Family and friends gathered on Union Street to welcome Rabbi Eliezer Gold, a fundraiser for Oholei Torah school in Crown Heights, upon his return home after he was on a ventilator for 28 days with COVID-19. Rabbi Gold drank a “lechayim” and delivered a few short words where he thanked his family and friends for their tefillos. “I know you guys did a lot of prayers and Tehillim for me,” he said. “It was touch-and-go there for a while and I really needed it and I’m sure it helped bring me back.” Gold said that he spent 28 days on a ventilator and when he woke up, he asked his wife when Pesach is. She responded that Pesach had already passed! STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%. The Labor Department’s report Thursday suggests that layoffs, while still breathtakingly high, are steadily declining after sharp spikes in late March and early April.

The Defense Department has begun barring the enlistment of would-be military recruits who have been hospitalized for the coronavirus, unless they get a special medical waiver. Under a Pentagon memo signed Wednesday, applicants who have tested positive for the virus but did not require hospitalization will be allowed to enlist, as long as all health and other requirements are met. Those recruits who tested positive won’t be allowed to begin the enlistment process until 28 days after the diagnosis, and they’ll be required to submit all medical documentation. They’ll be cleared for military service 28 days after they’re finished with home isolation, and they won’t need a waiver.

When I signed up to be a Hatzolah member, I knew it would be a lot of things. I knew it would be draining and demanding, at times unfathomably so. I knew it would mean time away from family, from my job, from important events and celebrations. I knew it would spell sleepless nights, followed by dizzying days. I knew it would take all my reservoirs of strength to witness trauma, pain, and even death – and still go on. But I never thought it would come to this. This crisis has brought my role as a Hatzolah member to a whole new level. I didn’t think it would mean seeing the fear in my daughter’s face as I don my PPE suit, mask, and goggles before leaving to the hospital – and reassuring her that it’s still Abba.

There may be no bonfires or parades and Meiron may not look the same, but this Lag Baomer is gearing up to be a celebration of a different kind.  Communities across North America are preparing to show their gratitude to the heroes of this dark time–their local Hatzalah volunteers–with a 24-hour live-streamed concert and drive to benefit every Hatzalah in the continent. The “Hatzalah-Thon,” as it’s being billed, is slated to be a day of joy, appreciation, and giving.   Hatzalahs from Chicago to Detroit and Baltimore to Boro Park are hoping to raise much needed funds for their increased operations in these unprecedented times.   Meanwhile, the final touches are being put to a live-streamed concert starring the top talent from the Jewish music world.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said. The White House said Trump spoke with Putin “to commemorate and reflect upon the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.” The Kremlin noted in its readout of the call that the two leaders exchanged greetings ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II, emphasizing “the historic significance of the WWII alliance between our peoples that allowed (us) to defeat the common enemy.” It said that if Russia and the U.S.

The NYPD is investigating a disturbing string of incidents that occurred in Williamsburg on Thursday morning. Sources tell YWN that at approximately 12:00PM, a man assaulted at least five women in the area of Sanford Street near Willoughby Ave. Some of the women were in other locations, and the victims may have been inappropriately touched by the suspect. The victims contacted 911 and Williamsburg Shomrim, who responded in seconds and began canvassing the area for the suspect. He is described as a black male in his 20’s, was wearing a black shirt, grey-white jeans, red sneakers, grey hoodie, has a goatee, ‘braids in a bun (hair)’ and may have a tattoo on his left forearm. He was last seen running east on Nostrand Avenue towards Flushing Avenue.

The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

The “story” seems short, and similar to many others: Young person in good health…. worked hard to support his family…. suddenly fell victim to the corona pandemic…. he passed away…. he left a shattered widow and orphans without their breadwinner…. they cannot move on without our help! But there is a lot more to the story: R’ Aharon Daniel Z”l was from the beloved and esteemed residents of Kiryas Yoel. He was a young victim of the pandemic and very suddenly left behind a broken widow and three new orphans. R’ Aharon was a shochet and a great Yerei Shomayim. He spent his life being moser nefesh to advance kashrus and for forty years he was a shochet in many different locations throughout the world, which was in the best interest of every one of us.

San Francisco is using private donations to deliver alcohol, tobacco and medical marijuana to a few dozen people dealing with addiction as they isolate or quarantine in city-leased hotel rooms during the pandemic, officials confirmed Wednesday. There are about 270 people, mostly homeless, staying in hotel rooms to recover from COVID-19 or to wait out possible exposure to the virus. Nearly a dozen people have received alcohol and more than two dozen have received tobacco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. City officials said that private donations pay for the items, and that helping manage nicotine, opioid and alcohol cravings ensures that recovering people don’t go out and possibly infect others. Dr.