U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from Tijuana, Mexico, into the San Diego area. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the tunnel originates in an industrial area in Mexico and extends a total of 4,309 feet. (1,313 meters). It features an extensive rail/cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance, and a complex drainage system, the agency said.

Israeli and US researchers published two groundbreaking studies on Monday about an Organ-on-a-Chip platform – nine mini human Organs-on-a-Chip that can be connected to form a mini “Human-on-a-Chip” for pharmacologists to test drugs in lieu of “real” humans. Organs-on-a-chip, which were first developed at Harvard in 2010, are cells from specific organs placed in a plastic cartridge (the chip) the size of a USB flash drive through tissue engineering techniques. The word chip does not refer to microchips and has no relation to computers. The new development is the “Human-on-a-Chip” that was formed after the researchers figured out how to link the nine Organs-on-a-Chip to mimic a human being. They connected the Heart-on-a-Chip, the Brain-on-a-Chip, the Kidney-on-a-Chip, etc.

As the death toll and emergency measures increase daily, Jewish communities in cities across China joined the population at large in the struggle to protect themselves against the new deadly coronavirus and cope with the extreme precautions being taken to guard against the spread of the flu-like respiratory disease. As of Tuesday, the virus has claimed at least 106 lives and infected more than 4,500 people in China alone. Chabad-Lubavitch representatives and other Jewish community leaders across the country are doing their best to help and reassure residents and visitors while taking steps to protect themselves and their families.

Billionaire Warren Buffett is giving up on the newspaper business. He’s selling all of Berkshire Hathaway’s publications to Lee Enterprises for $140 million, including the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska and The Buffalo News in New York Buffett is a lifelong fan of newspapers but he has said for several years that he expects most of them to continue on their declining trajectory, save for a handful of national papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The deal covers 31 daily newspapers in 10 states as well as 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products. Other newspapers include the Tulsa World in Oklahoma and the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina.

US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) responded to the unveiling of President Donald Trump’s peace plan by tweeting: “This is not a peace plan. It is theft. It is erasure.” She also retweeted a statement from J Street: “This is an annexation plan, not a plan for peace.” Later, Omar retweeted a post by If Not Now – a “movement led by young American Jews to end our community’s support for the occupation” – “Trump’s plan is totally and utterly bankrupt and reveals the shameful way that our government has catered to the Israeli right — at the cost of Palestinian freedom — for our entire lives. All people of conscience must publicly reject Trump’s plan for permanent occupation.” US Rep.

A Jewish female was robbed at the LifePlex Health Club (gym) on College Rd in Monsey at around 8:30PM, Wednesday night. The suspect fled in a vehicle, but crashed just nearby in front of “Wine on 59” on Route 59. The suspect then bailed from the vehicle, and fled on foot. Ramapo PD and Rockland Chaverim responded and conducted a search for the suspect. Authorities apprehended a possible suspect in front of the 7/11, but as of this YWN post, it has not been confirmed to be the suspect. The victim is being brought to the Ramapo Police Headquarters to make a positive identification. Rockland Hatzolah is treating one victim from the crash for minor injuries. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Sophisticated hackers infiltrated U.N. offices in Geneva and Vienna last year in an apparent espionage operation, and their identity and the extent of the data they obtained is unknown. An internal confidential document from the United Nations, leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by T he Associated Press, says dozens of servers were compromised including at the U.N. human rights office, which collects sensitive data and has often been a lightning rod of criticism from autocratic governments for exposing rights abuses. Asked about the report, one U.N. official told the AP that the hack appeared “sophisticated” and that the extent of the damage remained unclear, especially in terms of personal, secret or compromising information that may have been stolen.

Emergency forces including IDF platoons, the Fire Department, Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah were dispatched to Ma’aleh Amos in Gush Etzion after it was reported that an IDF helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing for an unknown reason. IDF forces that arrived at the scene quickly took charge of the area and closed it off to civilian rescue personnel. The helicopter, a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, is a heavy-lift transport helicopter and it was assumed that numerous IDF soldiers were on board. Shortly after the helicopter landed it was reported that there were no injuries suffered in the emergency landing. Approximately two hours later the Helicopter was once again ready to fly and continued its trip back to base unharmed. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Two weeks after Aharon Ramati was arrested for operating a cult in Jerusalem, the Magisterial Court of Yerushalayim instructed for Ramati to be released to house arrest at his home in Safed. Ramati will be supervised by his son and has to have guarantors deposit checks with the court. Complying with a request made by the police, the judge delayed the release until tomorrow. Previously the police had requested an extra five days to enable them to finish their investigation. Judge Eleazar Bialin gave them two, and then today issued the release for tomorrow. A police investigator said that the request for the extension came in light of new evidence in the case. Judge Bialin said: “While the evidence strengthens the case against Ramati, it does not do so in a significant way.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico, celebrating the fulfillment of one of his top campaign promises while declining to share the moment with Democratic lawmakers whose support was essential to getting it over the finish line. Trump said renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement was “probably the No. 1 reason that I decided to lead this crazy life that I’m leading right now.” “Today, we’re finally ending the NAFTA nightmare,” Trump said in a ceremony on the South Lawn. The event featured hundreds of business and farm leaders from around the country and scores of Republican officials. No Democratic members of Congress were on the White House guest list.