The volunteers of Rockland Chaveirim made a Kiddush Hashem on Thursday, as they warmed up freezing cold firefighters at the scene of a devastating fire. As YWN reported earlier, a fast-moving blaze totally destroyed the iconic “Motty’s Supermarket”, located on Main Street in Monsey. As fighter fighters were working to extinguish the blaze, Chaveirim arrived with their command post to allow firefighters to warm up inside. The volunteers also distributed hot pizza and warm drinks to the dozens of firefighters, who were braving the freezing cold and snowstorm at the scene. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but sources tell YWN that it may have been caused by an electrical issue. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Firefighters were on the scene of a working structure fire in Monsey, Thursday afternoon. The iconic “Motty’s Supermarket”, located at 19 Main Street appeared to be totally destroyed in the fast moving blaze, which started at around 12:37PM. Flames had fully engulfed the structure in just minutes. There did not appear to be any injuries, as firefighters braved the snow and cold to fight the blaze. Rockland Chaveirim as well as Hatzolah were on the scene. VIDEOS BELOW CHAVEIRIM OF ROCKLAND (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) came under fire on Thursday when footage showed him jetting off to Cancun, Mexico as his state faced a devastating power grid failure amidst a historic snow storm. The Senator released a statement saying he was only escorting his daughters who wanted to take the vacation and he would be immediately returning to Texas. “With school cancelled for the rest of the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm.

Residents of Jerusalem woke up on Thursday morning to a rare sight, the capital city blanketed in snow, the first time since 2013. Snow fell overnight throughout the country from the north to the south, with some areas receiving heavy rain and powerful winds. Some parts of Jerusalem had an accumulation of up to 15 centimeters (six inches) of snow, according to the municipality. The municipality worked tirelessly to clear the roads, and public transportation, which stopped in the city on Thursday night, was able to resume early Thursday morning, with the light rail beginning operation at 7 a.m and buses at 8 a.m. Schools that are currently in the session were delayed until 9 a.m. The main highway into Jerusalem, Route 1, was closed overnight but reopened on Thursday morning.

NYC Mayor DeBlasio went full-throttle on NY Governor Cuomo in a Thursday morning MSNBC interview. In the interview, DeBlasio was asked about allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim, who says he was yelled at and threatened by Cuomo after criticizing his handling of the staggering number of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes – which is now being looked into by federal authorities. “It’s a sad thing to say … but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new. I believe Ron Kim and it’s very, very sad, no public servant no person who’s telling the truth should be treated that way.

A spot on the Atlantic City Boardwalk where movie stars, athletes and rock stars used to party — and a future president honed his instincts for bravado and hype — was reduced to a dusty pile of rubble on Wednesday. The former Trump Plaza casino was imploded after falling into such disrepair that chunks of the building began peeling off and crashing to the ground. A series of loud explosions rocked the building around 9 a.m., and it started to collapse almost like a wave from back to front until it went straight down in a giant cloud of dust that enveloped the beach and Boardwalk. Overall, it took the structure less than 20 seconds to collapse. “I got chills,” Mayor Marty Small said. “This is a historic moment.

Jerusalem children spent the day Wednesday in excited anticipation for a rare snowstorm in the capital city, although some of the excitement was lost due to a “snow day” from school just being another day at home during the pandemic The abrupt change from almost summer-like weather, which Jerusalem has enjoyed for weeks, began on Tuesday night, when temperatures began to drop and heavy rain began falling throughout the country. Israel’s coast had heavy overnight rainstorms and snow began falling in northern Israel in the early hours of Wednesday morning, blanketing areas of Ramat HaGolan and the Upper Galil. The Golan Heights had more snow by Wednesday afternoon than it’s had in years and at least nine highways in northern Israel were blocked to traffic.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed questions at today’s press conference, regarding the fact that President Joe Biden has yet to call Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, which has raised some eyebrows in Israel and America. “His first call with a leader in the region will be with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Psaki says. “It will be place soon, I don’t have an exact date for you, but it will be soon. Stay tuned,” she says. “Israel is of course an ally. Israel is a country where we have an important strategic security relationship. Our team is fully engaged, not at the head of state level quite yet, but very soon. But our team is fully engaged, having constant conversations at many levels with the Israelis.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Donald Trump Jr. reacted to former President Trump’s acquittal and media bias during the trial on Fox News’ ‘Hannity’ Monday night. Don Jr. also explained what his father plans to do next politicly. “He’s gonna keep pushing that ‘America First’ agenda, fighting for the American worker,” Trump Jr. said. He’s gonna be pushing for candidates who will do that. Not the random, establishment guys that have sat there for years, done absolutely nothing…” “We are going to continue doing to conservatism what my father has done…Bring it from the dead back into real life.” Watch the full interview below. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The White House Press Secretary declined to Friday Israel and Saudi Arabia are “important allies” of the United States. After a back-and-forth with reporters during the daily White House briefing about President Biden’s failure so far to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked: “Can you please just give a broad sense of what the administration is trying to achieve in the Middle East?