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A man was attacked by a shark on the beach at the Nachal Hadera Park near the power station in the city on Monday afternoon. MDA received reports on Monday about a diver who entered the water and disappeared. A video circulating on social media shows a man in the water screaming for help and a shark fin peeking out from the waves. Rescue forces tried to find him but were unsuccessful. The search for the victim in the water ceased at nightfall but search teams will continue to search the coast. In a report received by MDA, a witness described: “There’s someone here who was bitten by a shark. He’s screaming ‘Help’ in the sea at Hadera Park. He’s drowning. He’s in the water. No one is coming to save him. It’s all blood there, the sharks are eating him. It’s deep, I think he’s a diver. There are several sharks on him.” Shlomo, who was on the beach, also witnessed the attack. He described that “I went to the beach with friends. We were about to go in and suddenly we saw a man thrashing in the water – we saw him fighting a shark and trying to escape from it. The shark attacked him. It was hard to see. It was chilling, really scary. We really saw how the shark attacked him. I don’t understand how they don’t close a beach with sharks. It could easily be me. All of us are traumatized.” Witnesses told Ynet: “It’s no wonder the sharks attacked. There are fishermen here all the time. The hooks of the fishing rods hit the sharks and cause them to bleed. That’s why they attacked.” Following the incident, all beaches from Hadera to Netanya were closed. It should be noted that the attack took place in a part of the beach where swimming was banned. Professionals in the field of shark and large marine life research told Yisrael Hayom, “It was absolutely clear that something like this would happen in Israel. It was discussed just yesterday among researchers. Despite all the warnings and explanations that these animals must not be disturbed, many Israelis swam toward the sharks, petted them, and even swam around them holding fish. This behavior creates a classic situation for unhealthy contact with these predators, even with shark species that do not see humans as prey or seek contact with them. We must remember these are animals with significant attacking capabilities. That’s why we continue to warn the public not to approach sharks in the Hadera area.” According to the report, sharks are attracted to Hadera’s coastline due to warm water discharged from the Israel Electric Corporation’s power station. The plant uses seawater to cool its turbines, and the heated water is released back into the sea, attracting the sharks. The Nature and Parks Authority recently warned that “the shark gathering site in Hadera is not managed and is not regulated and poses a great risk to both sharks and humans.” The authority called for limiting human activity in the area and delineating a shark observation area from the shore. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The Trump administration delivered a sharp warning to Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, granting her an extended deadline to end congestion pricing toll collection and cautioning that failure to comply could bring “serious consequences.”

A letter issued by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened that if New York continues collecting the controversial tolls beyond the new May 21 cutoff, the federal government could pull its funding and halt approvals for infrastructure projects in Manhattan.

Duffy further warned that the repercussions may not stop at the city’s borders. “The corrective measures noted above may be expanded to other geographic areas within the State of New York, if any noncompliance continues,” the letter stated.

The warning came just one day after Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority blew past an earlier April 20 deadline to suspend the $9 congestion charge, showing no signs of backing down.

The federal government had initially ordered the MTA to shut down the nation’s first congestion pricing plan by March 21, prompting the agency to sue in response.

Monday’s letter followed a broader fallout between the administration and state officials, including President Trump and Duffy removing the MTA from a major redevelopment plan for Penn Station.

Hochul had been personally negotiating with Trump over the future of Penn Station, even as tensions with Duffy escalated over the tolling issue.

In the letter, Duffy demanded that state authorities either end the $9 fee for driving south of 60th Street or demonstrate that the policy doesn’t violate federal statutes guaranteeing “freedom from tolls.”

He argued that the plan imposes double costs on drivers, who are being charged to use federal roadways that have already been paid for through their taxes.

“Anyone needing to drive into the area is either forced to pay a cost-prohibitive toll or required to use the substandard transit system run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority,” Duffy wrote.

{Matzav.com}

Google is confronting an existential threat as the U.S. government tries to break up the company as punishment for turning its revolutionary search engine into an illegal monopoly. The drama began to unfold Monday in a Washington courtroom as three weeks of hearings kicked off to determine how the company should be penalized for operating a monopoly in search. In its opening arguments, federal antitrust enforcers also urged the court to impose forward-looking remedies to prevent Google from using artificial intelligence to further its dominance. “This is a moment in time, we’re at an inflection point, will we abandon the search market and surrender them to control of the monopolists or will we let competition prevail and give choice to future generations,” said Justice Department attorney David Dahlquist. The proceedings, known in legal parlance as a “remedy hearing,” are set to feature a parade of witnesses that includes Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to order a radical shake-up that would ban Google from striking the multibillion dollar deals with Apple and other tech companies that shield its search engine from competition, share its repository of valuable user data with rivals and force a sale of its popular Chrome browser. Google’s attorney, John Schmidtlein, said in his opening statement that the court should take a much lighter touch. He said the government’s heavy-handed proposed remedies wouldn’t boost competition but instead unfairly reward lesser rivals with inferior technology. “Google won its place in the market fair and square,” Schmidtlein said. The moment of reckoning comes four-and-a-half-years after the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit alleging Google’s search engine had been abusing its power as the internet’s main gateway to stifle competition and innovation for more than a decade. After the case finally went to trial in 2023, a federal judge last year ruled Google had been making anti-competitive deals to lock in its search engine as the go-to place for digital information on the iPhone, personal computers and other widely used devices, including those running on its own Android software. That landmark ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sets up a high-stakes drama that will determine the penalties for Google’s misconduct in a search market that it has defined since Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the company in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Since that austere start, Google has expanded far beyond search to become a powerhouse in email, digital mapping, online video, web browsing, smartphone software and data centers. Seizing upon its victory in the search case, the Justice Department is now setting out to prove that radical steps must be taken to rein in Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc. “Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that — no matter what occurs — Google always wins,” the Justice Department argued in documents outlining its proposed penalties. “The American people thus are forced to accept the unbridled demands and shifting, ideological preferences of an economic leviathan in return for a search engine the public may enjoy.” Although the proposed penalties were originally made under President Joe Biden’s term, they are still being embraced by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, whose first administration filed the case […]

NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been temporarily barred from moving forward with plans to bring federal immigration authorities back to Rikers Island.

The decision came from Manhattan Judge Mary Rosado, who granted a temporary restraining order following a lawsuit filed by the City Council aimed at halting any involvement of ICE or other federal agencies at the jail facility.

“City Hall and all other New York City government officials, officers, personnel, and agencies are prohibited from taking any steps toward negotiating, signing, or implementing any Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government regarding federal law enforcement presence on Department of Correction property,” Rosado wrote in her ruling.

The restraining order will remain in effect until at least Friday morning, when a court hearing is scheduled for both parties to present their arguments.

Mayor Adams’ team has insisted that the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Rikers would be limited strictly to criminal investigations, not civil immigration enforcement.

The City Council disagreed, warning that a renewed ICE presence at the jail could lead to widespread deportations and would contradict New York City’s status as a sanctuary city.

ICE previously operated from an office on Rikers Island but was ousted in 2014 after the city, under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, enacted legislation barring such cooperation.

{Matzav.com}

Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted Monday of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of many of the same charges last year. The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an 11-year prison term in June. Nadine Menendez, who stood but did not appear to react as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreperson, was scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, six days after her husband is expected to report to prison. Outside the courthouse, she wore a pink mask as she stood next to her lawyer, Barry Coburn, said he was “devastated by the verdict.” “We fought hard and it hurts,” he said. “This is a very rough day for us.” The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September 2023. Repeatedly during the trial, prosecutors said they were “partners in crime.” During a 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, FBI agents found nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stuffed in boots, shoeboxes and jackets. In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible, also an alleged bribe. Both Nadine and Bob Menendez said they are innocent and never took bribes. Initially, they were to be tried together, along with the three businessmen, but Nadine Menendez’s trial was postponed a year ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery. Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate last August following his conviction. Before the charges were brought he had been chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prosecutors accused Nadine Menendez of starting to facilitating bribes to the senator around the time that they began dating, before they married in the fall of 2020. At the time, she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after missing nearly $20,000 in mortgage payments, trial testimony showed. A longtime friend, Wael Hana, provided cash to save the home — and prosecutors said that in return, the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met religious requirements. Nadine Menendez also needed a new car after her old one was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing a street. (She did not face charges in the crash). Prosecutors said a businessman, Jose Uribe, gave her a Mercedes-Benz, and in return Bob Menendez used his clout to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating some of Uribe’s associates. Prosecutor said more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes, a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors said wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors said Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund. Nadine Menendez, 58, was described by […]

As tensions between Israel and Egypt are at a boiling point amid Cairo’s buildup of military forces in the Sinai, Egypt and China launched an unprecedented joint Air Force exercise in recent days on Egyptian soil. The joint exercise, named “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” began on Shabbos and will continue until the beginning of May. According to a statement by China’s Ministry of National Defense on April 16, China deployed an extensive detachment to Egypt, including J-10C and J-10S fighter jets, a KJ-500 early warning aircraft, a YY-20A aerial refueling aircraft, as well as at least five Y-20 transport aircraft, which delivered the aircraft and soldiers to Cairo on April 15. The exercise includes long-distance maneuvers, logistical coordination, aerial refueling, and for the first time – tactical cooperation between the two air forces. The official goal of the exercise is to strengthen the joint operational capability, share knowledge in modern aerial combat tactics, and examine the operational cooperation between the countries. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

President Donald Trump stated that any potential downturn in the U.S. economy would fall squarely on the shoulders of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, blaming him for resisting calls to cut interest rates.

Trump has repeatedly pushed Powell to lower rates and has even floated the idea of replacing him altogether.

Powell, however, has indicated that a rate cut is unlikely in the short term, warning that the administration’s tariff policies may contribute to both rising inflation and a spike in unemployment.

“‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many. With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden’s egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other ‘things’ trending down, there is virtually No Inflation,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW. Europe has already ‘lowered’ seven times.

“Powell has always been ‘To Late,’ except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala [Harris], get elected. How did that work out?”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said Powell needs to act on falling inflation by slashing interest rates.

“If we had a Fed chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down. He should bring them down,” Trump said.

On Thursday, Trump escalated the pressure, saying that if he were to request Powell’s removal, “he’ll be out of there.”

“I don’t think he’s doing the job,” Trump said during the Oval Office briefing. “He’s too late. Always too late. A little slow. And I’m not happy with him. I let him know it.”

Despite the criticism, Powell has made it clear that he will not step down, stating that his position is secure and that he plans to serve his full term regardless of Trump’s wishes.

Powell’s current four-year term as head of the Federal Reserve runs through May 2026.

{Matzav.com}

The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso — one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history — pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder in a state district court. Judge Sam Medrano told 26-year-old Patrick Crusius he failed in his attack on a community that would have welcomed him “with open arms.” “You came to inflict terror, to take innocent lives, and to shatter a community that had done nothing but stand for kindness, unity and love. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters,” Medrano said. “Now as you begin the rest of your life locked away, remember this: your mission failed,” he continued. “You did not divide this city, you strengthened it. You did not silence its voice, you made it louder. You did not instill fear, you inspired unity. El Paso rose, stronger and braver.” Crusius has acknowledged he targeted Hispanics on Aug. 3, 2019, when he opened fire in a Walmart in the Texas border city that was crowded with weekend shoppers from the U.S. and Mexico. “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty and for no other reason,” Medrano asked him. “Yes, your honor,” Crusius calmly responded. Crusius, who appeared in court wearing a striped jumpsuit, shackles and a protective vest, will be automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole. The change of plea came after local prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said that decision was driven by a majority of victims’ relatives who want the case to be over. Joe Spencer, one of Crusius’ attorneys, said Crusius has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings, and has suffered from debilitating mental illness for most of his life. He said Crusius “became consumed by extreme ideologies found online.” “He brought violence and terror to a place of peace,” Spencer said. “He shattered lives and forever changed the landscape of El Paso. … We offer our deepest condolences.” Crusius has never offered an explicit apology for his actions. He has already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms at the federal level after pleading guilty to hate crimes and weapons charges. “Patrick will leave prison only in a coffin on God’s time,” Spencer said Monday. About 100 people from victims’ families were seated in the courtroom gallery. They will be given the time to give victim impact statements starting Monday afternoon. Dozens made emotional statements during a similar hearing in federal court in 2023 that lasted for three days. The white community-college dropout was 21 years old when police say he drove more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) to El Paso from his home near Dallas. He posted a racist rant online that warned of a Hispanic “invasion,” then opened fire with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Crusius was arrested shortly after. The people who were killed at Walmart ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to elderly grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, a teacher, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips. (AP)

[COMMUNICATED]

Benny was born 18 months ago, bringing with him great joy to his parents. A healthy, thriving baby, he was their sunshine. But six weeks ago, he suddenly became sick. Very, very sick.

The diagnosis was shattering: colon cancer, advanced. Benny declined quickly, turning from a happy toddler to a child unable to eat, crawl or even sit up. He had to be admitted to PICU, in total quarantine due to his fragile state, his parents can only see him in pictures taken by kind nurses.

Desperate and broken hearted, they got a small ray of hope: there is a surgical protocol that might save his life. But it is an innovative procedure, and due to his young age, it will require a series of supportive tests and medical care.

Estimated cost: $300,000

The parents do not have this sum. They have tried fervently to accumulate as much as they can, but they have no financial backing, and currently they are not even able work steadily, and need help with day-to-day expenses.

But they have no choice but to do everything to save their child. So, reluctantly, they are turning to you to plead for help heal Benny.

Who can imagine pain such as this? Enduring seeing their precious baby struggle for every breath, knowing they do not have the means to save him? Begging for pictures of him, and not even being able to hug and comfort him?

Please, let’s give them the support they are so desperate for!

Let them know they are not alone, that we all care, that we will give them their only wish:

Give them the chance to save Benny.

Click here to save little Benny

Two Boeing jets sent to China less than a month ago are returning to the U.S. in the latest apparent turbulence from Trump’s trade war. The 737 MAX 8 planes were ferried from Boeing’s U.S. production in Seattle to the Zhoushan completion center in China, where they were scheduled to undergo final work before being delivered to Chinese carriers. But on Sunday and Monday, two planes painted with China’s Xiamen Airlines livery flew back to Seattle.

A spokesperson for the airline confirmed the planes had gone back to the U.S. but didn’t provide a reason.

Beijing had previously ordered Chinese airlines not to accept delivery of Boeing jets after Trump announced a 145 percent tariff for Chinese products entering the U.S. China retaliated with 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods and counter-measures aimed at certain industries and manufacturers, including Boeing.

Malaysia has said it might buy American jets rejected by Chinese airlines. The world’s second-largest economy, however, warned third-party countries not to make deals with the U.S. that would undercut China’s economic interests. Read more. 

{Matzav.com}

WATCH: Police are now forcibly removing protesters at the anti-government protest in Tel Aviv.

A Hamas supporter was seen wearing a mock suicide vest at an anti-Israel protest in Manhattan. The vest is reminiscent of the suicide vests worn by terrorists to murder and maim Israelis during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. And of course, the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City were also carried out by suicide attackers. The video shows the would-be suicide bomber with other pro-Hamas supporters arguing with counter-protesters. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A Southern California mayor said he wants to give his city’s homeless population “all the fentanyl they want” and later called for a federal “purge.” In a city council meeting, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris responded to a resident’s concern about the city’s handling of its homeless population by saying: “What I want to do is give them free fentanyl… I mean, that’s what I want to do. I want to give them all the fentanyl they want.”

He doubled down on those comments in an interview with FOX LA on Friday where he said he was referring specifically to unhoused “criminals” who “refuse” to get help and that it’s “so easy” to get fentanyl on the streets that it wouldn’t make a difference if the city gave it away for free.

“Quite frankly, I wish that the president would give us a purge. Because we do need to purge these people,” Parris continued. “Now, is it harsh? Of course it’s harsh. But it’s my obligation as the mayor of the city of Lancaster to protect the hardworking families that live there, and I am no longer able to do it.” Read more.

{Matzav.com}

The Israeli Air Force conducted training today to prepare for potential Iranian ballistic missile attacks on Israeli military bases if U.S.-Iran negotiations fail.

TRAFFIC ALERT: A tractor-trailer carrying an oversized load went up in flames on Route 17 westbound just before Exit 127. Emergency personnel, including firefighters, are on the scene. All occupants were able to evacuate safely. (Heavy traffic is reported in the area.(Via Catskills Scoop)  

BREAKING: Sources tell Boro Park Scoop that FDNY marshals are looking into the possibility that a Con Edison manhole underneath the Boro Park Hatzolah vehicle, is the cause of the fire this morning which destroyed the emergency response vehicle which was parked on 16th Avenue and 52nd Street.

Instagram is beginning to test the use of artificial intelligence to determine if kids are lying about their ages on the app, parent company Meta Platforms said on Monday. Meta has been using AI to determine people’s ages for some time, the company said, but photo and video-sharing app will now “proactively” look for teen accounts it suspects belong to teenagers even if they entered an inaccurate birthdate when they signed up. If it is determined that a user is misrepresenting their age, the account will automatically become a teen account, which has more restrictions than an adult account. Teen accounts are private by default. Private messages are restricted so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. “Sensitive content,” such as videos of people fighting or those promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited, Meta said. Teens will also get notifications if they are on Instagram for more than 60 minutes and a “sleep mode” will be enabled that turns off notifications and sends auto-replies to direct messages from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. Meta says it trains its AI to look for signals, such as the type of content the account interacts, profile information and when the account was created, to determine the owner’s age. The heightened measures arrive as social media companies face increased scrutiny over how their platform affects the mental health and well-being of younger users. A growing number of states are also trying to pass age verification laws, although they have faced court challenges. Meta and other social media companies support putting the onus on app stores to verify ages amid criticism that they don’t do enough to make their products safe for children — or verify that no kids under 13 use them. Instagram will also send notifications to parents “with information about how they can have conversations with their teens on the importance of providing the correct age online,” the company said. (AP)

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of the Faltishaner Rebbe Rav Mordechai Stein zt”l of Boro Park, who was niftar on Shveii Shel Pesach at the age of 84. His levayah was held on Acharon Shel Pesach.

The Rebbe was born on 13 Adar in 1941 in Faltishan, Romania, to his father, the Faltishaner Rebbe, Rav Yisroel Avrohom zt”l, and his mother, Rebbetzin Sarah a”h, daughter of the Faltishaner Rebbe, Rav Elazar Twersky zt”l. At his bris, he was named Mordechai after his ancestor, the Rebbe Rav Mordechai of Chernobyl zt”l.

He lateultimatelyr immigrated to the United States with his family. He began studying in the Nitra Yeshiva under the leadership of Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl zt”l in the Catskills. When the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz zt”l visited America, the young Rav Mordechai returned with him to Eretz Yisroel and continued his learning at Yeshivas Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak.

He married his wife, Rebbetzin Rivkah Leah a”h, daughter of the Spinka Rebbe of Yerushalayim, Rav Yosef Meir Kahana zt”l. After his marriage, he lived in Kiryas Vizhnitz and received semichah from Rav Pinchas Epstein zt”l, Raavad of the Eidah Hachareidis.

He moved to Yerushalayim, where he became closely connected to the Dzikover Rebbe, Rav Yehuda Leibush Horowitz zt”l, and drew inspiration from the Toras Mordechai of Vizhnitz zt”l.

During the tense prelude to the Six Day War in 5727, he returned to America at his father’s request. Though he intended to go back to Eretz Yisroel after the war, he ultimately settled permanently in the United States. He served as a mashgiach and mashpia in the Satmar Yeshiva on Sanz Street and later at the Yeshiva Gedolah in Kiryas Yoel.

The Rebbe was a devoted follower of the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Yoel zt”l.

He later moved to Boro Park, where he established his beis medrash, Kehillas Tiferes Mordechai, on 49th Street. He also founded a beis din and served as its av beis din. At the same time, he was Rosh Yeshiva of the Monsey-based Yeshivas Munkatch and had a close relationship with the Munkatcher Rebbe.

After the passing of his father, he assumed the position of the Faltishaner Rebbe. From his beis medrash in Boro Park, he led his kehilla with warmth, dignity, and profound yiras Shamayim, and many flocked to him for guidance and brachos.

He is survived by sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren who are talmidei chachamim and yirei Shamayim, continuing his legacy.

In recent months, the Rebbe’s health deteriorated after a collapse. On the seventh day of Pesach, he was niftar. His levayah took place on the the next day, beginning at his beis medrash in Boro Park, continuing through the Munkatcher beis medrash, and from there to Williamsburg. He was laid to rest in Long Island.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}