Public health officials in Africa urged caution Thursday as Congo’s health minister said the government was on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people. “First diagnostics are leading us to think it is a respiratory disease,” said Jean Kaseya,  the head of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But we need to wait for the laboratory results.” He added that there are many things that are still unknown about the disease — including whether it is infectious and how it is transmitted. Authorities in Congo have so far confirmed 71 deaths, including 27 people who died in hospitals and 44 in the community in the southern Kwango province.

The US publicly rejected Amnesty International’s conclusion that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza – after having literally changed the definition of “genocide” to reach that conclusion. “We disagree with the conclusions of such a report. We have said previously and continue to find the allegations of genocide to be unfounded,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Rabbi Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, met HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, at Chabad Air in the JFK Airport. The two discussed the recent Kinus Hashluchim and Rav Lazar gifted Rav Hirsch the Sefer חידושי סוגיות a compilation of the Rebbe’s Sichos on the Parsha. Via Crown Heights Info

Visible smoke coming out of a house on Berkeley near Hanson. FD on scene.

NYPD detectives discover words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on shell casings found at the scene where the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed, police say.

BORO PARK: A person was struck and trapped beneath a school bus at the intersection of Parkville Avenue and Seton Place on Thursday morning. Hatzoloh was on the scene and requested assistance from FDNY for the extrication. The person is reported to be in critical condition. A name for Tehilim was not needed in this tragic incident.