Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday that the military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury has produced strong results and pushed back against media portrayals suggesting the operation has gone poorly.
Speaking during an appearance on CNN’s The Source, the Pennsylvania Democrat argued that some coverage, particularly from The New York Times, paints an inaccurate picture of the situation.
During the discussion, Fetterman said he believes certain outlets are attempting to frame the operation as unsuccessful. “I don’t know what your network has talked about, but what I’m saying [is] that, whether, like, it’s The New York Times, they’re making it more and more trying to convince America that this has been a disaster or things are out of control, and that’s just categorically not true on that.”
Fetterman pointed to what he described as measurable outcomes from the campaign, saying the operation has significantly reduced Iranian attacks and weakened the country’s ability to retaliate.
Earlier in the conversation, he praised the military results so far. “the outcome thusfar has been outstanding. If you just look at the metrics, that the missile and the drone attacks are down in the 90s percent. And Iran really has been [unable] to strike back and hit our assets or Israel much right now. So, after eliminating all of the leadership after seven or eight days and achieving air supremacy after a couple of days, I think overall, I think it’s been outstanding, where we’re at.”
At the same time, Fetterman said that it is reasonable for the media to report on controversial aspects of the conflict, including a strike that hit a school in Iran.
{Matzav.com}
As first reported here on Matzav.com, a remarkable simcha was celebrated this week in Modiin Illit, where a well-known local family welcomed their 21st child. The birth has drawn widespread attention not only because of the extraordinary number, but also because all 21 children were born in separate births, without a single set of twins.
In a special interview with Menachem Toker on the Kol Chai program Zman Avir, the father revealed a remarkable story about a bracha he received years ago from Maran Sar HaTorah Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l.
The father recalled that when the family had only four or five children, he once received a brocha from the revered gadol that would ultimately shape his life.
“This is a bracha, by the way, from Rav Chaim Kanievsky. I was very close to him,” the father said. “I cannot go into the details, but he told me explicitly: you will have twenty children. I knew that when he says something, that’s how it will be.”
The father explained that Rav Chaim continued to follow the family’s growth over the years and repeatedly reaffirmed the blessing.
“When there were eight children, I came to tell him. He had served as sandek a few times. He said to me: ‘Nu, there will be another eight,’ and he smiled. He kept repeating the bracha. He was consistent the entire time.”
The family’s strong emunah chachamim has also been tested during the current war, as missile sirens and the tense security situation have disrupted daily life. Despite the circumstances, the family once again chose to give birth at the Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak.
“I still believe his bracha remains,” the father said. “So even with all the discomfort because of the war conditions, we specifically went there. He told me several times: I told you, Mayanei HaYeshua.”
During the interview, the father also spoke emotionally about the family’s eldest son, who lives with a disability. He said that Rav Chaim gave them chizuk at a time when doctors were offering discouraging predictions.
“You really have to know that behind this stands Rav Chaim Kanievsky,” he said. “Even with the disabled son, when doctors said various things, Rav Chaim dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He told me: don’t worry, don’t worry. He is the firstborn, he is the oldest.”
Asked by Toker how parents can give individual attention to so many children, the father offered a heartfelt approach to chinuch that resonated deeply with listeners.
“If you see every child as a world unto himself, it’s possible,” he explained. “If each child is just another number, another box, then it cannot work. But if you believe every child has his own strengths, his uniqueness, his needs, and his goodness, then what does one have to do with the other? You see each one as one.”
On the practical side of managing such a large household, the father noted that several years ago the family expanded their home in order to better accommodate their son with special needs.
“We made some changes and expanded the house,” he said. “You can manage even with fewer rooms — people would be surprised.”
He added that Shabbos meals are held around a large table, with an additional smaller table added when needed, and that the home operates with a strong sense of simcha and faith.
Moved by the story, Toker announced live on air that he would present the family with a gift package that includes new suits and hats for the seven sons currently learning in yeshiva, as well as a shopping voucher for the new mother.
The father expressed heartfelt gratitude and concluded simply: “I truly appreciate the generous heart.”
Next week the family will celebrate the baby’s bris. The father revealed that the sandek will be Rav Shimon Galai. Toker predicted that the newborn will likely be named after Rav Chaim Kanievsky.
{Matzav.com}A powerful message of chizuk delivered by Rav Baruch Rosenblum during the ongoing “Shaagas HaAri” war has gone viral in recent days, offering encouragement and perspective to many facing the current security situation.
The noted maggid shiur reflects on the familiar words from Tehillim, “L’Dovid Hashem ori v’yishi,” asking why people often feel secure during ordinary times yet become gripped by fear when war breaks out.
Rav Rosenblum explains that under normal circumstances people go to sleep at night or leave for Shacharis without thinking twice about their safety. There is no sense that they must say goodbye to family members or prepare for danger.
“You don’t say to your wife, ‘If I don’t come back, raise the children on the path of Torah,’” he notes.
The reason, he explains, is simple faith in the words Hashem ma’oz chayai, mimi efchad — that Hashem is the strength of our lives and there is no one to fear.
The difference, he says, is that people perceive a gap between times of calm and times of war.
“What is chanayah?” Rav Rosenblum asks. “It’s a regular day, a pleasant atmosphere. You wake up in the morning and everything is working, baruch Hashem. You feel calm because everything is fine.”
Quoting the words of Dovid Hamelech, he explains: “Im tachaneh alai machaneh lo yira libi.” On an ordinary day, when life feels stable, a person does not feel afraid.
“But what happens when war rises against me? B’zos ani votei’ach. What is that zos? The same zos of the machaneh.”
Rav Rosenblum stresses that the Ribbono Shel Olam does not change. The same Hashem who is present with us during times of calm is also present with us in the midst of war.
To illustrate the idea, he recounts a story about the Gerrer Rebbe, the Imrei Emes. The Rebbe was once traveling in a wagon when the horses suddenly began racing toward a steep drop. While the chassidim around him panicked and cried out in fear, the Rebbe remained completely calm.
Rav Rosenblum explains the lesson: “Someone who feels secure only when the ground beneath him is straight will panic when the ground becomes crooked. But someone who walks calmly because the Ribbono Shel Olam is with him — that same Ribbono Shel Olam is with him even when the ground becomes crooked.”
He concludes with the example of Yonah Hanavi, who was able to sleep in the depths of the ship during a violent storm. When asked how he could sleep amid such danger, Yonah answered that the One who created the sea also created the land, and the One who protects a person when the ground is stable protects him when the sea is raging.
Rav Rosenblum’s message for these wartime days is clear: people must follow all safety instructions and do what is required, but they should do so without panic.
“We have to do what needs to be done, and we must follow the instructions,” he says. “But not with fear and not with dread — rather with calmness and confidence.”
{Matzav.com}
Federal authorities have issued an urgent advisory to law enforcement agencies across California warning of a potential Iranian drone attack targeting the state, according to an internal alert circulated by the FBI.
The warning indicates that Iranian officials may have considered launching unmanned aerial vehicles from a vessel positioned off the U.S. coastline if the United States carried out military strikes against Iran. The notice surfaced as tensions continue following the U.S. strike last month that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader.
According to the alert, intelligence gathered in early February suggested that drones could potentially be launched from an unidentified ship operating near American waters.
California is home to the largest population of Iranian dissidents in the United States—estimated at roughly 500,000 people—but officials said it remains unclear whether that factor played any role in the potential targeting of the state.
The FBI advisory stated: “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”
The warning continued: “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
Authorities distributed the notice to police departments across the region, though it did not identify specific locations that could be targeted. When contacted by The New York Post, the FBI declined to provide additional comment.
The warning comes nearly two weeks after joint U.S. and Israeli strikes inside Iran dramatically escalated tensions in the region and pushed the Gulf into open conflict. Since then, Tehran has launched retaliatory attacks and issued repeated threats directed at the American mainland.
California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed the warning during a press briefing Wednesday and acknowledged the seriousness of the potential threat.
He said: “Drone issues have been top of mind. We’ve been aware of that information, we’ve been working collaboratively with the [State Operations Center].”
Newsom also noted that he had not yet spoken with President Trump about the warning.
“I haven’t talked to the president directly about this and I wish the president would talk to the American people about what this is all about, what’s the end game?” he said.
Earlier in the day, Trump downplayed the likelihood of an Iranian attack on American territory. When reporters asked whether he was concerned about such threats, he replied simply, “No, I’m not.”
A separate threat assessment prepared by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis said Iran and allied groups “probably” pose a risk of targeted attacks against the United States, although officials believe a large-scale assault remains unlikely.
Meanwhile, the conflict continued to intensify in the Middle East on Wednesday, as at least three ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran vowed to carry out what it described as its most powerful strike of the war.
Three separate incidents were reported along the vital shipping corridor. One vessel, the Thai-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree, reported a blaze in its main engine room following an attack that forced the crew to abandon the vessel.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out the strike on the ship, claiming the vessel had ignored warnings to stay clear of the waterway.
The group wrote on social media that the ship “ignored the warnings” from Iran to stay away from the Strait of Hormuz.
“Any vessel that intends to pass must obtain permission from #Iran,” the IRGC said in a social media post. “American aggressors and their partners have no right of passage.”
The attacks prompted a warning from U.S. Central Command advising civilians to avoid ports along the Strait of Hormuz because Iranian military activity has turned those locations into potential targets.
“CENTCOM urges civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating. Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel, and commercial vessel crews should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment,” the warning read.
“Although the U.S. military also cannot guarantee civilian safety in or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes, American forces will continue taking every feasible precaution to minimize harm to civilians,” CENTCOM added.
Following the strike on the Mayuree Naree, Oman’s navy launched a rescue mission that successfully evacuated 20 of the ship’s 23 crew members. According to Thailand’s foreign ministry, efforts were still underway to locate and assist the remaining three sailors.
Iran did not explicitly claim responsibility for two other maritime attacks reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitoring service.
One of the ships was identified as the Japan-flagged container vessel One Majesty, which was struck by a projectile about 25 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.
The third vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship Star Gwyneth, sustained damage to its hull roughly 50 miles north of Dubai, according to the maritime security firm Vanguard.
Despite the damage to both ships, maritime authorities reported that all crew members aboard those vessels were safe and accounted for.
According to UKMTO officials, the incidents mark a significant increase in maritime attacks since the war began. The agency has recorded 13 separate assaults on vessels operating near Iran since Feb. 28.
The maritime strikes occurred as Iran intensified its broader military campaign across the region, launching waves of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel, the Persian Gulf, and areas near Dubai, according to Iranian state media.
Two drones struck near Dubai International Airport—one of the busiest international travel hubs in the world—injuring four people, the Dubai Media Office reported.
Iranian state media described the wave of attacks as the “most intense operation since the beginning of the war.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States will draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to bring down energy prices that have climbed during the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Energy markets have experienced sharp volatility since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28. At one point Monday, crude oil prices approached $120 per barrel as traders reacted to concerns about supply disruptions tied to the conflict.
By Wednesday evening, prices had moderated somewhat but remained elevated. In after-hours trading, Brent crude was priced at $93.05 per barrel, about 1.16% above its opening level of $91.98, according to data from Google Finance.
Speaking during a visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company in Cincinnati, Trump said the government is prepared to use the nation’s emergency oil reserves to stabilize prices.
“Well, we’ll do that and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump told WKRC-TV in Cincinnati during a visit to pharmaceutical and biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“I filled it up once and I’ll fill it up again, but right now we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down.”
Trump’s remarks came shortly after the International Energy Agency announced that member countries plan to release 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles to ease the surge in global crude prices that followed the outbreak of war in Iran.
If implemented as announced, the move would mark the largest coordinated release in the agency’s history. It would exceed the previous record set in 2022, when IEA members collectively released 182 million barrels after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Previous U.S. administrations also turned to the reserve during periods of market disruption. According to Fortune, President Joe Biden authorized the release of nearly 300 million barrels during his time in office in an effort to restrain rising fuel prices. That total included approximately 180 million barrels released over a six-month period in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Those withdrawals significantly reduced the reserve, leaving it at its lowest level since 1983—roughly 350 million barrels—after Trump had concluded his first term with approximately 638 million barrels stored in the reserve.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, global oil prices collapsed, prompting Trump to instruct the Energy Department to buy oil for the reserve.
At the time, he directed officials to acquire 77 million barrels in order to “fill it to the top,” but the purchase was ultimately blocked when the Democratic-controlled Congress declined to approve funding.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the newly announced release from the reserve is expected to begin next week and will take roughly 120 days to complete.
Although Trump declared a “national energy emergency” early in 2025 and pledged to rebuild the reserve, the stockpile has grown only modestly since he took office due to limited funding approved by Congress.
According to Fortune, the reserve currently holds approximately 416 million barrels of oil.
Trump expressed confidence that energy prices will soon fall despite the market turmoil caused by the war.
“Oil prices will be coming down,” Trump told reporters at Thermo Fisher Scientific before moving on to speak in Kentucky.
“That’s just a matter of war, that happens … you can almost predict it.
“I would say it went up a little bit less than we thought and it’s going to come down more than anybody understands,” Trump said.
{Matzav.com}
