Inflation may have picked up slightly last month as President Donald Trump’s widespread tariffs kicked in, a trend economists expect will become more visible in the coming months. Consumer prices are forecast to have risen 2.4% in April compared with a year earlier, according to data provider FactSet, the same as in March and down from 3% at the start of the year. Still, on a monthly basis, economists expect that the consumer price index rose 0.3% from March to April, a pace that would worsen inflation if it continued, after it fell for the first time in nearly five years the previous month. Tuesday’s report could provide an early read on how Trump’s duties will affect the prices Americans pay for necessities and other goods such as clothing, shoes, furniture and even groceries.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iranian leaders are currently approaching nuclear negotiations in a measured and thoughtful way.
Addressing the topic of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Trump stated, “We’ll see what we’re going to do. With respect to Iran. I think very good things are happening there.”
He followed up by saying, “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, but I think that they are talking intelligently.” Trump emphasized that discussions are ongoing, noting, “We’re in the midst of talking to them, and they’re right now acting very intelligent. We want Iran to be wealthy and wonderful and happy and great, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Hours after the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, fighting resumed in the Gaza Strip as IDF forces launched a targeted strike on a Hamas command compound hidden within Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Among those reportedly eliminated in the operation was Hassan Aslih—a Hamas-affiliated “journalist” who gained infamy for documenting the October 7 massacre. Aslih, who had previously worked as a freelance photographer for outlets including CNN, was quietly dismissed after photos surfaced showing him posing with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. According to Israeli sources, Aslih had survived an earlier IDF strike and was undergoing rehabilitation at Nasser Hospital.

Harvard University responded Monday to recent threats from the Education Department to halt its grant funding, highlighting reforms it was undertaking but warning it won’t budge on “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation. A letter from Harvard President Alan Garber detailed how the institution had made significant changes to its leadership and governance over the past year and a half. Among the reforms, Garber said, was a broad “strategy to combat antisemitism and other bigotry.” Last week, the Department of Education threatened a grant freeze in a major escalation of Trump’s battle with the Ivy League school. The administration previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, and Trump is pushing to strip the school of its tax-exempt status.

On Monday, former Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her joy over the release of Edan Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli national who had been held captive by Hamas.
In a message shared on X, Harris emphasized the ongoing need to secure the freedom of all remaining hostages.
“After 584 days in Hamas captivity, American citizen Edan Alexander is finally reunited with his family. From my meetings with the Alexander family, I have long admired their strength and courage, and Doug and I join all Edan’s loved ones in celebrating his safe return,” she wrote.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial, has been appointed acting librarian of Congress, the Justice Department said Monday. Blanche replaces longtime librarian Carla Hayden, whom the White House fired last week amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda. Also Monday, two other Trump appointments to the library attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Copyright Office, according to a source with knowledge of the incident. Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior counsel in Blanche’s office, was named acting assistant librarian, Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin confirmed.

Poland’s foreign minister said Monday that he was ordering the closure of the Russian Consulate in the southern city of Krakow, after authorities blamed Moscow for a fire that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw last year. The national prosecutor’s office also said Monday that it had pressed charges against two Ukrainian citizens who cooperated with the people who carried out the arson, identifying them only as Daniil B. and Oleksander V. The fire broke out May 12, 2024, in the Marywilska 44 shopping center that housed around 1,400 shops and service points, a budget marketplace in a warehouse-like structure in a northern district of Warsaw. Many of the vendors were from Vietnam, and it inflicted tragedy on many in Warsaw’s Vietnamese community.

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bitachon4Life-Shiur-1493-Tocheles-Part-13.mp3
​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.
 
 

President Donald Trump opened his four-day Mideast trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more. Bin Salman warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One and kicked off his Middle East tour. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts. The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.