Federal immigration authorities have arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a notorious Palestinian “activist” and ringleader of Columbia University’s disruptive anti-Israel encampment movement. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, acting on a State Department order, swooped into Khalil’s university-owned apartment near Columbia’s Manhattan campus, taking him into custody for his role in stoking unrest on university campuses. Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer, whined to The Associated Press that ICE agents informed her they were executing a State Department directive to revoke Khalil’s student visa. When Greer pointed out that Khalil, who graduated in December, held a green card as a permanent resident, the agents delivered a crushing blow: that privilege was being stripped away too.

A 14-year-old shot and killed a police officer and wounded another Friday evening in New Jersey, authorities said, in a chaotic scene that witnesses described as seeing officers running down a busy street before they heard a volley of a dozen or more gunshots. The slain officer, 26-year-old Joseph Azcona, was part of a team of Newark police detectives and federal agents that had gone to capture a suspect in an illegal weapons sting when the officer was fired on in his vehicle, authorities said. “He didn’t even get a chance to step out of the vehicle before he was struck,” Emanuel Miranda, Newark’s director of public safety, told a Saturday morning news conference with Newark’s mayor and top prosecutor.

A hellish inferno swept through the East End of Long Island on Saturday, forcing evacuations, choking the sky with thick black smoke, and shutting down the region’s main access road to the exclusive Hamptons. The fires, which erupted across four separate locations, sent panicked residents fleeing as flames devoured homes and businesses in both middle-class neighborhoods and wealthy enclaves alike. As of Saturday evening, authorities had managed to contain just 50% of the fire, even as Blackhawk helicopters rained thousands of gallons of water onto the blazing terrain. The destruction stretched across a two-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide area, leaving a scar of devastation as firefighters battled against raging winds that fueled the inferno’s relentless advance.

The son of the Belzer Rebbe, HaRav Ahaon Mordechai Rokeach, arrived on Friday morning in NY. He will be spending Shabbos in Boro Park with the Belzer community.

A suspect responsible for breaking into multiple cars and commercial vehicles over the past several days has been arrested following an extensive operation by Boro Park Shomrim. The individual, who stole thousands of dollars’ worth of tools, was taken into custody on Thursday evening at New Utrecht Avenue and 55th Street. Shomrim volunteers meticulously reviewed hours of surveillance footage, identified the suspect’s patterns, and tracked him down. With the gathered intelligence, Shomrim coordinated with the NYPD, leading to the suspect’s arrest. NYPD Sources tell YWN that the individual was already wanted by law enforcement and had several open iCards (Investigation Cards) for burglary.

As Andrew Cuomo seeks a political resurrection with his bid for New York City mayor, a ghost from his past has reemerged—one that is reigniting fierce debate within the city’s Jewish community. Recently resurfaced photographs show Cuomo, then serving as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in a diplomatic sit-down with none other than Yasser Arafat, the infamous Palestine Liberation Organization leader. The meeting, which took place on June 23, 2000, was part of a three-day trip to Israel, where Cuomo also engaged with then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. However, it is his exchange with Arafat—infamous for orchestrating terror attacks against Israel—that has sparked outrage.

Columbia University has initiated a sweeping investigation into students involved in anti-Israel protests, a move that comes as the Trump administration ramps up its threats to slash federal funding to universities accused of tolerating disruptive campus activism. The university’s newly formed Office of Institutional Equity has sent disciplinary notices to dozens of students, targeting actions ranging from posting inflammatory social media content to participating in unauthorized demonstrations that have roiled the campus. The investigation follows months of escalating tensions at Columbia, where anti-Israel protests have frequently disrupted academic life and drawn sharp criticism for crossing into harassment and intimidation.

As New York’s Department of Education tightens the screws on yeshivas, relentlessly scrutinizing their curricula, an alarming reality is being ignored: more than one-third of New York City public school students—over 300,000 children—are chronically absent. A new bombshell study reported by the NY Post has laid bare the crisis, revealing that chronic absenteeism—students missing at least 10% of the school year—has surged to nearly 35% in 2023-24. In upstate cities like Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, the numbers are even more catastrophic, with absenteeism reaching as high as 62%.

Flatbush Hatzolah marked an extraordinary milestone this week, commemorating 50 years since its establishment as a cornerstone of the community’s emergency medical services. The roots of Hatzolah trace back to 1969, when Rabbi Herschel Weber founded the original organization in Williamsburg. Inspired by his vision, a group of dedicated Mirrer Yeshiva Kollel yungerleit, under the leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Bender, established Flatbush Hatzolah in 1974 with a handful of spirited young men. From those humble beginnings, an incredible legacy was born. Over the past five decades, it’s hard to find a frum family in Flatbush whose lives haven’t been touched by the tireless efforts of Flatbush Hatzolah.