WASHINGTON (AP) — In the White House’s East Room on a rainy Thursday, first lady Mela

Despite growing frustration among the general public over the lack of answers regarding tickets and transportation to Meron for Lag Ba’omer, preparations on the ground are already well underway ahead of the hilula of Rav Shimon bar Yochai.
Photographer A. Eisenbach traveled to Meron early and captured striking images of the fully prepared “Area 89” compound, one of the primary sites of the annual gathering.
This year, Area 89 will host a series of major lighting ceremonies. Among them will be the renowned mashpia Rav Elimelech Biderman, as well as various admorim and rabbanim.

Bill Gates says he will donate 99% of his remaining tech fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will now close in 2045, earlier than previously planned. Today, that would be worth an estimated $107 billion. The pledge is among the largest philanthropic gifts ever – outpacing the historic contributions of industrialists like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie when adjusted for inflation. Only Berkshire Hathaway investor Warren Buffett’s pledge to donate his fortune — currently estimated by Forbes at $160 billion — may be larger depending on stock market fluctuations. Gates’ donation will be delivered over time and allow the foundation to spend an additional $200 billion over the next 20 years.

ALBANY, N.Y.

Joe Biden acknowledged that he holds himself accountable for Donald Trump reclaiming the presidency and sharply criticized Trump’s leadership since returning to office.
In his first live television appearance since leaving the presidency, Biden was interviewed on “The View” and was directly asked whether he bears any responsibility for Trump’s win.
“Yes, I do, because, look, I was in charge and he won, so I take responsibility,” Biden responded.
Reflecting on Trump’s time back in office, Biden didn’t hold back, asserting that Trump “has done, quite frankly, a very poor job in the interest of the United States of America.”

As fragile nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington teeter on the edge, explosive new satellite imagery has emerged, raising fresh questions about the true nature of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Published Thursday by Fox News, the images reveal a covert facility nestled in Iran’s Semnan Province—an area already dotted with nuclear infrastructure. The site, previously unacknowledged by Iranian authorities, is being called the “Rainbow Site” by the opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which alleges that it plays a critical role in a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Palestinian Authority head Mohammad Mustafa accused Israel of intentionally creating a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, placing direct blame on the Jewish state during a press conference held in Ramallah.
Referring to Israel as “the occupying power,” Mustafa alleged that it was responsible for a prolonged state of starvation in Gaza and deliberately preventing the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians.
He demanded that the United Nations, and in particular its Secretary-General, act without delay by invoking Article 99 of Chapter 15 of the UN Charter. This clause allows the Secretary-General to alert the Security Council to any issue that could pose a threat to global peace and stability.

The more President Donald Trump talks about his efforts to reach deals with America’s trading partners, the more confusing the tariff picture gets. His team seems good with that, saying Trump is using “strategic uncertainty” to his advantage. Trump says the United States does not have to sign any agreements, and that it could sign 25 of them right now. He says he is looking for fair deals on all sides, and that he does not care about other countries’ markets. He says his team can sit down to negotiate the terms of a deal, and that he might just impose a set of tariffs on his own. “I am struggling to make sense of it,” Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote in an email.