SEC. HEGSETH: “Nobody’s texting war plans. I noticed this morning, out came something that doesn’t look like war plans & as a matter of fact, they even changed the title to ‘attack plans,’ because they know it’s not war plans.”
A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them. While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo ship plowed into the bridge, they didn’t have time to alert the overnight roadwork crew. “Everyone working on the scene shared that same priority — those men we lost in the water,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during an anniversary ceremony Wednesday morning, recalling the horrific minutes and hours after the collapse. “While this day is a day of mourning, it is not a day of grief alone,” Scott said. “It is a day to commemorate the strength, resilience and that Baltimore grit that we showed the world in that moment.” After the collapse, the Port of Baltimore was closed for months as debris blocked its main shipping channel. It made an impressive rebound during the second half of 2024, but now the Trump administration’s tariffs could threaten its ongoing recovery. Just last week, federal investigators criticized the Maryland Transportation Authority for failing to determine and address the bridge’s vulnerability to ship strikes — despite major changes in maritime shipping since it opened to traffic in 1977. They called upon other bridge owners to learn from the example. In the meantime, Maryland drivers are without the Key Bridge, which connected various port-oriented industrial communities north and south of Baltimore, allowing people to easily bypass downtown. Traffic has since increased significantly on the main alternate routes. Named after the man who penned the national anthem during the War of 1812, the Key Bridge was a beloved feature of Baltimore’s skyline and a symbol of its proud working-class history. Here’s what to know about the bridge’s collapse — and its replacement. When disaster struck It was just after 2 a.m. on March 26, 2024, when Gov. Wes Moore got a call from his chief of staff, Fagan Harris. His words weren’t easy to grasp: “Governor, I’m sorry to tell you, but the Key Bridge is gone,” Moore recounted to The Associated Press. “What do you mean ‘gone?’” the governor remembered asking. Moore soon learned that a ship had lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, killing the six workers — whose assignment that night was filling potholes on the bridge. Once he grasped the scale of the tragedy, Moore said, the morning became a stream of phone calls. “It was just chaos going on at that moment, because I knew that Marylanders were … hours away from waking up to realize that one of the greatest tragedies in our state’s history had just occurred,” Moore said. Collective shock and progress In the weeks and months that followed, people gathered by the water’s edge and watched as crews worked diligently to clear the wreckage. The main shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore reopened in 11 weeks. A year later, Moore delivered remarks Wednesday morning near where the tragedy unfolded. “And even though the scene looks different, our memories are engraved,” he said. “We remember the cold morning in March that changed our state forever, and we remember the tears we shed and the uncertainty that we all felt.” The initial shock was followed by a collective display of […]
There is a reason why the Chidon Event is watched by over 100,000 people each year. This grand celebration of learning is truly electrifying! From the glamorous stage and bright lights to the rapid-fire Q&A and enthusiastic buzz of the live audience, this energy-packed event is one to remember. Watch as representatives from over 300 schools around the globe are honored during the Grand Awards Ceremony on stage; enjoy a live concert with some of the biggest names in Jewish music; and be wowed as contestants showcase their knowledge of all 613 Mitzvos in the fun and exhilarating Game Show. Yet, Chidon is more than just an event; it’s a vibrant community celebration, highlighting five years of incredible dedication and beautiful limmud Torah. This past year alone, over 7,000 children participated in the Chidon by dedicating their spare time to mastering Hashem’s 613 mitzvos. Children took on the challenge to learn about each mitzvah, diving deep into the details and preparing themselves for the complete Geulah, when we will once again observe all 613 mitzvos. Children who have learned the complete set of the Sarah Rohr Yahadus Curriculum and pass the final test are called up to the stage to receive the prestigious Kol HaTorah Kula plaque, in recognition of this phenomenal milestone. Also announced on stage are the certificates, plaques, and medals—including the prestigious bronze, silver, and gold trophies—marking the hard work and achievements of children all over the world. Mark your calendars and spread the word for this year’s grand Siyum HaMitzvos, taking place b’ezras Hashem on Chof Adar / March 20 (girls) and Chof-Zayin Adar / March 27 (boys). Whether you’ll be participating on stage, watching live at school, or cheering from home, we look forward to welcoming you, your family, and friends to salute their achievements. Prepare for a day of learning, celebration, and community spirit!We can’t wait to celebrate with you! CLICK HERE!
A REBBI AND HIS TALMUD DANCE! Hagaon HaRav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshiva Slabodka, dancing with his Talmid, Hagaon HaRav Shaul Alter, at the Sheva Brachos of his oldest grandchild.
WATCH: Police drag Peleg Yerushalmi protestors, many of them young kids, off Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, after they closed the highway in protest of the IDF draft law.
Skywatchers in the northeastern United States are in for a celestial treat this Saturday, as a partial solar eclipse will transform the rising Sun into a dramatic crescent just after dawn. While not the total blackout that captivated millions last April, this event promises a striking display for early risers, with up to 93% of the Sun obscured in northern Maine and a noticeable bite taken out of its disk as far south as Virginia. Astronomers and enthusiasts alike are buzzing with excitement over the rare sunrise spectacle, though experts urge caution and proper eye protection for safe viewing. The partial solar eclipse, caused by the Moon passing between Earth and the Sun, will be visible across a swath of the Northeast, from the Great Lakes to New England, with the deepest coverage concentrated in northern states. Unlike a total eclipse, the Moon won’t fully block the Sun, leaving a brilliant sliver of light visible at its peak. “This is a beautiful chance to see the Sun in a new way, especially at sunrise,” said Dr. Amy Mainzer, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona. “It’s not as rare as a total eclipse, but the timing and location make it special.” The eclipse kicks off globally at 4:50 AM EDT (8:50 UTC) and reaches its maximum at 6:47 AM EDT (10:47 UTC), when the Moon covers about 83% of the Sun’s diameter as seen from the North Pole—the event’s epicenter. For U.S. viewers, the show begins at sunrise—around 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM EDT, depending on location—and ends by 8:43 AM EDT (12:43 UTC). In northern Maine, near Presque Isle, the Sun will rise with up to 93% of its surface obscured, offering the most dramatic view in the country. Burlington, Vermont, will see 76%, while Boston clocks in at 43%. Farther south, New York City will catch a modest 22% coverage, and Washington, D.C., a mere 1-5% just as the eclipse winds down. Western and southern states, including California, Texas, and Florida, will miss out entirely, as the Sun rises after the eclipse concludes in those regions. The best views require a clear eastern horizon, free of buildings or trees, and clear skies—though early spring weather in the Northeast could pose a challenge. “If clouds cooperate, folks in Maine might even see a ‘devil’s horns’ effect, where the Sun looks like a crescent with points,” said Patrick Moriarty, an eclipse educator with the Planetary Society. “It’s a rare atmospheric trick at sunrise.” Beyond the U.S., the eclipse will sweep across parts of Canada—where Newfoundland sees 94% coverage—before crossing the Atlantic to Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe. It’s not an annular eclipse (where the Moon leaves a “ring of fire”), nor a total one, but its partial nature spans a vast region. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory will livestream the event, offering a front-row seat for those outside the visibility zone or thwarted by weather. This eclipse marks the first of two solar eclipses in 2025, with an annular eclipse set for September 21 visible primarily in the Pacific. It’s also a prelude to the next total eclipse to cross the U.S. on August 22-23, 2044, though partial eclipses like this weekend’s occur more frequently—about once every few years in any given region. Experts are emphatic: viewing a partial solar […]
This morning, the IDF launched its largest military exercise since the war began, simulating defense against attacks on the northern front along the Lebanon border, involving the 146th Reserve Division, 91st “Galilee” Regional Division, Israeli Air Force, Navy, and civilian authorities like Israel Police and Magen David Adom, testing the IDF’s ability to counter surprise attacks on border communities and army posts, as well as execute a counter-offensive both within Israel and across the border.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett mocked her state’s governor during a weekend appearance, referring to Greg Abbott — who uses a wheelchair — as “Gov. Hot Wheels” while speaking at a banquet in Los Angeles. “You all know we got Gov. Hot Wheels down there. Come on, now,” Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, said about Abbott, a Republican, while addressing the Human Rights Campaign event. “And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot… mess, honey.” Abbott was paralyzed in 1984 after a tree fell on him while he was running. The accident severely damaged Abbott’s spinal cord. Abbott, now 67, was elected in 2014. Crockett, elected to the House in 2022, was roundly criticized by Republicans for the comments, an aside she made during her speech to the civil rights group event after she thanked Morgan Cox, a group board member and fellow Dallas resident, according to video of the event posted to Human Rights Campaign’s YouTube channel. “Crockett’s comments are disgraceful,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn posted on the social media platform X. “Shameful.” Crockett suggested Tuesday that she was not referring to Abbott’s condition. Instead, she posted on X that she was referring to Abbott’s policy of sending thousands of immigrants who were in Texas illegally to cities where local policy limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, such as New York and Philadelphia. “I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable,” the post stated. Abbott’s office did not immediately replied to requests for comment. Crockett has faced criticism from Republicans for suggesting last week that tech billionaire Elon Musk, heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, “be taken down.” (AP)
Russia on Wednesday convicted 23 captured Ukrainians on terrorism charges stemming from the war in Ukraine in a military court trial that Kyiv denounced as a sham and a violation of international law. The defendants included current or former fighters of the elite Azov brigade, which Russia designated a terrorist group, and those who worked there as cooks or support personnel, according to Russian media reports and rights activists. Memorial, a prominent Russian human rights group, designated the defendants as political prisoners. It said some of them were captured in 2022 during fighting in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where they held out at the Azovstal steel mill under siege by Russian troops. Others were detained as they tried to leave the city after it was overrun by Russian forces, the group said. Only 12 defendants were in court Wednesday in the city of Rostov-on-Don, while 11 others, including nine women, returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges and were convicted in absentia. One other defendant died in custody last year and the case against him was closed. All had been charged with staging a violent coup d’etat and organizing the activities of a terrorist organization. Some faced an additional charge of training to carry out terrorist activities. Those convicted were given prison sentences ranging from 13 to 23 years. The 12 men still in Russian custody will serve their their time in maximum security penal colonies, according to the court. According to Russian independent news site Mediazona, all 12 plan to appeal the verdict. Memorial has said “none of the defendants in the case are accused of any war crimes: they are all being tried for the very fact of serving” in Azov at one time or another. Ukraine’s human rights envoy, Dmytro Lubinets, denounced the proceedings when they began in June 2023 as “another sham trial” held for Russia’s “own amusement.” “‘Russia’ and ‘fair justice’ have nothing in common. The world must respond to such shameful sham trials of Ukrainian defenders,” Lubinets said at the time. “It is obvious to everyone that those who should be in the dock are not those defending themselves but those who initiated the aggression, those who invaded foreign land with weapons, and those who arrived with tanks on the territory of an independent state!” That same month, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on X that the trial of combatants amounted to “an official war crime” warranting a response from the International Criminal Court. Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of POWs, echoed his sentiment in remarks quoted by the Hromadske news outlet, saying the proceedings violated the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war. Rostov-on-Don, the site of the court, is home to Russia’s Southern Military District, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. Mediazona reported that the defendants testified of abuse behind bars, saying they were severely beaten and had bones broken, were interrogated with bags over their heads, were given food laced with household chemicals, and were forced to stand all day long and sing the Russian anthem. These allegations are in line with reports by Russian and international human rights groups that detail systematic abuse of Ukrainian POWs and civilian captives in Russian custody. (AP)
Another clip released by the IDF shows airstrikes on “military capabilities” at the Palmyra military airport and the nearby T-4 airbase in central Syria on Tuesday and Thursday. Over the past week, the IAF says it struck 18 targets in Syria and another 40 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force releases new footage from several of its strikes in the Gaza Strip this past week, as well as strikes in Syria. Over 430 targets were hit by IAF fighter jets, drones, and helicopters in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive against Hamas a week ago, according to the IDF.
ISRAEL KATZ: Residents of Gaza, the IDF will soon intensify operations in Gaza, requiring evacuations from combat zones as approved plans unfold, while Hamas endangers lives, sacrifices territory to Israel’s defenses, and clings to power—its leaders hiding in tunnels or luxury hotels with billions stashed abroad, using civilians as hostages—prompting a call to follow Beit Lahia’s example, reject Hamas, and demand the release of Israeli hostages to end the conflict.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration regulation on the nearly impossible-to-trace weapons called ghost guns, clearing the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements to buy them in kits online. Seven justices joined the opinion, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, upholding the rule. Two justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented. Ghost gun sales have grown exponentially since kits that let people build them easily at home came into the market, Gorsuch wrote. “Some home hobbyists enjoy assembling them. But criminals also find them attractive,” he said. The number of ghost guns found at crime scenes around the country has also soared, according to federal data. They rose from fewer than 1,700 recovered by law enforcement in 2017 to more than 27,000 in 2023, according to Justice Department data. Since the federal rule was finalized, though, ghost gun numbers have flattened out or declined in several major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Baltimore, according to court documents. Manufacturing of miscellaneous gun parts also dropped 36% overall, the Justice Department has said. Ghost guns are any privately made firearms without the serial numbers that allow police to trace weapons used in crime. The 2022 regulation was focused on kits sold online with everything needed to build a functioning firearm — sometimes in less than 30 minutes, according to court documents. Ghost guns have been used in high-profile crimes, including a mass shooting carried out with an AR-15-style ghost gun in Philadelphia that left five people dead. Police believe a ghost gun used in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in Manhattan was made on a 3D printer rather than assembled from a kit. Finalized at the direction of then-President Joe Biden, the rule requires companies to treat the kits like other firearms by adding serial numbers, running background checks and verifying that buyers are age 21 or older. Gun groups challenged the rule in court in the case known as Garland v. VanDerStok. They argued that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives overstepped its authority and that most crimes are committed with traditional firearms. The Supreme Court disagreed, pointing out that the law gives the ATF the power to regulate items that can be quickly made into working firearms. “The ‘Buy Build Shoot’ kit can be ‘readily converted’ into a firearm too, for it requires no more time, effort, expertise, or specialized tools to complete,” Gorsuch wrote. The justices had previously allowed the rule to stay in place while the lawsuit played out. The court previously struck down a firearm regulation from President Donald Trump’s first administration, a ban on gun accessories known as bump stocks that enable rapid fire. (AP)
Four U.S. soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, were found dead in Eastern Lithuania near Belarus. Their M88A2 Armored-Recovery Vehicle likely sank in a swamp during a training exercise on Tuesday near Pabradė.
*HISTORIC BLUNDER:* A major security breach involving top Trump administration officials has erupted into a full-blown crisis after The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published additional text messages from a Signal group chat, revealing detailed plans for a U.S. military strike on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The revelations, which contradict earlier denials from senior officials, have sparked widespread condemnation and calls for accountability, exposing significant lapses in the handling of sensitive information.
Chuck Schumer on the Trump economy: “The economic chickens are coming home to roost, and I fear this is just the beginning.” (Wholesale egg prices have gone down over the past four weeks consecutively)
Col. Haim Cohen, commander of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, has submitted his resignation to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, accepting responsibility for his brigade’s failures during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, as he stated in his letter, “The results show, I failed!!!”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe: “There’s so much talk about this, Atlantic article and about, things that were said and that could have happened instead of a focus on what did happen. My responsibility as CIA director, one of its responsibilities is to kill terrorists. And that’s exactly what I did, along with President Trump’s excellent national security team.”
