replenish weapons supplies as needed.

They say Trump’s emphasis on maintaining strong domestic readiness instead of prioritizing foreign aid enhances national security and signals strength to Iran.

While the White House has not released specific data on current weapons inventories, citing security concerns, Trump’s comments reflect confidence that U.S. forces have the resources required to confront Iranian threats and sustain a lengthy military campaign if necessary.

{Matzav.com}

Iranian negotiators told American officials last month that the Islamic Republic had accumulated enough highly enriched uranium to produce 11 nuclear weapons — and delivered that message without hesitation, President Trump’s special envoy said Monday night.

“They controlled 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium,” Steve Witkoff said during an interview on Fox News. “And they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs. That was the beginning of their negotiating stance.”

The remarks offer the most detailed account yet of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy that preceded U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Witkoff, alongside Jared Kushner, participated in three rounds of indirect talks beginning Feb. 6 in Oman and concluding Feb. 26 in Geneva. The discussions were mediated by Omani officials and were widely viewed as a final effort to avert military confrontation.

According to Witkoff, the tone was confrontational from the outset. Iranian representatives opened by asserting what they described as an “inalienable right” to enrich all nuclear material in their possession to any level they deemed appropriate.

“We responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks,” Witkoff said.

He described a negotiating table defined less by compromise than by brinkmanship. Iran’s delegation, he said, made clear that continued enrichment was not merely a policy preference but a starting condition.

At one point, Witkoff recalled exchanging a glance with Kushner, realizing the scale of the impasse. “We’re really in for it now,” he said they concluded privately.

Witkoff had already made headlines before the Geneva session by warning that Iran was “probably a week away” from possessing industrial-grade bomb-making material.

On Monday, he elaborated, claiming Iran holds roughly 10,000 kilograms of fissionable material. That stockpile includes approximately 460 kilograms enriched to 60% purity and another 1,000 kilograms enriched to 20%.

The leap from 60% to 90% enrichment — the threshold considered weapons-grade — could be achieved in roughly one week, perhaps ten days at most, Witkoff said. Material enriched to 20% could reach weapons-grade within three to four weeks. Iran manufactures its own centrifuges, he added, dramatically limiting outside leverage.

“There’s almost no stopping them,” Witkoff said. “They have an endless supply.”

Perhaps most striking was his description of the Iranian posture. “They were proud of it,” he said. “Proud that they had evaded oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”

Witkoff said the United States attempted to offer a sweeping alternative. Washington would guarantee nuclear fuel for Iran’s civilian energy needs for the next decade, he said, provided Tehran dismantled its pathway to weapons-grade enrichment. The proposal was rejected outright.

“That told us at that moment they had no notion of doing anything other than retaining enrichment for the purpose of weaponizing,” Witkoff said.

By the end of the second round, he suggested, it was evident that diplomacy was faltering. Still, the U.S. team returned for a third meeting in Geneva in what he described as a final attempt to test Tehran’s seriousness.

“It was not positive,” he said.

With the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran now underway, Witkoff framed the failed talks as proof that military action had become unavoidable. He said President Trump’s objectives were clear: dismantle Iran’s missile program, eliminate its support for regional proxy forces, neutralize naval threats to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and permanently block any path to a nuclear weapon.

“They thought they could strong-arm us,” Witkoff said. “It was very clear that it was going to be impossible.”

Iran has not publicly confirmed Witkoff’s version of events. But if his account is accurate, the negotiations collapsed not over procedural disputes or sanctions relief — but over a declaration of nuclear capacity that U.S. officials believed placed the region on the brink.

According to the president’s envoy, Iran did not come to the table pleading for relief. It came asserting it had enough fuel for 11 bombs — and daring Washington to respond.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Iranian sleeper cells in the United States are a concern that should be taken seriously in the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Ali Khamenei and other Iranian regime leaders over the weekend, experts told JNS.

“They pose a very grave threat,” Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum, told JNS. “The Iranians are going to strike us where we are least defended.”

Past incidents show that sleeper cells exist, including a thwarted 2011 Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, according to Rubin. In that plot, the Iranians were working with cartels “to whom they were outsourcing some of the operation,” he said.

“That’s what we need to be most worried about. An Iranian sleeper cell might not be comprised of Iranians. It might be an Iranian-hired cell tapping into other existing criminal networks,” Rubin told JNS.

That shouldn’t be a surprise, since the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has interacted with Venezuelan and Bolivian drug dealers, according to Rubin. And when it came to the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, “the Iranians were relying on Lebanese emigres,” Rubin told JNS.

Rubin told JNS that when Iranian Americans visit Iran for benign reasons, “they are interrogated at the border, and any phone or computer that they have is basically going to be sucked dry.”

If the Iranian regime found anything on their phones or computers that it can use as blackmail, it will do so now, according to Rubin.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told JNS that the Iranian regime “has for many years attempted to establish capabilities and networks in the United States that are able to carry out such operations on demand at the decision of the Iranian leadership.”

“I think U.S. law enforcement, thankfully, has been quite effective in thwarting these plots in conjunction with our allies and partners around the world, but this is a threat,” he said.

“There is a capability that the Iranian regime has. It maintains relationships with transnational criminal syndicates, and those transnational criminal syndicates have the ability to carry out operations in the United States,” Brodsky told JNS. “It should be taken seriously.”

Law-enforcement officials have addressed the matter. Kash Patel, director of the FBI, stated on Saturday that he “instructed our counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed” and that the FBI “remains at the forefront of deterring attacks here at home.”

Kristi Noem, U.S. homeland security secretary, also stated that she is “in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.”

Rubin told JNS that law enforcement may be on top of the issue, but “if the Iranians try hard enough and have enough strategic patience, we do eventually let down our guard.”

He cited the attempt to assassinate Salman Rushdie in 2022, which left the writer partially blind.

“Terrorists think outside the box, and unfortunately, the American security establishment is not very good at thinking outside the box,” Rubin said.

Based on past plots that the United States has thwarted, the Iranian regime targets current and former U.S. government officials, Iranian dissidents, Jewish community members and critics of the regime, according to Brodsky.

The Iranian regime has sanctioned Brodsky, his boss, and United Against Nuclear Iran, he told JNS.

“It’s not just that they’re freezing the nonexistent assets that we have in Iran, or denying us our ability to travel to Iran when we would never do so,” he said. “Along with the designation comes cyberhacking attempts and all kinds of threats to the people involved.”

Brodsky sees the designation as a “badge of honor.”

“This is a regime that is one of the worst in the world,” he said. “It’s abused the Iranian people and has engaged in a massacre last month which killed, just in the span of a couple of days, around 32,000 people, with totals not seen since Nazi Germany.”

Brodsky and Rubin told JNS that it’s unknown how many sleeper cells there are in the United States. Rubin said that the “nature” of sleeper cells is that there’s no way to know how many there are.

Rubin suspects that “there will be assassinations of prominent Jewish community leaders, of rabbis and so forth, because the Islamic Republic and its agents don’t differentiate between Judaism and Israel.”

“In this case, their goal is simply to show strength by reach,” he told JNS. “Everyone needs to be vigilant and recognize that we’ve never faced a danger like we face today as the Jewish community in the United States.” JNS

JBN’s Ariella Noveck was joined by former Ambassador to Israel Michael Oren for a substantive and wide ranging conversation on the backstory of the war with Iran.

They unpacked the strategic miscalculations, the regional power shifts, the role of the United States, and the long building tensions that led to this moment. They also discussed what may come next militarily, politically, and diplomatically and what it could mean for Israel, Iran, and the broader Middle East.

The conversation also included a few light hearted Purim moments amid the serious discussion.

A critical conversation at a critical time.

President Donald Trump sharply criticized several NATO allies on Tuesday after some European governments refused to allow the United States to use their military bases in operations against Iran, singling out Spain and the United Kingdom in a heated exchange.

During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump expressed frustration with America’s European partners, arguing that they rely too heavily on the United States for defense while failing to contribute enough themselves.

Trump also threatened economic consequences for Spain and took direct aim at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of lacking the leadership shown by Britain’s wartime prime minister.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of the Labour prime minister.

Tensions between the two leaders have escalated since Starmer declined to allow U.S. forces to launch the initial round of strikes against Iran from British military bases on Saturday.

Starmer publicly condemned the airstrikes in an address to the House of Commons on Monday, delivering a speech that some observers compared to a memorable scene from the film Love Actually, in which the fictional British prime minister confronts an overbearing American president.

“This government does not believe in regime change from the skies,” Starmer declared. “It is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest. That is what I have done. And I stand by it.”

The prime minister’s comments surprised some observers who had viewed his relationship with Trump as relatively friendly, particularly after he arranged a high-profile state visit featuring a formal dinner hosted by the King at Windsor Castle.

Others, however, applauded Starmer’s stance. The Labour government is facing mounting political pressure ahead of the next election amid economic concerns tied to rising living costs as well as renewed attention surrounding scandals involving the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I am no fan of Keir Starmer,” British commentator James Melville wrote on social media. “But if he stands up to Trump & prevents the UK from entering into another potentially disastrous military conflict in the Middle East, he will gain respect for that.”

Despite the public tension, Trump and Starmer remain in regular contact. A source familiar with the matter told The Post that the two leaders have spoken by phone several times in the past week.

Still, Trump’s criticism has strained the traditionally close relationship between Washington and London.

“I think the relationship is at its lowest point in recent history — probably have to go back to when Reagan invaded Grenada without giving Thatcher a heads up,” Lew Lukens, senior partner with Signum Global Advisors and former acting-Ambassador at the US embassy in London, told The Post.

Lukens added that he doubts the dispute will ultimately lead to retaliation by Washington.

“At the end of the day, the US needs UK defense cooperation and intelligence support as it carries out its strikes against Iran,” he pointed out.

{Matzav.com}

Anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York City in February were down slightly compared to the prior month and to February 2025 but still represented more than 55% of all hate crimes in the city, according to new New York City Police Department data.

Jews were the targets of 21 of the 38 hate crimes reported in the city in February, the NYPD said. Much fewer hate crimes targeted Asians (1), blacks (4) and Muslims (1) or were based on religion (4) or sexual orientation (6), per the department.

The NYPD said that it is now reporting hate crime data in a different way.

“Previously, the department reported alleged hate crimes that were still under review,” it said. “The NYPD will now report hate crimes that have been investigated and officially confirmed as such by the Hate Crimes Task Force.”

“This updated methodology will provide a more accurate representation of confirmed hate crimes in the city,” it said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many alleged hate crimes are still being investigated from February. (JNS sought comment from the NYPD.)

The 21 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes and the total number of 38 confirmed hate crimes in February was smaller than the 41 confirmed and alleged hate crimes in New York City in February 2025. Of those, 28 targeted Jews, or more than 68%. In February 2024, 14 of 24 hate crimes in the city targeted Jews, or 58%.

In January, anti-Jewish hate crimes (31) in New York City, during the first month of Zohran Mamdani’s mayorship, was up 182% compared to January 2025 (11). JNS

{Matzav.com}

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four of the six U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war were identified Tuesday by the Pentagon as members of the Army Reserve from different states who worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment.

They died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.

Those killed were Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist. No other names were released.

“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.

“Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” President Donald Trump said of deaths.

Amor was just a few days away from returning home to her husband and two children when she was killed.

“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,” Joey Amor, her husband, said Tuesday.

Amor was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter.

“If you needed anything she would just take care of it for you,” Joey Amor said. “She’s helped a lot of people through a lot of dark times, and brought a lot of light to this world.”

Coady’s LinkedIn page said he was a student at Drake University and an information technology specialist with the Army Reserve.

He said he had learned how to “interact with countless different kinds of people from all different backgrounds” through his service.

Coady became an Eagle Scout in 2020, according to a Facebook post from his West Des Moines troop. An Iowa organization that helps homeless children said he made 12 Adirondack chairs for the group.

Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts said he and his wife are mourning Tietjens’ death and praying for his family.

“May we always remember and honor the sacrifices made by Noah Tietjens and the Tietjens family,” Ricketts said.

Tietjens was married with a son, according to a Facebook page. A photo online shows the couple with their son wearing a martial arts uniform.

There are several family photos on Facebook pages belonging to Amor and her husband, Joey Amor, including some images with a teen son.

Last November, Joey wrote a post expressing his love for Nicole.

“Even while you are on the other side of the world you found a way to make my birthday special,” he said. “I love you!”

___

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States may deploy naval escorts for commercial oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with Iran continue to rise.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump signaled that the Navy could move quickly to safeguard maritime traffic in the strategic waterway. “If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible.” He added: “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH.”

Trump also announced that he had instructed the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to offer “political risk insurance and guarantees” intended to protect shipping and trade moving through the Persian Gulf region.

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, is one of the most critical shipping routes for global energy supplies. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids consumption passes through the narrow channel.

Financial markets reacted quickly to the rising tensions, with oil prices climbing while U.S. stock futures moved lower as traders assessed the possibility of disruptions to energy shipments through the strait.

Iran has frequently threatened to block or interfere with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz during previous confrontations with the United States and Israel, warning that such action could come in response to military strikes or economic sanctions.

The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates from its headquarters in Bahrain, routinely patrols the Persian Gulf. During the late stages of the Iran-Iraq War, American naval forces escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers under the U.S. flag during Operation Earnest Will in 1987 and 1988 after Iranian attacks targeted commercial shipping.

Trump’s comments suggest that his administration is prepared to rely on American naval strength to ensure that global oil shipments continue moving through the Strait of Hormuz without interruption.

{Matzav.com}

New federal work requirements for certain recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program went into effect Sunday, representing the latest move by the Trump administration to tighten eligibility standards and curb abuse in government welfare programs.

The revised policy requires some able-bodied adults without dependents to work, enroll in job-training programs, or perform volunteer service for at least 20 hours each week in order to continue receiving food-stamp assistance.

The rules include several exemptions. Individuals with verified medical conditions, as well as those responsible for caring for young children, may qualify to remain on the program without meeting the weekly work requirement.

Administration officials say the goal of the changes is to ensure that government safety-net programs remain focused on those most in need, such as seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and low-income families raising children.

The SNAP policy shift also fits into a broader legislative effort by congressional Republicans to strengthen work standards across multiple public-assistance programs, including Medicaid and federal housing aid, through measures currently being debated in Congress.

In a May 2025 opinion piece published in The New York Times, several senior administration officials argued that federal welfare programs have moved away from their intended purpose. The article was authored by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.

The officials pointed to an increase in able-bodied adults without children receiving government benefits, a trend they said accelerated after Medicaid was expanded in many states.

Referring to research conducted by an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, they wrote that only 44 percent of able-bodied, working-age Medicaid recipients without dependents logged at least 80 hours of work during the month examined.

The authors said welfare programs should function as temporary support designed to help individuals regain independence rather than as permanent assistance.

They wrote that welfare should serve as a “short-term hand-up, not a lifetime handout.”

“Our agencies are united in a very straightforward policy approach: Able-bodied adults receiving benefits must work, participate in job training or volunteer in their communities at least 20 hours a week,” the officials wrote.

Supporters of the new SNAP policy say the requirements will help expand the workforce, safeguard taxpayer funds, and discourage long-term reliance on government benefits.

Administration officials have also described the policy shift as part of a broader initiative to address improper payments and fraud in federal aid programs, though they have not yet outlined specific anti-fraud enforcement measures tied directly to the changes that took effect March 1.

Polling referenced in the opinion essay suggested that between 60 percent and 80 percent of Americans favor work requirements in programs such as Medicaid.

Advocates for the policy also highlight the bipartisan welfare reform law enacted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton, which linked certain benefits to employment and was credited with increasing workforce participation and lowering child poverty during the late 1990s.

Opponents of work requirements have long argued that such policies can introduce bureaucratic obstacles that cause qualified individuals to lose benefits even when they are meeting program standards.

Administration officials reject that argument, saying the real problem is reliance on welfare rather than employment, and stressing that recipients can fulfill the requirement through jobs, job-training programs, or volunteer work.

Officials at the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development have indicated they are ready to apply similar work standards to other programs under their authority, working alongside Congress and state governments to formalize the policy changes.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Tuesday that the ultimate objective in confronting Iran is to stop the Islamic Republic from emerging as the dominant military power in the Middle East.

Speaking in Jerusalem during an interview with Newsmax correspondent Zach Anders, Herzog said Israel’s aspirations are not about controlling the region but about achieving stability and peace, invoking the biblical image of a people living securely in their homeland.

“It’s not our aim to come and say all to all other nations we’re hegemonious,” Herzog said. “As we say, we want to live in peace and dwell, you know, under our palm tree, as the Bible says.”

Herzog acknowledged that some might see advantages to holding overwhelming military power in the region, but he stressed that such dominance is not Israel’s goal.

“But we don’t necessarily have to say it because it’s not that we are now in an ego battle,” he said. “What we are trying to say is we want to build a coalition of nations that in terms of moving toward peace, in a dialog between Jew and Muslim and Christian, something that brings a better future to our children.

“That’s what we’re trying to do.”

President Donald Trump, speaking Saturday after the United States and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran, accused the Iranian regime of backing terrorist groups responsible for widespread violence.

Trump said the Islamic Republic had armed, trained, and financed militias “that had soaked the earth with blood and guts.”

Herzog also directed remarks toward the Iranian public, urging them to reflect on how their leadership has used the nation’s resources to support terrorism abroad rather than improving conditions for their own citizens.

“All you worked for has been spent on terror all over the world and in other countries in the region, just to create havoc and terror and pain and agony and bloodshed,” Herzog said. “Just as President Trump boldly explained in his statement.”

{Matzav.com}

Many were surprised on Leil Purim to see HaGaon Rav Asher Arieli, the most prominent maggid shiur in the Olam HaTorah and rosh yeshivah at Yeshivas Mir in Yerushalayim, present in Bnei Brak for Krias HaMegillah. Rav Arieli, who delivers the largest shiur in the yeshivah’s famed Bais Yisroel, was seen listening to the Megillah reading at Bais HaMedrash Ohel Tamar.

It has since become known that Rav Arieli had come to Bnei Brak to spend time with his elderly mother, who resides in the city, as he does periodically. Being in Bnei Brak for Purim, he remained there to hear the Megillah.

Photographer Naftali Lerer related the encounter: “I was walking through the streets of Bnei Brak preparing to photograph rabbanim during Krias HaMegillah on Leil Purim. As I was standing outside the bais haknesses of the tzaddik Chacham Nissim Ben Shimon, a Yid approached me and asked if I knew of an open cellphone store — he needed to arrange his phone to receive war alerts. I directed him to a nearby shop on the corner of Rabbi Akiva and Elisha.”

Lerer continued, “He looked familiar to me, and then I realized it was Rav Asher Arieli — whom I had never met face to face — and with such pshitus. I immediately ran after him and asked: The Rosh Yeshivah lives in Yerushalayim. Where is the Rav hearing Megillah in Bnei Brak? He answered that he would be at Bais HaMedrash Ohel Tamar.”

“Of course, I could not forgo the zechus that came my way. In the midst of making my rounds to photograph Gedolei Yisroel, I went to the bais haknesses on Yonah HaNavi Street and merited capturing these rare images.”

{Matzav.com}

(VINnews) – Iran’s Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next supreme leader following his father’s reported death in U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to Iran International.

The report said the decision was made under heavy pressure from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has long been viewed by analysts as a behind-the-scenes figure with influence in political and security circles, though he has not held a formal government post. His elevation would mark a significant and controversial shift in Iran’s leadership structure, consolidating authority within the family of the longtime leader.

The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body tasked under Iran’s constitution with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader, reportedly conducted the vote amid heightened security concerns. According to the report, members did not gather in a single location due to fears of targeted attacks, and ballots were counted at the body’s building in Qom.

There was no immediate official confirmation from Iranian state media.

The reported selection comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region and uncertainty over Iran’s political future following the reported killing of Ali Khamenei.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in attempting to terminate New York’s congestion pricing program, delivering a victory to state officials and transit advocates who sued to keep the tolls in place.

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman found that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not have the authority to unilaterally withdraw from the federal agreement that allows the tolling system to operate.

In a written opinion, Liman said the secretary’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious” and not in accordance with the law. The ruling blocks enforcement of letters sent in 2025 to Gov. Kathy Hochul declaring the program terminated and threatening to withhold federal funding.

New York and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority filed suit after the U.S. Department of Transportation sought to end the agreement underpinning the congestion pricing plan. The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order allowing the tolling system to remain in effect while the case moved forward.

Hochul said in a statement that the decision confirms the program’s legality and that the tolls will continue.

Under the plan, most drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street pay $9. The MTA has said the revenue supports transit upgrades and that traffic in the congestion zone has declined since the tolls took effect. The agency also reported that early revenue collections exceeded initial projections.

The U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately comment on the ruling.

The decision limits the administration’s ability to halt the program without further legal action and marks a significant development in the dispute between federal and state officials over transportation policy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that “someone from within” the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel military campaign is completed — but said “most of the people we had in mind are dead.”

The president, who four days ago had emphatically called on Iranians to “take over your government” once the U.S.-Israel bombardment ends, appeared to drift further away from the idea that the war presents an opportunity to end the theocratic rule that has been in place since the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Trump said that many Iranian officials his administration had viewed as potential new leaders for the country had been killed in the U.S.-Israeli campaign that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many other top officials.

Trump has not publicly identified anyone whom he views as a credible future leader for Iran. And it’s unclear what, if any, outreach the White House had with Iranian officials since the war started.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. “Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”

Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran’s last shah who is trying to position himself for a return should Iran’s Shiite theocracy fall, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over leadership in Iran.

“It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate,” Trump said, adding that it may make sense for “somebody that’s there, that’s currently popular, if there is such a person” to emerge from the power vacuum.

Trump’s comments came as he hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his first in-person engagement with a foreign leader since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran.

Trump said he wanted to avoid a “worst case” scenario where “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”

“That could happen. We don’t want that to happen,” Trump added. “You go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who was no better.”

A recent halachic ruling issued by the Gaavad of Heichal Hora’ah, HaGaon Rav Moshe Bransdorfer, concerning individuals stranded abroad due to the war has drawn sharp opposition. Rav Yosef Abitbul has published a letter expressing strong objection and stating that the ruling should not be followed in practice.

Rav Bransdorfer had ruled that anyone stuck in chutz la’aretz because of the war should observe Purim according to his city of residence. Rav Abitbul, author of Shaarei Yosef, responded that this approach is not correct according to halachah.

In his letter, Rav Abitbul explains that the Megillah states, “Al kein haYehudim haPerazim haYoshvim b’arei haPerazos,” and Chazal derive from this that even a peruz ben yomo is considered a peruz, and a mukaf ben yomo is considered a mukaf. Therefore, he argues that if a person is currently remaining in chutz la’aretz, even if he is there b’oneis, he must observe Purim according to the place where he is physically present.

He writes that it is difficult to understand the opposing view, calling it “chiddush atzum neged divrei haPoskim.” He explains that the halachic authorities who rule based on a person’s intent are discussing a case where someone is delayed but expects to arrive at his destination in time. However, if a person is delayed due to circumstances beyond his control and knows that he will remain where he is, he must observe Purim according to his current location and not according to where he resides. Since he is anus and aware that he will remain in that place and not in Yerushalayim, he is certainly obligated to observe on the fourteenth of Adar, as Rav Abitbul elaborates at length in Shaarei Yosef, Hilchos Purim. He concludes that it is extremely difficult to say otherwise.

According to Rav Abitbul, this ruling also does not align with the view of Maran the Chazon Ish, who held that one follows his actual location rather than his prior intention. In his view, the determining factor is where the person is physically present when Purim arrives.

{Matzav.com}