In a poignant message shared on social media Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee expressed the emotional toll of a recent meeting with families of American citizens still held captive in Gaza by Hamas. Drawing a sharp contrast between Israel’s defense measures and Hamas’s tactics, Huckabee condemned the terror group for its disregard for human life.
“I had the opportunity to sit down with a number of hostage families, all of whom are related to Americans still held in Gaza,” Huckabee wrote. “We want them home now. And the only reason they are not already home is because of Hamas.”

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly rebuked President Donald Trump, accusing him of exploiting antisemitism for political purposes in a scathing social media post. “Stop disgracefully weaponizing antisemitism to attack universities,” Schumer wrote, voicing his strong disapproval of the administration’s recent actions.
Schumer made it clear that his position was shared by other Jewish Democratic senators. Standing alongside colleagues Richard Blumenthal, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff, and Brian Schatz, he co-signed a letter to President Trump urging a halt to what they described as an inappropriate use of antisemitism as political cover. The letter was sent just before Schumer’s public remarks were posted.

A video portraying the abduction of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu circulated on Iranian social media and was broadcast on Iranian state TV. The video, with Arabic and (poorly translated) Hebrew subtitles, begins with media reports that Netanyahu’s car was involved in an accident in Tel Aviv and he hasn’t been seen since. The scene then changes to a home in Iran, where the father of the family receives an urgent  call summoning him to serve as a Hebrew translator. When he arrives at the office, he sees the “non-official” guest – Netanyahu sitting in a chair. The scene moves to images of destruction in Gaza, as if the war in Gaza in response to the Iranian-funded Octboer 7 massacre is justification for the “abduction.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s suggestion that Israel target food warehouses in Gaza to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages has drawn attention in Washington, where the Trump administration appears to be distancing itself from the proposal.
During a recent press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was asked whether the Trump administration endorses the move. Ben Gvir had claimed that high-ranking Republicans he met at Mar-a-Lago supported the idea. Bruce initially refrained from addressing the matter, pointing out that the Israeli minister’s account had not been independently confirmed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press. The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance. Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.

On Yom HaShoah, as Jews across the world paused to remember the kedoshim who perished in the horrors of the Holocaust, a deeply moving moment unfolded thousands of miles away — in the very place where so many Yidden were taken from this world al kiddush Hashem. Y., a combat soldier from Yerushalayim serving in the Netzach Yehuda battalion — the IDF unit comprised of Orthodox Jews — flew to Poland on Wednesday as part of a special delegation marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. Just a few short months ago, on Chanukah, Y. was seriously injured during a brutal encounter with terrorists. An RPG struck the area where he and his fellow soldiers were operating, killing his friend Uriel Peretz Hy”d, and wounding nine others. Y. himself lost a leg in the attack.

Ben Shapiro traveled to Ukraine to speak with President Zelensky at an inflection point in the Russian invasion.
WATCH:

The federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan accidentally filed an internal memo that poked holes in the Trump administration’s strategy to kill New York’s toll on driving in Manhattan — arguing the government should change tactics if it wants to block the nascent program. The memo, intended for a U.S. Department of Transportation attorney, was inadvertently filed Wednesday night in New York’s lawsuit against the administration over its efforts to shut down the fee. The blunder came days after the Trump administration gave New York a third ultimatum to stop collecting the toll, which started in January and charges most drivers $9 to enter the most traffic-snarled part of the borough. In the memo, three assistant U.S.

Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is urging President Donald Trump to abandon ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran and instead launch military strikes to destroy the country’s nuclear facilities. “You’re never going to be able to negotiate with that kind of regime that has been destabilizing the region for decades already, and now we have an incredible window, I believe, to do that, to strike and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Fetterman told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview on Wednesday. Fetterman’s remarks come as the Trump administration prepares for a third round of talks with Iranian officials, scheduled for this weekend, aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Thursday that a soldier from the 79th Battalion of the Machatz Brigade (14th) was killed in action during a combat mission in the northern area of the Gaza Strip.
The soldier’s identity has not yet been made public, but his next of kin have been informed.
In the same encounter, an officer from the elite Yahalom Unit, along with a reservist from the 79th Battalion, sustained serious injuries.
Both wounded servicemen were transported to a hospital for emergency care, and their families have been notified of their conditions.
{Matzav.com}

The FBI has arrested New Mexico Judge Juan Cano and his wife after they were exposed for harboring a Tren de Aragua terrorist in their home.

An official Egyptian source spoke to the Saudi outlet Asharq Al-Awsat about the joint military exercise between Egypt, Russia, and China, saying that these exercises are held periodically, were planned long ago, and are not related to the tensions between Israel and Egypt about the war in Gaza. The source said that the purpose of the exercises is to increase the capabilities of the Egyptian army and maintain its strength to maintain Egypt’s national security, and not to pose a threat to anyone.

Far-left darlings Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders are once again proving that irony is not just alive—it’s cruising at 41,000 feet. The socialist duo, known for their fiery crusades against wealth, capitalism, and corporate greed, were spotted disembarking from a Bombardier Challenger 604—a luxury jet with a price tag that could wipe out the tuition debt of half their fanbase. The flight, costing a modest $15,000 per hour, was part of their “Fighting the Oligarchy” tour, which seeks to denounce… well, private jets, rich people, and excess. The aircraft, a gleaming symbol of the very “elite privilege” they claim to battle, whisked them from stop to stop—Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Bakersfield, Nampa—each stage more anti-wealth than the last.

Agudath Israel of America proudly celebrates a historic victory for parents and students across the Lone Star State as the Texas Legislature passes a landmark universal school choice bill.

On February 18, 2025, YWN received a letter signed by Hagaon HaRav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, calling for “all Charedi representatives to immediately withdraw from Zionist institutions,” specifically targeting involvement in organizations like the World Zionist Organization (WZO). YWN has since uncovered that nearly every print publication that ran this letter was paid to do so, a revelation that raises serious questions about the authenticity of the campaign. For clarity, YWN was neither offered nor paid to publish the letter and has maintained its editorial independence.

National Economic Council Chairman Kevin Hassett: “President Trump recognizes, as we all do, that we’re going to get a lot of tariff revenue and it’s going to help us balance the budget. If people want to avoid the tariffs, then if they onshore production in the U.S., then we’ll get tax revenue from that.”

Tesla’s Q1 profit dropped to just $409 million — a sharp fall from $1.39 billion in Q1 2024 and $3.3 billion in Q1 2022, following numerous anti-Elon/ Tesla attacks on the company throughout the USA.

BREAKING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the Signal app on a personal computer in his office that was connected to the internet on an unsecured commercial line — known as a “dirty line” — ABC News reports.

South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a package of deals aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs are lifted in July, Seoul’s delegation said after the first round of trade talks in Washington. The U.S. and South Korea had a “very successful” meeting on Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said afterwards. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week,” he told reporters. Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun.

Software has always been a game of time, cost, and quality. Traditionally, if you wanted fast and affordable, you had to sacrifice quality. Not anymore. Thanks to major advances in AI, software development has entered a new era — and it’s good news for frum business owners. Rather than replacing developers, AI is making them dramatically more productive. That means custom, high-quality software is now faster to build — and far more affordable. At Bitbean, this change is being led by what they call “Artisanal Intelligence.” Their top-tier developers still guide every project with expertise and care, but now AI helps accelerate the technical work. The result? Beautifully built, intuitive systems delivered in a fraction of the time.

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