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Florida’s plan to drop school vaccine mandates likely won’t take effect for 90 days and would include only chickenpox and a few other illnesses unless lawmakers decide to extend it to other diseases, like polio and measles, the health department said Sunday. The department responded to a request for details, four days after Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, said the state would become the first to make vaccinations voluntary and let families decide whether to inoculate their children. It’s a retreat from decades of public policy and research that has shown vaccines to be safe and the most effective way to stop the spread of communicable diseases, especially among children. Despite that evidence, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed deep skepticism about vaccines. Florida’s plan would lift mandates on school vaccines for hepatitis B, chickenpox, Hib influenza and pneumococcal diseases, such as meningitis, the health department said. “The Department initiated the rule change on September 3, 2025, and anticipates the rule change will not be effective for approximately 90 days,” the state told The Associated Press in an email. The public school year in Florida started in August. All other vaccinations required under Florida law to attend school “remain in place, unless updated through legislation,” including vaccines for measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, mumps and tetanus, the department said. Lawmakers don’t meet again until January 2026, although committee meetings begin in October. Ladapo, appearing Sunday on CNN, repeated his message of free choice for childhood vaccines. “If you want them, God bless, you can have as many as you want,” he said. “And if you don’t want them, parents should have the ability and the power to decide what goes into their children’s bodies. It’s that simple.” Florida currently has a religious exemption for vaccine requirements. Vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years, the World Health Organization reported in 2024. The majority of those were infants and children. Dr. Rana Alissa, chair of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said making vaccines voluntary puts students and school staff at risk. This is the worst year for measles in the U.S. in more than three decades, with more than 1,400 cases confirmed nationwide, most of them in Texas, and three deaths. Whooping cough has killed at least two babies in Louisiana and a 5-year-old in Washington state since winter, as it too spreads rapidly. There have been more than 19,000 cases as of Aug. 23, nearly 2,000 more than this time last year, according to preliminary CDC data. (AP)

President Trump says he is ready for the second phase of sanctions against Russia.

Asked earlier if he was considering attacking the cartels inside of Venezuela, President Trump responded with: “Well, you’re gonna find out.”

A moving scene unfolded this past week as distinguished avreichim of Gur, together with their children, went to the home of HaGaon Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein for a comprehensive test on Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat and on dapim of Gemara learned over the summer.

For over an hour, Rav Zilberstein tested the avreichim, posing sharp halachic questions in the intricate areas of Choshen Mishpat. The participants displayed remarkable knowledge, fluency, and mastery of the subject matter. Rav Zilberstein was visibly impressed by the young talmidei chachomim‘s grasp of halacha.

As the session extended beyond its scheduled time, Rav Zilberstein was reminded by his aide, Rav Yisroel Leizerson, that the children were eagerly waiting for their turn. Smiling, Rav Zilberstein remarked, “Meanwhile, they see what it means to speak in learning—that itself is worth something.”

The children then stepped forward, each reciting and analyzing pages of Gemara they had reviewed and memorized during the summer. When one young boy appeared nervous before the revered rav, Rav Zilberstein gently stroked his face and reassured him: “Don’t be afraid. I can see from your expression that you know it. Excellent—you’re sweet as honey. That’s enough for me; I can tell from your style that you understand.”

At the conclusion, every child received a personal brocha from Rav Zilberstein along with a gift of his sefer Achas Sha’alti. But before distributing the sefarim, the Rav spoke with great emotion: “Look at these questions with illustrations—questions for young and old alike. In no other nation is there anything like this. Here, in the Jewish home, parents and children discuss halacha together. Fathers and mothers yearn for their children’s success in Torah and rejoice when they know how to answer. In other nations, people sit and waste their time with scoffing, but here, children sit and delve into Torah. This alone can save the Jewish people.”

Tears filled his eyes as he added, “Master of the world, show me in any nation such a sight. It does not exist. Only among Klal Yisrael.”

When asked what message should be conveyed to the Rebbe of Gur, Rav Zilberstein replied: “Tell him that all of them are candidates to become morei horaah in Klal Yisroel. That is the goal—that they grow into people who sanctify the Name of Heaven.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

PHOTOS: The Boro Park Jewish Community Council (BPJCC) celebrated the grand opening of its new Community Center on Sunday morning at 13th Avenue and 51st Street with a buffet reception, tours of the facility, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by honorees President of Metropolitan Commercial Bank Mark R. DeFazio, Congressman Dan Goldman, NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, along with community leaders, law enforcement officials, and local organizations.  

The number of first responders and others diagnosed with 9/11-linked cancers has ballooned to 48,579 — a staggering 143% increase in five years, the latest data from the World Trade Center Health Program show. Skin, prostate and breast cancer top the list, along with melanoma, lymphoma, luekemia and cancers of the thyroid, kidney, lung and bladder — believed to have been triggered by toxins at Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island.

Retired senior police officer Yoram Halevi has been appointed as Israel’s next Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced. Halevi, chosen after interviews with several candidates, will replace Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who held the position for the past four years.  

The IDF confirmed it targeted the Ru’ya building in central Gaza City, stating that Hamas used the high-rise for intelligence operations, including observation posts to track IDF troop movements.

The IDF reported demolishing a Hamas tunnel in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, discovered during Nahal Brigade operations. The tunnel, which stretched hundreds of meters, included a room used by Hamas forces to coordinate attacks, and the military shared a video of its destruction.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at today’s government meeting, outlined Israel’s intensified operations in Gaza, targeting Nukhba terrorists involved in the October 7 attacks and destroying terrorist infrastructure. He highlighted humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to leave, while condemning Hamas for using them as human shields and committing attacks on innocents. Netanyahu framed the operations as part of a broader effort to dismantle the Iranian axis and secure Israel from existential threats. He stressed that achieving victory—including eliminating Hamas, rescuing hostages, and neutralizing Gaza threats—takes priority over international criticism. “If I need to choose between victory over our enemies and malicious propaganda against us, I choose victory,” he said.

UAE President bin Zayed and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed their countries’ strong support for Palestinian rights, emphasized the need for a just peace through a two-state solution, and opposed any Israeli attempts to annex the West Bank.  

The IDF repeats an evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the vicinity of a high-rise building in Gaza City ahead of an airstrike.

One year ago today (on the Jewish calendar), Hezbollah pagers exploded simultaneously, killing and injuring thousands of terrorists, in what has already become one of the most legendary Mossad operations ever.

AFP report describes how Iranian businesses are being crushed by rolling blackouts in the country, as the regime struggles to maintain its hold on an increasingly discontent citizenry.

Early Sunday morning, a man armed with a knife slashed an NYPD officer near East New York Ave & Amboy St. in Brooklyn. Officers opened fire after he lunged at them, police say. Three officers were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect later died at the hospital.

Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba resigns after facing massive backlash over a plan to import thousands of African men to help with a labor shortage in the country.

US envoy Morgan Ortagus and CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper toured southern Lebanon aboard a Lebanese Army helicopter.

In Hamilton, Canada, city officials ordered a resident to remove security cameras from his home, despite the cameras only covering his property and not capturing anything beyond it.

A man defaced the window and entrance of a Jewish kosher food and souvenir shop in Prague with antisemitic graffiti.

An attorney in Indiana named Mark Zuckerberg is taking Meta to court, alleging that the tech giant repeatedly locked him out of his personal and professional accounts by wrongly accusing him of impersonating its well-known founder.

For nearly a decade and a half, Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer from Indianapolis, has struggled with the confusion created by having the same name as the billionaire behind Facebook.

According to him, his personal verified profile has been suspended five different times. In May, his law firm’s page was shut down yet again, wiping out $11,000 in advertising funds he had spent, prompting him to escalate the battle into a lawsuit.

“Normally you would say, well, it’s just Facebook and it’s not a big deal, but this time it’s affecting my bottom line because I was paying for advertising for my business to try and get clients,” the aggrieved attorney told The Post Wednesday afternoon.

“So they took my money, but then after they took my money, they shut me down for what they say is impersonating a celebrity, not using a true name and violating their community standards. And it’s the same message I get every time they shut me down.”

On Tuesday, Zuckerberg filed a complaint in Marion Superior Court accusing Meta of negligence and breach of contract, arguing that the company has suspended him for unfounded and unjustified reasons.

He explained that his troubles with Facebook began in 2010 when his profile was first disabled. Each time since then, he has had to endure an exhausting appeals process that included providing photographs of himself, identification cards, and even credit cards to prove he was authentic and had not violated any rules before his accounts were reinstated.

“I think it’s offensive that a company that is supposed to be so tech savvy in the world can’t figure out how to flag my accounts and keep this from happening,” said Zuckerberg, who has spent 38 years practicing bankruptcy law.

“It’s like they’re almost doing it on purpose, but I’m sure they’re not but it feels like it.”

Meta confirmed to The Post that it had only just received the lawsuit and was in the process of examining the claims.

“We know there’s more than one Mark Zuckerberg in the world, and we are getting to the bottom of this,” the spokesperson said, declining to answer any additional questions.

The company later updated its statement to say that Zuckerberg’s profile had been restored.

“We have reinstated Mark Zuckerberg’s account, after finding it had been disabled in error. We appreciate Mr. Zuckerberg’s continued patience on this issue and are working to try and prevent this from happening in the future,” a spokesman said Thursday.

Zuckerberg admitted that occasionally sharing a name with Meta’s famous CEO has brought some lighthearted advantages, such as better treatment when making reservations. Yet, he also described the confusion as a constant nuisance in his life, calling it a “thorn in my side.”

His practice often receives calls from frustrated Facebook users who think he can fix their accounts, as well as mail intended for the tech mogul. At one point in 2020, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services even sued him by mistake, accusing him of financial misconduct.

Because of all the repeated mix-ups, Zuckerberg created a website documenting the bizarre episodes. Still, he relies heavily on platforms like Facebook to attract clients and compete with other local firms who also advertise online.

“It’s the fact that they’re affecting my business now, you know, my clients can’t find me,” the frustrated lawyer stressed, adding that he wants Meta to refund his money and pay his attorney fees, among other demands.

“I want an injunction, I want them to not do it again, and I want [Mark Zuckerberg] to fly out here, hand me my check, shake my hands and say, ‘I’m sorry,’ but that’s never gonna happen.”

{Matzav.com}