The White House issued a proclamation on Thursday declaring May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II,” honoring the 80th anniversary of the Allied Powers’ “triumph over national socialism and fascism, and the end of World War II in Europe.”
“On this Victory Day for World War II, we celebrate the unmatched might, strength, and power of the American Armed Forces, and we commit to protecting our sacred birthright of liberty against all threats, foreign and domestic,” read a White House statement from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The proclamation went on to honor the sacrifice of the “more than 250,000 Americans lost their lives in the fight against the Nazi regime.”

Reformulation by Rabbi Yair Hoffma

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Tefila4Life-Shiur-943-Deserve.mp3

Pope Leo XIV, newly selected to lead the Catholic Church, previously took to social media to voice strong opposition to President Trump’s policies, especially those related to immigration. Now the first American to be elected pope, Leo XIV — formerly Robert Francis Prevost — had repeatedly used his verified X account, @drprevost, to amplify criticism during Trump’s presidency.
Prior to his papal election, one of his last public online activities was a repost of a tweet from Catholic analyst Rocco Palmo. The post criticized a Trump-Bukele deportation policy involving a U.S. resident with Salvadoran roots.

The nation’s infant mortality rate dropped last year after two years of hovering at a late-pandemic plateau. Some experts think one reason for the drop could be a vaccination campaign against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be dangerous for infants. The infant mortality national rate dropped to about 5.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted Thursday. That’s down from about 5.6 per 1,000 live births, where it had been the previous two years. CDC officials believe the findings will not change much when the final numbers come out later this year.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a significant reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports, cutting them from the current 145% to slightly over 50%, potentially starting as early as next week. This development comes as American and Chinese representatives gear up for high-stakes trade negotiations in Switzerland.
According to individuals familiar with the ongoing talks, U.S. officials are evaluating a proposal to bring the tariffs down to somewhere between 50% and 54%. This shift would mark the beginning of extended discussions aimed at achieving a broader trade deal with Beijing.
In addition to the changes targeting Chinese goods, tariffs on other South Asian nations could also be revised downward, possibly to 25%, one insider revealed.

YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of R’ Tzaddik haLevi “Charlie Buttons” Nassofer Z”L, a beloved personality and cherished fixture in the Crown Heights community. He was 81 years old. Known to generations simply as “Charlie Buttons,” R’ Tzaddik Halevi brought joy and warmth to countless simchos throughout Crown Heights over the decades. With his signature smile, colorful attire adorned with pins and buttons – many of them promoting the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s mivtzoim and other Yiddishe messages – Charlie stood out in both appearance and in heart. He was often seen at the Rebbe’s farbrengens and in 770, always wearing his signature overalls and button-covered headgear.

Senator Bernie Sanders sidestepped a direct answer Wednesday when pressed on whether Joe Biden should have stepped aside earlier in the 2024 election cycle, saying that the challenges facing the Democratic Party go far deeper than Biden’s timing.
“Bret, I’m not going back a year,” Sanders told Fox News anchor Bret Baier during a segment of “Special Report,” after Baier asked if Biden made a mistake by staying in the race for too long.
Sanders made it clear he had no interest in revisiting that particular debate.
“But isn’t that a big part of where the Democratic Party is?” Baier pushed.
“No, no, it’s not,” Sanders replied. “It’s nothing to do with Biden right now or Kamala Harris.”