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An “abhorrent” violation of Latin American sovereignty. An attack committed by “enslavers.” A “spectacle of death” comparable to Nazi Germany’s 1937 carpet bombing of Guernica, Spain. There is perhaps no world leader criticizing the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela as strongly as left-wing President Gustavo Petro of neighboring Colombia. While other officials tread carefully, Petro has seized on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan […]

U.S. Coast Guard teams carried out near-simultaneous predawn boardings of two suspected “ghost fleet” tankers in international waters, a move the Department of Homeland Security says sends a warning to criminal networks worldwide.

In a social media post Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the actions underscore heightened enforcement at sea. “are on notice,” she wrote, referring to criminals globally, after the operations targeted “two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships.”

The vessels identified were the Motor Tanker Bella I and the Motor Tanker Sophia. Noem said both ships had ties to Venezuela, noting that they “were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it,” and that one was intercepted “in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean.”

The two seizures occurred just hours apart and followed extensive coordination across the federal government. Noem credited the outcome to leadership at the top, calling the actions the product of “President [Donald] Trump’s bold and visionary leadership,” with Coast Guard units working alongside the Justice Department and State Department during the back-to-back interdictions.

Noem emphasized that the operation was intended to send a clear message. “You can run, but you can’t hide,” she wrote. “We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period.”

According to Noem, one of the tankers — the Bella I — had actively tried to evade U.S. authorities over several weeks. She said the ship switched its flag and even repainted its name on the hull while under pursuit, describing the effort as “in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice.”

The pursuit was carried out by the crew of the USCGC Munro, which tracked the vessel across vast stretches of ocean and through severe weather before executing the boarding. “The heroic crew … pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms,” Noem wrote, citing their “determination and patriotism.”

She added that the service members involved merited public appreciation. “These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty,” she said.

U.S. European Command later confirmed that the Munro followed the Bella I — which had been renamed the Marinera — prior to the seizure, saying the boarding was conducted “pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.”

Noem said the takedown of the two tankers was meant to go beyond routine maritime enforcement, framing it as a direct blow to international networks that finance narco-terrorism and corruption.

The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose what cargo, if any, was discovered on the ships, nor did it say whether arrests resulted from the boardings.

The maritime actions followed closely on the heels of another high-profile operation, coming just days after U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife during a nighttime raid in Caracas.

Summing up the significance of the interdictions, Noem wrote, “This is our country’s greatest fighting force at their best.” She added, “This is America first at sea.”

{Matzav.com}

[Videos below.] Federal immigration agents shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis after authorities say she tried to ram officers with her car during a confrontation tied to immigration enforcement activity, an incident ICE labeled an act of domestic terrorism.

According to officials, the shooting occurred Wednesday morning at the intersection of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The City of Minneapolis confirmed the location and timing in a post on X, noting reports of gunfire in the area.

The Department of Homeland Security described a rapidly escalating situation that unfolded while ICE officers were carrying out what it called targeted operations in the city. DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the encounter turned violent when protesters interfered with officers on the scene.

“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

She added that officers responded after perceiving an immediate threat.

“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.”

Video footage from the scene captured a heavy law enforcement presence and a large crowd gathered behind yellow police tape. Protesters could be heard chanting anti-ICE slogans, with some throwing snowballs toward officers stationed in the street.

Additional video livestreamed by Fox 9 showed federal agents standing shoulder to shoulder as demonstrators filmed them at close range, occasionally shouting insults. The footage also appeared to show the aftermath of a collision involving three vehicles — a plum-colored SUV, a white sedan, and a dark-red sports-style car.

Images from the scene showed extensive damage to the front end of the white sedan as police officers and FBI agents surrounded the vehicle. Other photographs taken by journalists depicted protesters winding up to hurl snowballs at officers, while another image showed a police officer deploying pepper spray against a small group of demonstrators who had linked arms to block the roadway.

The confrontation took place amid what authorities describe as the largest deployment of federal immigration enforcement personnel to Minneapolis since the start of the second Trump administration.

Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez wrote on the social media platform Bluesky that U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino responded to the scene following the shooting.

{Matzav.com}

A sweeping overhaul of federal nutrition advice was announced Wednesday as the Trump administration rolled out updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans that dramatically reorient the government’s approach to food, elevating protein and saturated fats while urging Americans to cut back on sugar and ultra-processed products.

At a White House briefing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new framework is designed to reverse soaring rates of chronic disease and reduce long-term medical spending by steering Americans toward whole, nutrient-dense foods.

“Today our government declares war on added sugar. Highly processed food loaded with additives — added sugar and excess salt — damage health and should be avoided,” Kennedy said.
“Diets rich in vegetables and fruits reduce disease risk more effectively than many drugs. Whole grains outperform refined carbohydrates,” he added.

Under the revised guidance, meals built around high-quality protein and healthy fats take center stage. Poultry, red meat, beans, eggs, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich whole grains are encouraged, while white bread, crackers, sugar-sweetened beverages, packaged snacks, cookies, and fast food are discouraged.

Kennedy said the updated recommendations reflect a fundamental shift away from decades of advice shaped by outside interests. “The hard truth is our government has been lying to us to protect corporate profit-taking, telling us that these food-like substances were beneficial to public health,” he said.
“Today the lies stop. The new guidelines recognize that whole, nutrient-dense food is the most effective path to better health and lower healthcare costs. Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongfully discouraged in prior dietary guidelines.”

The new approach, which Kennedy said will “revolutionize our nation’s food culture,” directly affects meals served across a wide range of federally supported institutions, including public schools, military bases, prisons, and other government facilities that together serve millions of people each day.

“These guidelines replace corporate-driven assumptions [and] will revolutionize our nation’s food culture and make America healthy again,” Kennedy said.

A central objective of what officials described as a “whole food framework” is lowering national healthcare expenditures. According to a White House fact sheet, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related chronic illnesses are costing taxpayers an estimated $600 billion annually.

Administration officials noted that at least 78% of participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also enrolled in Medicaid. While the new guidelines do not directly change SNAP — which is governed by Congress and serves more than 40 million Americans — officials said the standards will serve as the benchmark for more than 100 government feeding programs across over 10 federal agencies.

“We have five times higher obesity rates than any other country in the developed world,” one official said. “This is because of our diet.”

Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which gained momentum during his 2024 presidential campaign before he joined the Trump administration, has emphasized protein-heavy eating patterns. He has frequently highlighted the role of diet in preventing disease since taking office.

During a March 2025 trip to West Virginia, Kennedy publicly leaned into that message while standing alongside Gov. Patrick Morrisey. “The first time I saw him, I said, ‘You look like you ate Governor Morrisey,’” Kennedy joked. “I am going to put him on a really rigorous regimen, and we’re gonna put him on a carnivore diet.”

Medical leaders welcomed the shift. Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, praised the administration’s move, saying the organization is “focused on helping physicians translate this science into everyday care and helping patients improve their overall health.”

“The American Medical Association applauds the Administration’s new Dietary Guidelines for spotlighting the highly processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and excess sodium that fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic illnesses,” Mukkamala said. “The Guidelines affirm that food is medicine and offer clear direction patients and physicians can use to improve health.”

Mukkamala added that the AMA will “work with Congress to enact meaningful, lasting nutrition change that can improve lives,” while expanding education for doctors and medical students and convening discussions to “make it easier for physicians to talk to patients about the role of food in preventing, and even treating, chronic disease.”

The latest guidelines also mark a symbolic departure from earlier federal nutrition models. In 2011, the Department of Agriculture replaced the traditional food pyramid with the MyPlate system under then-first lady Michelle Obama and then-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a change that began reducing the emphasis on carbohydrates.

In its fact sheet, the Trump White House criticized the Biden administration for what it described as a retreat from science-based nutrition policy, arguing that efforts to address chronic disease were diluted by placing equity considerations at the center of dietary guidance.

“We reject this logic: a common-sense, science-driven document is essential to begin a conversation about how our culture and food procurement programs must change to enable Americans to access affordable, healthy, real food,” the document stated.

“The Trump administration welcomes all stakeholders to be part of this conversation in the coming year.”

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s army chief threatened preemptive military action Wednesday over the “rhetoric” targeting the Islamic Republic, likely referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami come as Iran tries to respond to what it sees as a […]

ICE says that during a targeted operation in Minneapolis today, rioters blocked officers, and one woman allegedly tried to run them over with her vehicle. An ICE officer then fired in self-defense, killing the driver. Several ICE officers were injured but are expected to fully recover.

Americans should eat more whole foods and protein, fewer highly processed foods and less added sugar, according to the latest edition of federal nutrition advice released Wednesday by the Trump administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which offer updated recommendations for a healthy diet and provide […]

Otzma Yehudit MK Amichai Eliyahu published a post on Facebook in response to former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, who claimed in a speech at an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv on Motzei Shabbos that “Israel is no longer a liberal democracy.” Eliyahu wrote, “The truth is, Mr. Barak, you are absolutely right. Israel indeed […]

An urgent and extraordinary gathering of Gedolei Yisroel was convened on Sunday at the initiative of the Rosh Yeshiva of South Fallsburg, Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, to confront what was described as a growing and existential spiritual danger posed by the unchecked use of open artificial intelligence technologies. The meeting took place at the Ateres […]

An anti-Zionist activist group that drew widespread condemnation after staging a hostile protest outside a Manhattan shul in November is planning two new demonstrations this week, setting up an early test for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his fledgling administration. The group, Pal-Awda, announced that it will protest two Israel-related events in the […]

A federal officer shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist when she allegedly tried to run over law enforcement officers during an immigration crackdown in the city, authorities said Wednesday. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot the woman in her vehicle in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has launched an effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps in hopes of securing additional Republican House seats. DeSantis said he will convene a Special Session of the state Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure the maps reflect Florida’s population “fairly and constitutionally.” The Special Session will take place after the […]

Venezuela’s opposition supporters have long hoped for the day when Nicolás Maduro is no longer in power — a dream that was fulfilled when the U.S. military whisked the authoritarian leader away. But while Maduro is in jail in New York on drug trafficking charges, the leaders of his repressive administration remain in charge. The nation’s opposition […]

TRUMP: For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of […]

Thousands gathered today at the levayah of Yosef Eisental z”l, 14, after he was tragically killed during a protest against Israel’s draft law in Yerushalayim, when he was struck by a bus.

The levayah departed from the courtyard of Ohel Torah Yeshiva in the Ramot neighborhood, where Yosef learned. Among those who delivered hespeidim were roshei yeshiva and family members, who spoke of a boy whose brief life left a deep imprint on all who knew him.

But it was the words of Yosef’s father, Rabbi Shmuel Eisenthal, that pierced the hearts of the crowd and left scarcely a dry eye.

“Hashem gave and Hashem has taken, may the Name of Hashem be blessed from now and forever,” the grieving father began. “Yossi—our Yossi—was a precious son to me, a child of delight. A delight in Torah, a delight in his character, a delight in his warm countenance, in a smile that never faded.”

Rabbi Eisenthal shared moments from Yosef’s childhood that revealed his son’s extraordinary sensitivity and generosity. At just six years old, he recalled, Yosef once went out with his mother holding 20 shekels meant for treats. On the way, he noticed a poor man asking for charity. “He couldn’t bear it,” his father said. “He told his mother, ‘I want to give all the money to tzedakah.’”

He described how Yosef would return from special learning programs and distribute every candy he received to his family without keeping any for himself. When he began learning Gemara, his father said, Yosef’s joy in understanding was unmistakable. “What a pleasure it was to learn with you,” he said. “You wouldn’t give up until everything was clear.”

Rabbi Eisenthal spoke of winter Friday nights when Yosef, still new to the demanding schedule of yeshiva learning, would insist on cutting the family meal short so he could return to the beis medrash. “If the meal wasn’t finished, you would bentch and get up to learn,” he said.

In recent months, Yosef had entered yeshiva as a full-fledged bochur and was filled with happiness at the progress he was making. He would come home, his father recounted, and if a sugya was unclear, he would ask, “Abba, do you want to learn?” relishing the moment when everything finally made sense.

During Chanukah, Yosef shared that he had taken upon himself to complete Maseches Bava Basra ten times. When his father asked how that was possible, Yosef replied simply, “It’s not a problem,” and asked for a Gemara he could take with him on the road. “You didn’t yet merit to finish Bava Basra in this world,” Rabbi Eisenthal said softly, “but in the World of Truth you will have great rabbanim. How you worked, how you yearned to know and to learn.”

He spoke of how beloved Yosef was—by his sisters, his mother, his family, and his friends—how they all waited eagerly for the “free Shabbos” when he was meant to come home this week. “It’s so hard to speak of you in the past tense,” he said. “In truth, we can speak of you in the present. Your body is no longer here, but your neshamah will be with us every day, every hour, showing us what it means to love Torah and to love another Jew.”

Rabbi Eisenthal said, “The Ribbono Shel Olam decreed this decree. Everyone feels this was a communal korban. So many tears have been shed by Klal Yisrael. But we must be careful not to ask ‘why.’ We do not ask why. It is forbidden to ask why. We say thank You. Thank You for the 14 years You entrusted us with such a neshamah. We return to You a pure neshamah, one who left this world in the midst of a mitzvah.”

He told the crowd that while no words can truly comfort bereaved parents, his consolation would be if each person present—family members, yeshiva students, neighbors—would take upon themselves a small, realistic commitment. “Not something big,” he emphasized, “but something small that can endure. Then we will know this was truly a perfect offering.”

In the most wrenching moments of the hesped, Rabbi Eisenthal turned directly to his son. “Yossi, our Yossi, you are ascending before the Kisei Hakavod. You are closer than anyone. Tear open the gates of Heaven. Be a melitz yosher for me, that Hashem give me the strength to withstand this test. Pray for your mother, who invested everything in you, physically and spiritually, from the day you were born. Be an advocate for your sisters, who loved and cherished you so deeply.”

He continued, “Be an advocate for little Dovid, whom you were so happy was born, and whom we hoped you would be a model for. I promise you—we will teach him who you were and what you were. Tear open the gates of Heaven for the entire family, for your grandparents, for all the בני הישיבה, for all of Klal Yisrael.”

His voice broke as he concluded with a plea that echoed through the crowd: “Be a meilitz yosher for the world of yeshivos, that no one disturb it in its Torah learning. How much this pained you in recent months—how it hurt you to see Jewish bochurim thrown into prison. May Hashem help that ‘death be swallowed forever, and Hashem wipe away tears from every face.’ Yossi—we will merit to see you again soon, at the resurrection of the dead.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump orders all American flags throughout the United States lowered to half mast until this evening in honor of the late congressman Doug LaMalfa.

Sec. Rubio on Venezuelan oil: “They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can’t move it unless we allow it to move because we have sanctions, because we’re enforcing those sanctions. This is tremendous leverage. We are exercising it in a positive way.”

Press Sec. on Greenland: “The President has been very open and clear… that he views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the arctic region—and so that’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.”

The Yerushalayim Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday extended by nine days the detention of the bus driver suspected of running over and killing yeshiva bochur Yosef Eisental z”l, during last night’s protest in the capital.

During the remand hearing, Judge Sharon Lary-Babli reviewed police video footage documenting the moments leading up to the fatal incident. When the driver’s attorney argued that his client did not notice the protesters ahead of him or felt endangered and fled the scene out of fear, the judge sharply rejected the claim.

“Tell me he didn’t see them. He didn’t see them? Twenty children are standing right in front of him,” the judge said from the bench.

Describing what is visible in the footage, Judge Lary-Babli said that several youths climbed onto the bus, kicked the protective barrier, and that one of them spat at the driver. In response, she said, the driver accelerated sharply. “At that stage, the driver begins driving at a very high speed as the youth falls from the bus, while dozens of young people standing in front of the bus are pushed aside by it,” she stated.

“I do not believe that driving rapidly into a crowd is the correct option,” the judge added. “The victim is the deceased, not the driver.”

A police representative at the hearing highlighted the severity of the incident, noting that investigators are carrying out approximately 39 additional investigative actions. “The very high level of dangerousness posed by the suspect is evident given the offense and the brazenness of charging toward a crowd of teenagers,” she told the court. While police have, at this stage, removed the suspicion of murder, they emphasized that suspicion of another serious offense has been strengthened.

Yerushalayim District Police Commander Superintendent Avshalom Peled also commented on the incident, saying the intersection where the tragedy occurred remained open to traffic as a designated “fabric-of-life” route. He noted that the driver’s claim of distress is being examined, but stressed that it “does not diminish the severity of the incident.”

{Matzav.com}

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s report published on Tuesday exposed alarming government failures during emergencies, as evident in the war following the October 7 massacre. Audits across dozens of local authorities and ministries revealed systemic breakdowns at every level. Critical systems—from health and security to education and mental health—failed to function properly and left citizens without […]