Feed aggregator

President Trump on Hamas killing Gazans: “I’m looking at what’s happening… we have a commitment from them, and I assume they’re going to honor that commitment… if they behave, good. If they don’t behave, we’ll take care of it.”

NY AG Letitia James: “I want everyone to know I am totally innocent.”

A federal grand jury issued an indictment Thursday against John Bolton, who once served as President Trump’s national security adviser, accusing him of improperly handling classified material by sending highly sensitive government documents using his personal AOL email account.

According to the indictment, Bolton knowingly transmitted information pertaining to crucial foreign policy issues while corresponding with individuals outside the administration after he left his White House position.

Bolton, who is 76 years old, held the role of national security adviser under President Trump from April 2018 until September 2019, when he was dismissed from the post.

If found guilty, Bolton could be sentenced to as much as ten years in prison for each charge tied to the unauthorized sharing of classified information.

{Matzav.com}

In a stern message posted on Truth Social, President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Hamas, saying: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.” The post capped a swift 48-hour flip in the president’s stance after he initially appeared to endorse — albeit temporarily — Hamas’s summary executions of rival gang members and alleged collaborators. On Tuesday Trump said he had given Hamas “approval for a period of time” to carry out those actions, claiming the group was targeting some “very bad gangs.” By Wednesday, however, U.S. military leadership in the region publicly urged Hamas to halt attacks on “innocent Palestinian civilians.” At the White House, the president repeated his hardline posture while addressing the ongoing delays in returning the bodies of hostages. “It’s a tough neighborhood, we know that. We have a commitment from them, and I assume they’re going to honor that commitment. I hope they do, and I understand they brought back some additional bodies today,” Trump told reporters. He continued, warning that U.S. patience would not be indefinite: “It’s a tough situation. They brought back bodies today, as you probably know. But they also said they’re going to behave. We’re going to find out if they behave. If they behave, good. If they don’t behave, we’ll take care of it.” The president’s comments signal renewed pressure on Hamas as talks and returns of remains remain stalled.

Famed Ba’al Chessed Shai Graucher has begun visiting the released hostages. Segev Kalfon told Graucher that he asked his captors to watch the release of Ohad Ben Ami. The captors allowed him to watch it. “I was happy for him,” Kalfon said. “I imagined how it would feel when it happened to me.” He added: “I had a dream that I would stand on the stage, surrounded by Hamas terrorists and shout, ‘Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.’” Kalfon cried tears of emotion as Graucher presented him with a gift. He told Graucher that he felt emunah in Gaza. “In the darkest place, I succeeded in seeing the light.” He added that he observed Yom Kippur while in captivity. “Emunah is the basis,” he said. When Kalfon answered what message he wants to convey to the public, he responded, “Emunah, emunah, emunah—strengthen your emunah. And Am Yisrael should unite—that’s the most important thing.” Segev’s father told i24News that Segev experienced extreme starvation, to the extent of dreaming about food at night. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Rav Shmuel Eliyahu on Thursday afternoon responded to the terrorists who were freed as part of the recent hostage deal, urging Israeli citizens to take lethal action if they encounter them.

In a video distributed at the rov’s instruction, Rav Eliyahu addressed his followers directly and said: “If you’re a civilian, a soldier, a police officer, a Shin Bet agent or a Mossad operative — it doesn’t matter what you are.” He continued: “If you see them (the terrorists) and you have the smallest legal pretext in the world, finish them — two magazines, not one. You save lives that way,” the rov stressed.

{Matzav.com}

Tens of thousands of yeshiva bachurim gathered at the Amudei Olam event in Yerushalayim are now listening to a speech HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch.

POTUS: “We’re also taking historic steps to vasty expand access to insurance coverage for fertility care, including IVF… Effective immediately, for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility.”

POTUS: “EMD Serono has agreed that all future drugs… that it develops and sells in the United States will be offset at Most Favored Nation prices… and they’ll bring a significant portion of their drug manufacturing back to the United States.”

NYC mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa face off Thursday in their first debate of the general election.

WATCH:

              At Schneider Children’s Hospital in Israel, baby Yisrael Meir, just six months old, is in a battle for his life. He was diagnosed shortly after birth with a malignant head tumor, a devastating reality for any family.   Despite the severity, doctors are hopeful. With access to an advanced, specialized treatment, his chances for full recovery are strong — but the treatment comes at a tremendous financial cost.   His devoted parents, Yitzhak and Hadasa, began the treatment with faith and determination. But now, that life-saving process has been halted — not due to medical failure, but simply because they can no longer afford it.   “Every day matters,” they say. “We’re doing everything we can — but we can’t do it alone.”   Now, they turn to the Jewish community for support.     Your help could mean the difference between life and loss.   Click here to help save Yisrael Meir >>   https://api.jewishadgroup.com/vyJBEv

Alvin Holsey, the military commander responsible for the Pentagon’s intensified strikes on Caribbean boats accused by the Trump administration of drug smuggling, is stepping down, two U.S. officials told the New York Times.

WATCH: Italian driver Fabio Barone set a new record by reaching 101.9 mph (164 km/h) in a Ferrari SF90 Stradale on the deck of the Italian Navy’s Nave Trieste.

POTUS: “We’re here today to announce a historic victory for American women, mothers, and families. With the actions I will outline this afternoon, we’ll dramatically slash the cost of IVF, and many of the most common fertility drugs… prices are going way down.”

A year ago, family members of hostages were moved to tears when they visited the home of Rebbetzin Leah Kolodetsky, the daughter of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, z’tl. The hostages’ relatives were in Bnei Brak as part of a Sukkos tour. The Rebbetzin told them that for months after the October 7 massacre, her husband, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Kolodetsky, 71, slept on the floor in solidarity with the suffering of the hostages. However, at the end of the winter, her husband caught a cold from sleeping on the floor so he placed a thin piece of plywood on a bed and slept on that. B’Chasdei Hashem, on Monday night (Simchas Torah in Eretz Yisrael), Harav Kolodetsky finally removed the plywood from his bed and slept directly on the mattress. Last year, Chareidi journalist Yisrael Cohen, who accompanied the families, said, “We arrived at the home of Rebbetzin Kolodetsky to get a bracha. She told us in a ‘by the way’ manner that her husband hasn’t slept on a bed since October 7, 2023.” “The son-in-law of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, z’tl, a Talmid Chacham and Rav in Yisrael, over the age of 70, decided to sleep on a board he placed on a bed. For a year already.  Every night.” He added, “The Rebbetzin said, ‘You can go in the room and see. How can we sleep comfortably when we have no idea how and where the hostages are sleeping?” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday that he was in the middle of a live conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I am speaking to President Putin now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The conversation is ongoing, a lengthy one, and I will report the contents, as will President Putin, at its conclusion. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

A White House official confirmed to Newsmax that the call was indeed taking place.

Trump announced that high-level US and Russian officials will meet next week — and that he will talk face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary to try again to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Trump did not specify further when either meeting would take place, but did say that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would lead the US delegation at the initial sitdown.

Earlier in the day, Trump had told reporters at the White House that he was speaking with Putin about the possibility of supplying NATO — and by extension, Ukraine — with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The discussion came just one day before Trump’s scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, where the two leaders are expected to talk about the potential transfer of Tomahawks.

Trump said last week that he had informed Zelenskyy he might present Putin with an ultimatum: to either enter serious peace negotiations or face the prospect of Ukraine being armed with Tomahawk missiles.

The back-to-back talks underscore Trump’s current approach — exerting strategic pressure on Moscow while leaving the door open for diplomacy.

When pressed by reporters last week on whether he had finalized his decision about arming Ukraine with Tomahawks, Trump offered a measured response, saying he had “sort of made a decision” but wanted more information first.

“I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them,” he said. “Where are they sending them? I guess I’d have to ask that question.”

“I would ask some questions. I’m not looking to escalate that war,” he added.

Trump has made it clear that under his administration, there will be no blanket shipments of free weapons or aid to Ukraine. Instead, he has told NATO allies they are welcome to purchase the weapons and distribute them as they see fit, while he remains focused on acting as a peace broker between Russia and Ukraine.

{Matzav.com}

YERUSHALYIM: Tens of thousands of Yeshiva Bochurim have filled the Arnona Arena in joyous dance honoring Lomdei Torah at the historic “Amudei Olam” event.