Voters in Florida and Wisconsin went to the polls on Tuesday in a series of high-stakes special elections that offered the first significant electoral gauge of President Donald Trump’s second term, just over two months after his inauguration. The outcomes—a pair of Republican victories in Florida’s deep-red congressional districts and a Democratic win in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race—provided a mixed bag of results, reflecting both the enduring strength of GOP strongholds and the challenges facing Republicans in battleground states. In Florida, two special elections to replace former Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz concluded with GOP wins, bolstering the party’s razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the 1st Congressional District, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat Gay Valimont, while in the 6th District, State Senator Randy Fine prevailed over Democrat Josh Weil. The victories push the Republican House count to 220 seats against Democrats’ 213, with two additional vacancies still pending. The 1st District, encompassing the western Panhandle and a reliably conservative region anchored by military bases like Naval Air Station Pensacola, saw Patronis secure a solid win. Trump had carried the district by 37 points in the 2024 presidential election, and Patronis, bolstered by the president’s endorsement and a tele-town hall last week, maintained a strong lead despite Valimont’s impressive fundraising haul of $6.4 million. Patronis raised just over $1.1 million but leaned on the district’s GOP leanings and Trump’s vocal support, where the president praised him as a “wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA.” The 6th District race, however, proved more contentious. Spanning Daytona Beach and other parts of north-central Florida, the district had backed Trump by 30 points in November. Yet, Fine’s victory over Weil was narrower than expected, raising eyebrows among Republican strategists. Weil, a public school teacher, outraised Fine by a staggering margin—$10 million to Fine’s less than $1 million, supplemented by a last-minute $400,000 personal loan from the candidate himself. Democrats poured resources into the race, hoping to capitalize on grassroots enthusiasm and dissatisfaction with Trump’s early moves, such as proposed federal workforce cuts. While Fine ultimately won, the tighter-than-anticipated result prompted some GOP leaders, including Governor Ron DeSantis, to downplay it as a candidate-specific issue rather than a broader referendum on Trump. “These are still red districts, and we held them,” said a senior House Republican aide. “But the margins suggest Democrats are finding some energy they didn’t have in November. We’ll need to watch that.” Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET in the 6th District and 8 p.m. ET in the 1st, with results certified by the Associated Press showing both Republican candidates underperforming Trump’s 2024 numbers in their respective counties. Democrats, while falling short, expressed optimism. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who made small contributions to both Valimont and Weil, had predicted significant overperformance, a forecast that partially materialized. Across the Midwest, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race stole the national spotlight, shattering records as the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history with over $90 million in spending. The election pitted liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford against conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general backed by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Crawford’s victory, projected by NBC News late Tuesday, preserved the court’s 4-3 liberal majority, a critical outcome in a […]
From France to Iceland to the United States, April Fools’ Day was celebrated on Tuesday with practical jokes and elaborate hoaxes. The jokesters’ custom has been around for hundreds of years, although its exact birth is difficult to pinpoint. These days, depending on your location, it could be marked with a fish secretly pinned to someone’s back or a whoopee cushion or even news reports of flying penguins (yes, that actually happened). In the U.S., the pranks are typically followed by screams of “April Fools!” to make sure all are aware that they were the unsuspecting recipient of a practical joke. Here are some thing to know about April Fools’ Day and its history: Where did April Fools’ Day come from? There are plenty of theories about where this day of pranks and hoaxes came from. It’s not clear exactly which one might be true. But what is clear is that April Fools’ Day has roots stretching back hundreds of years. One idea is that it dates back to France in 1564, when King Charles IX moved the New Year celebration from its weeklong observance beginning March 25 to a celebration on Jan. 1, according to the Library of Congress. Those who forgot or were never told about the change were mocked. Although the library notes that the true history of the New Year is more complicated, as different parts of the country observed it on different days. A similar theory ties April Fools’ Day to the 1582 change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, according to the library. But it explains that this type of origin story has been used to explain several holidays and may be more of a “migratory legend.” And then there’s the theory that it could be connected to the March 21 vernal equinox, which is known as a day when people are tricked by unexpected weather changes, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever its origin, the first time there was clear documented reference to the day was in 1561 when the Flemish writer Eduard De Dene wrote in his poem about a nobleman sending his servant on pointless tasks, according to the Library of Congress. The servant soon realizes that he has been “sent on ‘fool’s errands’ because it’s April 1,” the library states. What are some of the most famous April Fools’ Day pranks? In 2021, then-first lady Jill Biden pretended to be a flight attendant on an airplane traveling from California to Washington. She wore a “Jasmine” nametag and passed out Dove ice cream bars while wearing a black mask, black pantsuit and wig. A few minutes later, “Jasmine” reemerged without the wig — revealing herself to be Jill Biden, laughing and proclaiming, “April Fools!” Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin became known for announcing outlandish ideas every April Fools’ Day soon after starting their company more than a quarter century ago. One year, Google posted a job opening for a Copernicus research center on the moon. Another year, the company said it planned to roll out a “scratch and sniff” feature on its search engine. In 1992, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” program announced that former-President Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974, would be running for president, according to the Museum of Hoaxes. A comedian had impersonated Nixon to say, “I never did anything wrong, and I won’t do […]
A 63-year-old woman was pulled alive from under the rubble Tuesday about 91 hours after Myanmar was struck by a devastating, 7.7 magnitude earthquake, fire officials said on social media.
WATCH THIS MANIAC MTA BUS DRIVER: On today’s date April 1st, 2025, at 8:03 PM, the driver of MTA City Bus #441 on the B9 line was caught dangerously driving into the oncoming lane at Avenue M and East 19th Street in a reckless attempt to avoid traffic. With passengers onboard, the driver nearly caused multiple head-on collisions, putting countless lives at risk. This outrageous behavior is unacceptable — this driver should be fired immediately
In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday night, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions. Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” It wasn’t until 25 hours and 5 minutes later that the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, finished speaking and limped off the floor. It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history. Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor. It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist and southern Democrat, to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957. “I’m here despite his speech,” said Booker, who spoke openly on the Senate floor of his roots as the descendant of both slaves and slave-owners. He added, “I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people are more powerful.” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in Congress, slipped into the Senate chamber to watch Booker on Tuesday afternoon. He called it “an incredibly powerful moment” because Booker had broken the record of a segregationist and was “fighting to preserve the American way of life and our democracy.” Still, Booker centered his speech on a call for his party to find its resolve, saying, “We all must look in the mirror and say, ‘We will do better.’” “These are not normal times in our nation,” Booker said as he began the speech Monday evening. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.” Booker warns of a ‘looming constitutional crisis’ Shifting his feet, then leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump’s early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won’t be touched. Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president’s talk of annexing Greenland and Canada and a “looming constitutional crisis.” Throughout the day Tuesday, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him questions. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor. He read that line from a piece of paper to ensure he did not slip and inadvertently end his speech. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules. “Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of […]
The Trump administration has halted several dozen federal research grants at Princeton University, the Ivy League school said Tuesday. The university received notifications this week that grants were being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message from Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. The rationale was not fully clear but Princeton will comply with the law, Eisgruber said. “We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,” he wrote. “Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University. Princeton is the latest Ivy League school to have its federal funding threatened by Trump administration amid investigations into campus antisemitism. This month Columbia University agreed to several demands from the federal government after it pulled $400 million and threatened to cut billions more. A federal task force on antisemitism announced Monday that Harvard was facing a “comprehensive review” of almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts. Princeton is among more than 100 universities with open investigations into antisemitism or Islamophobia following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests. The federal government is a major provider of revenue for American universities through grants for scientific research. (AP)
A coalition of state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as well as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the District of Columbia. The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide “rational basis” or facts to support the cuts. The attorneys general say it will result in “serious harm to public health” and put states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.” The lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the Trump administration from rescinding the money, which was allocated by Congress during the pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related efforts such as testing and vaccination. The money also went to addiction and mental health programs. “Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients,” James said Tuesday in a news release. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which began serving employees dismissal notices on Tuesday in what’s expected to total 10,000 layoffs, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon pointed to the agency’s statement from last week, when the decision to claw back the money was announced. The HHS said then that it “will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.” Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds, though the lawsuit points to the claw back putting hundreds of jobs at risk and weakening efforts to stem infectious diseases like flu and measles. California could lose almost $1 billion, according to a statement from state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. That money supports a number of public health initiatives, including substance use disorder prevention programs, vaccination efforts and bird flu prevention. Health officials in North Carolina, which joined the lawsuit, estimate the state could lose $230 million, harming dozens of local health departments, hospital systems and universities, and rural health centers. At least 80 government jobs and dozens of contractors would be affected, according to state health officials. “There are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasn’t one of them,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. “Immediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isn’t just wrong — it puts lives at risk.” Already, more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from March shows that COVID-19 killed 411 people each week on average, even though the federal public health emergency has ended. (AP)
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has officially registered a new political party under the interim name “Bennett 2026,” a move widely interpreted as a step toward reentering Israeli politics ahead of the next national election. In a statement cited by Channel 12, Bennett stopped short of confirming his candidacy, saying, “If and when I decide to actually run for the elections, an announcement will be made on the matter.” Despite the ambiguity, the move drew support from figures across the political spectrum. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who previously served alongside Bennett in a short-lived unity government, congratulated him on the new party. “Israel needs a good government,” Lapid wrote on social media. Reports of Bennett’s return have circulated for months. Channel 12 revealed last September that the former national-religious leader had been laying the groundwork for a new political movement, reaching out to more than 100 former activists. He has also held meetings with key political players, including New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar and Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman, both of whom have acknowledged discussions about a potential alliance. “To replace this government, we need more seats,” Liberman said last October. “If we see in the polls that running together will bring more seats, we will run together.” Bennett, who previously led the now-defunct Yamina party, has been out of office since 2022 when his ideologically diverse coalition government collapsed. That coalition briefly ended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s 12-year hold on power and was heralded as a rare moment of unity in Israel’s politically fractured landscape. However, Bennett recently indicated a different approach should he return to office. Speaking to a private audience of U.S. students in March, he said that any future government he leads would not include Arab parties. “This time around, the government must be Zionists,” he said. According to a recent Channel 12 poll, Bennett may pose the most significant electoral threat to Netanyahu. In a direct matchup, 38% of respondents said Bennett was better suited to serve as prime minister, compared to 31% for Netanyahu. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
BOOKER FINALLY YIELDS: Senator Cory Booker pays tribute to the late John Lewis as he yields the Senate floor, concluding his historic, 25 Hour record-breaking marathon speech.
Jewish Republican Senator Randy Fine won Florida’s 6th Congressional District special election, defeating Democrat Josh Weil despite Democrats spending millions to flip the deep-red seat vacated by Mike Waltz.
Housing Minister and UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf came out with a sharp condemnation Tuesday after footage emerged of a group of Chareidi youths shouting at IDF soldiers touring the streets of Bnei Brak earlier in the day. The video, which quickly spread on social media, shows a few bochurim yelling at soldiers as they walked through the mostly Chareidi city. However, not all present displayed such behavior. One young man was seen stepping forward to shake a soldier’s hand respectfully, even as others shouted from the sidelines. “I strongly condemn the criminal behavior of fringe youths who attacked IDF soldiers in the city of Bnei Brak today,” Minister Goldknopf wrote on X. “This is not the derech of Torah Yidden. We owe hakaras hatov to IDF soldiers, who put their lives on the line to protect Klal Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.” The Bnei Brak municipality also released a statement denouncing the incident, emphasizing that such conduct does not reflect the values or attitudes of the broader Chareidi tzibbur. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
President Donald Trump ‘s administration has acknowledged mistakenly deporting a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison but is arguing against returning him to federal custody in the United States because of alleged gang ties. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials admitted in a court filing on Monday night to an “administrative error” in deporting the 29-year-old man, generating immediate uproar from immigration advocates. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was arrested on March 12 after completing a shift as a sheet metal worker apprentice at a construction site in Baltimore, according to a complaint filed in federal court by his lawyers. Abrego Garcia was then sent to a notorious prison in his home country, the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, which activists say is rife with abuses and where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside. He was placed at CECOT despite an immigration judge’s ruling in 2019 that he not be deported to El Salvador because he had established it was “more likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs,” according to his lawyer’s complaint. Abrego Garcia “left El Salvador when he was around sixteen years old, fleeing gang violence,” according to the complaint. “Beginning around 2006, gang members had stalked, hit, and threatened to kidnap and kill him in order to coerce his parents to succumb to their increasing demands for extortion.” “Although he has been accused of general ‘gang affiliation,’ the U.S. government has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation,” the complaint stated, adding that Abrego Garcia is neither a member of nor affiliated with MS-13 or any other criminal or street gang. Abrego Garcia’s wife later saw him in photos and video of him at the prison, identifying her husband through his distinctive tattoos and two scars on his head, the complaint stated. The Trump administration said in its court filing that ICE “was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador,” but still deported Abrego Garcia “because of an administrative error.” The administration argued against his return to the U.S., citing alleged gang ties and claiming that he is a danger to the community. The administration stated that his gang ties were confirmed at a 2019 bond proceeding and upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals. “This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13,” Robert Cerna, ICE’s acting field office director of enforcement and removal operations, wrote in a statement to the court. (AP)
Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced snap elections in his country. This has set the stage for what many analysts are calling one of the most crucial votes in Canadian history. With key issues on the table and numerous tightly contested ridings (voting districts), the outcome of this election could shape the country’s future in significant ways. Beyond the general importance of this election, it is also considered especially critical for Canada’s Jewish community. Among those who could play a decisive role in the election are Canadian citizens residing in Israel. Chaim V’Chessed has learned that many of these Canadians hail from some of the most hotly contested electoral districts, making their votes particularly impactful. As a result, eligible Canadian voters living in Israel are being strongly encouraged to participate in the election. With various policies and political shifts at stake, Jewish leaders and organizations have emphasized the need for community members to exercise their democratic rights. To facilitate voting for Canadian citizens in Israel, a dedicated website – www.israelvotes.ca – has been launched. The site provides clear guidance on how to register and cast a ballot from abroad, ensuring that voters can easily navigate the process. It is important to note that, by Canadian law, besides being a citizen, one must have LIVED in Canada at some point of their life to be eligible to vote. With the election set to be a defining moment in Canadian politics, officials and community leaders alike stress the importance of every eligible citizen making their voice heard—no matter where in the world they reside.
The Trump administration announced Monday a major federal review of $9 billion in grants and contracts at Harvard University, citing the school’s failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic discrimination. The review, conducted as part of the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, will involve audits by the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, along with the U.S. General Services Administration. Federal officials will scrutinize over $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard and the U.S. government, in addition to more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon delivered a sharp rebuke of Harvard’s handling of antisemitic incidents on campus, warning that the university’s reputation is at stake. “Harvard has served as a symbol of the American dream for generations—the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” McMahon stated. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from antisemitic discrimination—all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry—has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.” She added that Harvard has an opportunity to “right these wrongs” and restore itself as an institution dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, but that federal intervention would proceed if necessary. The administration’s announcement follows a similar crackdown on Columbia University, which resulted in the school agreeing to nine federal demands, including a ban on masked protests. That agreement ignited controversy and led to the resignation of Columbia’s interim president last week. Now, the Trump administration is sending a clear signal that Harvard could face similar consequences. Federal officials warned that stop-work orders could be issued on Harvard’s contracts, and if the university is found noncompliant with federal regulations, its federal funding could be terminated entirely. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
BREAKING: Sen. Cory Booker has broken the Senate’s record for longest floor speech set in 1957 when Strom Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act. Booker began speaking at 7 p.m. yesterday and has just passed the 24 hour mark.
IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Fadavi warns: Iran will strike back hard if provoked. “We control the Strait of Hormuz—40% of global oil passes through it. The U.S. is highly vulnerable at sea.”
3 of 4 soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia who died during a training exercise while overseas last week have been identified as Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., Sgt. Edvin F. Franco and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano.
