The Internal Revenue Service plans to delay this year’s tax filing deadline by roughly a month, to mid-May, according to an official familiar with the plans. The official said the decision was made in order to allow filers more time to navigate tax situations complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. The IRS is still figuring out what the final deadline will be. The agency is considering setting the filing deadline either on May 15 or May 17. Last year, the IRS moved the deadline to July 15, giving Americans an additional three months to file their taxes amid the pandemic. JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status.

President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin “will pay a price” for his efforts to undermine the 2020 US election following a landmark American intelligence assessment which found that the Russian government meddled in the 2020 election with the aim of “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy. “He will pay a price,” Biden said of Putin in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. “We had a long talk, he and I, and relatively well. And the conversation started – ‘I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, be prepared.'” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The pressure against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the claims against him. Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women’s claims, Biden said “yes” and added, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.” “It takes a lot of courage to come forward so the presumption is it should be taken seriously,” Biden said.

Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Monday that Israel could reach herd immunity when at least seven million Israelis are vaccinated. “That means children will also need to be vaccinated,” Ash told Ynet. “I hope that will happen in the summer [for children above age 12]. We’re waiting for the results of Pfizer’s research on the subject.” Currently, there are almost 5.2 million Israelis who are vaccinated, about 55% of the total population, of whom 4.2 million are fully vaccinated. Children under age 16, who cannot yet be vaccinated, comprise about 30% of Israel’s general population [20% of whom are above age 12], and about 50% of the Chareidi population in Israel.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Americans to get vaccinated to help curb the Covid-19 pandemic, calling it “safe” and “something that works.” “I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “But again,” he continued, “we have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein spoke on Monday at the UTJ Keness that took place at his home, attended by all the members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. The Rosh Yeshivah spoke very sharply about the growing incitement in the media against the Chareidi sector. “As is well-known, today there’s great incitement against the Chareidi sector,” the Rosh Yeshivah said. “They want to establish decrees against us, decrees on Shemiras Shabbos, on chinuch, on violating religion, decrees of Shmad! There’s a lot of propaganda in the media against Chareidim – this poses a great risk to us. Incitement has an influence, there are many who are influenced by it.

Thanks to a public-pressure campaign to free multiple Agunos, yet another woman has been freed. Jonathan Abtan has given his wife Michelle a Get on Tuesday afternoon. The Get was done in the office of Mr. Harry Adjmi, one of the pillars of the Sephardic community in Flatbush / Deal. Mr Adjmi along with leading Sephardic Rabbonim in NY have been extremely instrumental in freeing at least three Agunos the past week and half. This is just one of a few Agunos who received a Get the past two weeks, following an outpouring of protests on social media in support of many women who are literally chained to their husbands.

Israel is on the brink of reaching peace deals with four more countries, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Ynet on Tuesday. “There are four more peace agreements on the way,” Netanyahu said, holding up four fingers. “And the people come to us because they know that this is the real thing.” The prime minister added that he received a phone call from a leader in the region on Monday night and they engaged in a 45-minute conversation. Netanyahu’s statement about four potential peace deals corresponds with a statement by former White House adviser Jared Kushner in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. “There are also several more countries on the brink of joining the Abraham Accords, including Oman, Qatar and Mauritania,” Kushner stated. “The table is set.

As Israel’s economy reopens on the background of a plummeting national infection rate following a successful vaccination campaign, the question is how long will the effect of the vaccines last? Officially, the vaccine certificate is valid for six months. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israelis may need to get vaccinated twice this year for this reason and he’s working on bringing 36 million more vaccines to Israel over the next year. However, recent studies seem to indicate that the vaccine will be effective for longer than six months.

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM CHAIM V’CHESSED: This morning, the Igud, headed by the indefatigable Rabbi Nechemya Malinowitz, received word from Interior Ministry officials regarding the return of students after Pesach. If there is no change, it appears that students who have been studying in Israel over the past year will be allowed to return to Israel after Pesach if they have recovered from Covid or have been vaccinated. This refers only to those who recovered or were vaccinated in Israel and have proper documentation as such. Once again, this is an initial ruling and still is subject to change, if circumstances change. A serious complication relates to families who are student visa holders.