A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has denied Johnson & Johnson’s settlement plan related to baby powder containing talc, providing another setback in the company’s efforts to resolve the matter. This is the third bankruptcy case for a J&J company as it relates to the baby powder issue. Red River Talc LLC, a J&J subsidiary, was seeking confirmation of a proposed prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan that would have been one of the biggest mass tort settlements in history, if approved. Red River and J&J proposed to pay $9 billion to settle ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancer litigation claims based on talc-related products. But Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S.

In a scene that tore at the hearts of all in attendance, the levayah of Sarah Natasha Saada a”h and her young daughters, Dina Bracha, and Devorah Mazal, took place after midnight at Har HaMenuchos in Yerushalayim.
The three niftaros, residents of the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, tragically lost their lives in a horrific car accident on Shabbos, as was widely reported.

The Food and Drug Administration’s chief tobacco regulator has been removed from his post as sweeping cuts hit the agency and staffers across the federal health workforce Tuesday. In an email to staff, FDA tobacco director Brian King said: “It is with a heavy heart and profound disappointment that I share I have been placed on administrative leave.” King was removed from his position and offered reassignment to the Indian Health Service, according to a person familiar with the matter who did not have permission to discuss it publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Dozens of staffers in FDA’s tobacco center also received notices of dismissal Tuesday morning, including the entire office responsible for drafting new tobacco regulations.

Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department began receiving notices of dismissal on Tuesday in an overhaul ultimately expected to lay off up to 10,000 people. The notices come just days after President Donald Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government. At the National Institutes of Health, the world’s leading health and medical agency, the layoffs occurred as its new director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, began his first day of work. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A Hezbollah operative killed overnight in an Israeli military strike was previously photographed aboard a flight with senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, according to images circulating on social media. The operative, identified as Hassan Bdair, was reportedly a member of Hezbollah’s elite Unit 3900, working closely with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. Israeli security officials stated that Bdair was actively involved in orchestrating Hamas terror attacks targeting Israel. The photograph depicts Bdair seated alongside Soleimani, the former IRGC Quds Force commander, and al-Muhandis, a leading Iraqi militia figure. Both Soleimani and al-Muhandis were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020.

A driver faces manslaughter charges after allegedly speeding through a red light and fatally striking a 32-year-old mother and her two daughters on Ocean Parkway. The horrific crash occurred Shabbos around 1 p.m. when 35 year old Miriam Yarimi, driving a 2023 Audi A3 with a suspended license and no insurance, is believed to have been traveling at 50 mph in a 25-mph zone, according to police sources. Investigators are reviewing traffic cameras, a bystander’s dashcam, and the Audi’s “black box” data to confirm Yarimi’s exact speed and whether she attempted to brake before the collision. Skid marks at the scene are also under forensic analysis. Police say alcohol or drugs were not factors, though Yarimi’s license had been suspended due to an insurance lapse.

Iran has formally brought its concerns to the United Nations Security Council regarding recent threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump toward the Islamic Republic.
In a letter obtained by Reuters, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the comments, labeling them “reckless and belligerent” as well as “a flagrant violation of international law.”
The letter, submitted by the Iranian diplomat, included a warning from Tehran, stating that the country “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”

Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) issued a travel warning ahead of Pesach, warning that Hamas is likely to escalate efforts to target Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions overseas amid mounting pressure in Gaza and renewed fighting with Israel. “The group’s deteriorating situation in Gaza and the resumption of fighting are expected to further increase its attempts to conduct attacks,” the NSC stated in a newly released threat assessment. The advisory comes amid a string of foiled plots across Europe. In December 2023, Hamas operatives were arrested in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish targets.

In a joint statement, the Israeli military, Shin Bet, and Mossad announced that an overnight airstrike in Beirut targeted and killed a key operative of both Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The IDF identified the terrorist as Hassan Bdair, a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and the IRGC Quds Force, who was taken out by fighter jets. The rare public statement from the Mossad, alongside the military and Shin Bet, revealed that Bdair had recently been working with Hamas, directing the Palestinian terror group to prepare a “significant and imminent terror attack” aimed at Israeli civilians.