📰 Headline News

• A Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale was forced to divert after a reported security threat on board.

🕍 Jewish News

• BDE: Harav Dovid Spiegel, a respected Rov from the Five Towns community, passed away early Friday morning.
• Gunfire was reported overnight toward two shuls in Toronto; no injuries were reported.

Israeli News

• Israel has destroyed roughly 70% of Iran’s missile launch infrastructure, reducing the number of launchers from about 420 to roughly 100.
• In a dramatic operation, IDF commandos reportedly searched for the remains of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad.
• Eight IDF soldiers were wounded after a Hezbollah rocket struck an army position near the Lebanon border. Among those lightly injured was the son of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
• Israeli strikes started hitting oil refining infrastructure in Tehran for the first time, marking a significant escalation in targets.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranian regime forces to lay down their weapons, saying those who surrender will not be harmed.
• Reports from Jerusalem said police temporarily blocked pedestrian access to the Jewish Quarter on Shabbos, prompting intervention by MK Yitzhak Pindrus before access was restored.

🌍 International News

• Azerbaijan arrested suspects allegedly connected to Iran who were planning terror attacks in the capital city of Baku.
• Russia is reportedly providing Iran with intelligence and targeting data related to potential attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East.
• Saudi Arabia warned Iran that continued strikes against its territory or energy infrastructure could trigger a direct response against Tehran.

🏛 Political News

• Donald Trump declared that any resolution to the conflict with Iran would require “unconditional surrender.”
• Trump also dismissed potential British military involvement, saying the U.S. no longer needs additional forces after the operation’s early successes.
• The Secretary General of the Kurdistan Party of Iran is expected to meet with Trump in the near future.
• The White House said the military campaign against Iran could take four to six weeks to fully complete.

🇺🇸 National News

• The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, reversing January’s gains of 130,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose slightly from 4.3% to 4.4%.
• According to AAA, the national average gas price jumped nearly 34 cents in one week, reaching $3.32 per gallon.

💼 Business News

• Tariff refunds tied to previous trade disputes are expected to begin being distributed to businesses within about 45 days, according to U.S. officials.

🗽 New York

• In a major housing ruling, a New York appeals court struck down a law that prevented landlords from rejecting tenants who use federal housing vouchers.
• Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani announced the rollout of 2,000 free 2-K childcare seats this fall as part of an expanded childcare initiative.
• Pro-Iran demonstrators chanting “Death to America” clashed with counter-protesters during a memorial event in New York City honoring Iran’s Supreme Leader.