Jooish News

The White House said Friday that U.S. forces are moving steadily toward gaining control of Iranian airspace, with officials estimating that key military goals could be achieved within the next month to six weeks.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the United States believes its military objectives in the campaign against Iran are within reach on that timeline.

Leavitt also indicated that discussions are underway regarding potential leadership in Iran following the conflict. She said that “there are a number of people who we are looking to lead Iran.”

.@PressSec: "What I will tell you is what @POTUS has already laid out, which is that the achievable objectives of Operation Epic Fury we expect to last about 4-6 weeks, and we are well on our way to achieving those objectives." pic.twitter.com/AHqlKamYBp

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

She further announced that President Donald Trump is scheduled to host a meeting at the White House with major defense contractors together with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

According to Leavitt, the meeting is intended to focus on expanding domestic weapons production and strengthening the country’s defense manufacturing capacity.

“The purpose is to discuss the president’s aggressive and fierce support for rapidly increasing the ability of US manufacturers to produce American-made weapons,” she said, stressing, “We have more than enough ammunition and weapon stockpiles to achieve the objectives of Operation Epic Fury and beyond.”

Later in the day, speaking during an appearance on Fox News, Leavitt addressed remarks President Trump made earlier regarding Iran’s future.

She clarified a social media post by Trump that read, “There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender!”

Leavitt explained that the statement referred to eliminating Iran’s ability to threaten the United States.

“What President Trump means when he says ‘unconditional surrender’ is when he, as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Military and the leader of the free world – determines that Iran can no longer pose a threat to the United States,” Leavitt explained.

{Matzav.com}

Chaim V’Chessed has learned that the U.S. government is working toward arranging evacuation flights for American citizens seeking to return to the United States from Israel. In the coming days, the U.S. Embassy hopes – if conditions permit – to operate flights from Ben Gurion Airport. At this stage, details are still being worked out, and seats will be extremely limited.

State Department officials have been reviewing the names submitted to Chaim V’Chessed’s extensive evacuation interest list and cross-referencing them with the State Department’s Crisis Intake Form. In fact, most names submitted through the Chaim V’Chessed list have already been added to the Crisis Intake Form system.

Those who wish may also submit their information directly through the State Department’s Crisis Intake Form. Some individuals who do so may discover that they are already listed in the system.

At present, no schedule or final procedures have been announced. Embassy officials stress that travelers should not contact the embassy or Chaim V’Chessed regarding these flights. Instead, individuals should ensure that their information is submitted through the appropriate registration links. If and when seats become available, travelers may be contacted – possibly with short notice.

Chaim V’Chessed has also learned that, as opposed to the U.S. evacuation flights following October 7 attacks, these flights will likely be provided at no charge.

{Matzav.com}

Qatar’s energy minister is warning that the ongoing war in the Middle East could drive oil prices above $150 per barrel, a surge he says would send shockwaves through the global economy.

Saad al-Kaabi cautioned in an interview with the Financial Times that such a sharp rise in crude prices could devastate economies around the world as supply disruptions deepen and energy markets grow increasingly unstable.

The price of oil has already climbed roughly 7 percent to more than $90 per barrel after spending much of the year trading between $60 and $70. The current surge has oil on track for its largest weekly gain since 2022, with Brent crude jumping nearly 30 percent this week as fighting in the region escalates.

Al-Kaabi said the economic consequences will quickly spread if the conflict continues for an extended period.

“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher.”

“There will be shortages of some products, and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” al-Kaabi added.

He also indicated that energy producers in the Gulf region might be forced to suspend production in certain circumstances, a move that would likely push prices even higher. Even if hostilities stop soon, he noted that restoring normal production could take weeks or even months.

The warning comes after an Iranian drone strike earlier in the week targeted Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas facility.

The conflict, now entering its seventh day, has already sent energy markets into turmoil. Concerns intensified after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical shipping lanes for oil worldwide. Approximately 21 million barrels of oil per day—about one-fifth of global oil trade—pass through that narrow waterway.

Qatar, the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is also cautioning that the disruption could ripple across global gas markets.

Al-Kaabi said buyers in Asia are likely to rush to secure available supplies, a development that could push gas prices higher internationally. He also told the Times that he expects additional Gulf nations to declare force majeure in the coming days.

“In addition to energy, there will be a halt on all other trade in between the [Gulf] and the world, which will have a significant effect on the economies of the [Gulf] and all the trading partners around the world,” al-Kaabi said.

Economists say rising oil and gas prices could also reignite inflation and place new financial pressure on households already coping with high living costs.

Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, a nonpartisan British think tank, told the financial website This Is Money that sustained increases in oil and gas prices could push inflation back up to 3 percent “by the summer.”

Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, added, “If war in the Middle East drags on, that will be unambiguously bad news for all of us.”

{Matzav.com}

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared that Israel will aggressively pursue strikes against Hezbollah and will not relent in its goal of disarming the Iran-backed terror organization.

Speaking to mayors and leaders of local councils along Israel’s northern border, Zamir emphasized Israel’s determination amid the ongoing multi-front campaign that includes operations against Iran.

“We are crushing the Iranian terror regime and will seize every opportunity to deepen our achievements,” Zamir said. “Hezbollah chose to join the campaign alongside Iran and is paying the price. We will seize every opportunity to strike Hezbollah, deepen the achievement, and remove the threat. We will not give up on disarming Hezbollah.”

Zamir described the current situation as presenting “a great opportunity” for significant progress in altering the security reality along the northern front.

“Significant work is being done here, and we are preparing for a prolonged campaign,” he told the officials. “We will do everything to seize the opportunity and bring about a change in the security situation.”

The remarks come as Israel continues its military operations, including strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, in parallel with broader efforts against Iran and its proxies. Zamir’s statements underscore the IDF’s commitment to eliminating the long-term threat posed by Hezbollah’s arsenal and presence near the border, a key concern for northern Israeli communities that have faced repeated rocket fire and other attacks in recent years.

Zamir has previously stressed that the campaign against Hezbollah will persist until the threat from Lebanon is fully removed, with no concessions on disarmament demands.

The wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism after reports surfaced that she interacted with social media posts praising the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to Jewish Insider, Rama Duwaji had liked several Instagram posts tied to the attack carried out that day. One of the posts included images showing Palestinians breaking through Israel’s border barriers and described the incursion as “breaking the walls of apartheid.”

Another post she reportedly liked featured Palestinians sitting atop a captured Israeli military vehicle and included the caption, “Resisting apartheid since 1948.”

Both of those posts appeared online on the same day Hamas carried out its attack.

The report also states that Duwaji liked two additional posts the following day that expressed support for protests against Israel.

Neither Duwaji nor Mamdani has issued a response to the report. The couple began their relationship in 2021 and were married last year.

The revelations come shortly after The New York Times reported on controversial social media activity involving the wife of US Rep. Dan Goldman, who is Jewish. According to that report, Goldman’s wife had liked posts soon after the October 7 attack that criticized Jews who supported Palestinians, suggested that people backing the Palestinian cause should be sent to Gaza, and labeled Black Lives Matter a “terrorist organization” because one of its chapters praised the Hamas attack.

New York City Council member Inna Vernikov, a Jewish Republican, sharply criticized The New York Times coverage, arguing that the paper has not applied the same scrutiny to Mamdani. “Will the ‘paper of record’ ask [Mamdani] a single question on this? THEY WON’T.”

{Matzav.com}

In a new filing, the Lakewood Board of Education is pushing back against the New Jersey Department of Education’s effort to place the district under full state intervention, arguing that the system’s financial struggles stem from structural funding problems and unfunded mandates rather than the board’s mismanagement.

In a sworn certification filed this week with the state Education Commissioner, Lakewood Superintendent Dr. Laura Winters said the district has worked cooperatively with state officials and monitors while continuing to provide students with the constitutionally mandated “thorough and efficient education.”

TLS first reported earlier this year that Lakewood will contest the takeover attempt.

Addressing the state’s claims alleging that Lakewood has failed to adequately serve students and manage its finances, Winters noted that the state has long been aware of the district’s financial challenges and has not offered sustainable solutions.

Winters said Lakewood’s budget pressures are largely driven by legally mandated transportation and special education costs tied to the township’s unusually large nonpublic school population. More than 50,000 students attend private schools in Lakewood, the majority of those to Orthodox Jewish Mosdos, requiring the district to provide transportation and other certain services, as required under state law.

There are fewer than 4,400 students in the Lakewood Public School system this year.

According to the filing, nearly half of the district’s annual budget is spent on transportation and special education, far higher than in most New Jersey districts. The state has provided more than $330 million in loans to Lakewood over the past 12 years, which Winters argued demonstrates shortcomings in the state’s funding formula.

The superintendent also criticized the role of state-appointed monitors, saying they have had veto authority over district spending but have offered few concrete recommendations to address fiscal challenges. Since 2014, the state has assigned fiscal oversight to the district, and in 2025 added additional monitors overseeing transportation, governance and special education. The district has paid those monitors more than $2 million as of January 2026, according to the filing.

Winters said several of the monitors rarely met with district officials or proposed solutions to the district’s projected $40 million budget shortfall, instead telling the district it would have to balance its own budget.

The certification also highlighted Lakewood’s demographics, describing them as unique in New Jersey. The district’s public school population is more than 83% economically disadvantaged and about 41% multilingual, far above statewide averages.

Winters wrote that the district has taken steps in recent years to address operational concerns, including closing schools, reducing staff, strengthening financial controls and expanding in-district special education programs.

She also pointed to performance indicators under the state’s New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) system, noting improvements over the past decade in several categories including fiscal management, governance and operations.

While acknowledging the district faces “extraordinary challenges,” Winters said the state’s characterization that Lakewood is failing students is inaccurate.

“The State’s allegation that Lakewood ‘is failing its students’ could not be further from the truth,” she wrote in the certification.

If Education Commissioner Lily Laux decides that a state intervention is needed, the matter will go to the state Board of Education for more consideration.

Should the state ultimately takeover the district,  the state Department of Education would assume all of the district’s responsibilities, including appointing a superintendent and board; seizing control of finances, including contracts; and determining all staffing and curriculum.

State takeovers of local school districts are fairly rare, but when they do happen, they can remain in place for decades.

It’s unclear yet how this will affect local special education, busing and property taxes.

By Yaakov Lappin

The joint American-Israeli campaign against Iran represents an unprecedented level of military integration. It is aimed at fundamentally transforming the strategic reality of the Middle East while neutralizing the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile threats, several former Israeli defense officials and analysts said Thursday.

Speaking during a webinar hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman, vice president of JISS and former deputy director for foreign policy and international affairs at Israel’s National Security Council, emphasized the historic nature of the allied offensive.

“Never before in our history—and we’ve been working in alignment with the United States—did we actually work in combined operations mode, something that the last reminiscent [case] is of the British and the Americans in Normandy [in 1944],” Lerman said.

“This is an ongoing effort, shoulder to shoulder with full intelligence sharing, with full operational transparency with each other, with highly coordinated division of labor. Totally unprecedented,” he added.

Lerman said the American motivation at the highest level for the war is driven fundamentally by the nuclear issue. He argued that after the previous conflict in June 2025, the U.S. defense establishment realized that Iran had not been dissuaded from pursuing its course of action.

Regarding regime change, Lerman noted the Trump administration’s aversion to prolonged nation-building projects.

“The very words regime change are highly problematic for the Trump administration,” Lerman explained, citing the shadow of Vietnam and Iraq. Instead, the strategy focuses on “creating the conditions for the Iranian people to take their fate into their hands,” primarily through the destruction of the regime’s repressive mechanisms.

Senior JISS fellow Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, echoed the sentiment that regime change cannot be guaranteed by external military force.

“What should be ensured by the operation, by the war, [is] that any regime, this one or another one, will be very, very weak,” said Amidror.

He estimated the conflict could last “two to six weeks,” noting that the allied forces must reach a point where they agree the regime is sufficiently degraded.

Professor Col. (res.) Gabi Siboni, CEO of JISS, placed the current operations within the broader context of Israel’s grand strategy since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

“I think that if you look at it carefully, you see a very clear strategy of Israel, developed by our prime minister and the Cabinet, which was to eliminate the proxies of Iran, isolate Iran, and then deal with Iran,” Siboni explained.

He praised the shift in posture, noting that the United States military operates without the restrictive layers of self-imposed legal constraints that Israel had typically adopted for itself.

“We are learning from the Americans now,” Siboni said. “We are learning a very important lesson regarding the way military operations should be conducted to make sure that we are doing it to kill the enemy and to win the war.”

Maj. (res.) Alex Grinberg, an expert at JISS on Iran and the Shi’ite world, provided insight into the internal dynamics of the Iranian regime under fire. He said that the goal must be to “break the back of the enemy.”

“It’s a regime that is sadistic and that blackmails money from families to get [back] the bodies of their dear ones [protesters] who were massacred. So, this regime must be destroyed,” Grinberg argued.

He analyzed Iran’s strikes against Gulf nations, suggesting they are a desperate attempt to saturate American air defense systems.

“Its geopolitical behavior proves that there is no way to compromise with this regime,” Grinberg said, describing the Islamic Republic as “incurably aggressive.”

He also called for the elimination of former senior IRGC commanders and military advisers, saying, “These are very powerful people, and they must be done in as soon as possible because they’re very dangerous.”

Any scenario of the regime surrendering as Nazi Germany did in 1945 is baseless, said Grinberg, adding that this is based on decentralized power networks, and that the war goal should be to “break separately all of the vertebrae of this spine. And this way it will stop functioning.”

Dr. Pnina Shuker, a JISS national security expert, focused on the profound impact of these Iranian strikes on the Gulf Arab states.

“It appears that the Iranian logic behind attacking Gulf states is to create internal instability, aiming to exert indirect pressure on the United States to end the war,” Shuker assessed. “There is a logic behind this modus operandi. However, it seems these attacks are achieving the exact opposite result.”

Instead of driving a wedge between regional allies, the attacks are accelerating defense integration and deepening strategic reliance on international partnerships, Shuker observed.

She noted that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have set aside their recent political disputes to unite against the shared Iranian threat.

She explained that Qatar faces an even more complex situation, having previously maintained a delicate balancing act with Tehran. However, the Iranian attempt to strike Doha International Airport crossed a red line.

“The Qatari prime minister flatly rejected these claims [that the missiles were aimed at American interests],” Shuker noted. “He accused Iran of dragging its neighbors into war.”

While the Gulf states have exercised notable restraint, Shuker warned of uncertainty as Iran continues to escalate.

“The Gulf states now face a dual-front challenge: sustaining effective interception against unpredictable missile swarms, while safeguarding domestic stability in the face of pro-Iranian mobilization,” she concluded.

When asked about the potential for the Trump administration to seek an end to the conflict before Israel’s desired timetable, Shuker cautioned that internal American politics could play a role. JNS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two men attacked a pair of police officers who were serving as bodyguards for San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, officials said. Lurie was unharmed.

The suspects, who were taken into custody, were part of a group blocking Lurie and his security team’s vehicle Thursday evening in the troubled Tenderloin neighborhood. The men became violent after one of the officers asked them to move, witnesses told Mission Local, a San Francisco news organization.

A video obtained by the news outlet shows one of the bodyguards dressed in a suit in a struggle with a man who throws him to the ground.

Video obtained by Mission Local shows a police officer, part of Mayor Lurie's security detail, tussling with a man in the Tenderloin.

The mayor looks on before walking away.

The man then slams the officer to the ground, & tries to get on top of him. https://t.co/4x32vFGn2g pic.twitter.com/y2bIMixZlc

— Mission Local (@MLNow) March 6, 2026

It was unclear what Lurie was doing in the Tenderloin, a problem spot for public drug use and dealing, but he often walks around the city talking to residents.

Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for Lurie, said there was an altercation involving Lurie’s security detail and that the mayor was not involved.

San Francisco police officers responded to the scene after receiving a request for backup from Lurie’s bodyguards, who said they were in a physical altercation with two unidentified men, the police department said in a statement.

The officers had non-life-threatening injuries and were treated by paramedics at the scene, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.

The men were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and other charges.

Russia has reportedly been supplying Iran with intelligence about the locations of American military forces in the Middle East in an effort to help Tehran respond to ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to a new report.

The Washington Post reported Friday that since the start of “Operation Epic Fury” about a week ago, Moscow has been passing along information about the positions of U.S. naval vessels, aircraft, and other military assets in the region. Three sources familiar with the situation told the newspaper about the alleged intelligence sharing.

“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one official familiar with the intel told the outlet.

Since the campaign began with its opening strike, Iran has attempted to retaliate by launching thousands of drones and missiles aimed at American targets throughout the Middle East.

Despite reports that Russia may be assisting Tehran with intelligence, President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth have said the United States has swiftly gained control of the battlefield, asserting that American forces have achieved “total dominance” and that Iran has already “lost everything.”

Details about how extensively Russia may be helping Iran identify potential targets remain unclear.

The Kremlin has sharply criticized the military campaign against Iran, describing it as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.”

Hegseth, meanwhile, said the U.S. military operation against the Iranian regime has delivered overwhelming results during the first several days of fighting.

“Our forces are executing with unmatched skill and the mission is advancing decisively,” the Pentagon chief said Thursday.

“This is the kind of no nonsense, results driven warfighting that America demands.”

He also indicated that additional American military strength is being deployed to the region.

“Our capabilities are overwhelming and gathering still, as are those of our Israeli partners,” he said.

“Our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad, which means our timeline is ours and ours alone to control, as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves these objectives.”

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil shot to its highest price since 2023 on Friday as the Iran war kept escalating, while a weak update on the U.S. job market highlighted the economy’s precarious position. It all raised the risk of a worst-case scenario for financial markets, and stocks are falling toward the finish of Wall Street’s worst week since November.

The S&P 500 dropped 1% after a report showed U.S. employers cut more jobs last month than they created and after oil prices spiked above $90 per barrel. It’s a combination that investors fear because neither the Federal Reserve nor any other central bank around the world has a good tool to fix both a weak economy and high inflation at the same time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 425 points, or 0.9%, with roughly an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.

“You can’t sugarcoat this report,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. “A negative payrolls number combined with a big jump in oil prices will have traders worrying about stagflation risks.”

Stagflation is what economists call a stagnating economy combined with high inflation, and a separate report released Friday added to the sour mix after showing that U.S. retailers made less money in January than economists expected. It raised the disconcerting possibility that spending by U.S. households, the main engine of the economy, may be stretched near its maximum.

Usually when the economy is unsteady and the job market is weakening, the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give things a boost. Lower rates can make it more affordable for households to get mortgages and companies to raise money to expand, while also helping prices for stocks and other investments. The Fed cut its main interest rate several times last year and had indicated more were to come this year.

But lower interest rates can also make inflation worse. And the Fed’s hands may be increasingly tied because spiking oil prices are pushing inflation higher due to disruptions for the energy industry.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, shot up another 8.5% to settle at $92.69. It briefly rose above $94 to touch its highest level since September 2023.

A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 12.2% to $90.90 and topped $90 per barrel for the first time since the autumn of 2023.

Oil prices have surged, with Brent up from near $70 late last week, as the war has expanded and included areas critical to the production and movement of oil and gas in the Middle East. Much will depend on what happens with the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails.

The U.S. government gave details Friday about a plan President Donald Trump announced earlier offering insurance to ships crossing the strait, but it had little effect on the market.

If oil prices spike further, like to $100 per barrel, and stay there, some analysts and investors say it could be too much for the global economy to withstand.

To be sure, the U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly following conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, as long as oil prices don’t jump too high for too long. Uncertainty about just how high oil prices will go this time around and for how long has caused frenetic swings across financial markets through the week, sometimes hour by hour.

On Monday, for example, the S&P 500 tumbled to an immediate 1.2% loss at the start of trading but made it all back and ended the day with a tiny gain.

Trump’s most recent signal on the war was that he wants an “unconditional surrender” of Iran, apparently ruling out negotiations.

In the bond market, Treasury yields wavered, with higher oil prices pushing upward on them and the discouraging updates on the U.S. economy pulling downward.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury initially rose toward 4.19% before pulling back to 4.12%. That’s down slightly from 4.13% late Thursday but still well above its 3.97% level from a week earlier.

Smaller companies often feel the bite of high borrowing costs more because many need to borrow to grow. Smaller companies can also be more dependent on the strength of the U.S. economy for their profits than big multinational rivals, and the smallest stocks on Wall Street took Friday’s sharpest dives.

The Russell 2000 index of small stocks fell a market-leading 2%.

Among the big companies in the S&P 500, companies with high fuel bills helped lead the way lower. Old Dominion Freight Line sank 7%, cruise line Carnival fell 5.2% and Southwest Airlines lost 6.2%.

Costco Wholesale was among the few stocks to rise. It added 1.9% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retailer said the quarter benefited from a later Lunar New Year on this year’s calendar, which gave a particularly big revenue boost to its warehouses outside the United States.

In stock markets abroad, indexes slumped in Europe following a better finish in Asia. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7%, and Germany’s DAX lost 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.6%.

South Korea’s Kospi was nearly unchanged after plunging 12.1% Wednesday for its worst loss in history and then rising 9.6% Thursday.

An accident in Toms River this afternoon left one vehicle on its side, and the incident was captured on surveillance video.

The accident happened approximately 2:30 PM at the intersection of Hickory and Vermont.

No injuries were reported.

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TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian authorities detained several pro-Palestinian activists Friday as tensions mounted around an international campaign preparing a new humanitarian flotilla to challenge Israeli restrictions and bring aid to Gaza, organizers said in a statement.

Tunisian media reported that Tunisia’s National Guard financial crimes unit opened an inquiry into suspected money laundering, fraud and the alleged misuse of funds collected through donations to the flotilla campaign.

The probe reportedly targets several managers and members of the flotilla steering committee, with certain members taken into custody as authorities verify the origin and management of donation funds. Tunisian authorities didn’t publicly comment on the detentions.

Activists said police detained Wael Naouar, Jawaher Channa and Nabil Channoufi, of the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee and its Tunisian organizing body. None of the detained has commented.

Organizers accused authorities of targeting activists supporting the Palestinian cause and called for their immediate release.

The detentions followed several days of disruptions to flotilla-related events in Tunis linked to preparations for a new civilian mission seeking to sail toward Gaza. Israel intercepted boats and detained activists on a similar flotilla effort last year.

The United Nations said that hundreds of thousands of pallets of humanitarian supplies have been collected at various crossings into Gaza since a fragile ceasefire in October. But Israel has suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules and Gaza’s population of over 2 million Palestinians still face a humanitarian crisis.

According to organizers, the new flotilla is to include more than 1,000 activists including medical doctors, war crimes investigators and engineers. It will be supported by a land convoy that is expected to attract thousands more. The boats are expected to sail from Spain, Tunisia and Italy.

Authorities banned a planned event Thursday in Tunis that had been expected to host international activists including Brazilian campaigner Thiago Ávila, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Global March to Gaza Palestinian organizer Seif Abu Koshk.

Ávila’s team said on Facebook that he was also detained Friday at Brussels Airport while traveling from Tunis to Amsterdam for a meeting of the Hague Group, a bloc of states committed to legal and diplomatic measures in defense of international law.

Earlier this week, activists said security forces prevented a ceremony at the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said intended to honor port workers who had supported the previous flotilla mission last year.

Prior to Friday’s arrests, the Tunisian branch of the flotilla’s steering committee had also called for a protest in Tunis on Saturday night in support of Iran following joint strikes by the United States and Israel.

Israeli fighter jets carried out a major airstrike early Friday that destroyed the secret underground bunker of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, just days after he was killed before he could reach the heavily fortified hideout.

About 50 warplanes took part in the operation, dropping approximately 100 bombs on the underground complex in a series of massive explosions. The compound had previously been the site where Khamenei and dozens of senior officials were killed in an earlier strike last Saturday.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the sprawling bunker — which reportedly stretched beneath several city blocks — continued to be used by high-ranking Iranian officials even after Khamenei’s death.

Video released by the Israeli military shows the moment the facility, described by officials as “one of the Iranian leadership’s most important military command centers,” was completely destroyed during the attack.

WATCH:

🎥 WATCH: ~50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dismantled Ali Khamenei’s underground military bunker beneath the Iranian regime’s leadership compound in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/Nw0tvvQMRX

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 6, 2026

“The underground bunker was built beneath the compound and was a secure emergency asset for managing the war by the leader, who was eliminated before he managed to use it,” the military said, according to the Times of Israel.

Officials said the installation was located directly beneath Khamenei’s tightly guarded headquarters and included multiple entrances along with meeting rooms used by senior members of Iran’s leadership.

The compound had already been targeted at the start of the conflict, when Israeli aircraft launched the opening strike of the war — known as “Operation Epic Fury” — roughly a week earlier.

During that initial attack, Israel fired a powerful ballistic missile that reduced Khamenei’s headquarters to rubble, killing the Iranian leader along with dozens of officials and several members of his family.

Before the strike that killed him, Khamenei was believed to have been spending much of his time in the deep underground facility as protection from possible attacks.

The destruction of the bunker comes as Israel and the United States continued a series of coordinated strikes across Iran on Friday, targeting military installations, senior leadership figures and elements of the country’s nuclear program.

Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and several Gulf nations, including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain — countries that host American military bases.

{Matzav.com}

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday morning that gasoline prices are expected to drop within a matter of weeks after climbing sharply following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

“Look, Iran has been an escalator of energy prices [for] 47 years, the whole history of their regime,” Wright told “Fox & Friends.”

“We’ve got a little bit of an interruption right now, to finally put an end to their ability to wreak havoc, to kill Americans, and to terrorize their neighbors.”

Data from AAA shows the national average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline has climbed to $3.32, compared with $2.98 just a week earlier, before the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

The increase pushed gasoline prices above the $3-per-gallon mark for the first time since November, a development that could create political challenges for President Trump and congressional Republicans as they promote their economic affordability agenda ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Drivers in the tri-state region have seen slightly smaller increases. The average price for regular gasoline stands at $3.23 in New York, $3.20 in New Jersey, and $3.18 in Connecticut — increases of 22 cents, 29 cents, and 26 cents respectively since Feb. 27.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey released Sunday found that 45% of voters said they would be more likely to oppose Operation Epic Fury if the military campaign resulted in higher energy and gasoline prices in the United States.

Speaking in a phone interview with CNN, President Trump also expressed confidence that the rise in prices would not last long, saying the spike would be “short-term” and “go way down, very quickly.”

Earlier in the week, Trump said US Navy ships could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if needed in order to keep global oil supplies flowing.

On Friday, Wright said such naval escorts could begin “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it.”

Iran previously announced it was closing the key shipping route in the Persian Gulf and warned it would attack vessels attempting to enter the passage, which handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 20 million barrels of oil moved through the strait each day in 2023, the most recent year with available data.

In his CNN interview, Trump said he had already addressed the issue of securing oil shipments through the waterway.

“We’ve knocked their navy because, you know, when you knock out the navy, they can’t do what they wanted to be able to do,” he said. “The navy is almost, we just hit about the 25 mark. Can you imagine that? Big ones — 25 ships are down.”

Iran has continued retaliatory attacks against oil-producing Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

While Trump has suggested the conflict could end within four weeks or less, other administration officials have declined to estimate how long the war might continue.

Inflation slowed to 2.4% in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though many everyday goods remain expensive for consumers.

Energy prices previously spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when crude oil climbed to nearly $119 per barrel.

A prolonged power outage that left parts of Brooklyn without electricity for days during a dangerous cold snap is now triggering frustration among residents who say Con Edison is slow to reimburse them for losses — and in some cases has already rejected their claims.

Several residents affected by the blackout say their requests for compensation have either been denied or remain unresolved. Some say they have yet to receive confirmation that their claims were even processed.

“Trying to rectify this with Con Ed, I was on hold for two days … and they were just so disrespectful,” said Park Slope resident James Kilmeade, who spent two nights in a hotel so that his pet bearded dragon wouldn’t freeze to death.

“The people wouldn’t give me their last names or any employee ID … and they never called me back,” Kilmeade added, saying he put in a $200 reimbursement claim for spoiled food.

He says he is still waiting for a response.

Kilmeade also explained that he has not submitted a request to be reimbursed for the hotel expenses he incurred while trying to keep his pet alive after losing electricity to the animal’s heat lamp.

“I had to smuggle her into a hotel, basically, in a blanket,” the 30-year-old said.

The complaints come shortly after Con Edison received approval to raise electricity rates by 10.4 percent and increase gas rates by 15.8 percent over the next three years — hikes expected to cost the average New York City household roughly $600 more annually by 2028.

A company spokesperson said Con Edison is currently reviewing and paying “validated claims” submitted by the hundreds of Brooklyn residents who were left without power for more than 48 hours during a widespread outage that began Jan. 31, during an intense Arctic cold spell.

According to the company’s website, customers may be eligible for reimbursements of up to $655 for spoiled food and certain medications if a power outage lasts more than 12 hours.

The blackout, which stretched for nearly six days in neighborhoods including Park Slope, Gowanus, and Boerum Hill, was caused by a manhole fire. Con Edison said the incident was triggered when melting snow and road salt seeped into underground infrastructure, corroding electrical equipment and wiring.

One resident, identified as A.C., said the company told him his situation did not qualify for compensation.

“They said it was due to the salt getting into their equipment, and I guess they don’t usually pay out for those instances,” he said. “I think they should cover it, just because salt is foreseeable … It’s not like it was a surprise.”

The dispute has now drawn the attention of local officials. City Council member Shahana Hanif is urging the utility company to revisit the denied claims and provide a clearer strategy for preventing similar outages in the future.

“Neighbors carried food up dark stairwells, shared heaters and blankets, and boiled water for warmth,” Hanif wrote in a Feb, 27 letter co-signed by six other city and state lawmakers.

“Many incurred real financial losses and faced unsafe living conditions through no fault of their own,” the pols added, and “they should not be left to shoulder the burden of a prolonged outage that resulted from infrastructure failure.”

{Matzav.com}

As Ben Gurion Airport gradually resumes operations following a tense period during the ongoing war, El Al has shifted into an extraordinary emergency operating mode aimed at bringing thousands of Israelis stranded abroad back home.

In an extensive interview on the Kol Chai radio news program, Alon Lavi, head of El Al’s operational control division, detailed the unprecedented effort being carried out by the airline to return passengers who were unable to reach Israel when the conflict began.

Lavi explained that the airline had prepared in advance for the moment when Israeli airspace would reopen.

“We prepared to operate rescue flights from more than 22 destinations the moment Ben Gurion Airport reopened,” he said. “We are implementing the framework approved by the government in a responsible and safe way.”

He provided striking figures illustrating the scale of the operation.

“Today, nine El Al rescue flights landed at Ben Gurion Airport from various destinations across Europe. Tomorrow the pace is expected to increase significantly, with 16 scheduled landings,” Lavi said.

The operation is not limited to nearby locations. El Al has deployed wide-body aircraft to transport hundreds of passengers per flight from long-distance destinations including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Bangkok.

“The planes are already on their way to Tel Aviv and are expected to land here tomorrow morning,” he added.

In order to reduce confusion and uncertainty among passengers, the airline also took an unusual step.

“We closed ticket sales for new flights until March 21,” Lavi explained.

The goal of that decision is to prioritize existing customers whose flights were canceled because of the war, allowing them to be placed on rescue flights without additional cost rather than selling new tickets at extremely high prices.

One of the most sensitive issues addressed during the interview was El Al’s firm decision not to operate flights on Shabbos.

Despite public pressure and the urgent need to bring Israelis home, Lavi emphasized that this policy remains unchanged.

“This is a Jewish company whose mission includes keeping Shabbos, and we stand behind that principle even under enormous media pressure,” he said.

He explained that the airline is making logistical adjustments to compensate for the day of rest.

“We will carry out the operations before Shabbos begins and immediately after it ends, and everything will work out,” he said. “We are not trying to make things unnecessarily difficult — we are simply remaining faithful to our values.”

Lavi also stressed that the airline is maintaining proactive contact with affected passengers.

“We are in touch with all of our customers twice a day in a proactive way,” he said.

He urged Israelis currently overseas to continue monitoring official channels for updates.

“All of the information is published on our website and on social media. We are doing everything possible to bring everyone home quickly and safely,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

JERUSALEM (VINnews)-The Israeli Air Force conducted a new wave of airstrikes in western Iran on Thursday, hitting more than 400 military targets, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Among the sites struck were ballistic missile launchers and warehouses storing drones, according to the IDF.

The military estimates that Iran retains 100-200 operational ballistic missile launchers, after the IDF reported destroying more than 300 since the start of the current conflict. The IDF said it is continuing operations to “hunt down” remaining launchers “to reduce as much as possible the scope of fire towards Israel.”

In a separate strike, Israeli aircraft targeted a mobile air defense system in Shahrud, east of Tehran, while Iranian soldiers were relocating it to another site inside the country, the IDF said.

The strikes are part of ongoing Israeli efforts to degrade Iran’s missile and air defense capabilities amid escalating hostilities between the two nations.

As the Knesset gradually returns to limited activity during the ongoing war, tensions within the coalition are rising over the long-delayed draft law, with chareidi parties insisting the legislation return immediately to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Chareidi political leaders have reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu over the past 24 hours that the draft law must be brought back to the committee as early as next week, provided the security situation allows it. They have also requested that the committee’s legal adviser, Miri Frenkel, expedite the completion of the bill’s final wording.

The demand comes as the Knesset prepares to reconvene next week after a week-long recess. At first, the Knesset is expected to deal only with urgent matters, particularly those connected to the war.

At the same time, the chareidi parties have continued their boycott of coalition votes. They have clarified that they will refrain from supporting government legislation, with the exception of measures directly related to the war effort, in order not to complicate matters for the government during the conflict.

The dispute raises serious questions about the fate of the state budget.

If the draft law is not passed by the end of the month, there is a strong possibility that the budget will also fail to pass, which could ultimately lead to new elections.

Sources within the chareidi parties estimate that the prime minister will attempt to persuade them to approve the state budget even without the draft law being finalized. Whether those efforts will succeed remains to be seen.

{Matzav.com}

A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a stark warning, declaring that any location used by the United States or what Tehran calls the “Zionist regime” to carry out military operations against Iran will become a target.

“Anywhere the U.S. and the Zionist regime carry out operations or military actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, it will be targeted with full force,” the spokesperson said in the statement. 

Khatam al Anbiya is the central operational command responsible for coordinating Iran’s armed forces during major military conflicts and national defense operations. 

The warning comes as tensions continue to escalate across the region following ongoing U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iranian targets and Tehran’s threats of retaliation.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to JBN for updates as they happen.

Zach, a successful entrepreneur in his fifties, is a friend I met recently at a dinner. He was intrigued to learn that I work in alternative medicine and asked for some advice. First, he told me his story.

Zach was 35 years old when he went to his doctor for a routine annual checkup and was informed afterward that he needed to start cholesterol-lowering medication.

He felt fine. He wasn’t sick. Zach was surprised—but reassured when his doctor prescribed a cholesterol medication, which he dutifully began taking. Problem solved—or so it seemed.

A few years later, Zach had gained weight. His blood pressure was now elevated, so another medication was added. Soon after, his blood sugar crept up, and he was told he was prediabetic. A few more years passed, and he was started on diabetes medication as well.

By the time Zach was in his mid-40s, he was significantly overweight, taking multiple medications, and struggling with low energy. Some of his symptoms were related to his conditions. Others were side effects of the drugs meant to control them.

What no one had clearly explained to Zach was that these weren’t separate problems.

They were all part of the same condition.

One Problem, Many Names

High cholesterol.
High blood pressure.
High blood sugar.
Weight gain.

In modern medicine, these are often treated as separate diagnoses. But together, they form what is known as metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is not a disease you suddenly “get.” It’s a gradual process in which the body becomes increasingly unable to properly handle fuel—especially fat and sugar. Over time, this dysfunction drives many of the most serious health problems we see today, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.

In patients like Zach, plaque slowly builds up inside the arteries. Years later, they may suffer a heart attack or stroke—sometimes in their 50s or 60s. Tragically, this outcome is often seen as inevitable.

It isn’t.

A Disease of Affluence

When I was in acupuncture school, one of my mentors—a physician from China who was also trained in conventional medicine—shared something that stuck with me.

She explained that in China, conditions like type 2 diabetes are sometimes called “rich man’s diseases.” Not because wealthy people are inherently unhealthy, but because these diseases emerge when societies adopt diets high in meat, fat, and processed foods.

Metabolic syndrome is largely driven by dietary excess, particularly excess animal fat combined with sugar.

In medical research, there is a well-known method for inducing heart disease in monkeys: feeding them saturated fat—such as coconut oil—along with sugar. This combination reliably produces arterial plaque.

It’s worth pausing to consider that.

This is essentially the same dietary pattern that drives metabolic syndrome in humans.

Treating Numbers vs. Treating the Cause

Modern medicine is very good at lowering numbers. Cholesterol can be lowered with medication. Blood pressure can be controlled. Blood sugar can be managed.

But controlling numbers is not the same as restoring metabolic health.

Zach’s medications didn’t address the root cause of his condition. They simply managed each marker as it appeared. Meanwhile, the underlying metabolic dysfunction continued to progress.

Over time, the list of diagnoses grew—and so did the list of prescriptions.

A Different Path

How did I respond to Zach? I told him gently about a patient of mine named Nathan.

Nathan came to see me at age 32 with a very different story. After routine blood work, his doctor told him he had high cholesterol and would likely need medication.

Nathan asked a simple—yet revolutionary—question:
“Is there something I can do with my diet first?”

Fortunately, he had a doctor who supported that idea and explained how to eat more healthfully. Nathan made significant dietary changes, focusing on whole, unprocessed foods.

A few weeks later, his labs were repeated. His cholesterol was normal. Nathan never even started medication.

That was over ten years ago. Today, Nathan remains active, energetic, and healthy—without needing the medications many of his peers take for granted.

Rethinking “Normal Aging”

Many people believe that heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain are simply part of getting older—and that the best we can do is manage them with drugs.

Metabolic syndrome challenges that assumption.

These conditions are not inevitable consequences of aging. They are, to a large extent, the result of dietary patterns that overload the body’s metabolic systems.

The good news is that metabolic syndrome is often preventable—and reversible, especially when addressed early.

Taking Back Control

A diet closer to a whole-food, plant-based pattern—rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and fiber—directly addresses the root of metabolic syndrome. It improves insulin sensitivity, lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, and supports healthy weight regulation.

For people like Zach, earlier dietary changes could have altered the course of his health dramatically. For people like Nathan, those changes made all the difference.

Metabolic syndrome isn’t a mystery. And it isn’t destiny.

Until next time, stay well—and remember that treating the cause is always more powerful than treating the symptom.

Want to learn more about dietary changes that support metabolic health?
Here is a short, accessible video that explains these ideas further:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E04WICTiL0o

In light of the difficult security situation and its direct impact on couples preparing to marry, Israel’s Chief Rabbis have issued a special psak halachah regarding the scheduling of weddings.

The Chief Rabbis of Israel — the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Dovid Yosef, and the president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, Rav Kalman Meir Ber — released the ruling addressing the challenges many couples are facing as a result of the current wartime conditions.

At the outset of their ruling, the rabbonim stressed that the establishment of a bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel at its proper time is of the utmost importance. According to the psak, whenever it is possible to hold the wedding on the originally scheduled date in accordance with the guidelines of the Home Front Command, every effort should be made to avoid postponing it.

The rabbonim wrote that even if security restrictions require a significantly reduced celebration and a smaller number of guests than originally planned, it is nevertheless preferable not to delay the chuppah.

At the same time, the Chief Rabbis addressed couples who were forced to postpone their wedding because of the security situation.

In an unusual step described as a temporary hora’as sha’ah for this year, the rabbonim ruled that such couples may conduct their weddings until Rosh Chodesh Iyar, including that date.

This leniency applies both to Sephardim and Ashkenazim, with particular sensitivity toward couples who have not yet fulfilled the mitzvah of peru urevu.

Despite this significant allowance, the rabbonim emphasized that this ruling does not constitute a permanent change in the long-standing minhag. Under normal circumstances, and in cases where no compelling ones exists, the traditional custom regarding weddings during Sefiras HaOmer remains unchanged.

The Chief Rabbis also made clear that, in their view, weddings should not be permitted on Motzaei Shabbos, even during this period, in order to prevent situations that could lead to chillul Shabbos.

{Matzav.com}

(AP) – Alyssa Ramos’ evacuation from Kuwait involved a 48-hour journey across four continents. The U.S. government did not help with any of it, the travel blogger said.

“They keep going on the news and saying they’re doing everything they can to get Americans out,” Ramos said after landing in Miami on Thursday. “I know for a fact they’re not.”

She said she repeatedly messaged the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait and was directed to the consular section, which told her it couldn’t help her leave the country and that she should enroll in the U.S.’s smart traveler program and shelter in place.

Ramos is one of the many Americans and citizens of other countries who evacuated from the Middle East or were still stranded there Friday, almost a week after Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran rapidly entangled more than a dozen nearby countries. U.S. citizens described frustrations and growing fear as they encountered closed airports, canceled flights and alarming U.S. government guidance while Poland, Australia, France and other countries more quickly dispatched military or chartered planes to bring their citizens home.

“Having the State Department or whoever tell us, you need to get out immediately, well, but there’s no help. So you’re on your own to get your own travel plans. That was the most stressful thing,” Chicago resident Susan Daley said after arriving Thursday on the first commercial flight from Dubai to San Francisco since the Iran war began on Feb. 28. Daley had been on a work trip in the United Arab Emirates.

President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed back against criticism that the U.S. response was too slow.

The U.S. State Department said the first government-chartered repatriation flight made it back from the Mideast on Thursday and that more would arrive daily. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were on the planes or where in the Middle East they had departed from. The department says as of Thursday, it has “directly assisted” 10,000 citizens in the region seeking help or information.

A social media post from the assistant secretary of state for public affairs included a photo of Americans boarding a chartered emblazoned with the logo of the NFL’s New England Patriots. The plane is believed to be at least the second such flight to land at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

As of Thursday, about 20,000 Americans had returned safely to the U.S. since the war started, the State Department said Thursday. U.S. embassies in the region continued to direct Americans to rely on commercial flights to leave, although much of the airspace across the Gulf remained closed or heavily restricted.

In the absence of advice from Washington or U.S. consular offices, some travelers said they turned to WhatsApp group chats and crowdsourced tips on social media for leads on commercial flights and alternative routes out of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and other countries. Some set up GoFundMe campaigns to help cover hotel and other expenses from days spent stuck in Dubai and other Gulf cities.

Chat groups help people evacuating
Ramos started WhatsApp group chats Monday to help people following her difficult evacuation via her social media account, “My Life’s a Travel Movie,” and messaging her that they needed help getting out, too.

In three days, more than 2,200 people joined the chats about leaving Dubai, Doha, Qatar, and Kuwait. Members organized shared rides to airports where flights were still operating, passed along names of trusted drivers and listed prices and even types of currency accepted.

On Thursday, a member wrote that her husband and two children have been trying to get out of Dubai but had two flights canceled and that her 2-year-old, who is diabetic, was running out of medication. Other members immediately jumped in to offer advice.

Jason Altmire, a former three-term Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, made it out of Dubai after the UAE partially reopened its airspace and Emirates airline resumed limited flights.

“We never heard anything from the State Department other than the general email advising us to find our own way out,” Altmire said in an email interview. “I found this, along with the ‘you’re on your own’ State Department voicemail, to be infuriating.”

Democratic lawmakers call US response ‘unacceptable’
In a letter Tuesday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democrats in Congress said that “the lack of clear preparation, planning, and communication to Americans abroad is unacceptable and a violation of the State Department’s basic mission to provide consular assistance and the protection of U.S. citizens overseas.”

Rubio said Tuesday that the U.S. had organized recovery flights but officials faced challenges due to airspace closures.

“We know that we’re going to be able to help them,” he said, while cautioning that “it’s going to take a little time because we don’t control the airspace closures.”

American Cory McKane, stranded in Dubai, managed to catch a flight out of the region Wednesday after a long, sleepless and expensive journey to Muscat, Oman.

Rather than risk being caught up at the crowded airport in Dubai, McKane and his friends rented a car and drove to the Oman border. There, he said, taxi drivers were charging as much as $650 to take stranded travelers to Muscat’s airport, where flights are still operating.

McKane said he was fortunate to have knowledgeable local friends and that stranded travelers created a WhatsApp group to share tips and advice.

“Everyone’s been sending each other resources because, quite frankly, the U.S. has not done a single thing in any capacity. That’s been really disappointing,” McKane said.

Commercial flight options increase slowly
Commercial flight options have been limited since the start of the war. More than 29,000 of roughly 51,000 flights scheduled in or out of Middle East airports were canceled as of Friday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Oman, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have emerged as key exit points for repatriation flights because flights are still operating in those countries. Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria, however, remained closed, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.

Azerbaijan closed the southern sector of its airspace Thursday, after it accused Iran of a drone attack on its territory that injured four civilians and damaged an airport building.

Trenten Higgins, who took a taxi from Israel to Jordan, was able to fly out of its capital and get to New York on Thursday. He said the State Department wasn’t helpful.

“Every alert that they gave and all the advice they gave was a day at least too late,” he said. “Even when it wasn’t too late, it was impossible to act upon and then they would just hang up.”

A bizarre AI generated propaganda said to be created the the IRGC is circulating on Iranian aligned social media accounts is drawing attention after depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu being captured by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a staged scenario.

The video appears to mimic the dramatic imagery surrounding the recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, recreating a similar style “raid and arrest” scene but replacing Maduro with Netanyahu in what observers say is a clear attempt at propaganda theater. Viral images and videos tied to Maduro’s capture have already sparked waves of AI generated misinformation online, highlighting how quickly fabricated visuals spread during major geopolitical events. 

Screenshot

In the clip circulating online, Iranian commandos are shown storming what looks like a high rise apartment in Tel Aviv before dragging the Israeli prime minister away in handcuffs.

There is just one problem. Netanyahu does not live in a high rise apartment in Tel Aviv, as depicted in the propaganda video. His main residence is in Jerusalem, with another private home in Caesarea.

Screenshot

The obvious error has only added to the ridicule online, with critics saying the video highlights how sloppy and theatrical the propaganda effort is.

Observers say the clip is another example of the escalating information war surrounding the regional conflict, where artificial intelligence generated videos and deepfakes are increasingly used to spread narratives and mock political opponents online.

Screenshot

The video has been widely mocked by pro Israel commentators who say it underscores a simple reality: the only place Iran is able to stage such a scenario is inside an AI generated fantasy.

Israel’s Chief Rabbis, the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Dovid Yosef, and Rav Kalman Meir Ber, president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, sent a sharply worded letter to Transportation Minister Miri Regev protesting the planned operation of government transportation services on Shabbos.

In their letter, the rabbonim expressed strong objection to what they described as unnecessary chillul Shabbos as part of the state’s transportation operations during the ongoing wartime situation.

The Chief Rabbis wrote that the planned move is being carried out at a time when there is no danger or concern of pikuach nefesh that would justify work on Shabbos.

They also emphasized that the decision to activate the transportation system was made unilaterally by government authorities without prior consultation with the Chief Rabbinate or receiving halachic guidance, as would normally be expected in public matters of this nature.

The rabbonim called on the minister to halt the plan and prevent unnecessary desecration of Shabbos, stressing that such decisions involving national public systems must be handled with proper sensitivity to halachah and with consultation from the appropriate rabbinic authorities.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews)-President Trump commended Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday for the State Department’s handling of efforts to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from countries across the Middle East amid the ongoing regional conflict involving U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

In a statement posted on Truth Social and widely shared on X, Trump highlighted the operation’s progress, describing it as being conducted “quietly, but seamlessly.”

“We are moving thousands of people out of various Countries throughout the Middle East. It is being done quietly, but seamlessly. The State Department, under Secretary Marco Rubio, is doing a great job!” Trump wrote.

He added a personal note: “Thank you Marco! 🇺🇸”

The praise comes as Rubio has reported that nearly 9,000 Americans have departed the region since hostilities escalated, with around 1,500 more requesting assistance. The State Department has coordinated charter flights, military options, and expanded commercial travel amid airspace disruptions and safety concerns.

Rubio has maintained that American citizen safety is the administration’s top priority, operating a 24/7 task force to support departures while urging citizens to register via the department’s website.

Trump’s comments contrast with earlier criticisms from some Democrats and reports of stranded Americans facing challenges, including initial guidance that emphasized commercial options over direct government-assisted evacuations in certain areas.

The evacuations follow urgent U.S. travel advisories for more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, citing risks from the conflict, retaliatory attacks, and embassy drawdowns.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Dovid Spiegel zt”l, the Ostrov-Kalushiner Rebbe of the Five Towns and rov of Bais Medrash of Cedarhurst, a devoted marbitz Torah and beloved rov who for decades built and nurtured a warm, vibrant center of Torah and Yiddishkeit in the community.

Rav Spiegel, a son of Rav Pinchas Eliyahu Spiegel zt”l, the Ostrov-Kalushiner Rebbe, was a distinguished talmid of two gedolei Torah of the previous generation, Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l and Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l. His connection with Rav Aharon was especially close and deeply personal. As a bochur, Rav Spiegel was among those who would frequently drive Rav Aharon to various engagements and destinations. Those hours spent in close proximity to the rosh yeshiva allowed him to develop a profound bond with his rebbi, absorbing not only Torah but also the spirit and vision that Rav Aharon instilled in his talmidim.

On June 19, 1962, Rav Spiegel married his wife, Rebbetzin Devorah Esther Spiegel a”h, the daughter of the Pittsburger Rebbe, Rav Avrohom Abba Leifer, in Newark, New Jersey, beginning a partnership that would become the foundation of a life devoted to Torah, community, and chesed.

In the early years following their marriage, the young couple lived in Lakewood in modest circumstances, residing in a small one-bedroom apartment above the stores on Fifth Street. Those humble beginnings reflected the simple and devoted lifestyle that characterized Rav Spiegel throughout his life.

A pivotal moment in his life and in the development of the Five Towns Torah community came in 1970. His brother-in-law, Rav Binyomin Kamenetsky zt”l, approached him with a bold vision: to establish a warm and authentic shtiebel that would serve as a beacon of Torah life in the growing Five Towns community. Rav Spiegel accepted the challenge with dedication and determination.

What began as a modest undertaking soon grew into something extraordinary. Over the decades, the shtiebel became a center of warmth, Torah, and genuine Yiddishkeit. Rav Spiegel did far more than establish a shul. He built a kehillah in the truest sense of the word. Through his guidance, countless individuals and families found a place where they could grow in Torah observance and strengthen their connection to Yiddishkeit.

Rav Spiegel understood that cultivating Torah life in a community requires not only passion but also wisdom, patience, and a deep understanding of people. With quiet determination and thoughtful leadership, he helped shape the spiritual character of the Five Towns in numerous ways. His influence could be felt in the lives of those who turned to him for guidance, encouragement, and inspiration.

Throughout the years, he remained a steady presence, a rov who cared deeply for his mispallelim and whose warmth and sincerity left a lasting impression on all who encountered him.

Rav Spiegel is survived by an exceptional family of children and grandchildren who continue his legacy of Torah, avodah, and devotion to Klal Yisroel.

The levaya is taking place now at Rav Spiegel’s shul, located at 504 W. Broadway in Cedarhurst, NY, followed by kevurah in New Jersey. Watch the levayah live HERE.

Yehi zichro boruch.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, have announced that the campaign against Iran has entered the “next phase.”

In this phase, the United States and Israel aim to inflict severe and crippling damage to the entire military system in Iran, dismantling the chain of military capabilities from production to finished weapons. For ballistic missile production, that means disrupting the entire process from beginning to end, starting with missile production plants, progressing to missile storage facilities and launchers and ending with the commanders and troops who ultimately operate the weapons.

To that end, the IAF struck one of Iran’s most complex and sensitive military industry sites Thursday, the Parchin military complex. The compound houses multiple military production facilities, including the following:

• Production of warheads, engines and other systems used in Iran’s missile and weapons programs
• Storage of all the above
• Facilities to repair and maintain all of the above

This video shows the strike on Parchin. (From a post on X)

As one of the major centers for Iran’s production of military capabilities, the strike on the Parchin complex represents a major setback for Iran’s military. The site not only produces ballistic missiles but also houses facilities tied to Iran’s nuclear weapons research.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s intergovernmental agency for overseeing nuclear efforts around the world and ensuring that countries adhere to nuclear protocols, confirmed that Iran has carried out tests of conventional weapons at the site and released a report more than 10 years ago showing that these tests were connected to efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Israel attacked the Parchin complex in October 2024 and assessed that the damage it inflicted significantly delayed missile production at the site. The IAF also struck the site during the 12-day war in June, which sustained light damage, but at the time, the IAF concentrated its efforts mostly on degrading Iran’s nuclear capabilities and missile production sites that it had not previously touched.

As Israel continues to operate under the pressures of Operation Roaring Lion, the Israeli Ministry of Transportation announced a significant expansion of public transportation services across the country.

Beginning today, bus service will increase to approximately 60 percent of normal operations. This follows several days during which the transportation network functioned at only 45 percent capacity due to the ongoing security situation.

The decision was made following a renewed situational assessment and updated guidance from the Home Front Command, with the goal of maintaining a measure of economic and daily-life continuity while the country remains under fire.

Alongside the expansion of bus services, the rail and light rail systems are still operating under strict limitations.

Israel Railways has concentrated its service in specific hubs that are suited to the current emergency conditions. The Yerushalayim Light Rail is operating on a limited emergency schedule, while the light rail system in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area remains completely suspended. The Haifa cable car system is also not operating at this time.

In addition, all in-person public transportation service centers across the country will remain closed until further notice.

Officials at the Ministry of Transportation stressed that despite the expanded service, the public is still urged to avoid non-essential travel and follow the instructions of security authorities.

“We call on the public to check the transportation apps and the operators’ information centers before setting out,” the ministry said.

For additional information or trip planning, travelers can contact the national transportation information hotline by dialing *8787.

Authorities noted that the public transportation system will continue to be adjusted as operational conditions evolve on the ground.

{Matzav.com}

The Israeli Air Force on Friday published footage from inside the cockpit of IAF fighter jets flying over Iran wishing their compatriots back home a good Shabbos.

“We, the pilots and navigators of the Israeli Air Force, are currently flying in formation over the skies of Tehran, on our way to strike targets of historical consequence,” a pilot says in the footage.

“We are in a campaign whose objective is to eliminate an existential threat to our state,” the pilot continues. “We will reach anywhere, any enemy, for our country, and for the security of our families. We will continue fighting as long as required, around the clock, and we feel your support at all times.

“We wish you, the citizens of Israel, a safe and quiet Shabbat. We will meet again at home.”

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(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Eight IDF soldiers from the Givati Brigade were wounded today after mortar fire struck inside Israeli territory near the Lebanon border.

Five of them are in serious condition, three were lightly injured. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families have been notified.

Among those lightly injured by the rocket strike is the son of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, the minister’s office said.

Four days after the devastating missile strike that shook the city of Beit Shemesh and the entire country, Rabbi Yitzchak Biton spoke in a heart-rending interview about the loss of his three children, who were killed when an Iranian missile struck their home directly.

Speaking with radio host Avi Mimran, Rabbi Biton described how he is finding the strength to cope with the unimaginable tragedy and how his emunah and devotion to Torah guide his response even in the face of such overwhelming pain.

Rabbi Biton lost his three children — Yaakov, Avigail, and Sarah Hy”d — in the direct missile strike.

When asked where he draws the strength to endure such suffering, Rabbi Biton explained that the Torah provides guidance for every situation in life.

“The Torah illuminates a person’s path and gives him advice and understanding for how to respond to all kinds of realities in life,” he said. “Someone who truly believes in the Borei Olam and truly lives with the Torah understands how to relate to every situation.”

He added that despite the immense pain, a person must strive to accept even the most difficult moments with emunah.

“A person must bless for the bad just as he blesses for the good and reach a place where he can accept things with joy and know that the Hakadosh Boruch Hu does what is best for us,” he said.

Addressing the fear that has gripped many people after the unusual circumstances of the strike — in which even a protected shelter was hit — Rabbi Biton emphasized that everything remains in the hands of Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

“We must understand that we are in the hands of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and every missile has an address,” he said.

He urged the public to strengthen themselves in emunah and in kvius ittim laTorah rather than allowing fear to dominate their thoughts.

“Hakadosh Boruch Hu speaks to us in every language,” he said. “Whether through terror attacks or ballistic missiles, He wants us to come closer to Him.”

During the interview, Rabbi Biton spoke with deep longing about the personalities of his children.

He described his son Yaakov Hy”d, who was sixteen years old, as an iluy in Torah. According to his father, already at the age of four and a half he would daven at the Kosel asking only for the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdosh.

“He would learn masechtos and Gemara with me, and sometimes he understood the sugya even better than avreichim,” Rabbi Biton said.

He described his daughter Avigail Hy”d, fifteen and a half years old, as “very wise and perceptive, someone who understood the nefesh of another person.”

His youngest daughter, Sarah Hy”d, he said, was always the first to volunteer for acts of chessed, doing so with a smile and genuine inner joy.

At the conclusion of the interview, Rabbi Biton called upon Klal Yisroel to continue the legacy of his children.

“Think good, speak good, do good, and look at everyone with a good eye,” he said.

Mimran also encouraged listeners to accept upon themselves a small kabbalah in their memory, suggesting that people undertake to learn one Mishnah or recite a chapter of Tehillim each day l’ilui nishmas Yaakov, Avigail, and Sarah bnei Tamar, whom Rabbi Biton said are in the category of harugei malchus, about whom Chazal say that no created being can stand in their place in Olam Haba.

{Matzav.com}

Men with localized prostate cancer have another treatment option available at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) with the introduction of a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology known as Focal One®. The non-invasive, radiation-free approach destroys cancerous tissue with pinpoint accuracy, significantly reducing the risk of side effects and preserving patient quality of life.

Standard treatments for localized prostate cancer include radical procedures like removing the entire prostate or radiating the whole gland, each of which carries a higher risk of life-altering side effects. The HIFU approach offers a more personalized approach for select candidates, allowing urologists to treat only the cancerous tissue instead of the entire organ.

“The precision is the real game-changer,” said Mina Fam, M.D., MBA, medical director of uro-oncology at JSUMC and medical director of robotic surgery at Ocean University Medical Center. “Before the procedure, we use a patient’s MRI scans to map the exact location and shape of the tumor. During the treatment, we pair that MRI data with real-time ultrasound imaging. This gives us a live, 3D view of the prostate. The system then delivers targeted thermal energy with sub-millimeter accuracy, allowing us to destroy the cancerous cells while meticulously sparing the surrounding healthy tissue.”

The technology avoids damaging critical structures like the urinary sphincter, which controls urination, and the neurovascular bundles essential for erectile function. “Our goal is to attack the cancer without compromising the functions that are so important to a man’s daily life,” added Dr. Fam. “For patients, this means a significantly lower risk of incontinence and impotence.”

A convenient patient experience is a key benefit of the procedure, which is performed in a single session, enabling patients to typically go home the same day, and allowing for a quicker recovery time.

A retail store owner, 74-year old Joseph Marinaccio of Monmouth County, was one of Fam’s first patients treated with Focal One. “It was really beneficial to have this Focal One treatment available so close to home. It got me back to work and life much faster than if I chose other treatments,” he shared. “I also have peace of mind knowing that my healthy tissue was spared as part of the treatment.”

A crucial advantage of the radiation-free HIFU treatment, adds Fam, is that it preserves all future treatment options. If the cancer were to recur, a patient would still be a candidate for any other therapy, including surgery or radiation.

“Our goal is to provide the communities we serve with the most advanced treatment options, so they do not have to travel far for the best care. Focal One is a great example of the novel treatment technologies we continue to add to our array of options across specialities,” said Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, president and chief hospital executive, JSUMC. Other recent investments in precision cancer treatments include; histotripsy for liver cancer, trans-arterial micro-perfusion (TAMP™) for pancreatic cancer; and pressurized intraperitoneal aerosolized chemotherapy (PIPAC) for peritoneal cancer.

Physicians can now refer patients with localized prostate cancer for HIFU therapy at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. The treatment is also provided at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center. Individuals interested in making an appointment with Dr. Fam, should call 732-840-4300. For additional information, visit: www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/services/urology/prostate-cancer.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war.

The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the last war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, who fired rockets at Israel in the opening days of the latest conflict. More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that after Iran’s surrender, “and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” that the U.S. and its allies would help rebuild Iran, making it “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

The war has escalated to affect more than a dozen countries across the Middle East and beyond, and has caused a spike in oil prices.

Qatar’s energy minister warned that it could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to $150 a barrel. Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times newspaper that even if the war ended immediately it could take “weeks to months” to resume normal exports after an Iranian drone strike on Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas plant earlier in the war.

Trump again urges Iranians to ‘take back’ their country
Trump’s latest comments were likely to raise further questions about the endgame of the war launched a week ago by the United States and Israel, which appears increasingly open-ended.

On Thursday, Trump urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country,” promising the U.S. would grant them “immunity,” without elaborating.

He also told media outlets that he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei — a front-runner to replace his father — calling him “a lightweight.”

Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.

Buildings associated with the 88-member clerical panel, have been attacked during the Israeli-U.S. airstrike campaign. Israel has said it would target the next supreme leader if he poses a threat.

Heavy strikes on Iran
Israel’s military said Friday it had launched “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital, and that over the past week it has heavily bombed an extensive underground bunker that Iran’s leaders had planned to use during the hostilities.

Witnesses described Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.

Iran meanwhile launched missile and drone attacks at Israel, as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host U.S. forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts in the conflict, without elaborating.

US says it struck an Iranian drone carrier
The U.S. military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.

The U.S. military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2025 inauguration.

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier,” and said it was on fire.

Earlier in the week, an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 crew members and recovered 87 bodies.

Iran targets countries hosting US forces
Qatar said early Friday it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command.

Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which also hosts U.S. forces, said a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry.

Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. In Kuwait, where the six U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday, the army said air defenses were activated when missile and drone attacks breached its airspace.

The United Arab Emirates said three drones had struck its territory, without elaborating.

The British ambassador to Bahrain said Friday that the United Kingdom would help defend the country with its fighter jets. Ambassador Alastair Long’s announcement came the day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sending four more Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters to Qatar following requests from allies for further help.

In Israel, the sound of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv early Friday morning after a warning about missiles incoming from Iran, as air defense systems worked to intercept the barrage.

Israel hits Lebanon with multiple airstrikes around Beirut
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late Thursday and early Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fires broke out near a gas station.

Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No casualties were immediately reported.

Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said he was “extremely concerned” about the situation, particularly what he described as “blanket, massive displacement orders” by Israel to civilians in Lebanon.

The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war.

Hezbollah’s military command on Friday urged its fighters not to relent and to “defend the nation,” casting the escalating war in religious terms and calling on them to “kill them wherever you find them.”

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam slammed both Israel and Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese state and people “did not choose this war.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (VINnews) — A supporter of Chabad-Lubavitch at the University of Florida made a new $18,000 contribution to the organization following criticism of the Jewish outreach movement by commentator Tucker Carlson.

Speaking to VIN News, Rabbi Berel Goldman said a donor known to him, who asked to remain anonymous, approached Thursday his son-in-law, Rabbi Meyer Brook, while on campus and handed him the check.

Goldman said Brook, who helps lead and organize many Jewish student activities at the university, has known the donor — a Jewish dentist and UF alumnus — for years.

The rabbi added that the donation came as an utter surprise. While the donor has long supported Chabad and attended events, the size of this contribution was unexpected. Goldman described it as a significant help to the organization.

Goldman emphasized that the donor’s frustration was unmistakable, saying the dentist was deeply upset by what he described as false accusations directed at Chabad. According to Goldman, the donor wanted to respond positively by strengthening support for the organization’s work with Jewish students.

The contribution will help fund Passover programming organized by Chabad at UF, including preparations for the annual Gator Seder at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Organizers say the event is the largest single-seated Passover Seder in North America, drawing thousands of students and community members each year.

BDE: YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of R’ Mordechai Levi Z”L, a well-known fixture at the Kosel for decades.

The niftar was regularly seen at the Kosel, often dressed in white, quietly saying Tehillim and serving as a familiar presence to the many mispallelim who frequented the holy site.

When the siren sounds again and everything stops in an instant, families across Israel rush with their children into the reinforced security room. The sudden shift from ordinary life — laundry, emails, a cup of coffee that has gone cold — to the familiar dash toward safety can be jarring. Hearts race, parents gather their children almost automatically, and the mind begins racing through rumors: Did something fall nearby? Did anyone see a video of what happened?

The uncertainty drains energy and can make it feel as though the same frightening moment is repeating itself again and again.

Yet even in that tense reality, the home remains a place of protection. The reinforced room may feel like a small, cold space on an ordinary day, but in moments of danger it becomes the place where children form their memories of how their parents handled the crisis. Instead of allowing the room to feel like a place of fear, parents can transform those tense minutes into a calmer and even reassuring experience.

Here are several simple ways to replace anxiety with a sense of safety — and perhaps even bring a smile during those stressful moments.

Create a Warmer Atmosphere

Most reinforced rooms are lit by a single bright LED bulb that feels sterile and uninviting.

Adding softer lighting can immediately change the mood. Battery-powered strings of small lights or a warm night lamp can make the room feel more comfortable. Soft yellow lighting has been shown to reduce stress levels and help people relax more quickly.

Scent can also play a powerful role. When the heavy door closes and the atmosphere suddenly feels tense, a gentle room diffuser or small lavender sachets in a closet can help shift the mood. Familiar household scents signal to the brain that this is still part of the home environment — not a frightening bunker — and that normal life will soon return.

Prepare a Small Snack Station

If families must remain inside the room for an extended period, food can be a source of comfort for children.

Instead of keeping loose bags of snacks, parents can organize small transparent baskets. One basket might hold savory snacks, another sweets, and another disposable cups and utensils.

Including treats that children normally do not receive during the week can also create a positive association. Children may begin to think of shelter time as the moment when they receive their special candies or snacks.

Create a Dedicated Children’s Corner

Rather than tossing random toys into the room, parents can prepare a small “shelter kit” designed specifically for these situations.

Quiet activities work best — coloring books, sticker sets, puzzles, or simple card games that keep children occupied and focused.

If there is enough space, adding cushions or beanbags can turn part of the room into a cozy corner. Children may even experience the time together as something like family “camping” rather than a stressful interruption.

Choose Words Carefully

Perhaps the most challenging part for parents is controlling their own reactions.

When a loud explosion is heard outside, the instinct may be to shout, “Did you hear that? That was really close!”

But children are extremely sensitive to their parents’ emotions. When adults react with fear, it signals to children that something terrible has happened.

Parents can instead try to remain calm and choose reassuring language. Rather than talking about impacts or explosions, they might say that the interception system stopped the threat and that everyone is safe.

It is also wise to avoid playing voice messages or circulating videos from messaging apps while children are present. Rumors and dramatic footage can intensify anxiety for both children and adults. The shelter room should remain a space free of frightening background noise.

Turn the Moment Into Connection

Even during stressful moments, families can transform the experience into a small shared ritual.

Some families begin with a quick round of gratitude, where each person says something they are thankful for. Others play word association games or simple guessing games.

Reading a story aloud while everyone sits close together can create a feeling of warmth and intimacy.

If the situation allows, playing music and even dancing for a minute or two can release physical tension and help children relax.

In the end, the reinforced room is simply a room. What fills it — calm, reassurance, and love — comes from the parents inside it. While families cannot control what is happening outside, they can guide the atmosphere within their own walls.

Besuros tovos.

{Matzav.com}

Two senior Israeli defense officials and a third source familiar with the situation told Axios that dozens of officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fled Beirut, Lebanon, in the past 48 hours, fearing targeted assassinations by the IDF.

The officials from the elite Quds Force served as military advisers to Hezbollah, wielding enormous influence over the terrorist group’s operations.

As the IDF killed off top-ranking Hezbollah officials, IRGC military advisers increasingly took over to fill the vacancies. One Israeli official said that Hezbollah, having sustained heavy losses since Oct. 7, was reluctant to join the war and participated only under heavy pressure from Iran.

In the ensuing time since the war began, Israel has killed the commander of the Lebanon unit of the Quds Force in Tehran and his deputy in Lebanon. The IDF issued a warning to IRGC officials in Lebanon on Tuesday that it would “target them wherever they are found,” giving them 24 hours to leave.

This video shows smoke from a strike in Lebanon. (From a post on X)

Dozens fled since the warning was issued, with dozens more departing in the past 48 hours, leaving a small group behind to coordinate strategy with Hezbollah. An Israeli official said, “We expect the IRGC exodus from Lebanon to continue over the next several days.”

According to Information Minister Paul Morcos, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam issued a governmental order to implement “the necessary measures to prevent any military or security activity carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon, in preparation for their deportation,” a previously unheard-of directive from the prime minister.

The IRGC first deployed to Lebanon in 1982 and maintained a strong presence there for the next four decades, to the dismay of the Lebanese government. The move to deport IRGC officials is a protective measure to prevent the Lebanese government from becoming an IDF target, according to a senior Israeli defense official.

While Hezbollah entered the fray with small-scale attacks, it has since stepped up its assaults, acting as the main player now in the attacks against Israel. The IDF has mounted a fierce assault in response, warning civilians along the southern border to evacuate, which has caused the exodus of tens of thousands of civilians.

IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told Axios, “As a result of IDF and U.S. armed forces operations, ballistic missile launches from Iran toward Israel and other countries have been constantly decreasing. Simultaneously, Hezbollah has expanded its firing of rockets and UAVs toward Israel, to a point where the amounts are much larger than those being fired from Iran.”

Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister, Idit Silman, publicly called on President Donald Trump to impose personal sanctions on Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, and Supreme Court President Yitzchak Amit.

Silman’s appeal came following Trump’s sharp criticism of Israeli President Isaac Herzog over the issue of granting a pardon to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In a message posted Thursday on her X account, Silman addressed Trump directly in English, praising his intervention regarding what she described as the legal cases against Netanyahu.

“Mr. President, your pressure regarding the pardon in the fabricated cases against Prime Minister Netanyahu is welcome. But it is important to understand who is blocking even a discussion of this request,” she wrote.

Silman argued that Israel’s attorney general is preventing the issue of a pardon from even being discussed, while the head of the Supreme Court is protecting her position and blocking efforts to remove her.

According to Silman, “The attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, is preventing any discussion of a pardon, while Supreme Court President Yitzchak Amit supports her and prevents her dismissal, while at the same time canceling laws approved by Israel’s elected legislature.”

She concluded her appeal by urging Washington to take punitive measures against both officials.

“Since the United States stands for democracy in Israel, the time has come to impose severe personal sanctions against them both,” Silman wrote, adding: “Thank you, Mr. President, for standing with the State of Israel and the free world.”

Earlier in the day, Trump lashed out at President Herzog over Netanyahu’s pardon request, calling him a “disgrace” and insisting that he should grant the pardon immediately.

Trump said he had even refused to meet Herzog over the issue.

“I told him I wouldn’t meet with him. He’s been holding this over Bibi’s head for a year,” Trump said.

{Matzav.com}

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tamar Biton was in the kitchen when an explosion rocked her home in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, shattering the windows and collapsing the ceiling with a boom louder than anything she had ever heard.

Making her way to what was left of a window, she saw fire and destruction everywhere, she said.

“I couldn’t find my kids, but I was sure they would be able to rescue them from underneath the rubble,” she said.

That was not to be. It took 24 hours to identify the bodies of three of her four children: Yaakov, about to celebrate his 17th birthday that evening; Avigail, 15; and Sarah, 13.

FILE – Mourners attend the funeral of Yaakov Biton, 16, and his two sisters, Avigail, 15, and Sarah, 13, who were killed in an Iranian missile attack, at the cemetery in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)

They were among nine people killed Sunday when an Iranian missile strike demolished a synagogue and homes in Beit Shemesh. Israel’s rescue services said 65 people were hospitalized in the attack, including two seriously wounded.

It was the deadliest attack on Israel, where 11 people have died, since the war began Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The conflict has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran and more than 100 in Lebanon.

Tamar Biton, husband Yitzhak and their surviving daughter, 4-year-old Rachel, are observing the Jewish week of mourning in a Jerusalem hotel where they were placed after their house was destroyed.

A relative shows photos of three siblings, Yaakov, Avigail and Sarah Biton, who were killed in a March 1 Iranian missile strike that hit their home in the city of Beit Shemesh, in Jerusalem on March 5, 2026. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Neighbors and friends grieve togetherFor hours on end, as neighbors, friends and strangers gathered around, stories poured from Tamar about her three children.

Yaakov, a natural-born leader and orator, studied at the Jewish seminary her husband ran and was known for bringing friends closer to Jewish observance. Avigail was smart, sensitive and thoughtful, and Sarah was a whirlwind of activity always helping around the house and the community.

As Tamar spoke, she lit up, remembering details of each of the children she had buried Monday in a late-night funeral at Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery, one of the holiest places Jews can be buried.

FILE – Rescue workers and military personnel carry a body of a victim from the scene where several people were killed by an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

But when Tamar stopped speaking, she seemed to collapse in on herself, remembering what had happened.

Yitzhak Biton had taught a class in Jewish texts that deadly morning; his son had attended along with his best friend, 16-year-old Gavriel Ravach. Both were killed in the missile attack.

Other families also lost multiple members, including volunteer paramedic Ronit Elimelech, 45, and her mother, Sara Elimelech. Penina Cohen lost her husband, Yosef, and mother-in-law, Buria, in the attack. Her son was supposed to have celebrated his bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony, on Monday. Instead, he buried his father and grandmother, Cohen told Israeli President Isaac Herzog when he visited her at the hospital.

Survivors recount what happened
When the alarms blared to warn of an incoming missile attack Sunday afternoon, Yitzhak Biton said he decided to stay in the house, but Yaakov, Avigail and Sarah went toward the shelter under the synagogue, following Israel’s guidelines for civilians.

While Yaakov was found inside the shelter, it’s unclear whether Avigail and Sarah were able to make it in time, Tamar Biton said. The impact flattened the synagogue over the shelter and homes on several surrounding streets.

As hope for her children’s survival dimmed, Tamar Biton changed her prayers.

“I said to my husband, ‘Please let something be left of them — or do you think it’s just ash and that’s why they can’t identify them?’” she said Thursday.

Yitzhak said he tried to search for his children, despite terror at what he might find.

“They started taking out bodies, and I kept saying, ‘Where are my children? Where are my children?’ When they came and asked for a DNA sample, I knew the answer,” he said.

Both parents continue to cling to their faith, telling visitors who came to pay condolences of Yaakov’s sincerity in swearing off any kind of digital devices considered forbidden by observant Jews and their daughters’ acts of kindness.

Yitzhak Biton says he hopes to open a Jewish seminary in honor of his children, aimed at encouraging unity among Israel’s youth and countering issues driving the country apart, such as baseless hatred and negativity.

“They sanctified God’s name with their life, and also after their death, they continue sanctifying his name,” Yitzhak said, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Tamar Biton said she has been able to maintain her faith because she works to cultivate it every day.

“Faith isn’t built in a day,” she said. “Faith is a gift from God, and faith is what gives you the ability to stand in front of these challenges, these experiences, in front of these waves.”

LONDON (AP) — London police said Friday that four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said the suspects — one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals — were taken into custody on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. The men, who were arrested at addresses in and around north London shortly after 1 a.m, are suspected on spying on locations and individuals.

Police said the men arrested are aged 22, 40, 52 and 55 and that searches are ongoing at the addresses as well as other properties nearby.

Six other men were also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and have been taken into custody, the force said.

“We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, who is in charge of counterterrorism policing in London.

The arrests come as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iran, which has kept up retaliatory strikes on Israel, U.S. bases and across the region. Britain is not involved in offensive operations but is assisting in regional defense.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it is grateful to police “for foiling this alleged plot” but accused the British government of not taking the threat from Iran seriously.

“The U.K. may not be acting against Iran but Iran is acting against us,” it said in a statement.

“The government’s failure to keep its promise to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the main instrument that the Islamic Republic uses to foment antisemitic violence worldwide — has sent the message that support for the brutal Iranian regime and its Jew-hating and West-hating ideology is perfectly acceptable in Britain,” it added.

Iran-related spying in the U.K. is an increasing concern for British authorities.

The head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service, Ken McCallum, said in October that more than 20 “potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” had been disrupted in the previous 12 months.

He alleged that Iran, along with Russia, is increasingly using “ugly methods,” including “surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence.” The U.K. has accused Iran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil.

Most of the disrupted Iran-backed plots have targeted opposition Farsi-language media outlets or the Jewish community.

CAIRO (AP) — The Trump administration is confronting mounting discontent from allies in the Persian Gulf who have complained they were not given adequate time to prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their countries in retaliation for strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel.

Officials from two Gulf countries said their governments were disappointed in the way the U.S. has handled the war, particularly the initial attack on Iran on Feb. 28. They said their countries were not given advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complained the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region.

One of the officials said that Gulf countries were frustrated and even angry that the U.S. military has not defended them enough. He said there is belief in the region that the operation has focused on defending Israel and American troops, while leaving Gulf countries to protect themselves, and said that his country’s stock of interceptors was “rapidly depleting.”

Like others in this story, the Gulf officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing a confidential diplomatic matter.

The governments of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not respond to requests for comment.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in response: “Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% because Operation Epic Fury is crushing their ability to shoot these weapons or produce more. President Trump is in close contact with all of our regional partners, and the terrorist Iranian regime’s attacks on its neighbors prove how imperative it was that President Trump eliminate this threat to our country and our allies.”

The Pentagon did not respond.

Official reactions by the Gulf Arab countries have been muted, but public figures with close ties to their governments have been openly critical of the U.S., suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged President Donald Trump into a needless war.

“This is Netanyahu’s war,” Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, told CNN on Wednesday. “He somehow convinced the president (Trump) to support his views.”

Pentagon officials conceded this week in closed-door briefings with lawmakers they are struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran, leaving some U.S. targets in the Gulf region, including troops, vulnerable.

The Gulf countries have emerged as valuable targets for Iran, well within the range of Iran’s short-range missiles and filled with targets, including American troops, high-profile business and tourist locations and energy facilities, disrupting the world’s flow of oil.

Since the start of the war, Iran has fired at least 380 missiles and over 1,480 drones targeting the five Arab Gulf countries, according to an AP tally based on official statements. At least 13 people have been killed in those countries, according to local officials.

In addition, six U.S. soldiers were killed in Kuwait on Sunday when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center in a civilian port, more than 10 miles from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, said the operations center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.

In briefings for members of Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers that the U.S. will not be able to intercept many of the incoming UAVs, especially the Shaheds, according to three people familiar with the briefings.

In one of the briefings, Caine and Hegseth did not offer any details when pressed by lawmakers why the U.S. did not seem prepared for Iran to launch waves of drones at U.S. targets in the region, according to one of the people.

That person, a U.S. official who is familiar with the U.S. security posture in Gulf region, said that the U.S. did not have widespread capabilities throughout the Gulf region to effectively counter waves of the one-way drones coming to places outside conventional targets or bases outside of Iraq and Syria.

Drone attacks this week at the embassy in Saudi Arabia caused a limited fire at the embassy in Riyadh, and another drone attack the United Arab Emirates sparked a small fire outside the U.S. consulate in Dubai.

The U.S. and its allies in the Middle East on Thursday even sought help from Ukraine, which has expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When asked about Zelenskyy’s comments, Trump told Reuters on Thursday, “Certainly, I’ll take, you know, any assistance from any country.”

Bader Mousa Al-Saif, a Kuwait-based analyst with Chatham House, said the U.S. appeared to have underestimated the risk to its Gulf Arab allies, believing American troops and Israel would be the primary targets of Iranian retaliation.

“I don’t think they saw that there would be as much exposure to the Gulf,” he said, saying the lack of a plan to protect the Gulf countries “speaks to U.S. short-sightedness.”

The frustration in some of the Gulf nations is driven in part by the relative success that Israel has had knocking down drones and missiles compared to some of their neighbors, according to a person familiar with the sensitive diplomatic matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Their air defense systems are hardly as robust as Israel’s, but according to the person, U.S. officials have been somewhat perplexed that the Gulf countries are still not showing an appetite for delivering a counteroffensive by launching missiles at Iranian targets.

Elliott Abrams, who served as a special representative for Iran and Venezuela at the end of Trump’s first term, said that U.S. national security officials and their Gulf allies were aware that Iran had the capability to carry out significant strikes.

“And the neighbors knew it and were afraid of it. But it was never clear that Iran would actually do it, because they have a lot to lose,” Abrams said. “These attacks will leave long-term enmity, and if they keep up, the Gulf Arabs may start attacking Iran.”

Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that while the Gulf countries have an interest in seeing Iran weakened, they also have key concerns about the ongoing war — including the economic damage and instability it is causing and its open-ended nature.

Ratney, who is now a senior adviser in the Middle East program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “What comes next? The countries of the Gulf will have to bear the brunt of whatever that is.”

(AP) – Remarks by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the American press emphasizes U.S. casualties in the Iran war because it “wants to make the president look bad” are a reminder of something that has endured across many decades and conflicts: the tension and trepidation about news that reminds Americans of the human cost of war.

During his Pentagon briefing on the war on Wednesday, Hegseth bashed “fake news” while addressing the six U.S. Army reservists killed in an Iranian attack on an operations center in Kuwait.

“When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” Hegseth said. “I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality. The terms of this war will be set by us at every step.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned about the remark by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at her own news conference later, doubled down. “You take every single thing this administration says and try to use it to make the president look bad,” Leavitt said. “That’s an objective fact.”

Memories of night after night of graphic images beamed into homes through a then-recent invention — television — were hard to shake for those who lived through the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Many believed the cumulative impact of seeing that suffering night after night turned Americans from supporters to skeptics.

Such vivid, intimate scenes of military action by Americans haven’t been seen to that extent since, a legacy still in place with the war that President Donald Trump and Hegseth are waging right now on behalf of the United States.

“For many presidents, the lesson seemed to be: Don’t allow the realities of war into people’s living rooms if you can help it,” said Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Coverage of war — and access to it — have changed
Today, the images the public sees of warfare can resemble a video game — explosions seen lighting up the sky from afar — with the pain much more private.

Generations ago during World War II, journalists were embedded with the military, and many became household names — reporters Ernie Pyle and Walter Cronkite, photographers Robert Capa and Margaret Bourke-White. Those were the days before television, however.

Vietnam was arguably the most accessible American war for reporters. Journalists stationed in the country sent back a steady stream of death and destruction.

Cronkite, by then a CBS-TV anchorman of the most popular evening news program in the U.S., reported from Vietnam in 1968 and concluded the only rational way out was a negotiated peace. “If I’ve lost Cronkite,” President Lyndon Johnson said, “I’ve lost Middle America.”

During the Gulf War in 1991, President George H.W. Bush was angered by split-screen television images that showed the coffins of U.S. service members being returned to the United States while he, apparently unaware of the timing, was joking with reporters about another subject at the White House. The Pentagon banned coverage of these ceremonies, saying it was to protect the privacy of family members of the dead, although critics said it was to avoid showing pictures of coffins.

That ban, with a few exceptions, stayed in place until it was lifted by President Barack Obama in 2009.

Reporters who approached the battlefield in wars fought by the U.S. military in the 2000s were likely to have their movements restricted, if they were allowed at all. Jessica Donati, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Reuters who covered the war in Afghanistan, wrote for the Modern War Institute in 2021 that “it’s easier these days for journalists in Afghanistan to embed with the Taliban than with the U.S. military.”

Reporting on casualties predates Trump’s presidency
The nature of this war — fought thousands of miles from the American homeland and not yet on the ground in Iran — has limited the number of American casualties and thus made them more newsworthy. Several journalists have pointed out that reporting about military casualties predates Trump’s presidency. Hegseth’s statement “is a warped way of looking at the world,” said CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Ahistorical.”

“The news media covers fallen service members because they have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” he said. “It’s a tribute. It’s an honor.”

There has been relatively little coverage from the ground in Iran. A CNN team led by Frederik Pleitgen on Thursday became the first journalists from a U.S.-based television network to enter the country, and he spent the day racing across the country to Tehran.

Dan Lamothe, military affairs reporter for The Washington Post, posted on social media that Hegseth’s comments won’t stop him from continuing to cover the casualties of war — as has been done under presidents of both major political parties.

“These efforts haven’t always been perfect,” Lamothe wrote. “But they’ve highlighted sacrifices by American servicemembers and their families, and shortcomings that sometimes allowed these deaths to happen. We’ll continue to do so. It’s too important to stop.”

When Robert H. Reid was a top editor at Stars and Stripes between 2014 and 2025, he found that the newspaper’s audience, primarily service members, wanted more than raw numbers when Americans were killed in military action. They wanted to know details about the lives of the people who served — where they grew up, who they left behind, what their passions were, he said.

In 10 or 20 years, many of these people will be forgotten by all but those who loved them. But for what they gave for their country, they deserve recognition for their lives, said Reid, an Associated Press international correspondent for most of his career.

“The public needs to know that war is not a video game,” Naftali said. “It affects people.”

(AP) – Clocks will skip ahead an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday for daylight saving time in most of the U.S., creating a 23-hour day that throws off sleep schedules, plunges early-morning dog walks into darkness and inspires millions of complaints.

Even though polls show most people dislike the system that has most Americans changing clocks twice a year, the political moves necessary to change the system haven’t succeeded because opinions on the issue and its potential impacts are sharply divided.

Want to make daylight saving time permanent? That would mean the sun rises around 9 a.m. in Detroit for a while during the winter. Prefer staying on standard time year round? That would mean the sun would be up at 4:11 a.m. in Seattle in June.

“There’s no law we can pass to move the sun to our will,” said Jay Pea, the president of Save Standard Time, an organization devoted to switching to standard time for good.

Here’s a look at the debate.

Imposing a clock on a rotating planet causes a lot of headaches
Genie Lauren spends her winters in New York City keeping an eye on the sunrise and sunset “white-knuckling it” until the sun is up late enough for her to feel like doing anything outside her apartment after work — even going to the movies.

“The majority of the year we’re in daylight savings time,” said the 41-year-old health care worker. “What are we doing this for?”

The U.S. has tinkered with the clock intermittently since railroads standardized the time zones in 1883. So has a lot of the world. About 140 countries have had daylight saving time at some point; about half that many do now.

About 1 in 10 U.S. adults favor the current system of changing the clocks, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted last year. About half oppose that system, and some 4 in 10 didn’t have an opinion. If they had to choose, most Americans say they would prefer to make daylight saving time permanent, rather than standard time.

A dilemma for policymakers
Since 2018, 19 states — including much of the South and a block of states in the northwestern U.S. — have adopted laws calling for a move to permanent daylight saving time.

There’s a catch: Congress would need to pass a law to allow states to go to full-time daylight saving time, something that was in place nationwide during World War II and for an unpopular, brief stint in 1974.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill in 2022 to move to permanent daylight saving time. A similar House bill hasn’t been brought to a vote.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama who introduces such a bill every term, said the airline industry, which doesn’t want the scheduling complexity a change would bring, has been a factor in persuading lawmakers not to take it up.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, is proposing another approach.

“Why not just split the baby?” he asked. “Move it 30 minutes so it would be halfway between the two.”

Steube thinks his bill could get bipartisan support. The change would make the U.S. out of sync with most of the world — though India has taken a similar approach and in Nepal, the time is 15 minutes ahead of India.

Sleep experts prefer more daylight in the morning
Karin Johnson, the vice president of the advocacy group Save Standard Time and a professor of neurology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, said permanent standard time — with the sun straight overhead close to noon — would help students, drivers and practically everyone else function better year-round.

“Morning light is what’s really critical for setting our circadian rhythms each day,” she said.

Kenneth Wright, a professor and director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado, said the risk of fatal vehicle crashes, heart attacks and strokes increases in the days that follow turning the clock forward.

“Based on the evidence for our health and well-being and safety, the best option for us as a country now is to choose to go to permanent standard time,” he said.

Obstacles block change
Of all U.S. states, only Arizona — except the Navajo Nation — and Hawaii currently opt out of daylight saving time.

In the last two years, half a dozen states have adopted bills to switch to permanent standard time in one legislative chamber, including Virginia in February. A Virginia House committee this week recommended dropping the issue until 2027.

Most of those measures included caveats that the change would only take effect if neighboring states also made the move. For instance, Virginia would go to standard time only if Maryland and Washington, D.C., do, too. That could partially answer some of the concerns from groups including broadcasters who warn of schedule confusion. It wouldn’t solve the concerns of the golf industry, which opposes full-time standard time because that would make it harder for people to get in a round in the evening.

Many full-time daylight time bills have similar provisions.

A call to make states decide
Scott Yates, a Colorado man who runs the website Lock the Clock, wants the federal government to pass a law to end the twice-a-year clock change in two years.

Under his plan, states would have to commit to either daylight saving or standard time.

As long as the clock changes persist, Yates has some advice.

“If you’re the boss, tell all your employees on Monday that they can come in an hour later,” he said. “And if you aren’t the boss, tell your boss that you think you should come in an hour later on Monday. Sleep in for safety.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%.

The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, which companies, nonprofits and government agencies added 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February.

The job market had been expected to rebound this year from a lackluster 2025 when the economy, buffeted by President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies and the lingering effects of high interest rates, generated just 15,000 jobs a month.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — New details from a comprehensive investigation into the disaster caused by the direct missile strike on the synagogue shelter in Beit Shemesh reveal that only two of the nine people killed were inside the shelter when the missile struck.

According to the investigation published on Friday morning in the Haaretz newspaper, another person was standing at the entrance to the shelter at the moment of impact, while the rest of the victims were outside the shelter when the missile hit the site.

The missile that struck the structure carried a warhead weighing more than 400 kilograms, one of the heaviest warheads to fall in Israel since the start of the war.

At the time of the strike, about 30 residents were inside the shelter. Most of them were standing close to the wallsand survived. Dozens of people were injured by the blast wave and explosion.

According to the website of the Israel Home Front Command, the alert for the missile launch was activated at 13:41.

One of the people who was inside the shelter, Sarah Fanny Amar, said that the siren continued even after the impact, which she believes may indicate that it was activated only a very short time before the missile hit. Another resident said that the explosion occurred during the siren, while another witness claimed it was heard even before the alarm began.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces responded that the claim is incorrect, stating that the alert was issued as required according to the official protection timelines, and that an early warning was also sent through a personal alert message.

Those killed in the strike included:

• Bruria Cohen (76) and her son Yossi Cohen (41), who were inside the shelter.
• Oren Katz (46), who was standing on the staircase leading to the shelter entrance when the missile struck.

Six additional victims who were outside the shelter at the time:

• Sarah Elimelech (71) and her daughter Ronit Elimelech (45)
• Gavriel Revah (16)
• The siblings Yaakov Biton (16), Avigail Biton (15), and Sarah Biton (13).

Sarah Fanny Amar, who was inside the shelter during the impact and was injured, said she was sitting on a wooden bench next to the wall when the explosion occurred.

“I felt a blast wave, and suddenly I felt metal bars and stones simply falling on me,” she recounted.

She said the area went completely dark while the siren was still sounding.

According to her testimony, she managed to pull herself out of the rubble, bleeding and suffering from swelling on her head. She was evacuated to a hospital and hospitalized for a day.

The Biton family lived near the site. When the alert sounded, Yaakov left with his younger sisters Avigail and Sarah toward the shelter, while their mother Tamar remained at home.

She said that within a split second the impact occurred, and the house shook violently.

The father Yitzhak and the youngest daughter Rachel, age four, were on the upper floor and managed to escape the house.

Tamar went outside and called for her children, but received no response.
For hours the parents hoped their children had been taken to one of the hospitals, but only the next day did they receive the devastating news that all three children had been killed.

The Home Front Command determined that the shelter met all required standards. In 2023, the shelter was inspected by a Home Front Command surveyor and was rated “excellent.” In 2015, a synagogue built with light construction was added on top of the shelter.

According to the investigation, the warhead’s detonation mechanism was triggered when the missile struck the synagogue roof, after which the explosion penetrated the shelter ceiling.

A professional who spoke with Haaretz said that the ceiling bent under the force of the impact but did not collapse completely, which likely saved many of the people inside.

The force of the explosion caused extensive damage in the surrounding area. According to the investigation, buildings within a radius of about 600 meters from the impact site suffered damage of varying severity. 10 to 15 two-story buildings sustained structural damage.

Iran has delayed publicly naming a successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid concerns that whoever is chosen could become the next target in the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.

According to Iranian officials, the hesitation stems from fears that identifying the next supreme leader could expose that individual to possible assassination attempts.

Ayatollah Khamenei was eliminated in American and Israeli strikes that also killed several senior military commanders and figures associated with Iran’s defense establishment. Despite those losses, the heads of Iran’s three branches of government—the presidency, judiciary, and parliament—remain alive.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s 56-year-old son, has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace his father. However, concerns about his safety intensified after reports surfaced suggesting he could become the next face of Iran’s leadership.

Iranian officials said that once Mojtaba Khamenei’s name began circulating publicly as the preferred successor, the United States indicated that he would not be considered an acceptable choice and could also be targeted.

President Donald Trump dismissed the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei assuming power.

“They are wasting their time,” Trump told Axios on Thursday, adding that the former Supreme Leader’s son is “a lightweight” and an “unacceptable” choice.

“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, who became interim leader after Washington captured the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.

Israel also signaled that any future Iranian leader would remain a potential military target. Defense Minister Yisroel Katz wrote in a social media post on Wednesday that whoever is chosen to replace Khamenei would be “an unequivocal target for elimination.”

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

In the theater of international geopolitics, it is not uncommon for world leaders to hurl colorful epithets at their enemies. Recently, President Donald Trump characterized the Iranian leadership as not merely evil, but certifiably crazy — having crossed the threshold from malice into psychosis. For the Torah-observant Jew, this issue has intriguing halachic repercussions.

The question is: What exactly is a shoteh — and does the behavior of the Iranian mullahs suggest that they qualify?

The Halachic Category of Shoteh

The Torah exempts a shoteh — a person of unsound mind — from the obligations of mitzvos and strips him of much legal standing in halacha. A shoteh cannot serve as a valid eid (witness), cannot conduct binding legal transactions, and critically for our purposes, cannot give a Get (a bill of divorce).

If a man who is a shoteh gives his wife a Get, the document is halachically null and void, and the woman remains an agunah — chained to a marriage she cannot legally escape. Nor can Chalitzah be considered valid.

But who qualifies as a shoteh? This question is far more nuanced than it might appear.

The Gemara in Chagigah 3a describes specific behaviors that classify a person as a shoteh: one who walks alone at night, sleeps in the cemetery, tears his clothing, and one who loses what is given to him.

The Gemara itself notes a dispute: Rav Huna held that one does not acquire the status of shoteh unless all these signs are present simultaneously, while Rabbi Yochanan ruled that even a single such sign suffices. The Gemara resolves this by noting that each behavior, taken alone, might have a rational explanation — walking at night due to fever, sleeping in a cemetery to invoke an impure spirit, tearing one’s garment out of distracted thought — but when all appear together, they establish a presumption of mental incompetence, akin to a forewarned ox. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana 28a further establishes that one who alternates between lucid and non-lucid periods is treated as fully competent during his lucid periods and as a full shoteh during his episodes.

According to Rashi and the Me’iri, these definitions serve as the criteria for mental incompetence across all areas of halacha.

The Rambam, however, offers a broader and more expansive understanding (Hilchos Eidus 9:9). A person who is non compos mentis is not acceptable as a witness according to Torah law, and this applies not only to one who goes around unclothed, destroys utensils, and throws stones, but to anyone whose mind is disturbed and continually confused when it comes to certain matters — even if that person can speak and ask questions coherently regarding other matters. Such a person is an invalid witness and is considered a shoteh.

This Rambam opened a centuries-long debate that would erupt into one of the most dramatic controversies in all of rabbinic history.

The Get of Cleves: A Storm That Shook European Jewry

During 1766–67, a great controversy flared up, which was to become known as the Cleves Get — one of the causes célèbres of the 18th century. Though its focal point was Frankfurt, it came to involve many of the great Poskim of the day.

The Get of Cleves was a major Halachic  controversy centered in Cleves, Germany, concerning the validity of a divorce document issued on August 27, 1766, to Leah bas Jacob Guenzhausen by her husband, Yitzchok ben Eliezer Neiberg, who had fled the community shortly after their marriage, taking her dowry of 94 gold crowns, amid allegations of his intermittent mental illness.

On the Shabbos following his wedding, Yitzchok vanished. After an extensive search he was found two days later in the house of a non-Jew in a nearby village and brought home. A few days later, he informed his wife’s family that he could no longer stay in Germany because of the grave danger which threatened him there, and that he was obliged to immigrate to England. He declared his willingness to give his wife a Get in order to prevent her from becoming an agunah.

The Get was duly written and administered in the border town of Cleves by Rav Yisrael Lipschuetz, the Av Beis Din. But when Yitzchok’s father learned of the divorce, he smelled a conspiracy — a plot by his daughter-in-law’s family to extract the dowry — and he immediately moved to have the Get declared invalid on grounds of his son’s mental incompetence.

The rabbis of Pfalz, Hagenau, and Fuerth upheld the Get and declared the woman free to remarry. Both sides appealed to all the rabbinical authorities of the time. The rabbi of Cleves received the support of almost all of the leading scholars of the generation, among them Rav Saul Loewenstamm of Amsterdam, Rav Yaakov Emden, the Noda B’Yehuda of Prague, Rav Yitzchak Horowitz of Hamburg, and ten Rabbonim of the Klaus of Brody. The Beis Din of Frankfurt was virtually alone in its opposition

The Get of Cleves controversy set the precedent for defining incompetence and insanity in divorce cases according to halacha. The position of the Frankfurt rabbinate forced the rabbinic community of the eighteenth century to crystallize around a more lenient understanding of the relevant definitions and to enshrine them in halacha, making it easier to ensure that women in failed marriages could not be held ransom by husbands who feign madness and then claim they are not competent to issue a Get.

Remarkably, even in later generations, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zatzal addressed the controversy, writing that the Frankfurt Beis Din’s refusal to align with the overwhelming majority of their contemporaries verged on a violation of Lo Sasur — the Torah prohibition against deviating from the ruling of the majority.

Rav Moshe Feinstein: The Messianic Husband

The question of the shoteh and the Get did not remain a historical curiosity. Dealing with a similar issue, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l was asked in the 1960’s whether a particular individual was eligible to perform Chalitzah. 

Rav Yisroel Belsky: The Far Rockaway Chalitzah Case

In the early 2000s, a similar and sensitive question arose in Far Rockaway. A question of Chalitzah (the levirate release ceremony) arose involving a man whose mental competence was called into question. Rav Yisroel Belsky zt”l, the renowned posek of the OU and Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaas, was consulted. He also ruled that in that particular case, the brother-in-law was eligible to give a Chalitzah.

The Messianic Claimant: Rav Yisroel Dovid Harfenes

More recently still, another case arose. A husband had developed a sincere and unshakeable belief that he was the long anticipated Moshiach.  This author posed the question to Rav Yisroel Dovid Harfenes shlita, one of the leading Poskim in the United States and a very prolific mechaber.

Rav Harfenes ruled that the delusional Messianic belief, was not sufficient in itself to render the man a shoteh incapable of giving a Get. The key halachic indicator, he explained, was the man’s management of his financial affairs. As long as he remained responsible and competent in monetary matters — his Get would be valid. The Messianic delusion, operating in isolation, did not rise to the level of the shoteh as defined by halacha.

Which Brings Us Back to Tehran

And so we return to President Trump’s assessment of Iran’s mullahs.

To be clear: the Islamic Revolutionary regime has been, from the perspective of international law and basic human decency, a malevolent force. It sponsors terrorism across the region, brutalizes its own citizens, and has driven its economy into the ground through ideological rigidity and monumental mismanagement.

But Trump went further. He didn’t merely call them evil. He called them crazy.

Is there halachic merit to that assessment?

Which brings us to recent developments. Dubai has been a crucial financial corridor for Iranian businesses and individuals seeking to bypass Western sanctions, with shell companies registered across Dubai’s sprawling free zones masking the origin of Iranian oil and commodities, and informal currency exchange houses moving funds across borders outside the reach of conventional banking oversight. Iran had, over many years, carefully and methodically constructed a shadow financial architecture to circumvent American pressure. They knew that the United States would freeze their assets the moment it had the opportunity. Their entire Dubai operation was a deliberate workaround — a sophisticated, painstakingly constructed alternative to Western banking.

And then, in an act of almost incomprehensible strategic self-destruction, Iran launched 189 ballistic missiles, 941 drone attacks, and cruise missiles against the very country that housed those assets — the United Arab Emirates — targeting Dubai’s airport, the Burj Al Arab hotel, and the Palm Jumeirah.

The result was entirely predictable. The UAE is now considering cutting off Iranian access to billions of dollars held in the Gulf state — a move that could cripple Tehran’s access to foreign currency and global trade networks at a moment when its economy has been deteriorating.

Iran just bombed its banker, the one institution that had been its gateway to the global economy for decades.

From a purely rational standpoint, this is baffling. Even granting that the Iranian mullahs are engaged in an existential military conflict, one would expect a minimally rational actor to protect its financial infrastructure — not destroy it. One does not burn down one’s own bank.

The Halachic Verdict?

So how do we apply the shoteh framework to the Iranian mullahs?

Recall the ruling: as long as a man manages his money responsibly, his Messianic delusions do not render him a shoteh under halacha. Financial competence is, in many ways, the litmus test.

By that standard, President Trump’s assessment may be (warning: pun imminent) right on the money.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

• Outbound flights expected to begin Sunday at 8:00 AM
• Maximum of 2 departures per hour
• Flights limited to about 50 passengers each

• Airlines operating: El Al, Israir, Arkia, and Air Haifa

• 15% of seats reserved for humanitarian, security, diplomatic, or tourist cases

• Israeli citizens leaving must sign a form agreeing not to return for at least 30 days

Officials say the number of flights may increase in the coming days depending on the security situation.

The IDF said Friday it has launched more than 500 strikes across Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the widening regional war earlier this week.

The IDF said the wave of attacks has targeted key elements of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, including senior commanders, members of its elite Radwan Force, rocket launch sites, command centers, and weapons depots.

Israeli strikes have also hit operatives and facilities belonging to other terrorist groups operating in Lebanon, according to the military.

The bombardment began after Hezbollah formally joined the conflict on Monday, opening a northern front against Israel while Israeli and American forces continued their air campaign against Iran.

The fighting has triggered a large-scale civilian exodus across southern Lebanon. The IDF said it estimates around 420,000 Lebanese civilians have evacuated their homes in the south after Israel ordered residents to leave the area and move north of the Litani River, a boundary Israel has long sought to push Hezbollah’s forces beyond.

The evacuation order came amid heavy Israeli airstrikes and warnings that the military would intensify operations against Hezbollah positions embedded across villages and towns in the region.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands more residents have fled Beirut’s southern suburbs, a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold known as the group’s political and military heartland.

Israel issued evacuation warnings for the area on Thursday afternoon before launching additional strikes.

Among the targets struck in the past several days were members of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, the organization’s elite unit tasked with cross-border infiltration operations against Israel. Israeli officials have long viewed the Radwan Force as one of Hezbollah’s most dangerous capabilities, trained for rapid incursions into northern Israeli communities in the event of a full-scale war.

The IDF said the ongoing strikes aim to dismantle Hezbollah’s operational network and degrade its ability to launch rockets and other attacks into Israel.

Hezbollah has not yet released a full account of its casualties or losses, though the group has acknowledged that several of its fighters have been killed since the fighting began.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has dismissed a Gaza school principal accused of taking part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, according to a report by JNS.

The individual, identified as Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, was recently added to a U.S. government blacklist under the administration of President Donald Trump.

“Upon the allegations made against Mr. Mousa by the Israeli authorities, on April 16, 2024, UNRWA immediately placed him on administrative leave without pay,” UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told JNS. “Upon completion of the Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation, his appointment was terminated on Aug. 20, 2024.”

A report released in late February by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development stated that investigators uncovered what they described as decisive evidence that Mousa took part in the October 7 attack while serving as a captain in Hamas’s East Jabaliya Battalion.

The watchdog body, which functions independently from the State Department and monitors U.S. foreign assistance programs, said Mousa “coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the Oct. 7 attacks while serving as an UNRWA school principal.”

According to The Washington Free Beacon, which cited information from the State Department, Mousa shut down his UNRWA school early on the morning of October 7 and then reached out to at least 20 Hamas operatives, instructing them to infiltrate Israel “with cars and weapons.”

A source familiar with the inspector general’s probe said investigators requested that UNRWA provide the names of employees who had been terminated for suspected links to terrorism.

The source said the agency declined to share that information and did not reveal the identities of staff members believed to have taken part in the October 7 attacks, actions that investigators said hindered their work.

Because of that, the State Department—which absorbed USAID last year—alerted UNRWA that Mousa had been placed on the U.S. government’s blacklist and would be prohibited from participating in American foreign aid programs for the next decade.

UNRWA has faced longstanding accusations that it maintains close ties with the Hamas terrorist organization, allegations that critics say have repeatedly been supported by evidence. Those concerns intensified in 2024 after Israel presented information indicating that several UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

After those claims were made public, the United Nations created a review panel led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to examine Israel’s allegations. In its findings, the panel said it had identified “neutrality-related issues” within UNRWA, but also stated that Israel had not yet provided proof that large numbers of the agency’s employees belonged to terrorist organizations.

Even as criticism of UNRWA continues, the International Court of Justice recently ruled that Israel must allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip through United Nations bodies, including UNRWA. Israel and the United States both criticized that decision.

{Matzav.com}

Military officials say Iran is now launching around 20 ballistic missiles per day at Israel, a sharp drop from the roughly 90 missiles fired on the first day of the war last Saturday.

• Sunday: about 60 missiles launched
• Monday–Thursday: about 20 missiles per day, fired in several small salvos

According to the IDF, more than 300 Iranian ballistic missile launchers — roughly 60% of Iran’s arsenal — have been destroyed since the start of the conflict.

Meanwhile, U.S. CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Iran’s missile attacks have decreased by about 90% compared to the first day of the war.

Iranian media claims that around 500 ballistic missiles have been fired overall, including launches targeting other countries in the region.

The United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship, the State Department said on Thursday.

The move comes after rounds of Trump administration officials have visited the South American nation following a U.S. military operation that deposed former President Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Maduro loyalists now in power to accept its vision for the oil-rich nation.

Relations between the two countries were cut off in 2019, during the first Trump administration, in a decision by Maduro. They closed their embassies mutually after U.S. President Donald Trump gave public support to Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who claimed to be the nation’s interim president in January that year. That prompted U.S. diplomatic staff to move to neighboring Colombia.

The State Department in a statement on Thursday said that talks between the countries were “focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.”

The announcement was made at the end of a two-day visit by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to Venezuela. The visit largely focused on the country’s mining sector. It followed a February visit by Energy Secretary Chris Wright that centered on Venezuela’s oil potential. Both secretaries are aiming to shore up foreign investment to advance the administration’s phased plan to turn around the crisis-wracked nation.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, formerly Maduro’s vice president, said on state televisions that such steps “will strengthen relations between our two countries.”

Rodríguez’s government in a statement later expressed confidence that reestablishing diplomatic relations “will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.”

“These relations ought to result in the social and economic happiness of the Venezuelan people,” she said.

Since the unprecedented U.S. offensive in Venezuela, the Trump administration has pushed the government to make sweeping changes, including opening its oil sector to foreign companies. Rodríguez’s government also approved an amnesty law that has enabled the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and many others, effectively acknowledging that the government has held hundreds of people in prison for political motivations.

Trump stunned Venezuelans in and outside their home country with his decision to work with Rodríguez, instead of the political opposition, following Maduro’s ouster. On Sunday, Venezuela’s top opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in Venezuela.

Such seismic shifts would have been unthinkable just months before in the South American nation. Venezuela’s main political current, known as Chavismo, has been able to dodge curve balls thrown at it for years, from U.S. sanctions to spiraling economic crisis.

(AP)

Rare images and video show the normally bustling halls of Ben Gurion Airport sitting almost completely empty as Israel’s airspace remains heavily restricted during the ongoing war with Iran.

The footage captures deserted terminals, silent check-in counters, and empty departure halls at what is usually one of the busiest travel hubs in the Middle East. With commercial aviation largely halted, the airport, normally filled with tourists, families, and business travelers, now appears unusually quiet.

For many Israelis, the images of an almost empty Ben Gurion Airport are a striking and somber reminder of the war’s impact on daily life—an unusual sight that many hope will not continue for very long.

In recent days, Israeli authorities have begun allowing limited rescue flights to land in order to bring home Israelis stranded abroad. Airlines are gradually operating tightly controlled repatriation flights from select destinations, though operations remain limited as security conditions continue to be monitored.

LISTEN:

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​​For more info, email [email protected].

Costco Wholesale says customers could benefit from lower prices if the retailer receives refunds on billions of dollars in tariffs it previously paid on imported goods.

During the company’s latest earnings call, Costco executives said the retailer is among hundreds of companies seeking refunds connected to tariffs imposed in recent years on various imported products. CEO Ron Vachris explained that if the company ultimately receives those funds back, Costco intends to use the money to improve value for shoppers.

US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled “Make America Wealthy Again” at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. Trump geared up to unveil sweeping new “Liberation Day” tariffs in a move that threatens to ignite a devastating global trade war. Key US trading partners including the European Union and Britain said they were preparing their responses to Trump’s escalation, as nervous markets fell in Europe and America. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“We would turn those tariff refunds into lower prices and better values for our members,” Vachris said, emphasizing that Costco’s business model is centered on passing savings to customers whenever possible.

The refunds come as a result of legal challenges to the tariffs that businesses say were improperly implemented by the Trump administration. Many retailers and importers paid the duties while the cases worked their way through the courts and are now seeking reimbursement if the rulings ultimately invalidate the tariffs.

With Israel’s airspace temporarily shut down due to the ongoing war with Iran, thousands of travelers have been forced to find alternative ways out of the country. One of the main escape routes has become Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh airport, reached by traveling south through the Taba border crossing and continuing into Sinai.

Among those making the journey are large numbers of yeshiva students, bachurim, and seminary girls who had been planning to return home for Pesach or other family events but suddenly found themselves stranded when flights from Ben Gurion Airport were halted. Many are now traveling by bus through the Sinai Peninsula before boarding flights from Sharm El-Sheikh to destinations in Europe and North America. WIth many Israeli airlines offering solutions throught this airport.

The unusual travel route has quickly become a major lifeline for Americans and other travelers trying to leave Israel while the country’s airspace remains restricted.

Travelers flying through New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will now be able to check security line wait times before even arriving at the airport.

A newly launched feature on the official JFK Airport website allows passengers to track live TSA security wait times across different terminals. The data is updated frequently, giving travelers a real-time look at how long the lines are before heading to the airport.

Airport officials say the goal is to reduce uncertainty and help travelers better plan their arrival times. Security lines at JFK can vary widely depending on the time of day and travel season, with average waits typically ranging from about 15 to 30 minutes but sometimes stretching much longer during peak travel periods.

The tool is expected to make travel through one of America’s busiest airports more predictable, allowing passengers to time their arrival more accurately and avoid unnecessary waiting in long security lines, and comes as very welcome news to the thousands of us that travel through JFK so often.

LISTEN:

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📰 Headline News

• Senate rejects Democrat-led resolution to limit President Trump’s authority to continue military operations against Iran.

🕍 Jewish News

• UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis visits Australian synagogue damaged in Iranian attack.
• Reclamation and preservation project underway for 150,000 ancient kevorim on Har HaZeisim.
• Special heter issued allowing couples to marry during Sefiras HaOmer due to wartime wedding postponements.

Israeli News

• Nearly 20,000 Israelis have already returned home since the start of the Iran war, with another 120,000 still waiting abroad.
• Some Bnei Brak residents whose homes were damaged by missile strikes are temporarily housed in local hotels.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu visits southern Israeli airbase amid ongoing conflict.
• Iranian drone strikes Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan airport in widening regional conflict.
• Outbound flights from Ben Gurion Airport are expected to resume this coming Sunday.

🌍 International News

• U.S. State Department halts operations in Kuwait amid heightened regional tensions.
• Reports suggest Israel may be helping arm Kurdish forces as they prepare for possible ground operations against Iran.
• Georgia jury finds Colin Gray guilty of murder and manslaughter after giving the rifle used by his teenage son in the 2024 school shooting that killed four and injured nine.

🏛 Political News

• Alleged Marine Veteran Brian McGinnis removed from senate hearing after protest over US policy toward Israel and making anti Israel comments
• Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines announces he will not seek reelection.
• Department of Justice ends probe into President Biden’s autopen pardons after failing to identify applicable criminal statute.
• President Trump fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, appointing Senator Markwayne Mullin as replacement.
• Trump reportedly presses President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu, criticizing the delay.
• Trump disavows Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, saying they are no longer MAGA and that Tucker has “lost his way”.

🇺🇸 National News

• United Airlines is enacting a new policy requiring passengers to wear headphones when watching movies or listening to audio during flights.
• Around 20,000 Americans have already returned home from war-affected regions in the Middle East.
• Trump administration secures deal to bring 1,000 kilograms of gold from Venezuela.

💼 Business News

• Gas prices rise across the United States amid Iran war tensions affecting global energy markets.
• Amazon outage disrupts service for thousands of users nationwide.

🗽 New York / New Jersey

• Trump administration continues Medicaid fraud crackdown in New York following earlier enforcement success in Minnesota.
• New Jersey Turnpike Authority testing sticker-based alternative to traditional E-ZPass transponders.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reappeared in public after days of widespread speculation that he may have been killed during the ongoing war between Israel, the United States, and Iran.

Video circulating across Iranian Telegram channels shows Ahmadinejad attending the funeral of several of his bodyguards who were reportedly killed during recent strikes.

Over the weekend, many Israeli, U.S., and international media outlets reported that Ahmadinejad had been killed during the wave of Israeli and American strikes across Iran. Other reports said the claim could not be independently confirmed.

Screenshot

Unverified reports about his death quickly spread across social media during the early days of the confrontation, fueling intense speculation about whether the controversial former leader had been eliminated.

The newly released footage appears to show Ahmadinejad alive and attending the funeral of the security personnel assigned to protect him.

According to reports from February 28, a house in the Narmak neighborhood of Tehran was struck during the Israeli and U.S. strikes. The attack reportedly killed three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were serving as Ahmadinejad’s bodyguards.

Despite the strike and the deaths of his security personnel, Ahmadinejad’s personal residence was reportedly not damaged.

Iranian authorities have not issued any official statement addressing the earlier reports that claimed the former president had been killed.

This remains a developing story.

How does one celebrate the happiest day of one’s life during a multi-front war? Every wedding requires careful preparation — clothing, a photographer and videographer, flowers, and of course the hall together with a singer and band who will bring joy to the chosson and kallah on their special day.

With the ongoing war, the entire world of weddings has been shaken, affecting every component of the process. A closer look shows how the current situation is reshaping weddings across Israel.

Although the war did not entirely take the public by surprise, many families who had weddings planned over the past week and in the coming weeks hoped that the fighting would pass over them and that their simcha would proceed as planned.

Instead, the war has created a major upheaval in the wedding world. In many cases, halls informed families at the last moment that their scheduled weddings were canceled. These sudden cancellations created confusion across the industry and affected nearly every service provider connected to weddings, many of whom received abrupt notices that the event had been called off.

At present, weddings are generally taking place in three different formats.

The first option is a standard wedding held in a hall. Many halls have chosen to keep weddings on schedule, relying on nearby protected areas in case of sirens. Some venues are located underground — something not uncommon in the chareidi public — and this offers an added measure of security. At these weddings, the regular arrangements remain intact, including the photographer, musicians, and other vendors who were booked in advance.

A senior wedding promoter in the chareidi world described the current situation, explaining that across the country most outdoor event gardens have canceled their weddings entirely, as owners are unwilling to take even minimal risk. In chareidi areas, however, halls are somewhat more flexible when there is a protected area nearby for the safety of the guests.

The second format that has become common is the afternoon wedding. Many families have moved their chasunah earlier in the day rather than holding it at night as is customary. In several weddings held in Bnei Brak this week, invitations were updated to inform guests that the schedule had been moved forward. One message sent to invitees read: “Dear guests, the chuppah has been moved up to 5:00 p.m. and the wedding will conclude at 9:00 p.m. We look forward to celebrating together.”

The decision to move weddings to earlier hours is not necessarily always due to security concerns. In some cases it is simply a technical solution that allows families whose original hall canceled their wedding to use time slots that suddenly became available in other halls.

A third format that has become increasingly common is the improvised wedding — held in private homes, parking garages, shelters, or school buildings. These weddings strongly resemble the small and improvised chasunos that took place during the days of the coronavirus pandemic. In most cases this happens when a hall cancels the wedding shortly before the event and the family is unable to find an alternative venue.

At these smaller weddings, the singer and band are often canceled, together with many of the usual arrangements. The photographer and videographer generally remain, though often with a much smaller crew.

Across social media, organized lists have circulated offering private homes throughout the country that can host weddings for families suddenly left without a hall. One person offered a garden apartment with a yard of about 200 square meters, another offered a villa with a large pool and waterfall, while another offered a school shelter of about 600 square meters that could host weddings of up to 400 guests. Many have described these efforts as a powerful expression of Mi k’amcha Yisroel.

One such example took place earlier this week when a wedding originally planned for an event garden was moved into the beis medrash of Yeshivas Ohel Yosef (Heichal Tzvi) in Bnei Brak, where the chosson had learned. The emotional chasunah drew widespread attention.

While families struggle to adapt, the sector that has suffered most from the cancellations is the wedding music industry — including singers, keyboardists, and orchestras.

A message that has become common in the industry reads: “Due to a cancellation, a singer and orchestra are available this Monday,” reflecting the wave of canceled weddings. Large concerts have also been canceled or are at risk of being canceled.

Unfortunately for the musicians, it is not customary in the wedding industry to sign formal contracts between the mechutonim and the artists. As a result, when weddings are canceled due to circumstances such as the current war, the artists usually receive little or no compensation and lose an entire day of work without warning.

A senior promoter in the industry described the situation as deeply frustrating. When a performer must cancel an event for legitimate reasons, he often has to compensate the client or risk public criticism. But when families cancel the musicians, he said, it is widely accepted and no compensation is expected.

He recounted one wedding he was managing that changed time and location three times within a single day. The event was originally planned at an event garden in central Israel. After the venue canceled all events, the wedding was moved to an afternoon slot in a hall in Yerushalayim. Later, when the schedule no longer worked for the families, the wedding was moved again to an evening chasunah at another hall in the city.

“I can say that this particular event was not canceled,” he said, “but there are many, many events that are being canceled everywhere. I’m getting constant reports from singers, keyboardists, and orchestras that families decided to hold a smaller wedding instead, and they feel it no longer makes sense to bring the band they originally planned.”

He noted that families are adjusting their plans in different ways. Some reduce the band to just a keyboardist and singer, while others cancel the musicians entirely.

His frustration was clear when speaking about the impact on the music industry. “Most of the time they simply don’t pay anything. They cancel without any compensation at all, even though the musicians lose a day of work.”

He concluded that the situation strongly reminds him of the early days of the pandemic.

“It’s a real déjà vu from the coronavirus period,” he said. “Exactly the same thing happened then. People booked expensive bands and then, at the last moment, canceled them and brought someone much cheaper who fit their budget.”

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Wednesday that the ongoing military operation against Iran has advanced into its second phase, with significant damage inflicted on Iranian military infrastructure and leadership.

In remarks outlining the progress of the campaign — now in its sixth day — Leiter reported that Israeli forces destroyed 200 targets in Tehran and surrounding areas. He emphasized ongoing efforts to eliminate key figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“We destroyed 200 targets in Tehran and its environs and, of course, we continue to take out the leadership of the IRGC and we’re beginning to see cracks in the chain of command throughout the security and military apparatus in Tehran,” Leiter said.

The ambassador also detailed strikes in Lebanon targeting two terrorist officials: a Hamas figure in Tripoli responsible for training operatives and dispatching them to Gaza, and a Hezbollah official organizing missile launches into Israel.

Leiter described emerging disarray within Iran’s command structure as “very encouraging,” predicting it could widen over time. He noted a decline in coordinated missile launches from Iran and its proxies, though erratic firings have struck 12 countries, including some in Europe.

“This is a sign that they’re panicking,” Leiter said. “And what it’s also doing is driving all the countries in the region into a coalition — a coalition of countries that share a common threat.”

The ambassador reiterated Israel’s core objectives in the conflict: preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, halting its ballistic missile development, and curbing its support for proxy groups that threaten Israel and destabilize the Middle East.

“What we’re pursuing together with the United States is nothing more than securing a safe and peaceful future for the region and for the world,” Leiter concluded.

The statements come amid escalating U.S.-Israeli joint operations, including strikes on Iranian command centers, missile sites, and air defenses, as the campaign seeks to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities and nuclear ambitions.

Yehuda Chayon, a bochur currently imprisoned in Military Prison 10 for refusing to enlist in the IDF, says he was not permitted to hear the reading of Parshas Zachor from a Sefer Torah on Shabbos.

Chayon, who has been held in the military prison for nearly two weeks, told friends during a phone call from the facility that prison authorities did not allow him to hear the special kriah.

“For the first time since I was 10 years old, I did not hear Parshas Zachor from a Sefer Torah, which is a mitzvah d’Oraisa,” he said.

Following the report, Knesset member Meir Porush issued a sharply worded statement condemning the situation and criticizing the IDF, the judicial system, and Defense Minister Yisroel Katz.

“This is another incident proving that the army is in no way prepared to incarcerate bnei yeshivos, and yet, under criminal legal guidance, they continue to arrest lomdei Torah,” Porush said.

He added that while the military may be highly capable in other areas, it falls far short when it comes to accommodating religious needs.

“It is possible that there are areas in which the army is among the best in the world, but when it comes to adapting to religious requirements, it is very, very far from that,” he said.

Porush also demanded immediate action to address the situation.

“It is an absolute disgrace that in a Jewish state, under Jewish leadership, bnei yeshivos are arrested for limud haTorah, and it is far worse when they are forced to violate mitzvos haTorah. Situations like this, which would be unthinkable in any democratic country, require immediate attention. Even in the midst of the war with Iran, this cannot be delayed.”

The lawmaker also called on the judicial system to intervene.

“One would expect that the same judicial system that, even during wartime, searches for ways to punish lomdei Torah would hurry to stop this wrongdoing that is taking place under its responsibility,” Porush said.

Porush added that parliamentary inquiries he submitted to Defense Minister Katz regarding the accommodation of religious needs in military prisons have so far gone unanswered.

“This is very puzzling. One would expect him to act and condemn this conduct,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}

KUNSHAN, China (AP) — A glimpse of what the future of flying taxis might look like can be seen in this southeastern Chinese city.

In a hangar in Kunshan, more than 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) west of the port of Shanghai, a sort of gigantic drone was preparing for a demonstration. Called the Matrix, it’s a 5-ton electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, or eVTOL, considered the largest electric aircraft built so far, at least in China.

The Chinese company AutoFlight, founded in 2017, developed the Matrix, which can carry up to 10 passengers. It has a 20-meter (about 66 foot) wingspan, and is 17.1 meters long and 3.3 meters tall. (56 feet long and 11 feet tall). It can travel for an hour without charging.

Steven Yang, senior vice president of AutoFlight, speaks during an internview wtih The Associated Press in front of eVTOL aircraft in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

The idea is that eventually it could become a flying taxi, although the industry and experts think it will take some time.

On a recent chilly afternoon, AutoFlight conducted a flying demonstration for The Associated Press at its low-altitude flight test facility.

Staff moved the Matrix from a hangar to a helipad
The eVTOL was ready: the propellers were turned on, and after a few minutes of checks to ensure everything was working, it began rising. It was noisy, but less so than a helicopter. Around 10 minutes later, and after two laps around the heliport, the Matrix returned and landed smoothly with no problems.

When would a flying taxi become a reality? A couple of years? More?

“This is a good question, but this is very tough question for me to answer,” said Steven Yang, senior vice president of AutoFlight.

The company already has a 2-ton passenger eVTOL version, but it is awaiting needed certifications.

Yang said AutoFlight hopes to get a type certificate from regulators by 2027, meaning that authorities would confirm that the aircraft design complies with safety standards. But other regulatory approvals would still be required for an operator certificate allowing the aircraft to carry passengers.

The Matrix is still a prototype
Some other companies in China are also building eVTOL aircraft. One in Guangdong province, EHANG, has already been granted a certification by authorities to offer commercial passenger services. That hasn’t happened yet. Apart from permits, flying taxis are not yet cruising the skies because they need facilities to support them.

A mechanic moves out a 5-ton class eVTOL aircraft from AutoFlight hanger in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

As part of what is known as the “low-altitude economy,” what is already a reality is the use of drones for food delivery, like in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, has followed the development of the industry. He said China needs to overcome various hurdles, including guaranteeing safety, building required infrastructure and sorting out logistics such as routing.

“All of this ecosystem surrounding the technology itself is also still underdeveloped at this point,” he said. “I would say it would take at least another three years to see something more viable.”

Watching the Matrix demonstration, it seems possible to see such aircraft in the skies. But can we really foresee a future with electric flying aircraft?

“We really believe it will happen,” Yang said. “But this is not (only) AutoFlight’s job, it’s the whole ecosystem,” he added.

A pilot monitors the landing of a 5-ton class eVTOL aircraft at AutoFlight flight testing field in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

The United States Postal Service could exhaust its available cash within the next year unless Congress allows the agency to increase its borrowing authority, Postmaster General David Steiner warned.

Steiner said the Postal Service could reach a point where it cannot meet payroll or pay vendors by February 2027 if lawmakers do not act, raising concerns about potential disruptions to mail service. He discussed the situation in remarks to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we’re not paying them?” Steiner said.

Steiner is expected to appear before Congress later this month to address the Postal Service’s worsening financial condition and to urge lawmakers to revise long-standing policies he believes have placed the agency at a disadvantage. Among the issues he highlighted is a borrowing limit of $15 billion that has remained unchanged since 1990.

Although the Postal Service operates as an independent federal entity, it relies primarily on revenue generated from postage and the services it provides rather than direct funding from Congress. Steiner noted that the agency is required to function like a government service — including delivering mail six days a week to every address in the country — but without the benefit of annual appropriations.

“We have to have a conversation with the American public,” Steiner said. “If you want us to deliver everywhere, every day, we’ll do it. That’s not a problem. But who is going to pay for it?”

Steiner, who previously served as chief executive of the country’s largest waste management company and also sat on the board of FedEx, assumed leadership of the Postal Service in July. He said the most immediate relief Congress could provide would be raising the agency’s borrowing limit.

“That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road,” he said.

Beyond borrowing authority, Steiner has suggested expanding the Postal Service’s sources of revenue. One proposal involves increasing the use of the agency’s “last-mile” delivery network — the final stage of transporting packages from a local distribution hub to a customer’s home — for more outside organizations and businesses.

Financial figures show the Postal Service recorded a net loss of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025, even as operating revenue rose by $916 million, or 1.2%, driven largely by its Ground Advantage shipping service. In fiscal year 2024, the agency posted a net loss of $9.5 billion.

Steiner said deeper structural changes will ultimately be necessary, including granting the Postal Service greater flexibility to raise postage rates high enough to offset its losses. According to Steiner, increasing the cost of a first-class stamp from the current 78 cents to 95 cents would be sufficient to stabilize the agency’s finances. A decade ago, the same stamp cost 47 cents. Postal officials maintain that even at higher prices, U.S. postage would remain the lowest in the industrialized world while covering delivery distances far greater than those in other countries.

However, Steiner said the Postal Regulatory Commission — an independent body created by Congress to oversee the agency — has not approved the pricing framework proposed by the Postal Service.

“If the Postal Regulatory Commission adopted our pricing model, problem solved,” he said, adding how the package delivery side of the business could then subsidize the mail side.

Postal Service leadership has also advocated for changes to the agency’s pension system and retiree health benefit obligations, including allowing those funds to be invested in assets other than Treasury bills.

Over the past two decades, several postmasters general have urged Congress and regulators to revise the rules governing the Postal Service. In 2022, lawmakers enacted the Postal Service Reform Act, which eliminated the requirement that the agency pre-fund retiree health benefits. Still, other restrictions remain in place.

At the same time, traditional mail volume has sharply declined. Annual mail volume has fallen from roughly 220 billion pieces to about 110 billion today as more Americans handle bill payments and communication online.

“Take those 110 billion and put a 78-cent stamp on them. That’s $86 billion of revenue that evaporated in 15 years,” he said. “If either FedEx or UPS lost $86 billion of revenue, they would have no revenue.”

Steiner argued that instead of easing the agency’s burdens, regulators and lawmakers have imposed additional costly requirements.

“I like to say we sort of got thrown overboard on a ship into the cold water, right? And instead of throwing us a life preserver, we get thrown an anchor,” he said.

Several members of Congress who oversee the Postal Service did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment. A message was also left with Keep Us Posted, an advocacy organization formed in 2021 amid concerns over postage increases and service reliability.

Last month, the group warned that the Postal Service was “headed for a taxpayer bailout” due to ongoing cash flow problems. The organization has called on Congress to pass legislation that would limit rate hikes to once a year and tie them to improvements in service performance, among other proposals.

Steiner said he did not fully appreciate the severity of the Postal Service’s financial condition until he stepped into the role last year.

“Interestingly, I’m not sure some of the people at the Postal Service realized how dramatic it was,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant responded Thursday to false reports circulating on social media claiming that he had been killed in an Iranian attack.

The report, which appeared on the Twitter account “China live,” spread widely online and prompted Gallant to address the claim directly on his X account. Rejecting the report, Gallant wrote: “The rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated. Am Yisroel chai.”

The incident comes just weeks after authorities revealed details of a spy case involving an Israeli resident accused of gathering intelligence near Gallant’s home on behalf of an Iranian handler.

Last month it was cleared for publication that in a joint operation by the Central Unit of the Menashe region in the Coastal District police and the Shin Bet security service, a suspect named Fares Abu al-Hija was arrested for questioning. Abu al-Hija, a resident of the northern local council of Kawkab Abu al-Hija, was apprehended while carrying out an intelligence-gathering mission targeting the former defense minister.

During questioning by police and the Shin Bet, investigators determined that the suspect had been in contact with a foreign operative whom he believed to be connected to Iranian intelligence. According to the investigation, he received payment in exchange for carrying out various assignments, including gathering information intended to harm Israel’s national security. Authorities later confirmed that the foreign contact had indeed been identified by the Shin Bet as an Iranian intelligence operative.

Investigators also determined that earlier this year, in January, Abu al-Hija had been instructed to travel to the community of Amikam and photograph streets located near Gallant’s residence. Shortly after completing the assignment and sending the images to his handler, he was arrested at the scene.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against him in the Haifa District Court.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed travel bans on three Chilean officials over the possible construction of a submarine fiber optic cable with China, while warning Peru against ceding control over a Chinese-built mega port.

Under pressure from President Donald Trump, who had threatened to take the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, the Panamanian government seized two ports at either end of the canal that had been run by a Hong Kong company.

And when the U.S. captured Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro in January, China saw its extensive interests in the oil-rich country suddenly vulnerable.

The Trump administration in recent weeks has taken forceful steps in one Latin American country after another aimed at curbing the influence and economic dominance of China. As part of his quest to restore U.S. preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, the president is hosting Latin American leaders at his golf resort near Miami this weekend for a summit dubbed the “Shield of Americas.”

Supporters of the White House pivot say it is necessary to push back against what they see as China’s malign influence on the U.S. doorstep, warning that it could help tip the world order in Beijing’s favor. Others question the effectiveness of such a blunt approach when China’s interests in Latin America run deep and wide.

Francisco Urdinez, an associate professor at the Political Science Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, said he worries that Latin American countries will have to pick a side.

“Trump’s approach is making hedging increasingly difficult,” he said. “The most likely outcome is a more fragmented region. Right-leaning governments will align more closely with Washington, while left-leaning governments will maintain or deepen ties with China. Countries caught in the middle will try to manage the tension case by case.”

China moved in with loans and trade deals
In 2001, Cuba was the only country in the region doing more business with China than with the U.S., according to Urdinez, who tracked the movement of Chinese companies and money in his 2026 book “Economic Displacement: China and the End of US Primacy in Latin America.”

But 20 years later, all South America countries — except Paraguay and Colombia — were trading more with China than with the U.S., according to his research.

“China’s core advantage is its economic weight, plain and simple,” he said.

Rebecca Ray, a senior academic researcher at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center, said China has made itself relevant, desirable and even irreplaceable in Latin America in industries where the U.S. has been absent.

“The U.S. did not invest in the industries that the developing world in general is eyeing to close their infrastructure gaps. The U.S. is not investing in green energy; the U.S. is not investing in green mobility,” Ray said. “Meanwhile, over the last 20 years, China has leapfrogged technologically into these new industries, and Chinese companies have had to develop technologies that nobody else has in order to make those industries practical.”

Between 2014 and 2023, China provided loans and grants to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean worth roughly $153 billion — the largest source of official sector financing for the region — compared with approximately $50.7 billion from the U.S., according to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, a university in Virginia.

US security concerns
In its National Security Strategy released in December, the White House blamed “years of neglect” for the loss of U.S. preeminence in the Western Hemisphere and vowed to deny “non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our Hemisphere.”

As China’s economic might grew, it gained diplomatic leverage. Since 2016, five countries in the region — Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras — have broken ties with Taiwan and opened embassies in Beijing in hopes of better economic prospects.

But of the 12 countries in the world that still recognize Taiwan’s statehood, seven are in Latin America, reflecting a jostling for influence between the world’s two largest economies.

Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and vows to annex the island by force if necessary. The U.S. is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter any armed attack from the mainland.

Beijing sells weapons and police gear to Latin American countries and helps train police and military personnel.

The Chinese-built port in Chancay, Peru, one of the deepest in Latin America, has raised concerns in Washington that China could use it for military purposes.

“President Trump is right to focus on defending the Western Hemisphere from China,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “President Trump has made it clear we stand with our friends in the region against China’s efforts to undermine America’s interests.”

The choice for Latin America
Latin America wants to look beyond China for its economic prosperity, and the U.S. has a lot of offer, said Enrique Millán-Mejía, senior fellow on economic development at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.

“There is some discontent about the presence of China as an investor and how the footprint and the outcome of those investments has not been significantly positive for the economy, and they are trying to align more with the U.S. — with the promise that the U.S. might invest in strategic sectors,” Millán-Mejía said.

He cautioned that China maintains a big advantage because it already has invested in strategic sectors, including infrastructure, security, logistics and technology. But he expects Latin American countries to be pragmatic and take the best of a relationship with both the U.S. and China.

“Certainly, for Latin America, it’s very important to have a very good and close relationship with the U.S., because the U.S. is very near to them. But obviously, from an economic standpoint, it’s good to keep at least trade relations with China,” Millán-Mejía said.

How China sees it
Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, said China was focused on doing business in Latin America.

“There’s no competition with the U.S. for dominance from the Chinese view,” Sun said. “They will prioritize protection of their assets and will not give up facilities such as a port without a fight.”

She said China expects something in return.

“What they are trying to do is to argue that Taiwan is fairly and squarely in China’s sphere of influence,” Sun said. “If the U.S. expects China to respect its own definition, then the U.S. should also respect China’s definition of the Western Pacific, especially Taiwan, to be a core national interest for China.”

A terrible tragedy struck at Har HaMenuchos in Yerushalayim on Thursday when Shimon Mendlowitz z”l, a member of the Zvhiller chassidus and one of the distinguished bochurim connected to the Vizhnitzer court in Beit Shemesh, was killed after falling into a pit while visiting his grandfather’s kever on his first yahrtzeit.

According to sources, the bochur had come together with family members to Har HaMenuchos to mark the yahrtzeit at his grandfather’s kever. At some point during the visit, he went aside to a secluded area and slipped, falling into a deep pit. Tragically, he was niftar at the scene.

Bentzion Oering, commander of ZAKA’s Yerushalayim district, together with volunteers Dudi Pines and Yehuda Hanfling, described what they encountered upon arriving at the scene.

“When we arrived at the scene, we were directed to the multi-level burial area at Har HaMenuchos. The deceased had come to his grandfather’s grave with family members to mark the first anniversary of his passing. According to relatives, while he was in a dark area of the cemetery he slipped and fell from a significant height. Sadly, MDA teams were forced to confirm his death. ZAKA volunteers from the Yerushalayim district are handling the deceased with dignity and collecting the findings at the scene.”

The levayah was held tonight, departing from Beis HaLevayos Shamgar in Yerushalayim and proceeding to Har HaMenuchos, where he was brought to kevurah.

Shimon, 26, was born on the 18th of Adar 5760 to his father, Reb Binyamin Yitzchak Mendlowitz, a respected member of the Zvhiller chassidus and a melamed at a Talmud Torah in Beit Shemesh, and to his mother, Mrs. Malka Rachel of the Binder family.

His grandfather, Rabbi Mordechai Shmerel Mendlowitz, was among the leading transmitters of the mesorah of safrus for decades. He was widely known for his efforts in strengthening the field of safrus and was the first to initiate the project known as Shulchan HaSoferim, which serves thousands of sofrim. He passed away one year ago on the 16th of Adar 5785, and now his grandson was niftar on the very day of his grandfather’s first yahrtzeit.

In his youth, Shimon learned in the yeshivah of Zvhil and later continued his limud haTorah at Yeshivas Mir. He was closely connected to the Vizhnitzer chatzer in Beit Shemesh.

Friends related that just the night before the tragedy he had participated in the Purim tish at Zvhill in Yerushalayim.

“He went to the Rebbe for a bracha, and we are in shock from his sudden petirah,” friends said.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

What was Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara occupied with on Wednesday of this week—while millions of Israelis were running for their lives in and out of bomb shelters as cluster bombs flew over their heads from Iran and Lebanon?

Baharav-Miara continued her usual daily efforts to sow chaos in Israeli society and bring down the government, filing an unusual petition to the Supreme Court, demanding that it issue an order requiring Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to dismiss National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from office. Her petition comes after the Supreme Court issued a conditional order last month instructing Netanyahu to explain why he has not dismissed Ben Gvir. The Supreme Court hearing on the matter was postponed and is scheduled to take place before the end of March.

Baharav-Miara’s move was not only slammed by coalition members but by opposition members as well, who were appalled by her divisive behavior during wartime.

The Prime Minister’s office stated, “It is inconceivable that in the midst of an existential war against Iran, led by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Attorney General is asking the Supreme Court to issue a binding order requiring the Prime Minister to dismiss the National Security Minister, who is responsible for internal security during wartime.”

“The Attorney General’s request to dismiss a senior government minister, when a criminal investigation has not even been opened against him, undermines the foundations of democracy, shatters the principle of separation of powers, and contradicts the Basic Law: The Government. As the Prime Minister already announced several weeks ago, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will remain in office.”

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated, “I strongly reject the Attorney General’s petition to the Supreme Court seeking an order to dismiss National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from his position. Beyond the principled issue, this is not the time to deal with such matters during one of the most important and complex wars in Israel’s history, involving a minister who is a central participant in decision-making and in maintaining internal security. Israel now needs unity—and preserving that unity requires responsibility from everyone.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin declared, “The dismissed Attorney General hasn’t stopped harming the government’s work for a moment, even during wartime.”

“The hearing taking place in the Supreme Court regarding the dismissal of Minister Ben Gvir is illegal. No judge or legal adviser has the authority to replace the Knesset and the Prime Minister and decide who will serve as a minister. Minister Ben Gvir, like all government ministers, was chosen for his position through a proper democratic process, and we all stand behind him and are committed to his continued service in the government.”

“The fact that Attorney Baharav-Miara chooses to focus on this matter at such a time once again proves that she is unfit to hold any position. Her presence interferes with the war effort. The entire government must stand behind the unanimous decision already made to dismiss her and send her—along with her political legal opinions—to the meetings of the opposition leaders.”

MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beiteinu) stated, “Regardless of the substance of the issue, the timing of the Attorney General’s request for the Supreme Court to issue an order dismissing Ben Gvir is disconnected and utterly unreasonable.”

“Israel is in a fateful war, Israeli citizens are in shelters, and our pilots are in the skies over Tehran. No one should now be dealing with divisive issues that could split the nation. Am Yisrael must be united against the common enemy, which is the Iranian regime—for those who may have forgotten.”

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot stated, “We need public resilience and national unity during this historic and just war for Israel. At this time, Israeli leadership is expected to act only to strengthen national consensus.”

Ben Gvir’s office stated in response: “At a time when Israel is fighting one of the most critical wars in its history, a dismissed and criminal bureaucrat is trying to carry out a governmental coup in a democratic state and remove an elected official.”

“There is no precedent in democratic countries for a civil servant to dismiss an elected official. Gali Baharav-Miara seems to think we are living in Iran, and soon she and her fellow bureaucrats will set up Revolutionary Guards here. Democracy will prevail!!

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

PHILADELPHIA (VINnews) – A Pennsylvania man who duped some of the region’s wealthiest business leaders into investing millions in his startup ventures — only to spend much of the money on lavish personal expenses — has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison.

Josh Verne, 48, of Gladwyne, pleaded guilty last year to federal fraud charges after admitting he used forged financial documents and false statements to raise about $31 million from investors between 2016 and 2022. Prosecutors said Verne diverted at least $9 million for private jet flights, country club dues, his daughters’ bat mitzvahs and other personal costs, instead of funding his companies as promised.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe imposed the 110-month sentence Wednesday, along with three years of supervised release and restitution of more than $16 million. Verne’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Among the investors were prominent Philadelphia-area figures, including billionaire entrepreneur and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner David Adelman, who contributed over $2 million; Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin; and real estate developer Bart Blatstein. Other backers included investor David Magerman, former mayoral candidate Sam Katz, and the state-funded Ben Franklin Technology Partnership of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Verne, a furniture heir, founded Ownable, a company that rented electronic devices like smartphones and laptops to consumers who couldn’t afford to buy them outright. He also pitched other ventures, including a social media platform called FlockU. Prosecutors alleged Verne inflated his net worth, falsely claimed affiliations with firms like Goldman Sachs and used “Ponzi-like” tactics to pay early investors with later funds, concealing the misuse.

The scheme unraveled after investors grew suspicious, leading to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud complaint in June 2023. Federal criminal charges followed in August 2024, including 25 counts of fraud, aggravated identity theft and witness intimidation. Verne pleaded guilty in March 2025.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome Maiatico described Verne’s actions as financing “a lifestyle he could not afford” at the expense of trusting friends and neighbors on the affluent Main Line.

Some investors, like Blatstein, recovered their funds, but others faced significant losses. Adelman, identified in court documents as “Investor A,” hosted an initial presentation at his home that helped lure additional backers.

Verne resigned from his companies and relocated to Florida amid the investigations. The case highlights vulnerabilities in private investments, even among sophisticated business leaders.

United Airlines has a new rule on the books that has some travelers cheering: Listening to audio without headphones can now get passengers removed from a plane.

The airline already had a pro-headphone policy in place, but last week it updated its contract of carriage – the rules a passenger agrees to in order to fly – to specify that “passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content” could be removed from a plane or not allowed to board.

“We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content – and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,” United spokesman Josh Freed said in an email, adding that the carrier is expanding its high-speed Starlink connectivity. “It seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.”

Other airlines have their own policies encouraging or requiring headphones, though most do not come with the threat of enforcement.

Frontier Airlines includes the requirement in the carry-on baggage section of its contract, though it’s not clear what the penalty would be for ignoring the rule. Frontier did not respond to questions about enforcement. The airline says that portable electronic devices that make sounds “may be used only with headphones and provided the sound, even via the headphones, cannot be heard by others.”

On the entertainment section of its website, Delta Air Lines implores: “For the comfort of everyone around you, please use earbuds or headphones with any personal electronic device during your flight.”

Flight attendants also pass out free headphones to customers on most flights, the airline said.

“Customers are welcome to listen to audio or watch video on board, and we expect them to follow standard courtesy and flight crew instructions,” Delta spokeswoman Samantha Moore Facteau said in an email.

Southwest Airlines doesn’t mention headphones specifically in its contract, but notes on its website that they are required when passengers listen to audio.

“Our contract does include passengers not adhering to crew member instructions, including those about use of personal electronic devices,” spokesman Chris Perry said in an email. “Thus, a passenger would be expected to adhere to instructions about headphones.”

In 2023, an American Airlines pilot delivered a lecture from the front of the plane that went viral on social media, urging passengers to show respect for each other.

“The social experiment on listening to videos on speaker mode and talking on a cellphone on speaker mode, that is over – over and done in this country,” he said. “Nobody wants to hear your video. … Use your AirPods, use your headphones, whatever it is. That’s your business.”

Travel blogger Ben Schlappig, founder of One Mile at a Time, welcomed the news that United was treating the noise issue more seriously. The Miami resident said fellow travelers in his area are terrible sound scofflaws.

“It drives me absolutely bonkers,” he said. “Of all the things in the airline industry, this is probably what I’m most passionate about, which is quite sad. I just find myself in disbelief at the lack of respect they have for others that they’re just willing to blast whatever they’re listening to.”

Schlappig wondered how United would enforce the rule, but said just having it in place is a good move.

“The spirit of this is fantastic,” he said.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Hannah Sampson

A mysterious and ancient cane carried by the Toldos Aharon Rebbe throughout Purim sparked widespread curiosity among chassidim, after the Rebbe was seen dancing with it during the traditional Purim tisch.

According to reports, the unusual cane was given to the Rebbe on Erev Purim and is believed to have belonged to one of the great tzaddikim of earlier generations. The Rebbe held onto the cane throughout Purim, dancing with it and using it while encouraging the thousands of chassidim gathered at the tisch.

Earlier in the week, even before the war broke out over Shabbos, the organizers and actors of the traditional “Purim-shpiel (play)” at the Toldos Aharon court received an unexpected directive from the Rebbe to cancel the annual performance.

Indeed, for the first time in years, the Purim tisch took place without the customary play. The Rebbe reportedly explained that holding such a performance during such a tense time was not appropriate.

Despite the change, the tisch itself proceeded as usual, with the Rebbe in high spirits as thousands of chassidim gathered for the celebration. Throughout the evening, the Rebbe danced and uplifted the crowd, holding the ancient cane that had been brought to him shortly before Purim.

Even among the chassidim, there is uncertainty about the exact origin of the cane. However, many say it is believed to have belonged to one of the tzaddikim of past generations, adding an air of mystery to the Rebbe’s decision to carry it throughout the Purim festivities.

Photos and video YWN via Shuki Lerer

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(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)