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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday selected a former inmate who later became a prison reform advocate to serve as commissioner of the Department of Correction, signaling his administration’s intent to shift the jail system toward a rehabilitation-centered model.

Stanley Richards, who was incarcerated in the late 1980s on a robbery conviction, will become the first person with a prior prison record to head the city’s correctional agency. Announcing the appointment, Mamdani highlighted the historical nature of the decision. “Stanley will make history in this role as the first ever formerly incarcerated person to serve as commissioner,” Mamdani said. “I will turn to Stanley as we work to build a city where justice is at the heart of our corrections system,” the mayor added.

According to reports by Gothamist and NY1, Richards was convicted of robbery in the late 1980s, spending approximately two and a half years on Rikers Island followed by another four and a half years in state prison. He was released in 1991.

In his initial comments after being named commissioner, Richards echoed Mamdani’s reform agenda and criticized what he characterized as an overly punitive approach to incarceration. “Today we turn the page and we start a new era under Mayor Mamdani,” Richards said.

Richards also cited his professional background within the correctional system, noting his prior service as first deputy commissioner of programs and operations at the Department of Correction, as well as his role as vice chair of the Board of Correction’s Task Force to Close Rikers.

The appointment comes amid continued federal oversight of New York City’s jails. Earlier this week, a federal judge installed an external remediation manager to supervise reforms at Rikers Island following years of violence, staffing shortages, and court findings that city officials failed to adequately address unsafe conditions. Rikers had been slated for closure by August 2027 under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

When asked whether he had already engaged with the remediation manager, Mamdani said contact had been made and stressed a collaborative approach. “My administration has, and we look forward to working with the remediation manager on improving conditions in our city’s jails, both for those in custody and for correction officers,” Mamdani said.

The move prompted a cautious response from the union representing correction officers, which warned against subordinating safety concerns to political goals. In a statement, Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio said the jails “cannot and will not operate as safely as possible if the concerns of our members are brushed aside,” adding that Richards must show a clear commitment to “putting safety and security before any political ideology.”

As Richards prepares to assume leadership of the embattled jail system, questions remain over whether his reform-driven experience will result in tangible improvements in safety and stability. Mamdani’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Richards is scheduled to begin his new role on Feb. 16.

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s Supreme Leader accused the United States of creating an “ISIS-like” group to stir recent unrest, claiming it carried out arson attacks and killings across Iran, and alleged that the same U.S. intelligence elements behind ISIS in Iraq and Syria are now targeting Iran.

Trump on Cuba: “We’re starting to talk to Cuba… A lot of people that live in our country were treated very badly by Cuba… They haven’t seen their family, their country, for many, many decades. I’ll be able to work that out.”

Trump on Iran: “We do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know… But I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable.”

TODAY IN HISTORY: On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry after a 16-day mission, killing all seven astronauts •⁠ ⁠Commander Rick Husband •⁠ ⁠Pilot William McCool •⁠ ⁠Payload commander Michael Anderson •⁠ ⁠Mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark •⁠ ⁠Payload specialist Ilan Ramon the first Israeli in space

Photos from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after it reopened today.

Movement of Palestinians through the Rafah Crossing is expected to begin tomorrow, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). COGAT said the Gaza–Egypt crossing has officially reopened, with a pilot operation underway today to test and assess its functionality. The agency added that travel in both directions — into and out […]

A bomb-cyclone nor’easter slammed the Carolinas and Virginia, delivering record snow, fierce winds, and over 12,000 flights have been delayed or cancelled.

A stirring miracle story has been electrifying the Toldos Avraham Yitzchak court—exactly one year after it began.

The story traces back precisely a year, to the 14th of Shevat, the yahrtzeit of the mekubal Rav Yitzchak Abuchatzira zt”l. That evening, a wedding was held in Beitar Illit for the Rebbe’s grandson, the son of his son, Rav Chaim Meir Kohn, who serves as the rav of the community’s chassidim in the city.

While the Rebbe was attending the celebration, one of his sons told him about the well-known segulah of Rav Yitzchak Abuchatzira involving arak. According to the tradition, bottles of arak are purchased and notes describing the desired salvation are attached to them. If the person is answered, the bottles are opened the following year on the yahrtzeit. The Rebbe listened attentively and immediately instructed his grandson to go out and purchase four bottles of arak so the segulah could be carried out on the spot.

When the bottles were brought, the Rebbe gave precise instructions: On three of the bottles, the names of three of his grandchildren were to be written. These were the children of his daughter, Manche, who lives in the United States: a 32-year-old grandson and two daughters close to age 30. All three had been delayed in shidduchim for many years, and the request was clear and focused: that they should soon find their zivugim.

But the story did not end there. One bottle remained unassigned. For the fourth bottle, the Rebbe himself took a slip of paper and wrote something in his own hand—something no one else saw and no one knows. He attached the note to the bottle, and the secret remained sealed. The bottles were then set aside, as the ancient segulah prescribes, awaiting the salvation that would come over the course of the year.

Now, exactly one year later, the magnitude of the miracle has become clear. The Rebbe fulfilled the arak segulah—and was answered. In what chassidim describe as a Heavenly convergence, all three of the Rebbe’s grandchildren became engaged over the past year. Two have already married, and the third wedding will take place soon. All that remains is to wonder what was written on the secret note attached to the fourth bottle…

This evening, many across the Jewish world are holding yahrtzeit seudos in memory of Rav Yitzchak ben Rav Yaakov Abuchatzira. Many, too, are dedicating bottles of arak with their hopes attached, to be opened at next year’s yahrtzeit.

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge rejects Minnesota’s request to block the ICE-led Operation Metro Surge.

A Hamas tunnel stretching hundreds of meters beneath southern Gaza’s Khan Younis has been destroyed by Israeli combat engineers, the military said. The IDF reported the tunnel contained three rooms used by terrorists and was stocked with weapons, including 45 grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, RPGs and launchers, explosive devices, and other military equipment. The tunnel, discovered […]

Border czar Tom Homan says 145,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been rescued from Biden-era neglect.

Iranian lawmakers chant “Death to America, Death to Israel” in military uniform, after President Trump said earlier that Iran is negotiating with the United States.

President Donald Trump said the United States was beginning to talk with Cuban leaders as his administration puts greater pressure on the communist-run island and cuts off key oil supplies. He made the comment to reporters on Saturday night as he was flying to Florida. It comes in the wake of his moves in recent […]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing new legislation that would limit cooperation between local law enforcement and US immigration officials, casting the measure as a message to the Trump administration in the wake of violent incidents involving federal agents in other parts of the country.

The new bills would overturn prior state provisions that enabled federal agencies to deputize local police resources for operations involving immigration operations. The proposal would also bar municipal jails from being used for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.

“We’re sending a strong message to ICE,” Hochul said in a press conference Friday alongside New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and several district attorneys from around the state. The governor said the goal is to “fortify ourselves” as New York prepares for a potential increase in federal immigration activity in the state.

“You will not weaponize local police officers against their own communities in the state of New York,” she said. “You will not use our police tech to track people who have done nothing wrong. You will not throw innocent people into our jails and you will do everything only with a judicial order.”

Hochul emphasized that New York would continue cooperating with federal authorities on cases involving violent crimes. The legislation would allow information-sharing and custody transfers when a judge issues a warrant or when a person has been convicted of serious violent offenses.

President Donald Trump said this week that New York and other Democratic-led cities were “heading in the wrong direction.”

Hochul’s proposal comes less than a week after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was protesting their operations in Minneapolis. Pretti was the second US citizen killed by federal agents in Minnesota, following the shooting death of Renee Good earlier in January.

The killings set off nationwide protests against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. On Friday, demonstrators have called for a nationwide strike, asking Americans to skip school and work and avoid spending at businesses.

In New York, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican expected to challenge Hochul in this year’s gubernatorial race, assailed her plan to bar local cooperation with ICE and said it would endanger public safety.

“These critical agreements have long helped remove violent offenders — including murderers, … traffickers, gang members, and other dangerous criminals — from our streets, and assisted police in keeping them in custody when Hochul’s bail law would otherwise force their release,” Blakeman said in a statement. “Now, local law enforcement’s hands are tied, and these criminals will be released back into our communities.”

But Democrats are pushing measures to curtail the White House efforts, arguing the efforts are necessary to protect the public from agents that they say have engaged in illegal actions toward civilians.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced Wednesday that the state was setting up a portal for residents to upload cell phone video of ICE agents in the streets.

“Get your phone out, we want to know,” she said in an appearance on the late-night television program The Daily Show. “They have not been forthcoming. They will not tell us who they are.”

In New York, Hochul pledged to work with state lawmakers to pass her legislation “as quickly as possible” even as the state maintains a policy of cooperating with the federal government to apprehend violent criminals.

“Public safety must be pursued lawfully, transparently and with humanity,” Hochul said. “These very principles have been abandoned by our federal government and our immigration officers.”

{Matzav.com}

A yeshivah bochur from Ohel Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem was arrested on Sunday afternoon in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem, Kikar H’Shabbat reported. The arrest took place near the bochur’s home, in the heart of the Chareidi neighborhood in Jerusalem. A police vehicle stopped near the bochur’s house while he was outside after coming home […]

The Lelover Rebbe, Harav Yissachar Dov Biderman zt”l, was niftar suddenly on Sunday at the age of 84. Earlier on Sunday, he was being toivel in the private mikveh at the Lelov Beis Medrash on Rechov Tzefania in Yerushalayim when he collapsed. Emergency personnel who arrived at the scene carried out prolonged resuscitation efforts, but […]

Border Czar Tom Homan dismissed reports suggesting that the Trump administration is easing up on deportations of illegal aliens, calling those claims “untrue.”

Speaking in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Homan said that since President Trump entered office, immigration authorities have carried out “over 700,000 deportations between Border Patrol and ICE.” He stressed that enforcement efforts are being directed first toward “the arrests of criminals and public safety threats.”

“The President wants to de-escalate the situation and to set the record straight — because my staff said they’ve seen a lot of people saying President Trump’s backing off on his promise of mass deportation,” Homan said. “That’s just untrue. My message up there was the same message it’s been since January 20, when President Trump took the Oval Office.”

Homan reiterated that large-scale deportations remain a goal, while emphasizing the administration’s focus. “We’re going to have a mass deportation, but we’re going to prioritize the arrests of criminals and public safety threats,” he said. “I said from day one, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table. I looked at the numbers just about 15 minutes ago, Sean. President Trump’s been in office just over a year. We got over 700,000 deportations between Border Patrol and ICE.”

The remarks followed a fatal shooting involving a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis last weekend that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead, after which President Trump said he would dispatch Homan to Minnesota.

Pretti’s death came weeks after another fatal incident, in which Renee Good was shot by an ICE agent. Authorities alleged that Good had attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon against ICE officers who were trying to free their vehicle from snow.

In explaining his decision, Trump said that although Homan “has not been involved in that area,” he was familiar with and respected “many of the people there.”

“Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump clarified in a post on Truth Social.

On Tuesday, Homan said he met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and “top law enforcement officials to discuss the issues on the ground in Minnesota.”

“We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets,” Homan added.

Homan’s comments came after Trump said in a Fox News interview that his administration would “de-escalate” in Minnesota, according to BBC News.

{Matzav.com}

The next round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday. Envoys from Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. had been expected to meet that day in Abu Dhabi, to continue negotiations aimed at ending Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. “We have just had a […]

In an article published in Yisrael Hayom, journalist Amit Segal recounted the responses of US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to the skeptical looks around them in the Prime Minister’s Office during discussions on the “disarmament of Hamas.” The looks on the Israelis’ faces conveyed, “How naïve to think Hamas would ever disarm on its […]