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President Trump said this afternoon that Iranian authorities have stopped killing anti-government protesters, a striking assertion delivered as speculation swirls over whether the United States could be preparing military action against Tehran.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he had been briefed that the violence had eased and executions were no longer moving forward. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It’s stopped. It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions,” Trump said.

He cautioned that the information was still being verified. “So I’ve been told that a good authority — we will find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, we’ll all be very upset… but that’s just gotten to me, the information that the killing has stopped, that the executions have stopped, they’re not going to have an execution.”

Trump’s comments suggested reduced urgency for US intervention on behalf of protesters. Still, they came against the backdrop of his decision last June to launch airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program after public signals that appeared to downplay the likelihood of an attack.

The president said his assessment was based on reports from influential contacts inside Iran who claimed the government was stepping back from its harsh crackdown.

“We have been informed by very important sources on the other side, and they said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place,” Trump said.

He added that executions expected to occur imminently had been called off. “There was supposed to be a lot of executions today, and that the executions won’t take place. And we’re going to find out. I mean, I’ll find out after this, you’ll find out. But we’ve been told on good authority, and I hope it’s true.”

Trump acknowledged uncertainty about the situation. “Who knows, right? Who knows? It’s a crazy world. You’ve seen that over the last few days [Iranian officials] said people were shooting at them with guns, and they were shooting back. It’s one of those things, but they told me that there’ll be no executions, and so I hope that’s true.”

While stopping short of committing to or ruling out force, Trump said Washington would continue monitoring developments. “We are going to watch and see what the process is — but we were given a very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on.”

How the Iranian messages reached the White House was unclear. An Iranian official contacted US special envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend to suggest diplomatic talks, briefly raising expectations of a US-Iran meeting. That opening closed quickly after Trump canceled the idea as reports indicated the protest death toll had climbed past 2,000 this week.

Before Trump’s remarks, Iranian officials were preparing to execute a 26-year-old protester, Erfan Soltani, for his alleged role in a January 8 demonstration, prompting widespread international condemnation.

A source close to Soltani’s family told IranWire that a relative who is an attorney attempted to intervene but was blocked during the expedited legal process. According to the source, officials said, “There is no file to review. We announced that anyone arrested in the protests would be executed.”

Trump’s suggestion that Iran might receive a reprieve came despite multiple indicators pointing toward possible escalation, including a reduction of US personnel at a base in Qatar, the temporary closure of the British embassy in Tehran, and reports of quiet US outreach to Hezbollah urging restraint should Iran be attacked.

At the same time, Iranian leaders have escalated their public threats against Trump. On Wednesday, Iranian state television aired what appeared to be an assassination threat, displaying an image of Trump bloodied after surviving a 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, alongside the message: “This time it will not miss the target.”

Such threats are not new. In 2022, the regime released a video depicting an assassination attempt against Trump at one of his golf courses.

Trump downplayed those warnings last July after a senior Iranian official suggested he could be targeted by a drone while sunbathing. “It’s been a long time. I don’t know, maybe I was around seven or so. I’m not too big into it,” the president said.

He added, “I guess it’s a threat. I’m not sure it’s a threat, actually, but perhaps it is.”

{Matzav.com}

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin has been notified that the Trump administration is investigating her after she organized and appeared in a video with other Democrats urging military service members to resist “illegal orders.” Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, said in a video statement released Wednesday that prosecutors were investigating her over the 90-second video she […]

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The Trump administration is moving to temporarily stop visa processing for people seeking entry to the United States from dozens of countries, according to a statement issued Wednesday by a State Department spokesperson.

Details of the decision were not provided by the spokesperson. The policy was first disclosed by Fox News, which reported on the development after reviewing a State Department memorandum.

According to that report, the suspension is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 21.

Fox News said the list of impacted countries includes Somalia, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, and Thailand, among others.

The memo instructs U.S. embassies and consulates to deny visa applications under existing legal authorities while the State Department conducts a review of its vetting and processing procedures. The document does not specify how long the reassessment will take.

The reported pause aligns with the broad immigration enforcement push President Donald Trump has pursued since taking office last January.

During a speech in November, Trump said he would “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries” after a shooting near the White House carried out by an Afghan national that resulted in the death of a National Guard member.

{Matzav.com}

Conservative commentator Mark Levin warned President Donald Trump on Wednesday that time is running out for the United States to intervene as Iran’s government intensifies its crackdown on nationwide anti-regime protests. In a post on X, Levin said he had spoken with a contact who recently reached Iraqi Kurdistan and relayed grim accounts from inside […]

REPORTER: “It sounds like you are saying that you would potentially acquire Greenland by force…” TRUMP: “No, you’re saying that. I didn’t say it…” REPORTER: “What are the options right now?” TRUMP: “Well, I wouldn’t be telling you…”

As his long tenure at City Hall comes to an end, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has moved to lock in policies he believes will help safeguard the city’s Jewish residents, issuing executive actions intended to outlast his administration, JTA reports.

After nearly 13 years as mayor, Fulop signed two executive orders on December 22. One bars Jersey City from taking part in initiatives that seek to “boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel,” while the other establishes protections for houses of worship and those attending them against protests.

In explaining the move, Fulop said the goal was to ensure continuity after his departure and to prevent policy shifts he believes could harm certain communities. He said the measures were designed so that the “next administration doesn’t go in a direction that I think is adverse to some of the communities in Jersey City.”

James Solomon, who won the mayoral election in November and is scheduled to be sworn in on Wednesday, has not publicly staked out positions on Israel or the Gaza war. Fulop said, however, that he expects the incoming mayor will soon encounter “pressures from a lot of different people, including the city council.”

Those pressures could be amplified by the makeup of the new city council. Among the members elected last month are Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks, both affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that has been sharply critical of Israel. Ephros, who is Jewish, has been an outspoken pro-Palestinian activist and helped organize an October 2023 letter titled “Not in Our Name! Jewish Socialists Say No to Apartheid and Genocide,” which drew attention for likening Israel to Nazi Germany.

Fulop said his intent was to set a clear direction regardless of shifting political dynamics. “For me, it was important to set Jersey City in a place that, even with a new council coming in, that it was set on a path to protect a large and growing Jewish community in Jersey City so that they do not feel that there’s any discrimination,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The executive orders mirror steps taken in New York City by then-Mayor Eric Adams, who issued similar directives banning BDS activity and regulating protests near synagogues shortly before leaving office, anticipating that his successor, Zohran Mamdani, would take a more adversarial stance toward Israel. Mamdani overturned Adams’ orders within hours of assuming office earlier this month.

Fulop said he remains unsure where Solomon stands on the issue. “There isn’t a lot that he said on it, so how he views this, and if he views it as something that he’s going to engage in in Jersey City, is unclear,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you see a trend nationally that definitely is leaning more into antisemitic rhetoric, and I think we need to be conscious of that.”

Solomon did not reply to requests for comment. In a 2021 interview, he described his background as being raised “half-Catholic, half-Jewish, and mostly confused,” noting that his family observes Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Passover.

Fulop opted not to seek a fourth term as mayor last year. Earlier this year, he pursued the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey but was defeated in June by Mikie Sherrill, who went on to win the general election in November.

Jersey City, which has a population of roughly 300,000 and sits just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, is home to an estimated 6,000 Jewish residents, according to a 2018 study by the Berman Jewish DataBank. The city includes about seven synagogues and several kosher restaurants, and its Jewish population has expanded over the past decade, partly as Orthodox families look for more affordable housing options outside New York City.

Fulop gained national prominence in 2019 when he was among the first state and local officials to publicly characterize a fatal shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City as an antisemitic attack.

“The governor and attorney general were reluctant to call it an antisemitic attack, and I pushed publicly,” Fulop said. “I got criticized for it, but I thought it was important at the time to recognize what it was while the world and the country was watching how we respond to make sure that it is clear that it was an antisemitic attack because we can’t be dismissive of these sort of things.”

That period also coincided with rising tensions tied to demographic changes in the city, as an increasing Jewish presence fueled debates over gentrification. Fulop said his administration focused on outreach to ease friction among communities.

“There was a lot of strain between the African American community and the Jewish community, a lot of misunderstanding between the two communities,” he said. “We did our best to facilitate conversations between leadership in both those communities in order to build bridges. I think we did a good job.”

Fulop’s approach to combating antisemitism has sometimes diverged from the views of other Jewish leaders in New Jersey. Last year, he announced his opposition to adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism at the state level, arguing that New Jersey already has robust hate-crime laws and that safeguarding free expression is essential. Critics of the IHRA definition have objected to its inclusion of certain forms of criticism of Israel.

“I think that specific definition is counter productive,” Fulop said at the time, as lawmakers debated whether to adopt it statewide. He added, “I say this in the context of someone who is Jewish, as someone who has a Jewish education, as someone who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors. as someone who is continued supporter of the NJ-Israel Commission and someone that opposes BDS legislation.”

The New Jersey Legislature declined last week to move forward with a bill adopting the IHRA definition, prompting criticism from the state’s five Jewish federations, including the federation that serves Jersey City.

While Fulop said Jersey City has not seen the same level of synagogue protests or BDS-related activity that has occurred recently in New York, he believes proactive steps are still warranted and described the executive orders as protective “guardrails.”

“Historically, antisemitism kind of creeps up in a lot of different places when it’s unexpected, and from my standpoint, even when you’ve seen it in other cities across the country, even though it hasn’t been in Jersey City, putting those guardrails in place and those protections were important,” he said.

As he prepares to take on his next role as president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, Fulop said he hopes the measures will ultimately assist the incoming administration rather than constrain it.

“I view this as helpful for him, ultimately, that it sets up principles that protect everybody, and you’re not going to discriminate against anybody,” he said. “That was how we looked at it.”

{Matzav.com}

The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States. The State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said it had […]

REPORTER: Who told you that the killing in Iran has stopped? TRUMP: “We have been informed by very important sources on the other side that the killing has stopped and executions won’t take place.”

REPORTER: “Are you willing to leave the NATO alliance in order to get what you want with Greenland?” TRUMP: “Well, I wouldn’t be telling you what I’m willing to do, certainly.”

As Verizon grappled with a sweeping nationwide service outage on Wednesday, rival carrier T-Mobile seized the moment to reassure its own customers that its network was functioning normally, while openly attributing connectivity issues to Verizon’s problems.

“T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected. However due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time,” the company posted on X as Verizon’s network melted down.

At the same time, Verizon subscribers across the country turned to Downdetector in droves, registering a surge of complaints describing prolonged service disruptions. Many reported their phones stuck in SOS mode for hours, with calls failing to connect and mobile data entirely unavailable.

“I have been in and out of SOS mode for 3 hours now…my family was all fine but now they are getting outages/SOS mode too,” one Maryland customer wrote.

Anger and frustration mounted among affected users, with at least one Verizon customer in Mobile, Alabama, declaring that the situation was “getting ridiculous” and saying the outage had pushed them to consider switching carriers.

Reports also poured in from major population centers and smaller cities alike, pointing to the broad scope of the disruption.

“Down in Dallas TX. Almost 2 hours now. Ugh!!!!” one user posted, while another in Waco, Texas, put it more simply: “Waco TX down.”

Several customers said the outage was intermittent, with brief flashes of restored service followed by another collapse.

“Still down (2 hrs now). Came on for a few mins and then back to SOS,” a user in Chesapeake, Virginia, wrote, while a customer in Southern New Hampshire complained their phone was “going in and out of SOS every few mins” without allowing calls to go through.

The problems were not confined to any single region, with users reporting outages in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Maine, New Jersey, and Colorado. One customer in South Texas contrasted the situation by noting, “My AT&T mobile is working fine,” as Verizon service remained unavailable.

At the height of the outage, Downdetector logged more than 175,000 reports nationwide. The disruption was serious enough to trigger emergency alerts in New York City and Washington, DC, cautioning that some Verizon customers might have difficulty contacting 911.

Verizon acknowledged the ongoing service failure but stopped short of providing specific details about the cause or a timeline for full restoration.

“Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today’s service interruptions,” a company rep told The Post.

“Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible.”

While isolated reports suggested that service was beginning to return for some customers, many others continued to report outages as the situation remained unresolved.

{Matzav.com}

A 45-minute meeting took place this evening at the Slabodka Yeshiva complex, where rebbes met with the roshei yeshiva to discuss a united response to Israel’s proposed draft law.

Participating in the discussion were the Sanzer Rebbe and the Modzitzer Rebbe, who met with Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch.

The talks followed a recent session of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael, which ended without a definitive decision on how to proceed regarding the draft legislation. In the aftermath, it was decided to coordinate positions with the leading Litvishe gedolim, a move first reported by Matzav.com.

To that end, the Sanzer and Modzitzer Rebbes were selected to conduct the consultations. The two had already held a preliminary meeting earlier in the week, and the Modzitzer Rebbe also met separately with the Gerrer Rebbe. Tonight, the rebbes arrived at Slabodka to continue those efforts.

The meeting was described as focused and substantive. During the 45-minute discussion, the gedolim addressed the need for a unified front in confronting the draft law and aligning approaches across the chareidi spectrum.

Matzav.com will continue to follow developments and provide updates as they emerge.

{Matzav.com}

A widespread outage has disrupted Verizon’s wireless network this afternoon, leaving tens of thousands of customers without voice, text, or data service and causing many phones to display an “SOS” indicator instead of normal signal bars.

Reports of service failures began climbing shortly before 12:30 p.m. ET, according to outage tracking site Down Detector, with complaints quickly surging into the tens of thousands. Affected users across multiple states reported losing cellular connectivity entirely, with iPhones and other devices defaulting to emergency or satellite-based modes.

Verizon confirmed the issue shortly after 1 p.m. ET, acknowledging that its network was experiencing a significant disruption. In a statement, the company said, “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.” The carrier did not provide an estimated time for full service restoration or disclose the cause of the outage.

The disruption appeared to affect major regions including New York and New Jersey, the Carolinas, Texas, Florida, Nevada, and parts of the Midwest and Southeast. Customers reported that phones showed an SOS icon even in areas with normally strong coverage, indicating an inability to connect to Verizon’s core network despite being within range of cell towers.

New York City officials warned that the outage could interfere with emergency calls for customers on Verizon. The city’s emergency notification system advised residents experiencing difficulties dialing 911 to use a landline, another mobile carrier, or go directly to a police precinct if urgent assistance is needed.

Some customers reported brief signs of recovery, with service intermittently returning before dropping again. In New York City, a small number of users saw limited bars and 5G service after restarting their phones, though connections were described as unstable and short-lived.

The outage did not appear to impact other major carriers. T-Mobile said its network was operating normally but cautioned that customers might have trouble reaching Verizon subscribers. In a post on social media, the carrier said its systems were functioning as expected despite the reported Verizon disruption.

Verizon-owned Visible, a mobile virtual network operator that uses Verizon’s infrastructure, continued to show service for some users, adding to confusion about the scope and technical nature of the outage.

Down Detector reports peaked at nearly 180,000 complaints before gradually declining, though numbers remained far above normal levels as of mid-afternoon. Verizon’s own network status checker did not initially reflect widespread issues, and some users reported difficulty accessing the tool.

As of the latest update, Verizon said its engineers were still investigating and working to restore full service. Customers continued to report inconsistent connectivity, with many phones remaining stuck in SOS mode hours after the outage began.

{Matzav.com}

With just days remaining before leaving office, the Murphy administration is moving to place the troubled Lakewood, NJ public school district under state control, a sweeping intervention that would remove authority from the elected local school board and place the system under a state-appointed Superintendent with broad governing powers, according to a report in the New Jersey Globe.

State officials point to long-standing financial instability as the driving force behind the action, citing persistent budget shortfalls, soaring transportation and special-education expenses, and a cycle of state financial assistance that the district has been unable to pay back. They argue that the district’s underlying financial structure has deteriorated to the point where the existing leadership framework can no longer function.

Lakewood’s political makeup contrasts sharply with the statewide picture. In the 2024 general election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli won roughly 90% of the vote in the township, carrying it by nearly 33,000 votes. That overwhelming local support, however, did little to affect Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s decisive fourteen-point victory across New Jersey.

The formal process is expected to begin today, when New Jersey Commissioner of Education Kevin Dehmer is anticipated to file an Order to Show Cause. With only six days remaining in Governor Phil Murphy’s term, the timing appears designed to spare Sherrill from having to initiate the takeover herself once she assumes office.

Lakewood’s educational landscape is unique within the state. More than 40,000 students attend over 180 private schools, the vast majority of them frum institutions, while the public school system serves approximately 5,000 students. No other district in New Jersey comes close to that imbalance, as the statewide average for private-school enrollment is about 14%.

The local Board of Education allocates more funding to transporting private-school students than it does to instruction within public school classrooms. Critics argue that this arrangement has left public school students—largely from communities of color—at a disadvantage, pointing to overcrowded classrooms and weaker academic performance as symptoms of a system misaligned with their needs.

For more than ten years, Lakewood’s district has posted annual deficits running into the millions. Each year, continued operation depends on repeated state “loan” bailouts, many of which officials acknowledge are unlikely ever to be repaid.

Opponents of the current structure describe the district as effectively insolvent, contending that there is no viable long-term solution under existing governance and that the financial model is destined to fail under the burden of legally mandated private-school transportation.

Compounding the problem, Lakewood places a significant number of special-education students in private programs, including many outside the district and at substantial expense. A state investigation conducted in 2014 flagged concerns over weak oversight of special-education contractors, questionable approval practices for private providers, and possible conflicts of interest. At that time, Governor Chris Christie opted against a state takeover.

Governor-elect Sherrill has previously expressed support for state oversight measures, including the appointment of a state monitor in Montclair, her hometown, where officials are dealing with severe fiscal challenges.

New Jersey has a history of state takeovers of school districts. Camden was placed under state control in 2013 during Christie’s administration, while Newark and Paterson underwent similar interventions in the 1990s, and Jersey City did so in 1989. In each case, restoring full local governance took more than a decade.

Should the Murphy administration’s effort succeed, Lakewood could be headed for a similarly extended period of state supervision.

{Matzav.com}

Six United States Air Force Stratotanker aircraft have departed from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Border Czar Tom Homan on leftist groups that obstruct ICE: I just left a meeting about 20 minutes ago here at the White House… We are aware of this coordinated effort. We are aware that this is being financed…

The Sanzer Rebbe and the Modzitzer Rebbe at the residence of HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau, where HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch was also present to discuss the crisis surrounding the drafting of Yeshiva Bochrim.

DAY THREE: New York City’s largest-ever nurses’ strike entered its third day Wednesday, with negotiations appearing at a standstill and nearly 15,000 nurses continuing to walk picket lines at three major private hospital systems. The strike involves nurses at Mount Sinai Health System, Montefiore Health System, and NewYork-Presbyterian, and has centered largely on staffing levels, […]

Some personnel stationed at a major U.S. military installation in Qatar have been told to leave the base by Wednesday evening, according to a U.S. official, as tensions rise following renewed Iranian threats referencing a past missile strike on the facility.

Speaking to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the official said the guidance issued at Al Udeid Air Base was meant as a precaution.

The official declined to provide specifics, including whether the departure was mandatory or voluntary, whether it applied to military members or civilian staff, or how many people were affected, citing operational security concerns.

Qatar acknowledged the development later Wednesday, saying the steps were being taken “undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”

“The IMO reaffirms that the State of Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents as a top priority, including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” Qatar’s media office said in a post on X.

U.S. Central Command declined to answer questions about the situation or the advisory at the base.

The move comes as anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran and as President Donald Trump has publicly warned that he is prepared to carry out military action if Iranian authorities persist in violently suppressing protesters.

Al Udeid Air Base, which houses thousands of U.S. troops, was struck by Iranian missiles in June in response to U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Referencing that strike, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on X, “the #US President, who repeatedly talks about the futile aggression against #Iran’s nuclear facilities, would do well to also mention the destruction of the US base in #Al-Udeid by Iranian missiles.”

“It would certainly help create a real understanding of Iran’s will and ability to respond to any aggression,” he added.

Against this backdrop, Iranian and Qatari officials were in contact Tuesday as Tehran’s crackdown intensified and U.S. warnings of possible intervention escalated.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, spoke by phone with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.

Following the call, Al Thani said in a statement on X that he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”

Iran’s decision in June to retaliate against U.S. strikes by launching missiles at the large desert base outside Doha briefly strained relations between Iran and Qatar, rare friction between the two neighboring states. Qatari officials said at the time that the attack caught them off guard.

No U.S. or Qatari personnel were injured in the strike, according to U.S. Central Command, which said American and Qatari forces jointly defended the installation. A Qatari military official said one of the 19 missiles fired by Iran was not intercepted and struck the base, though Trump wrote in a social media post at the time that “hardly any damage was done.”

{Matzav.com}

FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of a leak investigation involving a Pentagon contractor accused of sharing classified information, the Justice Department said. Hannah Natanson, who has been covering President Donald Trump’s transformation of the federal government, had a phone and a Garmin watch seized in the search of […]