A senior official at the National Public Transportation Authority recommended that Jews across the country refrain as much as possible from traveling to Jerusalem during the three days of Purim Meshulash, Friday, Shabbos, and Sunday – due to a real concern of particularly heavy traffic congestion, which will cause widespread disruptions to the public transportation system within Jerusalem and on the roads leading to it.

Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase. The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew longtime President Bashar Assad in December. Former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country’s old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.

Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, the Chief Rabbi of Iran Davened Mincha and Maariv and read Megillas Esther this evening at the site believed to be the kever of Mordechai and Esther in Hamadan, Iran. Young Iranian yeshiva students travelled with with Rabbi Gerami to the Kever. Attached video footage taken for YWN shows the Rabbi and his students, some of whom are training to become rabbinical judges and rabbis, danceing outside the Kever before Mincha. After Mincha, they Davened maariv, followed by Kreiyas Megillah in a nearby Shul next to the Kever. They then broke their fast, and began the journey back to Tehran. Despite geopolitical tensions, the Iranian regime continues to preserve the kever due to its historical significance.

U.S. wholesale inflation decelerated last month, suggesting that price pressures are easing for now. But the progress may not last as President Trump intensifies his trade wars. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — was unchanged from January after rising 0.6% the month before. Compared to a year earlier, producer prices were up 3.2%, down from a year-over-year gain of 3.7% in January. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices fell 0.1% last month from January, first drop since July. Core producer prices rose 3.4%, lower than the 3.8% year-over-year gain in January. The numbers were all lower than economists had expected.

The White House withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because he wasn’t assured of getting enough Republican support to be confirmed. The Republican-controlled Senate health committee announced Thursday morning that it was canceling a planned hearing on Weldon’s nomination — less than an hour before it was scheduled to begin. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the White House pulled the nomination because it became clear Weldon did not have the votes for confirmation. Sen.

Adam Bohler, who was assigned by President Donald Trump as an envoy for hostage negotiations, has reportedly been removed from overseeing efforts related to the hostages in Gaza, according to The Jewish Insider.
Sources within the Republican Party have indicated that there is growing pressure to strip him of his role entirely in all hostage-related matters, not just the ongoing situation in Gaza.
Bohler sparked controversy following an interview with CNN, where he openly discussed the direct communication between the United States and Hamas. During the interview, he stated, “We are not agents of Israel, we have our own interests,” and described members of Hamas as “pretty nice guys.”

An 18-year-old named Shneur Zalman from Rosh Ha’ayin survived a terrifying shooting incident near the Ariel Industrial Zone on Wednesday. Now recovering at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, he shared his harrowing experience.
“I was traveling in a vehicle and suddenly I saw a green laser pointed at me,” he recalled from his hospital bed. “I pressed the gas, but then I heard a string of nearly 20 bullets hitting the vehicle. The steering wheel locked, and I managed to escape on foot towards the industrial zone.”
His mother explained that spotting the laser gave him a brief but crucial moment to realize he was in danger and attempt to flee.

This year, more than ever before, with the current difficult matzav for acheinu b’nei yisroel in general and B’nei Torah in particular, there is just so much negativity worldwide. We now have a unique opportunity to portray a beautiful and positive message about our simchas Purim. The zechus of the special simcha emanating from torah learning on the Yom tov of Simcha should encapsulate your life with all the brochos of Simcha! Fifteen years ago on Purim night a mini-revolution happened that addresses this issue. A group of very special Baalei Battim sponsored 23 bochurim from Yeshiva Torah Temimah in Brooklyn, NY to sit and learn for two hours on Purim night. Each bochur received a $250 credit to a tzedokah of his choice.

New York City – On Thursday, abou