It was a few hours before the entrance of shabbos just over a week ago, as 20-year-old Israeli Neriah Or, his sister, and his kallah finished up a tour of kivrei tzaddikim in the Ukraine. They were in a car on the way to Uman, when the unthinkable happened: A head on collision left their car flipped over, and a Ukrainian passenger in the other car dead.  In the chaos that followed, all three Israelis were taken to jail. The two young women were released, but Neriah is still being held. He reportedly used his one available phone call to reach his father in Jerusalem. He explained the severity of the situation before the call was disconnected, leaving in the Or family is a state of shock and distress. No one has been able to contact Neriah since.

After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries in 2018, the ruling appeared to shut down legal challenges that claimed the policy was rooted in anti-Muslim bias. But a federal appeals court in Richmond is set to hear arguments from civil rights groups hoping to keep the challenges alive. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Tuesday in three lawsuits filed by U.S. citizens and permanent residents whose relatives have been unable to enter the U.S. because of the travel ban, which was first imposed shortly after Trump took office in January 2017.

A LOT Airlines flight from Warsaw to NY was forced to make an emergency landing on Sunday night. One of the approximately 50 Jewish passengers on the flights told YWN that a severely intoxicated passenger caused a major disturbance on the flight, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Iceland. For reasons unknown, the flight is unable to take off at this time, and the passengers are being put up in a local hotel for the night. Meanwhile, a group of passengers made a Kumzits while waiting in the airport. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep Jerry Nadler says is he “sorry” that he will have to take off from the ongoing impeachment proceedings in the Senate due to the sad news that his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Nadler, the Jewish Congressman from New York who is one of the leading forces to try and remove President Trump, says that his wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, following his committee’s markup of the two articles of impeachment against Trump. “She has undergone surgery and is taking further steps to address the spread of the cancer. On Monday, I will be in New York with her to meet with doctors, determine a path forward, and begin her treatment,” he said. Her name for Tehillim is Yosefa bas Batya.

It’s been more than three years since Russia’s sweeping and systematic effort to interfere in U.S. elections through disinformation on social media, stolen campaign emails and attacks on voting systems. U.S. officials have made advances in trying to prevent similar attacks from undermining the 2020 vote, but the potential threats have increased and some old problems have not been addressed. A look at what has changed since 2016 and what has not. THE THREAT THEN: U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia was the only nation that significantly interfered in the 2016 election. Russia’s activities shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Russia is believed to have interfered in Ukraine’s 2014 vote. Russia’s 2016 goals, according to an assessment by the U.S.

Democratic presidential candidates have roared back into Iowa touting fresh endorsements, critiquing their rivals and predicting victories in the caucuses that will soon launch the process of deciding who will challenge President Donald Trump. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Saturday she was “delighted” to pick up a coveted endorsement from The Des Moines Register. The state’s largest newspaper called the Massachusetts Democrat “the best leader for these times” and said she “is not the radical some perceive her to be.” But Warren’s progressive rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, predicted victory in Iowa and campaigned alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., one of the most prominent leaders on the left. Joe Biden, meanwhile, appeared for the first time alongside Rep.

President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House. “They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators. “And we can’t allow that to happen.” The Trump legal team’s arguments in the rare Saturday session were aimed at rebutting allegations that the president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then obstructed Congress as it tried to investigate.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri signed an order on Sunday allowing Israelis to travel to Saudi Arabia for specific purposes such as business meetings or investment purposes. The law also allows Muslim Israelis to travel to Mecca for religious pilgrimages, something that many Muslim Israelis have already been doing for many years using Jordanian or other foreign passports. Israelis were forbidden by law until now from traveling to Saudi Arabia without the permission of the interior minister. However, although the new law is a sign of a warmer relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia still restricts Israel citizens from visiting the country. Israeli citizens with foreign passports could enter Saudi Arabia as long as they have no Israeli stamps on that passport.

Basketball great Kobe Bryant was reportedly killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas Sunday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said the helicopter went down on a hillside at Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street. TMZ reported: Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We’re told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. (Source: Breaking911.com)

Naama Issachar filed an official request for a presidential pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Naama Issachar’s mother, Yaffa, flew to Moscow on Motzei Shabbos hoping that she’ll return to Israel shortly with her daughter. “I hope to return with Naama and I hope that this is my last trip there,” Issachar said. “Naama is confused because they were supposed to transfer her to a different prison but they didn’t. Maybe it’s a good sign. We’ll see what the lawyer says after he meets her.” The Kremlin stated on Friday that Issacher’s release has been delayed due to the fact that she didn’t yet submit a formal request to be pardoned.