On Wednesday afternoon, a heartfelt Chalakah ceremony was held at the residence of HaGaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch. The event, marking a young boy’s first haircut, brought together family and community members to celebrate this milestone under the esteemed guidance of the revered Posek and venerated Gadol. The children will have their hair cut on Lag BaOmer.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged during a House budget hearing on Wednesday that he would “probably” vaccinate his child against measles if he had one today. The comment came in response to a direct question from Rep. Mark Pocan about whether he would choose to immunize his children for measles in the current climate. Kennedy, serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services, replied, “Probably, for measles.” However, he quickly added a disclaimer: “I think if I answer that question directly that it will seem like I’m giving advice to other people and I don’t want to be doing that.”

A former food delivery driver pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to steal more than $2.5 million from DoorDash by getting the company to pay for deliveries that never occurred, federal prosecutors said. Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in San Jose to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Devagiri, 30, of Newport Beach, California, admitted to working with three others in 2020 and 2021 to defraud the San Francisco-based delivery company, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Devagiri used customer accounts to place high-value orders and then used an employee’s credential to gain access to DoorDash software and manually reassign the orders to driver accounts that he and others controlled.

Agudath Israel of America applauded the historic inclusion of the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) in a draft budget document unveiled yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. Agudath Israel said it looks forward to continuing to engage members of Congress as lawmakers debate and build upon this proposal in the days and weeks ahead. Following a model already operating successfully in more than twenty states, this game changing legislation will provide $5 billion in K-12 scholarships per year. It does this by allowing a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donors who contribute to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO). These SGOs would then provide scholarships for a range of educational expenses, including private school tuition.

Argentine Supreme Court officials revealed Sunday that 83 long-forgotten boxes containing Nazi materials confiscated during World War II have been found in the court’s basement. The boxes, according to archival research conducted by the court, were originally shipped from the German embassy in Tokyo to Argentina in June 1941 aboard the Japanese steamship “Nan-a-Maru.” At the time, their arrival raised suspicions among Argentine authorities concerned that the contents could threaten the nation’s wartime neutrality. Though German diplomats claimed the shipment merely held personal belongings, customs officials opened five of the boxes and found Nazi propaganda materials, including photographs, postcards, and thousands of notebooks belonging to the Nazi party.

The Israeli military is hunting for a terrorist who shot and injured two Israelis, including a pregnant woman, as they drove near the small community of Bruchin, in Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces stated.
The Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital said on Wednesday night that its medical teams were fighting in the trauma room to save the life of the woman. The baby was delivered in hospital, but its condition has not been made public, Ynet reported.
The woman and her husband were en route to the hospital when the shooting occurred, Hanan Greenwood, of Israel Hayom, wrote.

Despite the public backlash and political storm sparked by its recent enforcement operation, the IDF is now preparing for an even broader campaign targeting draft dodgers — including many from the chareidi sector — according to a report aired Wednesday evening on Kan News.
While previous operations focused on individuals who underwent initial screenings but failed to report for induction, this upcoming operation is aimed at a different group: those who never responded to their initial call-up notices. This group reportedly includes a large percentage of young chareidi men.

U.S. Sec. of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Antalya, Turkey, for an informal NATO ministerial meeting, aiming to address the Russia-Ukraine conflict and strengthen Allied defense commitments.

WATCH: Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen is removed by law enforcement for interrupting RFK Jr. hearing.

Lawyers for a 2-year-old U.S. citizen who was deported with her mother to Honduras said on Tuesday that the family was lifting its lawsuit against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The girl -– one of three U.S.-born children who were deported alongside their Honduran-born mothers -– had been at the heart of one of the mounting legal battles playing out in the United States weighing if the Trump administration broke the law in implementing its new deportation policies.

President Trump remarked, “Nice house,” as he entered Al Wajba Palace, the home of Qatar’s Emir.

In advance of Lag Ba’omer, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and President of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah Rav Yitzchak Yosef met in Yerushalayim with senior officials from Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services. Participating in the meeting were Fire and Rescue Commissioner Eyal Caspi and the service’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Chaim Perl.
The meeting focused on safety concerns related to bonfires typically lit during Lag Ba’omer celebrations. Fire officials warned of the serious risks involved in lighting unauthorized or unsafe fires, especially given the recent large wildfire that broke out in the Jerusalem hills just two weeks ago.

A 2,000-year-old road—believed to have carried Yidden on their way to the Beis Hamikdash as they were being oleh regel—has been unveiled in Ir Dovid, just outside the walls of the Old City. Stretching some 2,000 feet from Maayan Hagichon (Pool of Shiloach) to the footsteps of Har HaBayis, the road would have been traversed by Klal Yisroel during the Shalosh Regalim: Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. According to archaeologists, this was the very road used by our ancestors to ascend to the Makom HaMikdash b’tahara after immersing in the mikveh. “This is the road our ancestors—yours and mine—would have walked 2,000 years ago to go up to the Beis Hamikdash,” said Ze’ev Orenstein, Director of International Affairs at the Ir Dovid Foundation, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

As diplomatic efforts intensify to bring an end to the conflict and secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has introduced a new proposal aimed at resolving both objectives—one that excludes Hamas from future power structures.
Channel 12 reported on Wednesday that Witkoff’s plan was unveiled during President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and has since garnered backing from various international mediators involved in the process.
Israeli government representatives have stated that “Witkoff is personally invested in the efforts to secure the release of the hostages” and emphasized that “President Trump made it clear that no moves will be forced on Israel against its will.”

New Jersey’s attorney general said Tuesday chemical manufacturer 3M agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS — commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.” The settlement is subject to court approval and a public comment period, Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M is expected to pay $285 million this year, with additional amounts payable over the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $450 million, Platkin’s office said. “Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state’s water supply,” Platkin said in a statement.

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