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[Video below.] New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revealed Sunday that he has been in text contact with President Donald Trump since a White House meeting last November, describing the exchanges as confidential and centered on issues affecting city residents.

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Mamdani said he obtained the president’s phone number during that meeting but declined to share details of their messages. “He gave me his number. I’ll say that the conversations between the president and I are private, and I’ll keep them there. But they are always back to the question of New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

When asked how frequently the two communicate, the mayor avoided giving specifics and emphasized that the outreach is about results rather than personal rapport. “I think it’s less about the maintenance of a personal relationship, it’s more about delivering for the people of the city,” he said. Mamdani added that he had made clear during the campaign that “where the president is looking to pursue policies that will hurt the city, I’m going to be there on the front lines,” while remaining open to collaboration when federal actions benefit New York.

The remarks reflect a softening in relations following months of sharp rhetoric between the two during the 2025 election season and the transition period.

Earlier this month, Axios reported that the texting began after Trump and Mamdani swapped phone numbers at their November Oval Office meeting, characterizing the dynamic as notable given earlier clashes, including Trump labeling Mamdani a “communist.”

Despite the outreach, criticism from the White House and Trump allies has continued, particularly targeting Mamdani’s political views, even as the mayor has pursued cooperation on affordability measures and federal assistance for the city.

Before the November meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to Mamdani as a “communist,” and CBS News reported that Trump had threatened to cut off federal funding to New York City.

Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, was sworn into office on Jan. 1 after winning the November election. His initial policy push has focused on easing living costs, with proposals that include universal child care, rent relief, and fare-free bus service.

During the campaign, he also called for higher taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations to help pay for parts of his platform, proposals that would require approval from state lawmakers rather than action by the mayor alone.

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{Matzav.com}

Legal fallout from the deadly shooting involving federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis could ultimately be handled in federal court, regardless of whether charges are initially brought by state authorities, according to Alan Dershowitz.

Speaking Sunday on Newsmax’s “Sunday Report,” the Harvard Law School professor emeritus explained that state officials are permitted to investigate and even prosecute such cases, but defendants who are federal agents have a key procedural option. “The state has the power to investigate, and they could actually prosecute even if the federal government doesn’t want to,” Dershowitz said. “But then the defendant can remove the case from state court to federal court, where the case would have to be tried.”

Dershowitz added that federal officers have the right to seek removal of a case from state jurisdiction, pointing to President Donald Trump’s own attempt to move his New York case into federal court. “If you’re a federal agent, you can remove your case from state court and have it tried in federal court,” he said, noting that Trump’s request to do so remains unresolved.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, now a senior political analyst for Newsmax, also weighed in, placing blame on Minnesota officials for what he described as poor coordination with federal authorities. He argued that local law enforcement should have been responsible for managing crowds and ensuring the safety of federal agents on the scene.

“They have not cooperated at all in doing what local police generally do, which is provide a protection, a shield of protection around federal agents doing their job,” Santorum said.

Santorum emphasized that joint planning between different levels of government is standard practice and said federal officers should not be tasked with managing volatile crowds. “There’s usually coordination between the state and the municipality and the federal government,” he said. “ICE agents and Border patrol agents should not be doing crowd control.

“That’s just not what they do. That’s the job of the local police.”

He argued that the lack of cooperation worsened the situation and said local leaders should have taken steps to calm tensions rather than allow them to escalate.

Later in the discussion, Santorum said immigration enforcement had once been less politically charged, accusing Democrats of exploiting the current situation for political gain. “It’s unfortunate because you go back to the Obama administration, to all the Clinton administration, you know, border enforcement and arresting and deporting illegal immigrants was something that was not a partisan issue,” he said.

Dershowitz returned to the legal framework governing federal authority, stressing that federal agents have a constitutional right to operate anywhere in the country and criticizing resistance from state officials. “The Constitution is the Constitution, and federal officials are allowed to come into any state to enforce federal law,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

Here are some preliminary snowfall totals through 2pm: JFK – 6.0″ LaGuardia – 7.1″ Manhattan 7.2″ Sheepshead Bay 8.0″ Newark – 8.0″ Allentown, PA: 9.2″ AC Airport, NJ: 5.9″ Philadelphia, PA: 7.4″ Reading, PA: 8.4″ Trenton, NJ: 7.2″ Wilmington, DE: 5.5″ Data from FlightAware now shows more than 30,000 U.S. flights have been disrupted by […]

Federal court action has halted the Trump administration’s effort to revoke the legal standing of more than 8,400 relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who entered the country from seven Latin American nations.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a preliminary injunction late Saturday barring the Department of Homeland Security from terminating humanitarian parole protections for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Those individuals were admitted to the United States through family reunification parole programs that were established or updated during President Joe Biden’s administration, allowing relatives to live in the country while awaiting immigrant visas.

After President Donald Trump took office, his administration sharply expanded immigration enforcement, allocating roughly $170 billion for immigration agencies through September 2029, marking an unprecedented level of funding.

The reunification initiatives permitted U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor family members in the seven countries, enabling them to reside in the United States temporarily as their visa applications moved through the system.

On December 12, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would shut down the programs, arguing they conflicted with Trump’s enforcement priorities and had been exploited to allow “poorly vetted aliens to circumvent the traditional parole process.”

The department planned to end the programs on January 14, but Talwani first stepped in with a 14-day temporary restraining order while she weighed whether a longer injunction was warranted, a decision she finalized Saturday.

In her ruling, Talwani said the agency, under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, failed to substantiate claims of fraud or to address whether affected individuals could realistically return to their countries of origin after selling homes or leaving jobs.

“The Secretary could not provide a reasoned explanation of the agency’s change in policy without acknowledging these interests,” Talwani wrote. “Accordingly, failure to do so was arbitrary and capricious.”

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the decision.

The case was brought as a class action by immigrant rights groups challenging the administration’s broader effort to roll back temporary parole protections for large numbers of migrants.

Earlier in the same litigation, Talwani had blocked the administration from ending parole for about 430,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, though that order was later lifted by the Supreme Court and ultimately overturned by an appeals court.

{Matzav.com}

El Al said it is rolling out a series of measures intended to help passengers navigate the uncertainty of recent days, including the launch of a complimentary flight cancellation option designed to provide greater flexibility.

The new program, titled “Flight with Peace of Mind,” will be offered to customers purchasing new tickets beginning Monday and will remain in effect for the next two weeks. Under the plan, passengers may cancel their booking for any reason up to 48 hours before departure and receive a full credit voucher.

According to the airline, the policy will apply at no extra cost to flights departing from and arriving at all El Al destinations through March 17, with the exception of LITE fares and bonus tickets.

In parallel, El Al said it is bolstering staffing and capacity at its customer service centers, which operate 24/7, in response to a surge in passenger requests to modify existing reservations. The airline cautioned that customers may still experience extended wait times due to the volume of inquiries.

“El Al will continue to operate in order to be the air bridge to and from Israel and to offer flexible and accessible solutions to our customers and the general public,” the airline said.

{Matzav.com}

A serious and embarrassing affair shook the Military Police after it was discovered that an IDF soldier allegedly staged the kidnapping of a Palestinian detainee under his supervision in order to extort ransom money from the detainee’s family. According to an Army Radio report on Sunday, the incident began with the arrest of a Palestinian […]

Israeli officials said Sunday that the IDF is conducting a wide-ranging operation in northern Gaza aimed at locating the remains of Ran Gvili, with forces carrying out extensive searches at a cemetery based on intelligence assessments.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized Israel’s commitment to returning Gvili for a proper Jewish burial and said his family is receiving ongoing updates about developments in the operation.

The Israeli announcement came after a Hamas spokesperson said the group had passed along all information it claims to possess regarding the whereabouts of the abducted and deceased Ran Gvili to mediators, describing the move as part of broader efforts to advance a ceasefire arrangement.

Hamas asserted that it acted with what it called full transparency in its handling of abductees and the deceased, claiming it transferred information and remains promptly and without delay. The group alleged this was done despite what it described as Israeli violations and Israel’s failure to honor commitments.

According to Hamas, attempts to recover bodies and abductees were carried out under extraordinarily harsh conditions, at times nearly impossible, and were undertaken with assistance from mediating parties.

The organization also urged mediators to apply pressure on Israel to fulfill its obligations under the agreement framework.

Hamas concluded its statement by saying the information it provided included all details it had regarding Gvili’s location, pointing to current IDF activity at one of the cited sites as proof of its claim.

The Hamas statement was released ahead of a cabinet meeting scheduled for later tonight, which is expected to focus, among other issues, on the possible reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions.

At the same time, families who lost loved ones are pressing the prime minister to resist outside influence. Yehoshua Shani, the father of the late Ori Mordechai and head of the Gevurah Forum, cautioned that the involvement of advisers from Qatar and Turkey constitutes an unacceptable opening for terror elements and said Gaza must remain under full Israeli security control.

“Two years and four months have passed since the start of the war. We have paid an extremely heavy price – the entire people of Israel have paid,” Shani said. “These are days that demand courage, strength, and the ability to make the right decisions. Do not agree to the entry of Phase B before the complete disarmament of Hamas and before the return of Ran Gvili. Any attempt to whitewash reality through advisers – Qatari, Turkish, or otherwise – is unacceptable. Terror cannot be allowed to enter through the back door wearing suits and ties.”

He added, “Our sons who fell will not serve as a bargaining chip for the return of a terror regime in Gaza. The Gaza Strip must be under full Israeli security control, and we call on the government to stand firm on this with courage.”

{Matzav.com}

An 86-year-old Holocaust survivor who was barred from speaking at a Brooklyn middle school last month is set to meet with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jewish leaders and community officials are criticizing the planned meeting as a hollow gesture amid mounting concerns over antisemitism and City Hall’s posture toward the […]

A senior US delegation headed by Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu focused on moving ahead with the next stage of President Trump’s 20-Point Plan for Gaza, including detailed coordination on how Phase 2 would be carried out. Joining Witkoff were Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor Aryeh Lightstone, and White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum, Arutz Sheva reports.

Following the meeting, Witkoff released a summary stating that the talks centered on “the continued progress and implementation planning for Phase 2 of President Trump’s 20-Point Plan for Gaza, which the United States and Israel are advancing together in close partnership,” along with discussions on wider regional developments.

In his remarks, Witkoff underscored the depth of cooperation between the two governments, noting that “the United States and Israel maintain a strong and longstanding relationship built on close coordination and shared priorities.” He described the conversation as “constructive and positive,” saying both sides shared a clear understanding of the next steps and the need for ongoing collaboration on key regional concerns.

Diplomatic officials familiar with the discussions assessed that Witkoff’s comments suggest progress toward an agreement on reopening the Rafah Crossing, even though Hamas has not yet returned the body of the final fallen hostage, Ran Gvili.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli journalist Rina Matzliach ignited a wave of backlash after remarks she made on an Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation–Kan Reshet Bet program, where she sharply criticized soccer players who recite Shema Yisrael as they enter the field, describing the practice as offensive.

During the broadcast, Matzliach expressed revulsion at the sight of players uttering the traditional declaration of faith before a match. “I see at soccer games, every player that takes the field goes ‘Shema Yisrael’… It’s disgusting. I mean, why ‘Shema Yisrael’ when you take the field? It’s disgusting, Akiva, disgusting. Go in, play, why ‘Shema Yisrael’ in the middle of a soccer game?” she said.

The comments quickly spread online, drawing intense criticism from many who accused her of disparaging Jewish religious expression. One social media user responded angrily: “Rina Matzliach said on the public broadcaster that soccer players reciting ‘Shema Yisrael’ is, and I quote: ‘Disgusting to me. And we’re paying for this.”

Others questioned whether her remarks reflected a double standard. Another user wrote: “Everyone has the right to their opinion. But would Mrs. Matzliah dare to say the same thing about Christian players who cross themselves or Muslims who bow after a goal? Or does only Judaism disgust her?”

Additional reactions accused the journalist of harboring hostility toward her own heritage. One commenter stated: “It’s infuriating that we pay for this. Another example of internalized antisemitism that does not surprise me.”

{Matzav.com}

A sprawling winter storm blanketed much of the country today with snow, sleet and freezing rain, stretching from the South through New England and triggering brutal cold, extensive power outages and hazardous travel conditions.

Forecasters said icy precipitation would persist through Monday across many regions, followed by a deep freeze that would keep conditions dangerous for days. The National Weather Service warned that “dangerous travel and infrastructure impacts” were likely to continue well after the storm system moves on.

Meteorologists said heavy snow was likely from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast, while areas from the Lower Mississippi Valley through the Southeast and into the Mid-Atlantic faced the threat of “catastrophic ice accumulation.”

“It is a unique storm in the sense that it is so widespread,” National Weather Service meteorologist Allison Santorelli said during a phone interview. “It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so we’re talking like a 2,000 mile spread.”

Santorelli said roughly 213 million people were under some form of winter weather alert as of Sunday morning. At the same time, poweroutage.us reported that nearly 800,000 utility customers were without electricity, a figure that continued to climb.

Tennessee reported the most severe outages, with more than 250,000 customers in the dark. Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi each had outages exceeding 100,000 customers.

Air travel was also heavily disrupted. According to flight tracker flightaware.com, more than 10,000 flights were canceled by Sunday, with an additional 8,000 delayed. Major disruptions were reported at airports serving Philadelphia, Washington, Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, as well as New York and New Jersey.

Santorelli cautioned that the hazards would not end once precipitation stops.

“Behind the storm it’s just going to get bitterly cold across basically the entirety of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, east of the Rockies,” she said. Prolonged cold temperatures, she added, will slow melting and complicate efforts to restore power and repair damaged infrastructure.

President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states by Saturday, with additional approvals expected. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had already staged supplies, personnel, and search-and-rescue teams across multiple states.

In and around Nashville, ice accumulations reached half an inch or more, coating power lines and weighing down trees until branches snapped and crashed onto roads and utility equipment.

“We typically say that once you start seeing, you know, roughly a half an inch of ice, that’s when you’re going to start seeing the more widespread power outages,” Santorelli said.

In Oxford, Mississippi, police urged residents Sunday morning to remain indoors due to extreme danger outdoors. Utility crews were also ordered off the roads overnight as conditions worsened.

“Due to life-threatening conditions, Oxford Utilities has made the difficult decision to pull our crews off the road for the night,” the utility company wrote in an early Sunday Facebook post.

“The situation is currently too dangerous to continue,” the post said. “Trees are actively snapping and falling around our linemen while they are in the bucket trucks. We simply cannot clear the lines faster than the limbs are falling.”

Travel conditions were also treacherous in north Georgia, where ice coated roadways.

{Matzav.com}

New reporting citing Western media and alleged internal Iranian data suggests the death toll from Iran’s two-day crackdown on protests may be far higher than the government has acknowledged, potentially reaching into the tens of thousands.

The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday, referencing Time magazine and what it described as Iranian hospital records, that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed nationwide during the Jan. 8–9 suppression of demonstrations, a figure that dwarfs official statements from Tehran.

According to Time, two senior officials from Iran’s Health Ministry told the magazine that up to 30,000 people may have died during the crackdown. Time also said it reviewed a separate hospital-based tally listing 30,304 deaths as of Friday, Jan. 9.

The magazine cautioned that it was unable to independently confirm the figures.

Officials cited in the report said the volume of fatalities overwhelmed local systems, depleting body-bag supplies and forcing authorities to use semitrailer trucks to transport bodies.

The reporting described security forces deploying rooftop snipers and vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns after cutting communications. It also referenced an alleged broadcast on Iranian state television warning that anyone “entering the streets” should not complain if a bullet struck them.

Time said the hospital-based figures were compiled by Dr. Amir Parasta, identified as a German-Iranian ophthalmologist. Parasta told the magazine, “We are getting closer to reality,” while noting that the count likely omitted deaths from military hospitals and areas inaccessible to data collectors.

Public health experts quoted in the report urged caution in drawing firm conclusions from hospital data alone but said the internal figures pointed to a large-scale killing carried out over a very short period.

Iranian authorities have acknowledged a much smaller number of deaths.

State media reported on Jan. 21 that 3,117 people were killed during the unrest, citing a statement attributed to the Martyrs Foundation and carried by Press TV.

Other independent estimates differ sharply.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, said in a report posted Sunday that it had verified 5,459 deaths and was reviewing 17,031 additional cases.

Iran International, a London-based broadcaster, previously reported at least 12,000 deaths linked to the Jan. 8–9 events and on Sunday released a separate report claiming more than 36,500 killed, citing documents it said were reviewed by its editorial board.

International attention has also intensified in recent days.

In a media advisory issued Friday, the United Nations human rights office said the U.N. Human Rights Council had extended the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran for an additional two years and called for an urgent probe into alleged serious violations connected to protests that it said began on Dec. 28, 2025.

Time reported that if the internal estimates prove accurate, the episode would rank among the deadliest mass shootings over a comparable period in modern history, drawing a parallel to the Babyn Yar massacre in Nazi-occupied Ukraine, where the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum says 33,771 Jews were killed over two days on Sept. 29–30, 1941.

{Matzav.com}

The IDF said in a statement that troops under the Southern Command began a targeted operation in the area of the Yellow Line in the northern Gaza Strip to retrieve the body of the last remaining slain hostage still being held by Hamas in Gaza, Ran Gvili. The IDF said it will continue all necessary […]

VIDEO: I recently lost my father, and now I am preparing for my wedding alone. I do not have what I need to reach the חופה with dignity. Please help an orphaned Kallah get married and fulfill the mitzvah of הכנסת כלה. DONATE HERE: https://thechesedfund.com/chesedprojects/346?aff=2040

FLATBUSH: Flatbush Hatzolah snow removal units are busy clearing all their garages to assist the ambulances in a speedy response during the storm.

The Lelover Rebbe lights a Medrura along with hundreds of Chassidim outside the Kever of Reb Duvid of Lelov ZT’L, on his Yartzheit, in the city of Lelov.

When Archwest Capital, a fast-moving real estate lender with 25+ years of experience in real estate finance, partnered with David Altshuler and Jewish Ad Group (JAG), the objective was clear and ambitious: generate high-quality borrower leads — fast. What happened next surpassed expectations. This wasn’t a slow rollout or an experimental test. It was a precision-built, rapid-deployment lead engine, designed and executed […]

Dana Bash: It feels as though in some ways your blaming the victim here. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino: The victims are the Border Patrol agents. I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agents… The suspect put himself in that situation. The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.

Dana Bash: It doesn’t look anything like he is trying to massacre law enforcement.” Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino: In fact, I believe the fantastic training that our law enforcement partners have. The fact that they’re highly trained prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement.

A deer runs gracefully through the backyards of homes in Monroe as heavy snow falls.