Israel will release two prisoners in the wake of the recovery by Russian special forces in Syria of the remains of an Israeli soldier missing since 1982, Israeli and Syrian officials said Saturday.
Russia, a key Damascus ally, this month handed over the remains and personal effects of Zachary Baumel, who was 21 when he was declared missing in action along with two other soldiers in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
The source said authorities had pressured Moscow to secure the prisoners’ release after it was reported that the Israeli soldier’s remains were being handed over.

Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday night condemned the shooting attack at the Chabad shul near San Diego.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the evil & cowardly shooting at Chabad of Poway today as Jewish families celebrated Passover. No one should be in fear in a house of worship. Anti-Semitism isn’t just wrong – it’s evil,” he tweeted.
“THANK YOU to our law enforcement & the heroic CBP agent who swiftly stopped the perpetrator!” the Vice President added in a second tweet.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

Donald Trump Jr. on Saturday ripped The New York Times over a cartoon published in its international print edition this week that the newspaper pulled because of “anti-Semitic tropes.”
“Disgusting. I have no words for flagrant anti-Semitism on display here,” the president’s son tweeted. “Imagine this was in something other than a leftist newspaper?”
The New York Times Opinion section apologized on Saturday for the cartoon, which depicted President Trump wearing a yarmulke and walking a portrayal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog on a leash.
“The image was offensive, and it was an error of judgment to publish it,” the newspaper said in a tweet. “It was provided by The New York Times News Service and Syndicate, which has since deleted it.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to share the details of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with the United States, the Associated Press reports. Such high-level diplomacy would essentially set up Putin as the powerful middleman to kickstart stalled negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim on Pyongyang’s path to denuclearization.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States did not pay any money to North Korea, which had issued a $2 million bill for the hospice care of American Otto Warmbier, the comatose University of Virginia student sent home from Pyongyang in 2017.
“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else,” Trump said in a tweet in which he suggested he has taken a different approach to hostage negotiations than his predecessor.
Trump reiterated the point two hours later as he spoke to reporters outside the White House.
“We did not pay money for our great Otto,” Trump said. “I haven’t paid money for any hostage. . . . We don’t pay money for hostages.”

Researchers have developed a mechanism to translate brain activity into simple sentences, a breakthrough that could lead to new tools for people who are unable to communicate through speech.
In a paper published in Nature this week, a team from the University of California, San Francisco explained how they created a “neural decoder” that can create speech. The team included neurosergeon Edward Chang, computer scientist Gopala Anumanchipalli, and PhD student Josh Chartier.
“Our central goal was to make an ‘artificial vocal tract,'” Chartier told The Washington Post via email on Friday. “Not a real physical one, but a computer one that could generate full sentences, not just words.”
“Our goal is to help those who cannot speak to say what they wish to say,” he said.

Former Democratic New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind was having none of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s condolences following the shooting that killed one in the Chabad of Poway, California.
“My heart is breaking after today’s deadly shooting at Chabad Congregation in San Diego—on the last day of Passover and 6 months to the day after the Tree of Life shooting. We as a nation must confront the terrifying rise of religious hate and violence. Love trumps hate,” Omar tweeted.
Hikind, who has previously taken the Somali Congresswoman to task for anti Israel tweets was quick to respond.

The condition of HaGaon Rav Nissim Karelitz, who was hospitalized Thursday at Bnei Brak’s Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, improved over Shabbos.
Earlier this week, Rav Nissim, 92, suffered blood pressure issues and shortness of breath. He spent the last day of Pesach in the hospital’s intensive care unit surrounded by hospital staff, family members, and others close to him.
Sources close to Rabbi Karelitz said they hope he will be released home Sunday.
The public is asked to pray for Rav Shmaryahu Yosef Nissim ben Basya.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

The victim killed in the Chabad shul shooting has been identified as Lori Gilbert-Kay.
The three injured in Saturday’s shooting are in stable condition, authorities said. Among the injured was Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein. In the picture above, the Gilbert-Kay is seen  standing next to the heroic Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was injured when he tried to stop the gunman.
Sheriff Gore said the rabbi was wounded in the hand and is undergoing surgery.
Minoo Anvari, a member of the congregation, told CNN that “[Goldstein] did not leave his congregation until he was finished speaking to them – calming their fears and pledging resilience.”
Please daven for Yisroel Ben Chana Priva.
{Matzav.com}