New York state officials have pushed back against the Trump administration’s directive to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from public schools, making it clear they won’t comply—even with the threat of losing federal education dollars.
In a letter sent Friday to the U.S. Department of Education, Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel and deputy commissioner at the New York State Education Department, expressed strong objections, questioning the federal agency’s legal basis for such an ultimatum.
“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

Prosecutors are seeking more than seven years in prison for disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York argued in a court filing Friday that a significant sentence was warranted because the New York Republican’s “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system. “From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” the office wrote.

John Gutierrez had been thinking about buying a new laptop for the past year. The Austin, Texas, resident needed a computer with faster processing and increased storage for his photography work and had his sights set on a product from a Taiwanese brand. Then President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs Wednesday, including a 32% tax on imports from Taiwan. That same day, Gutierrez ordered the laptop, with a base price of $2,400, from a retailer in New York specializing in photo and video gear. “I thought I’d bite the bullet, buy it now, and then that way I’ll have the latest technology on my laptop and don’t have to worry about the tariffs,” he said. Gutierrez was among the U.S. consumers rushing to buy big-ticket items before the tariffs take effect.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is scheduled to head to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a meeting with President Donald Trump, according to a report from Axios.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said the two leaders would “speak about Israel, and we’ll speak about what’s going on.”
“That’s another thing we’d like to get solved,” he added, without elaborating on the specifics of Netanyahu’s visit.
According to Axios, the agenda for the meeting includes discussions on several major issues: the 17% tariffs recently placed on Israeli goods by the U.S., ongoing tensions surrounding the Iran nuclear situation, and the conflict in Gaza.
{Matzav.com}

After a U.S. Air Force C-5M “Super Galaxy” landed at Nevatim Airbase in Southern Israel today, Al Arabiya reports that the U.S. has delivered two MIM-104 “Patriot” missile batteries and an additional THAAD system to Israel.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris: “There were many things we knew would happen… I’m not here to say I told you so.”

Massive crowds poured into Washington, DC, today as part of a wave of “Hands Off!” demonstrations held nationwide. The protests were aimed at opposing spending reductions implemented by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Trump’s newly introduced “Liberation Day” tariffs. One fiery speaker urged demonstrators to strike fear into the hearts of both men.
Gathering near the Washington Monument, thousands of attendees held homemade signs—many with explicit language—criticizing Republicans, while similar protests took place in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Russia launched a deadly missile assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih late today, killing at least 19 people, including nine children. It was one of the most devastating strikes on the city since the war began.
The missile attack obliterated part of a residential district in Kryvyi Rih, injuring at least 72 more people, among them a 3-month-old infant, according to Ukrainian officials.
“There were dead children lying there, crying parents — it was horrible,” a 47-year-old woman named Yulia told Reuters.
Zelensky paid tribute to the youngest victims in an emotional post on Saturday.

Iran’s rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday, costing over 1 million rials for a single greenback as tensions between Tehran and Washington likely will push it even lower. The exchange rate had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay.