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Two federal immigration officers fired their weapons during the deadly confrontation that left armed anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti dead in Minneapolis over the weekend, according to a preliminary Department of Homeland Security review released Tuesday.

The internal DHS assessment states that Pretti, 37, and another woman who was blowing a whistle at officers repeatedly ignored “several verbal requests” to leave the roadway. When both individuals refused to comply, officers attempted to arrest them, the review said.

“The woman and Pretti did not move,” DHS reported, leading a Customs and Border Protection officer to deploy pepper spray on both individuals.

As officers tried to take Pretti into custody, he “resisted,” and “a struggle ensued,” according to the review. During the scuffle, a Border Patrol agent was heard yelling, “He’s got a gun!”

Roughly five seconds later, one of the Border Patrol agents opened fire on Pretti.

A Customs and Border Protection officer also discharged his weapon during the encounter.

Video evidence reviewed by DHS shows that at least 10 shots were fired in total. Investigators said it remains unclear whether Pretti’s own firearm discharged during the incident.

According to the review, a Border Patrol agent informed other federal officers after the shooting that he had taken possession of Pretti’s Sig P320 handgun.

Federal agents then attempted to render emergency medical assistance to Pretti, who was employed as an intensive care unit nurse. He was pronounced dead within approximately 30 minutes of the confrontation.

An autopsy is currently being conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

DHS said the preliminary review relied on body-worn camera footage and internal Customs and Border Protection records.

The findings have been forwarded to congressional oversight committees responsible for monitoring the Department of Homeland Security.

Pretti’s death marked the second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE protester in Minnesota in less than a month.

On Jan. 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE agent after she blocked a Minneapolis roadway with her vehicle and drove toward an officer.

“I think the whole thing is terrible,” President Trump said Tuesday while discussing Pretti’s death during an appearance on Fox News. “I don’t like the fact that he was carrying a gun that was fully loaded, and he had two magazines with him — and it’s pretty unusual, but nobody knows when they saw the gun, how they saw the gun, everything else.

“Bottom line, it was terrible.”

Following the shooting, Trump moved Monday to remove Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino from his role leading “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis and to redeploy some of the agents involved.

“We have Tom Homan there now,” Trump said on “The Will Cain Show,” adding that his border czar intends to “de-escalate a little bit.”

{Matzav.com}

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. […]

Rep. Ilhan Omar was confronted and sprayed with an unidentified liquid Tuesday night after a man rushed the stage with a syringe during a turbulent town hall event in Minnesota, prompting a swift police response and bipartisan condemnation.

According to witnesses and law enforcement, the incident unfolded as Omar stood at the lectern sharply criticizing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and urging the abolition of ICE. A man later identified as Anthony Kazmierczak surged forward from the front row, shouting inaudible comments, and discharged liquid from a syringe toward Omar’s upper body.

Observers said the syringe appeared to contain an amber-colored substance.

As the assailant retreated, Omar chased after him and appeared poised to strike before security intervened. The man was tackled and escorted out of the North Minneapolis venue.

“I need a napkin,” Omar was heard telling a staffer over a live microphone.

Staff members pressed the congresswoman to seek medical evaluation, but she declined.

“No, we will continue. I’m fine,” Omar said.

One aide remarked on the odor of the substance, saying, “it smells so bad.”

After a brief pause, Omar returned to the microphone and resumed her remarks.

“We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,” she told the audience while the suspect was still being removed.

Minneapolis police officers arrested the 55-year-old Kazmierczak and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail on a charge of third-degree assault, according to Minneapolis Police Department Public Information Officer Trevor Folke.

“Representative Omar was uninjured and resumed speaking at the event,” Folke said.

Police also confirmed that Minneapolis forensic scientists were dispatched to the Urban League Twin Cities building to examine and process the scene.

Roughly an hour after the confrontation, Omar addressed the incident publicly on social media.

“I’m ok,” she wrote.

“I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work,” she added. “I don’t let bullies win.

“Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.”

Elected officials from across the political spectrum denounced the attack.

“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina posted.

“Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric – and I do – no elected official should face physical attacks.

“This is not who we are.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also condemned the incident, calling it “unacceptable” and warning that “this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”

“Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis,” Frey wrote. “We can disagree without putting people at risk.

“I’m relieved Rep. Omar is okay and appreciate MPD for responding quickly.”

The assault came one day after President Trump confirmed that both the Department of Justice and Congress were examining Omar’s rapidly rising personal net worth.

Trump, who has previously suggested that Omar be jailed or deported to Somalia, disclosed the federal and congressional scrutiny while sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to defuse tensions following Saturday’s fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by a federal immigration officer.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York placed blame for the attack on Trump and his allies.

“It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and VP Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

“Thank God she is okay,” she added. “If they want leaders to take down the temp, they need to look in the mirror.”

U.S. Capitol Police said the suspect who “decided to assault” Omar would face aggressive prosecution.

“We are grateful for the rapid response of onsite security and our local law enforcement partners,” the agency said. “We are now working with our federal partners to see this man faces the most serious charges possible to deter this kind of violence in our society.”

Earlier Tuesday evening, Capitol Police released data showing that threats against members of Congress continued to climb in 2025 for the third consecutive year.

The agency reported investigating 14,938 troubling statements, actions, and communications aimed at lawmakers, their families, staff members, and the Capitol complex over the past year.

{Matzav.com}

Today, the Trump administration announced that 23 states have officially opted in to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), marking a major milestone for school choice nationwide. In addition, other states such as Colorado have publicly announced their intention to opt in, bringing the program within reach of nearly half the country.

The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. Starting in 2027, the FSTC allows individual taxpayers to contribute to a nonprofit scholarship granting organization (SGO) and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit worth up to $1700. The SGO then pools the funds and distributes scholarships to eligible students for a wide range of K-12 educational expenses including private school tuition However, in order for SGOs to be approved, the state in which they are located must opt in to the tax credit and include them on a list sent to Treasury.

“Today’s announcement brings the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit closer to reality for families. Every state that opts in means more families gaining access to real educational choices for their children,” said Rabbi A. D. Motzen, Agudath Israel of America’s national director of government affairs. “Agudath Israel will continue working with advocates nationwide to encourage additional governors to opt in, ensuring that all children regardless of where they live, can benefit from this historic opportunity.”

{Matzav.com}

It’s almost noon in Havana when a handful of tourists tumble out of a small yellow bus and rush toward a row of shiny classic cars, cameras in hand. Nearby, under the shade of a beach almond tree, a group of drivers jump to their feet, some hoping for their first customer of the day. But the […]

A Queens rebbi was attacked Tuesday afternoon in an unprovoked antisemitic assault that culminated in a dramatic arrest near a subway station, underscoring ongoing concerns about hate-motivated violence in New York City. The attack occurred around 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Yellowstone Boulevard and Queens Boulevard, according to YWN sources. The rebbi was approached […]

American taxpayers are poised to see a sharp increase in their tax refunds this year, with the average payout expected to rise by about $1,000. The White House estimates that an additional $100 billion will be returned to filers during the 2026 tax season as a result of President Trump’s signature second-term tax legislation.

The tax filing season officially opened Tuesday, and Treasury Department projections show that refunds are expected to total $429 billion — a dramatic increase from the $329 billion issued last year.

With refunds climbing by roughly $1,000 per filer, the average check is projected to top $4,000.

“Millions of Americans are poised to receive significantly larger tax refunds thanks to President Donald J. Trump’s landmark Working Families Tax Cuts Act — which every Democrat in Congress opposed,” the White House said in a statement, referring to the legislation also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“The historic legislation is delivering the biggest tax refund season ever.”

Data cited by The Wall Street Journal shows that last year more than 60% of U.S. households received refunds averaging $3,167.

The spike in refunds is the result of targeted changes embedded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the sweeping Republican tax overhaul signed into law last year by President Donald Trump.

Under the law, Republicans made the tax cuts retroactive to the 2025 tax year while leaving IRS withholding tables unchanged. As a result, workers continued to have taxes withheld at higher rates throughout the year, with the benefits of the cuts now being paid out in large lump sums just months ahead of the midterm elections.

Although only about 60% of filers receive refunds, those who do are seeing substantially larger amounts.

According to the Tax Foundation, roughly one-quarter of the individual tax cuts stem from raising the state and local tax deduction cap to $40,000.

The single largest factor driving higher refunds is the new overtime deduction, which accounts for approximately $38.7 billion — or 30% — of the $129 billion in individual tax relief included in the law for 2025.

Additional contributors include an expanded standard deduction, a new bonus deduction for seniors, an increased child tax credit, and new deductions for tips and auto loan interest.

The surge in refunds is arriving as the IRS operates with significantly fewer employees than it had a year ago, raising concerns about the agency’s ability to process returns and issue payments smoothly.

The IRS started last year with more than 100,000 workers and is now estimated to be about 25% smaller following layoffs and retirements.

While many of the staffing reductions affected enforcement divisions, call centers and paper correspondence units are under the greatest strain, particularly as many taxpayers — especially older filers — continue to rely on phone assistance.

Despite the staffing cuts, the IRS says it expects to process approximately 164 million tax returns this year, roughly the same as last year, and maintains that its systems are prepared. Critics, however, warn that fewer workers handling a much larger volume of money leaves little room for mistakes.

David A. Perez, CEO of Tax Maverick AI, said the scale and structure of this year’s refund surge are unusual compared with previous tax cuts.

“This is not how tax relief is usually delivered,” he told The Post.

“Typically, when the government cuts taxes, withholding tables are updated so people see a little more money in every paycheck. That didn’t happen in 2025.”

Because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was applied retroactively while withholding remained unchanged, Perez said, “taxpayers were effectively forced to save that money with the Treasury for a year — and now it’s all being released at once.”

Perez, whose company has prepared more than 50,000 tax returns since 2018, said the projected $429 billion in refunds represents about a 30% increase from last year, a jump he has not seen outside of extraordinary circumstances.

“I haven’t seen a manufactured windfall quite like this since the stimulus checks,” he said.

“But this is different, because it’s baked directly into the tax return itself.”

Perez added that lump-sum refunds tend to generate a stronger economic impact than incremental increases in take-home pay.

“Behaviorally, people treat a lump sum very differently than a small weekly raise,” he remarked.

“An extra $50 a week usually gets absorbed by groceries or gas. But a $4,000 refund in February feels like investable cash. People use it for big-ticket items — car down payments, vacations, or paying off high-interest credit card debt.”

As a result, Perez said he expects a burst of consumer spending early in the year.

“President Trump delivered the largest tax cut in history for middle- and working-class Americans, lowering taxes in every county in every state across the nation,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Post.

“This tax relief will allow American families to keep more of their hard-earned money and unleash economic growth and prosperity not just during tax season, as millions of Americans receive refund checks, but for years to come.”

“This is yet another promise made, promise kept as President Trump continues to Make America Great Again.”

{Matzav.com}

A man was arrested Tuesday night after confronting radical leftist Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) at a town hall event in Minneapolis and attempting to spray her with an unknown substance. The disruption occurred moments after Omar criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be abolished and demanding the […]

President Donald Trump’s deteriorating standing on the economy — once his strongest political asset — is flashing warning signs for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterm elections, according to CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten. In an analysis aired Tuesday, Enten said aggregated polling data shows Trump’s net approval on the economy has plunged sharply […]

An emotional and unsettling discovery was made during a difficult winter journey in Poland, when a group traveling to visit the grave of the Kotzker Rebbe uncovered a long-hidden piece of Jewish history beneath the snow.

The story was shared by Rabbi Pinchas Sitbon during the Bedidi Hava Uvda segment on the Kol Berama radio program hosted by Ami Maimon. Rabbi Sitbon described a grueling two-hour trek he and a group of friends undertook through winding roads and a fierce snowstorm, determined to reach the kever of the Kotzker Rebbe.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, the group encountered an unexpected setback: the entrance gate was locked, and the local caretaker was nowhere to be found. Despite the freezing temperatures and severe conditions, the group decided not to turn back. They climbed over the iron fence and pushed forward, carving a narrow path through deep, unbroken snow.

As they made their way through the cemetery, one of the participants suddenly stumbled over a protrusion hidden beneath the snow. While clearing away the ice to regain his footing, the group was stunned to realize that the fall had not been accidental. Beneath the snow lay a tombstone, the grave of one of the righteous women of the Kotzker dynasty.

The sense of awe deepened when the group discovered that the very day of their visit coincided with her yahrtzeit. Those present described a powerful feeling that the encounter was not mere chance, but guided by Hashgocha. Moved by the moment, the group altered its plans and paused to recite tefillos as an aliyah for their neshamah, standing in the silent, frozen landscape that had concealed the grave until their arrival.

{Matzav.com}

Families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in a Trump administration boat strike last October sued the federal government on Tuesday, calling the attack a war crime and part of an “unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.” The lawsuit is thought to be the first wrongful death case arising from the three dozen strikes that […]

Please keep David ben Margolit in your tefillos—and please help urgently. The family is overwhelmed with medical and living expenses.

Against the backdrop of growing antisemitism across Europe, a leading rov of the Jewish community in Paris sought guidance this week from the Yenuka, asking for a decisive ruling on whether the community should consider relocating to Israel or remain in France.

Rabbi Shlomo Senyur, one of the prominent rabbanim of the Paris Jewish community, traveled to the home of the Yenuka in Rishon Letzion, where he joined the Shacharis mnnyan in the beis medrash before presenting the pressing question, one described as critical to the future of the Jewish community in Paris and, more broadly, to Jewish communities across Europe.

Rabbi Senyur laid out the dilemma facing many Jews in Paris and throughout France: in light of the intensifying waves of antisemitism in various parts of Europe and France, should the community uproot itself and move to Eretz Yisroel? At the same time, he noted the concern that many community members would not make aliyah, potentially leaving behind a weakened and unsupported Jewish presence.

In his response, the Yenuka stressed that there is an immense and invaluable merit for individuals who genuinely desire to ascend to Eretz Yisroel, attach themselves to its soil, and establish their lives there. However, when it comes to an organized, communal move, he advised that the priority should be to strengthen the existing community rather than dismantle it.

The Yenuka explained that even if a collective plan were formed to move together, in practice not everyone would follow through. As a result, those who remained behind would be abandoned and left vulnerable. He added that the current reality of a large, strong, and cohesive community provides resilience and protection for its members, whereas a partial departure that leaves only a small group behind would place those remaining in a dangerous and unstable situation.

“I say that one must strengthen the place there, to fight and not to be afraid. No matter what happens,” the Yenuka said. He reminded Rabbi Senyur of the example of the Or Sameach of Dvinsk, who remained with his community during World War I and did not abandon them, even though he knew war was imminent.

“Do not be afraid. Stay, strengthen, and put things in order, and may it be the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu to nullify all this antisemitism. And the rov will continue to increase Torah there. Let your wellsprings spread outward. And to the members of the community I say: they should be careful with lashon hara, for this is the greatest protection from all calamities and all harm.”

{Matzav.com}

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock closer to catastrophe on Tuesday, setting it at 85 seconds to midnight — the closest point to global disaster in the symbolic clock’s 79-year history. The shift, which advances the clock four seconds from last year, reflects what the group described as a worsening convergence […]

FLATBUSH: An NYPD helicopter is hovering over the area of Avenue M and East 13th Street as police search for a possible suspect. Sources tell Flatbush Scoop that there is no threat to the public at this time, and the situation remains under investigation.

BREAKING: Rep. Ilhan Omar was charged at by a man during a town hall event in Minneapolis. Video from the incident shows the man spraying a substance in her direction at the beginning of the encounter.

Rabbi Eli Sadan, the founder and head of the Bnei Dovid pre-military academy in Eli, published a sharply worded letter on Monday following a Golani ceremony earlier this month that featured female singers. Dozens of religious oldiers left the ceremony in protest. “I was told that there was a Golani Brigade gathering marking two years […]

Iranian security forces are coercing families of slain protesters to falsely identify their relatives as members of the regime’s Basij paramilitary force, according to multiple accounts from inside Iran shared with The Times of Israel and relayed by anti-regime activists abroad. The allegations come amid the bloodiest wave of unrest in the Islamic Republic’s history, […]

A heartbreaking tragedy was uncovered in Kyiv on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when a Holocaust survivor born in the city was found frozen to death in her apartment amid an intense cold spell gripping Ukraine.

Yevgenia Mikhailovna Bespamilnaya was discovered only after a burst water pipe in her apartment caused flooding throughout the building, with ice spreading across multiple floors as temperatures plunged to minus 18 degrees Celsius. According to reports, residents pressed police to force entry into the apartment, where Bespamilnaya was found lifeless in a completely frozen home. Authorities believe she had died several days earlier.

Bespamilnaya survived the Holocaust in Ukraine as a child. After the war, she was sent to an orphanage, where she was given her surname, meaning “without family.” She lived alone with no known relatives and spoke only Yiddish and Russian. Neighbors knew her as Baba Zhenya and described her as a quiet, withdrawn woman who rarely opened her door but made a point of attending the nearby shul.

Residents of the building said that in recent weeks they had tried to look after her, bringing basic supplies and offering assistance whenever possible. When she stopped answering phone calls and was not seen for several days, concern for her safety grew, but it was only the flooding incident that ultimately revealed what had happened.

The tragedy unfolded against the backdrop of a harsh winter in Kyiv, marked by unusually severe cold waves, infrastructure damage, and prolonged outages of electricity and water. In a cruel twist of fate, Bespamilnaya, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, died alone decades later in the freezing cold of the city where she was born.

{Matzav.com}

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry submitted a formal complaint to the United States after a U.S. ICE officer attempted to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without authorization. The incident occurred around 11:00 a.m., when consular staff blocked the officer’s entry. Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld delivered a diplomatic note of protest, requesting assurances that such incidents […]