The state of Maryland is suing to stop the Department of Homeland Security from turning a warehouse into an immigration detention facility.
DHS paid more than $100 million for a commercial warehouse near the town of Williamsport, Maryland, in January as part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to dramatically expand its detention capacity. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could potentially use as many as two dozen such sites across the country as “mega centers” for detaining immigrants.
According to a lawsuit filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the Williamsport facility is to be outfitted with 1,500 beds.
“Defendants have run roughshod over federal law and trampled on the state’s interests,” in their pursuit of the project, Brown wrote.
A DHS spokesperson said the facilities would be “very well-structured” and built to the agency’s detention standards.
“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the spokesperson said. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the US and is actively working to expand detention space.”
Brown accused the government of violating federal law by failing to prepare an environmental impact statement for the project, and for not considering alternatives. Construction could negatively impact local waterways and wildlife, Brown said, and the facility could overwhelm sewer lines once fully operational.
The site could also lead to traffic congestion, increased burdens on law enforcement and emergency services, Brown said. The attorney general also pointed to the risk of disease outbreaks and sanitation concerns based on reported conditions in other ICE facilities.
Maryland is asking a federal judge to vacate the purchase of the warehouse and declare the agencies’ actions unlawful. Brown seeks a court order halting any construction or conversion of the facility already taking place.
Lawmakers from Arizona are pushing back on similar plans for an ICE warehouse conversion west of Phoenix. In a post on the social media platform X, Representative Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said the acquisition of the building in Surprise, Arizona, did not go through the normal procurement process involving the Government Services Administration.
“They didn’t tell anyone they were doing this,” Stanton said, “and they paid cash money for this facility.”
(c) 2026, Bloomberg
A young child in Lakewood, NJ was rescued alive yesterday after being completely buried under heavy snow when a bulldozer clearing the streets inadvertently pushed large piles of snow on top of a snow igloo in which he was playing.
The frightening incident unfolded during snow removal operations following one of the region’s most intense winter storms. The child had been inside a snow structure he had built when a large bulldozer operator, unable to see the igloo, pushed a massive accumulation of snow directly over it. Within moments, the child was entirely covered.
Family members soon realized the boy was missing, triggering an immediate and frantic search. Relatives and neighbors began combing the area, fearing the worst as precious minutes ticked by.
For two hours and forty-five agonizing minutes, the search continued as rescuers worked desperately to locate him beneath the deep snow. The urgency intensified as the realization set in that he may have been trapped without air under the heavy accumulation.
Finally, after nearly three hours, the child was located and pulled from beneath the snow. In what family members described as nothing short of a neis, he was found alive and rescued.
“It’s a neis,” a Chaveirim members told Matzav.com. “Nothing short of it.”
Emergency responders evaluated the child at the scene.
The incident left the family and local residents shaken but deeply grateful, as they reflected on what could have ended in tragedy.
{Matzav.com}
New York City will not dismantle homeless encampments during one of the most severe snowstorms in its history, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday, even as many people living on the streets declined repeated offers of shelter.
The powerful winter system, known as Winter Storm Hernando, brought a fresh challenge for Mamdani’s administration. His handling of a major January storm drew sharp criticism after it spiraled into a deadly crisis during his opening weeks in office.
“The blizzard is a time when our focus should be not on physical infrastructure, but on people and on getting them indoors,” Mamdani argued during a news conference over Winter Storm Hernando.
The earlier storm resulted in 19 deaths across the city, many linked to hypothermia, fueling accusations that City Hall had failed to move vulnerable residents into safe housing quickly enough.
Just days ago, Mamdani had shifted course on his prior stance against dismantling homeless encampments, announcing that the city would resume clearances but provide individuals with seven days’ notice before any action was taken.
During the current storm, outreach teams helped 79 people enter shelters while snowfall totals approached two feet, according to the mayor. He emphasized that none of those placements were forced.
Still, some individuals remained outside despite the dangerous conditions. On the Manhattan Bridge pedestrian walkway, several tents were buried in snow on the Manhattan side as FDNY personnel, NYPD officers, and a private ambulance crew checked on those inside.
“I’m alright,” one man said, shaking his head as responders peeled back the tarps.
An FDNY EMT said the man had rejected appeals made in both English and Spanish.
“We can’t remove them. People have the right to be homeless in New York City,” the EMT said.
Two NYPD officers remained nearby while outreach workers attempted to persuade those sheltering in tents to relocate, but the man was not taken from the scene.
Police officials said officers made contact with 130 homeless individuals during the storm, and 127 declined offers to enter shelters. Only two agreed to accept city assistance.
Although outreach staff did not compel anyone to leave the streets, police did carry out one involuntary removal after determining the person posed a danger to themselves, according to a department spokesperson.
Under city policy, officers may remove someone against their will if they are considered a threat to themselves or others, though emergency medical technicians lack authority to enforce such removals.
These involuntary transports are distinct from broader encampment clearances, commonly referred to as “homeless sweeps.”
Both policies were heavily debated during January’s storm, when Mamdani faced intense backlash over the 19 outdoor deaths while maintaining that involuntary removals should remain a measure of last resort.
City officials said outreach teams accompanied by licensed clinicians conducted 33 involuntary removals between Jan. 19 and Feb. 10, encompassing the prior storm and the following cold spell.
During that same period, NYPD officers carried out 52 removals, according to a police spokesperson.
As of Monday, the mayor said there had been no confirmed fatalities connected to the latest blizzard.
“We are not aware of any deaths related to this blizzard on our city streets or in public areas,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
The Washington Post reports that the United States has amassed an unprecedented concentration of military power in the Middle East, including roughly one-third of its active naval fleet, a deployment that would allow Washington to carry out anything from limited, targeted strikes to a wide-ranging bombing campaign against Iran.
The report comes amid recent claims that elements within the U.S. military establishment oppose a potential strike on Iran being considered by President Donald Trump. According to the Post’s counter-report, however, the scale and scope of the current buildup signal that the administration now has a full spectrum of operational options at its disposal.
According to the report, the U.S. military has assembled forces sufficient to sustain either a prolonged military campaign or a series of focused, limited strikes. Contrary to earlier reports suggesting a short, five-day intensive assault, the Post indicated that the American forces currently positioned in the region could support a broader and more significant operation.
Dana Stroul, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, told the newspaper that the massive concentration of forces gives President Trump the ability to implement virtually any operational decision, ranging from limited missions to an extensive kinetic campaign.
Defense analysts cited in the report assessed that the military assets now in place point to preparations for a multi-day air operation, though not one that would include a ground invasion.
The scale of the U.S. military presence in the region is considered one of the largest in more than two decades, rivaling levels seen in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003.
The buildup follows the conclusion of a second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran on February 17 that ended without a breakthrough, as well as President Trump’s warnings that Iran could face military action if no agreement is reached to curb its nuclear ambitions.
While Tehran has maintained that an agreement remains achievable but requires additional time, Washington has accelerated its force deployments beyond the reinforcements observed prior to American strikes last June.
Flight tracking data and satellite imagery cited in the report show that more than 150 aircraft have been transferred to bases in the Middle East and Europe since the collapse of negotiations.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrived Monday off the coast of Crete carrying dozens of aircraft, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently stationed off the coast of Oman.
The arrival of the Ford underscores that approximately one-third of the United States’ active naval vessels are now concentrated in the Middle East region.
Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base has become a central hub for U.S. forces. Satellite images from Friday reportedly showed more than 60 aircraft stationed there, including F-35 fighter jets used to neutralize air defense systems.
At the same time, more than half of the recently deployed aircraft have landed at bases in Europe. Experts cited in the report explained that positioning aircraft in Europe places them outside the range of Iranian missile systems, reducing their vulnerability while preserving the ability to rapidly move personnel and equipment as needed.
The reinforcements also include the deployment of one-third of the U.S. fleet of E-3G Sentry airborne early warning aircraft, as well as F-22 fighter jets stationed in the United Kingdom and F-16 aircraft positioned in Portugal.
U.S. defense officials confirmed the large-scale deployment but declined to provide specific operational details for security reasons. Military analysts noted that the emerging strategy appears designed to enable swift, high-intensity action while minimizing the risks of severe retaliatory strikes.
{Matzav.com}
At the conclusion of Monday’s shiur kloli at Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Rosh Yeshiva Rav Dovid Levy addressed thousands of talmidim, calling on them to reinforce the well-established Purim learning sedarim observed in the yeshiva each year.
The shiur klali focused on a sugya in the second perek of Maseches Bava Basra, a weighty discussion involving the laws of tumah and taharah. During the shiur, Rav Levy cited a foundational teaching from his rebbi, Harav Shmuel Rozovsky zt”l, regarding the parameters of tumah in cases involving less than the minimum shiur.
Following the shiur, the Rosh Yeshiva delivered special remarks in anticipation of Purim. Continuing the longstanding tradition instituted at Ponovezh by Rosh Yeshiva Harav Gershon Edelstein zt”l, the yeshiva prepares unique learning frameworks for both the night of Purim—immediately after the reading of the Megillah—and for Purim day itself.
As part of these sedarim, thousands of bochurim sit and learn Torah for extended, uninterrupted hours, filling every available seat throughout the batei medrash and the various wings of the yeshiva. The sight, observers say, is awe-inspiring, with no empty spaces in the botei medrash, reminiscent of the atmosphere on the night of Shavuos. The sedarim are organized by Rav Shimon Margulies, a close associate of the Rosh Yeshiva, and conclude with a large public tefillah led by the yeshiva’s nosi, Rav Eliezer Kahaneman, together with the entire student body.
In his remarks, Rav Levy referenced the Rambam’s teaching that although all the moadim will be nullified in the future era of Moshiach, the days of Purim and Megillas Esther will never be annulled. From this, he said, it is evident that Purim is an exceptionally elevated time, and it would be a loss to squander it on trivial matters such as excessive drinking and the like. Instead, he urged the bochurim to devote the day to vigorous and enthusiastic Torah study, as is customary in the yeshiva, where extended sedarim known as “Kimu V’Kiblu” are held. Through these sessions, he explained, the talmidim symbolically accept the Torah anew each year with love and willingness.
The Rosh Yeshiva further emphasized that especially in these times—when “our enemies have raised their heads” and seek to uproot Torah from Klal Yisrael and restrict the yeshiva world—it is incumbent upon the bochurim to publicly demonstrate their unbreakable bond with Torah. That connection, he said, must remain firm without interruption—even on Purim itself.
Concluding his address, Rav Levy expressed hope that from Ponovezh, the light of Torah on Purim would radiate throughout the entire yeshiva world, and that in turn the influence would return to Ponovezh. Just as waves travel from place to place, he said, so too should the voice of Torah spread from one makom Torah to another, strengthening dedication and diligence in Torah study during these especially auspicious days of Purim.
{Matzav.com}
