A devastating four-alarm fire engulfed and destroyed the building housing Chabad of South Bergen County early Friday morning, reducing the historic Montross Avenue shul to rubble. Flames broke out around 2:45 a.m., tearing through the three-story structure. Firefighters arriving at the scene were immediately met with intense flames and downed live wires, which hampered their ability to contain the blaze. Within an hour, the entire structure collapsed. Chief John R. Russo of the Rutherford Police Department confirmed that the building was occupied at the time by the shul’s rabbi and his family—six people in total—who miraculously escaped unharmed. “Luckily the rabbi and his family, six members total were the only members in the structure, they were able to get out, but the structure is a complete loss,” Russo said. Several nearby buildings were also affected by the fire, and although no serious injuries have been reported, some firefighters were treated at the scene for minor issues. The building, which housed both Congregation Beth El and Chabad of South Bergen County and The Meadowlands, had been a spiritual home to area Jews for generations. The kehillah dates back to 1919 and has been at its Montross Avenue location since 1953. In January 2012, the same building was targeted in a hate-fueled attack, when a 19-year-old from Lodi firebombed the rabbi’s second-floor bedroom with Molotov cocktails. The assailant was later arrested and charged in connection with that incident as well as a separate attack on a Paramus synagogue. Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of Friday’s blaze, though both local officials and law enforcement said there is no indication at this time that the fire was suspicious or related to the previous attack. “It’s a very old home. It’s wood,” said Rutherford Mayor Frank Nunziato. “This is just a very old home that may just have burned down.” A campaign has been launched to help the Chabad rebuild. To donate, visit JewishRutherford.org (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
THE GREAT DAY OF TU B’AV FOR TOGETHER FOR SHIDDUCHIM IS TODAY! HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR TODAY – GLOBAL TEFILLAH AND MORE! TODAY, KLAL YISRAEL IS RECITING 8 SPECIFIC KAPITLECH OF TEHILLIMGET THE TEHILLIM VIA WHATSAPP HERE OR DOWNLOAD BELOW TODAY, SUNDAY – FROM 10AM AND ONWATCH THE LIVE TEFILLAH EVENT LED BY GEDOLIM & RABBONIMSUBMIT NAMES FOR TEFILLAH IN AMUKA FOR FREE 718-690-2944 OR CLICK HERE THE GREAT DAY OF TU B’AV FOR TOGETHER IS TODAY! HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR TODAY TODAY, KLAL YISRAEL IS RECITING 8 SPECIFIC KAPITLECH OF TEHILLIMGET THE TEHILLIM VIA WHATSAPP HERE TO SUBMIT NAMES FOR FREE TO AMUKA, CLICK HEREVISIT TuBav.org CALL 1-718-690-2944 Klal Yisrael will davening for one another beginning at 10am on Sunday Aug 10 – reciting 8 specific kapitlach of Tehillim.📖Click here to download the FREE ArtScroll Tehillim There will be 2 Live Events with Rabbonim & Musical performances to watch online at www.TuBav.org Motzei Shabbos 8/9 @ 10:00 pm EDT: FREE LIVESTREAMED CONCERT WITH TODAY’S SUPERSTARS & DATING / MARRIAGE PANEL WITH EXPERTS SUNDAY 8/10 @ 10:00 am EDT: LIVE TEFILLAH EVENT WITH LEADING RABBANIM – SAY TEHILLIM TOGETHER WITH KLAL YISRAEL! WATCH LIVE AT TUBAV.org At the same time as Klal Yisrael davens, each in their part of the world, there will be a minyan of Talmidei Chachamim in Amuka, davening for all who submit their names for tefillah (it’s free) through Yad L’Achim. Visit TuBav.org (or call 1-718-690-2944 we are here to help!) Tu B’Av Together is a Yad L’Achim initiative founded in 2015. Shidduchim is a topic that truly brings the entire spectrum of Klal Yisroel together. Tu B’Av Together, a day for tefillah—for shidduchim—is recognizing the need to daven for this important aspect of the Jewish people. We have been zoche to have millions of Yidden involved in tefillah, and with every year, one Jewish tefillah at a time, we’ll bring shidduchim closer to those yearning. To share this special Tu B’Av Together program and free tefillah via WhatsApp, click here
A fierce blaze has torn through the Chabad of South Bergen County and The Meadowlands on Montross Avenue in Rutherford, NJ. Firefighters are battling the fully engulfed structure as officials work to determine if there are any injuries. Updates to follow.
A new investigative report by the New York Post alleges that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), a first-term congresswoman known for her viral clashes with Republicans, has fostered a toxic and chaotic work environment behind the scenes, while prioritizing media appearances and personal branding over her official responsibilities. Crockett, who represents a Dallas-area district and has become a fixture on cable news for her fiery opposition to President Donald Trump, is described by former staff and associates as disengaged from her congressional duties, frequently absent from her Capitol Hill office, and verbally abusive to employees. According to the Post, multiple former aides say the congresswoman often works remotely from her luxury apartment near Capitol Hill and is rarely seen in her official office in the Longworth House Office Building. “She is laying around her apartment, won’t come into the office, and is really just indifferent to staff and will scream at them,” one former staffer told the Post. The report cites several anonymous sources who claim that Crockett frequently berates staff members, creates a toxic workplace culture, and shows little interest in policy or constituent services. Instead, they say, she is focused almost entirely on building her personal brand. “She’s more focused on, ‘Get me on The View,’ ‘Get me on this late-night talk show,’” one former aide said. “The staff is really just an island unto itself, because she doesn’t care about the local issues happening in her district.” Staffers also allege that Crockett insists on being chauffeured around Washington in weekly-rented luxury vehicles such as Escalades, rather than using personal staff cars, with aides expected to act as drivers and open doors for her on arrival. “She treats the scheduler like an Uber driver,” a source told the Post, describing the routine as a “power play.” In one reported instance, Crockett is said to have reduced a legislative aide to tears by yelling, “Do you really want to be here? And if not, you can leave!” Another former aide, a young Black woman, was allegedly fired without explanation. “I don’t want to hear Jasmine Crockett talk about helping Black women when she just fired one for no reason,” the aide confided to a colleague, according to the report. Crockett has gone through multiple chiefs of staff in less than two years, with one source saying that turnover stems from her unwillingness to focus on the day-to-day work of legislating. “The actual job of a member of Congress isn’t fun and glamorous,” the source said. “Unless you’re somebody willing to say yes to all of the outrageous things she would like to do, you’re not gonna last long.” Crockett, a former criminal defense attorney and state lawmaker, rose to national prominence in May after a heated exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) during a House committee hearing. Crockett’s “bleach blonde bad built butch body” retort to Greene went viral and became a Democratic fundraising tool, but reportedly drew criticism from within her own office. According to the Post, several of Crockett’s staff members were uncomfortable with her use of the word “butch.” When they raised concerns, Crockett allegedly dismissed them, saying, “That’s not offensive. You’re stupid if you think so.” The Post also recounted Crockett’s behavior during an interview with The Atlantic, where she reportedly berated a staffer in […]
Israel’s security cabinet late Thursday approved a major military operation to seize Gaza City, endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal despite warnings from senior defense officials that the move could endanger hostages. The plan, confirmed by Netanyahu’s office, authorizes the IDF to launch a ground offensive into Gaza City — one of the last remaining areas of the enclave not under Israeli control. The move is expected to force the evacuation of more than 800,000 Palestinians currently living in the densely populated northern city. The IDF has largely avoided entering Gaza City since the start of the war, citing the complexity of urban warfare and the presence of hostages. But Netanyahu has insisted that retaking the city is essential to defeating Hamas and achieving Israel’s war objectives. In a statement following the cabinet vote, the Prime Minister’s Office said the decision was aimed at “defeating Hamas” and would be accompanied by efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians located outside combat zones. The operation’s approval comes amid a deepening rift between Netanyahu and top military officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who has privately and publicly expressed concerns about a full-scale ground incursion. Zamir has warned that such a move risks the lives of the living hostages still believed to be held by Hamas, many of them thought to be in Gaza City or in refugee camps in the central part of the Strip. The cabinet’s decision did not specify whether the IDF would move beyond Gaza City and into other areas of central Gaza that also remain outside Israeli control. Netanyahu has previously said that Israel intends to “take over all of Gaza,” but Thursday’s vote appears to focus only on the initial assault on Gaza City, signaling a potentially phased approach. Netanyahu’s office also said the cabinet endorsed a list of conditions that Israel would require to end the war. Those include Hamas’s disarmament, the return of all hostages, the full demilitarization of Gaza, continued Israeli security control over the territory, and the establishment of a new civilian governing authority unaffiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The statement also noted that an alternative plan had been presented to the cabinet but was rejected by an overwhelming majority of ministers. That plan is widely believed to have come from Gen. Zamir, who has advocated for limited operations rather than a full re-occupation of the Strip. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
American businesses and consumers soon will have a better idea of how President Donald Trump’s foreign trade agenda might affect them now that the United States has imposed higher tariffs on products from dozens of countries. It’s been nearly 100 years since the nation had an overall import tax rate as high as the one set Thursday. But the individual impact on business costs and consumer prices could vary as much as the tariffs applied to goods of nearly 70 U.S. trading partners, from complicated economies like the European Union to the small African nation of Lesotho. Exports from a majority of them are getting taxed at 15%. For a handful of countries in Asia, the rate is 19%. Products from the rest are subject to taxes of 20% to 50%. Meanwhile, a 55% tariff on Chinese-made goods is scheduled to take effect next week if a U.S.-China trade deal is not agreed on before then. Businesses in the U.S. and abroad have been dealing in various ways since February with Trump’s fluctuating tariffs on specific products and countries. Many automakers appeared to have absorbed the costs for now. But recent government data indicated that retail prices for groceries, furniture and appliances started creeping up in June. Because tariffs are a tax on imports, economists have expected U.S. consumers to foot at least part of the bill eventually. The country-specific round enforced Thursday, together with the president’s earlier tariffs on specific sectors such as automobiles and steel, will increase prices 1.8% in the short term, the Budget Lab at Yale estimated. That’s the equivalent of a $2,400 loss of income per U.S. household, according to the non-partisan policy research center The projections were based on an analysis of duties implemented this year through Wednesday, as well as a doubling of the levy on items made in India that Trump said would be implemented near the end of August. “Retailers have been able to hold the line on pricing so far, but the new increased tariffs will significantly raise costs for U.S. retailers, manufacturers and consumers,” Jonathan Gold, Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation trade group, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. Here’s what to know about the tariffs and where U.S. consumers are most likely to notice effects: How we got here Trump unveiled sweeping import taxes on goods coming into the U.S. from 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands in April. He said the “reciprocal” tariffs were meant to boost domestic manufacturing and restore fairness to global trade. The president paused the country-specific tariffs a week later but applied a 10% tax to most imports. In early July, he began notifying countries that their exports would be subject to higher tariffs on Aug. 1 unless they reached trade deals. A week ago, he pushed the start date to Thursday. In the meantime, Trump announced a 35% tariff on imports from Canada, but delayed action on Mexico while negotiations continued. However, a free trade agreement reached with Mexico and Canada during Trump’s first term shields most of those countries’ products from punishing duties. The president also ordered a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil. This week, he signed an executive order to take India’s tariff rate from 25% to 50% for its purchases of Russian oil. The timing gives India and Russia a chance to negotiate with the Trump administration. Other duties […]
Hamas is quietly disbursing salaries to tens of thousands of operatives using clandestine, cash-based methods while systematically looting humanitarian aid bound for Gaza’s civilian population, according to a BBC investigation published Wednesday. The report confirms long-standing Israeli allegations that the terror group has hijacked the flow of international assistance, distributing life-saving supplies to its loyalists and black-market networks while desperate families face hunger and disease. Despite a total economic collapse in the Gaza Strip, the BBC found that Hamas continues to pay approximately 30,000 so-called “civil servants,” issuing partial salaries every ten weeks—often just 20% of prewar pay. Three Hamas-linked employees said they had recently received NIS 1,000 (about $300) through secretive channels. The BBC cited a senior Hamas figure who claimed the organization had stockpiled an astonishing $700 million in hard cash inside its underground tunnel network ahead of the October 7 massacre, enabling it to survive financially even under sustained Israeli bombardment. To evade Israeli intelligence, Hamas operatives receive coded messages via encrypted phone apps—often simple invitations for “tea.” At the designated place, a courier brushes past, slipping cash into their hands before disappearing. The method is fraught with danger: Israeli forces have targeted several such distribution points. One man told the BBC he narrowly survived a deadly airstrike during a payout. But the covert salary system is just one part of a far more damning narrative. The investigation bolsters Israeli claims that Hamas is plundering massive quantities of international aid. Cigarette packs are being sold at 100 times their prewar price, and local traders are reportedly being taxed by the terror group desperate bid to raise funds. Anonymous sources in Gaza told the BBC that much of the aid is either handed out exclusively to Hamas supporters or redirected for sale on the black market. “Significant quantities” of aid were seized by Hamas during a two-month window earlier this year when Israel increased deliveries as part of a hostage release agreement. Despite Hamas and United Nations officials repeatedly denying such claims, the UN itself recently disclosed that 88% of aid trucks have been looted before reaching their intended destinations in Gaza. As food and medicine remain scarce, public anger toward Hamas is reportedly rising. “When the hunger worsened, my children were crying not only from pain but also from watching our Hamas-affiliated neighbors receive food parcels and sacks of flour,” said Nisreen Khaled, a single mother in Gaza. “Are they not the reason for our suffering?” Frustration is also boiling over among Hamas employees themselves. The meager cash they do receive is frequently unusable—old, degraded bills that no one wants to accept. A separate Wall Street Journal investigation earlier this year similarly concluded that humanitarian aid has become a critical funding source for Hamas, as Israeli offensives cripple traditional revenue streams and foreign support dries up. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A senior FBI official who served as acting director in the first weeks of the Trump administration and resisted demands to turn over the names of agents who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, investigations is being forced out of the bureau, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The circumstances of Brian Driscoll’s ouster were not immediately clear, but his final day is Friday, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss the personnel move by name and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Additional ousters were possible. Spokespeople for the FBI declined to comment. The news comes amid a much broader personnel purge that has unfolded over the last several months under the leadership of current FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Numerous senior officials including top agents in charge of big-city field offices have been pushed out of their jobs, and some agents have been subjected to polygraph exams, moves that former officials say have roiled the workforce and contributed to angst. Driscoll, a veteran agent who worked international counterterrorism investigations in New York and had also commanded the bureau’s Hostage Rescue Team, had most recently served as acting director in charge of the Critical Incident Response Group, which deploys manpower and resources to crisis situations. Driscoll was named acting director in January to replace Christopher Wray and served in the position as Patel’s nomination was pending. He made headlines after he and Rob Kissane, the then-deputy director, resisted Trump administration demands for information about agents who participated in investigations into the Jan. 6 riot by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol. Emil Bove, the then-senior Justice Department official who made the request and was last week confirmed for a seat on a federal appeals court, wrote a memo accusing the FBI’s top leaders of “insubordination.” Responding to Bove’s request, the FBI ultimately provided personnel details about several thousand employees, identifying them by unique employee numbers rather than by names. The FBI has moved under Patel’s watch to aggressively demote, reassign or push out agents. In April, for instance, the bureau reassigned several agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Numerous special agents in charge of field offices have been told to retire, resign or accept reassignment. Another agent, Michael Feinberg, has said publicly that he was told to resign or accept a demotion amid scrutiny from leadership of his friendship with Peter Strzok, a lead agent on the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation who was fired by the Justice Department in 2018 following revelations that he had exchanged negative text messages about President Donald Trump with an FBI lawyer, Lisa Page. (AP)
Eli Beer, Founder and President of United Hatzalah of Israel, had an unexpected meeting aboard a flight to the United States — with none other than Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The encounter comes just two days after Speaker Johnson made history by becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit an Israeli settlement in Yehuda and Shomron. During his visit to the city of Ariel, he delivered a powerful message of support for the Jewish presence in the region.
President Trump demanded the immediate resignation of new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, calling him ‘highly conflicted’ due to his ties to Chinese firms and raising questions about plans to turn around the struggling American chip icon
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB announced that a man executed this week for espionage was a senior nuclear scientist who allegedly provided classified information to the Mossad. The man, identified as Rouzbeh Vadi, held a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Amir Kabir University of Technology and worked directly with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the body at the center of Iran’s contentious nuclear program. According to a televised segment broadcast by IRIB, Vadi confessed to leaking sensitive data about Iran’s key nuclear sites, including Fordo and Natanz—facilities that have been at the heart of international concern over Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. “Key facilities were Fordo and Natanz, for which I sent information. I told them I knew this and that about Fordo, they told me to send everything,” Vadi is heard saying in what IRIB described as a confession video. He also detailed Mossad’s interest in the Uranium Conversion Facility and Fuel Manufacturing Plant, claiming they placed particular emphasis on “the entry and exit of nuclear material.” A voiceover accompanying the video alleges Vadi held five meetings with Mossad agents in Vienna, during which he was instructed to open a cryptocurrency account to receive payments. According to the segment, Mossad promised him a foreign passport in exchange for long-term collaboration. Iranian authorities presented additional documents tying Vadi to the country’s nuclear program, including a 2012 scientific paper he co-authored alongside Ahmad Zolfaqar and Abdolhamid Minouchehr—two Iranian nuclear scientists who were assassinated in June. Israel has not commented on the execution or the allegations against Vadi. Iran, meanwhile, continues to accuse the Mossad of orchestrating an aggressive campaign of espionage and targeted killings aimed at crippling its nuclear progress, even after the 12 day war that significantly set back its nuclear program. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accusing The New York Times of defamation over its reporting on starvation in Gaza, specifically a front-page photo of an emaciated child that the paper later acknowledged was misleading. “[The] New York Times should be sued,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer during an exclusive sit-down interview Thursday. “I’m actually looking at whether a country can sue The New York Times, and I’m looking into it right now, because I think it’s such a… it’s such clear defamation.” Netanyahu’s criticism stems from a photo used in a Times article headlined, “Young, Old and Sick Starve to Death in Gaza: ‘There Is Nothing.’” The photo showed a young boy being cradled by his mother. He is clearly emaciated with his spine poking through his skin. The article’s focus was meant to highlight the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn region. Days later, the Times issued a correction acknowledging that the child had a preexisting medical condition that contributed to his appearance. Neither the article nor the caption originally included this information. “I mean, you put a picture of a child that’s supposed to then represent all these supposedly starving children, yet…” said Netanyahu, “they put in this picture of a child who has cerebral palsy.” The Times correction noted that after the story was published, they were informed of the preexisting health condition by the boy’s doctor. The outlet wrote: “Had The Times known the information before publication, it would have been included in the article and the picture caption.” But Netanyahu said the correction wasn’t satisfactory. “It’s [The New York Times] put out this thing,” said Netanyahu. “Then it corrects it with a denial the size of a postage stamp buried in the back pages.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israel is poised to approve a sweeping military plan to seize vast swaths of the Gaza Strip over the next five months, displacing up to a million Palestinians and risking the lives of dozens of Israeli hostages, despite warnings from top military brass that the campaign could spiral into a drawn-out, bloody quagmire. According to multiple Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to secure cabinet approval Thursday evening for the first full reoccupation of Gaza since 2005. The operation would begin with an assault on Gaza City and move into the central Strip, pushing civilians southward toward the Mawasi “humanitarian zone.” The goal, officials say, is twofold: crush what remains of Hamas and ratchet up pressure to release the roughly 50 hostages still in captivity, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive. But critics — including Israel’s own military chiefs — warn the strategy could backfire catastrophically, endangering the hostages, triggering mass casualties, and plunging the country into an unsustainable, open-ended occupation. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has reportedly warned Netanyahu in closed-door sessions that a full-scale conquest of Gaza would be a strategic misstep. “Occupying the Strip would drag Israel into a black hole,” Channel 12 quoted Zamir as saying, cautioning it would entail long-term governance over two million Palestinians and potentially years of guerrilla warfare. Senior defense officials agree with Zamir, estimating the offensive could kill “dozens” of IDF soldiers and injure many more. Some compared it to America’s disastrous entanglement in Vietnam. “We could end up knowingly entering a Vietnam model,” one senior official told Channel 12. Despite this, Netanyahu is expected to override objections. A meeting of the high-level security cabinet is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, with most ministers predicted to back the plan. Shas leader Aryeh Deri and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar may oppose it, but they are unlikely to shift the majority. The operation would begin with an evacuation notice to Gaza City’s one million residents, allowing time to establish medical facilities and camps in the central Strip. In parallel, a humanitarian aid surge would be coordinated with the U.S., quadrupling current aid sites from four to sixteen. By phase two, the IDF would launch a ground offensive, likely involving four to five divisions over several months. Kan News reports this would extend into central refugee camps, which have remained largely untouched by previous operations. Channel 12 noted the U.S. may deliver a formal speech — possibly by President Trump — announcing a $1 billion humanitarian funding package to support the new aid corridor. Still, administration officials stressed that Washington does not support any Israeli move to annex Gaza territory. The plan also includes the objective of encouraging “voluntary emigration” from Gaza. Israeli officials believe further southward displacement could create the conditions for Gazans to leave the territory — a strategy Egypt and Qatar have condemned. An alternative proposal, reportedly favored by some military leaders, would have encircled Gaza City and central camps, cutting off aid and carrying out targeted strikes instead of a full invasion. But Netanyahu is said to have rejected that plan as too slow and ineffective. Still, internal dissent within the IDF is growing. Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, head of the IDF Southern Command, publicly acknowledged deep disagreements among military leaders, […]
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star. NASA and the European Space Agency released the latest photos Thursday. Discovered last month by a telescope in Chile, the comet known as 3I-Atlas is only the third known interstellar object to pass our way and poses no threat to Earth. Astronomers originally estimated the size of its icy core at several miles (tens of kilometers) across, but Hubble’s observations have narrowed it down to no more than 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers). It could even be as small as 1,000 feet (320 meters), according to scientists. The comet is hurtling our way at 130,000 mph (209,000 kph), but will veer closer to Mars than Earth, keeping a safe distance from both. It was 277 million miles (446 million kilometers) away when photographed by Hubble a couple weeks ago. The orbiting telescope revealed a teardrop-shaped plume of dust around the nucleus as well as traces of a dusty tail. (AP)
Nearly 24 years after the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history, the remains of three more victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks have been formally identified, New York City officials announced Thursday. The newly identified victims include Ryan Fitzgerald, 26, of Floral Park, New York, and Barbara Keating, 72, of Palm Springs, California, as well as an adult woman whose family requested that her name not be released. The identifications bring the total number of victims identified to 1,653, out of the 2,753 people who died at the World Trade Center. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the identities through advanced DNA testing and sustained outreach to victims’ families — part of a decades-long effort to provide closure to loved ones still waiting for answers. Fitzgerald was working as a foreign currency trader at Fiduciary Trust International on the 94th floor of the South Tower when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the building. After the first tower was hit, he called his family to say he was safe and preparing to evacuate. Tragically, he never made it out. According to past interviews, Fitzgerald had recently moved into Manhattan, spent the summer traveling with friends, and had been planning a future with his partner. “It made me feel good that he enjoyed the summer because it was the last summer of his life,” his mother, Diana Parks, told The New York Times in 2001. Keating was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which originated in Boston and was the first plane to strike the Twin Towers. A grandmother and devoted family woman, Keating’s son once reflected on the lost time: “I’m sure she misses her grandchildren, and all the moments they could have had,” he told MetroWest Daily News in 2011. Fitzgerald’s identification was confirmed through remains recovered in 2002, while the identifications of Keating and the unnamed woman were made from remains found in 2011. Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged the emotional impact of the announcement, saying, “The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day.” “As a former law enforcement officer who served our city on 9/11,” Adams added, “I understand deeply the feeling of loss so many families have experienced. We hope the families receiving answers from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner can take solace in the city’s tireless dedication to this mission.” Despite the passage of time, the mission to identify all victims continues. Approximately 1,100 victims — or about 40% of those who died at the World Trade Center — remain unidentified. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham reaffirmed the city’s commitment to that mission: “Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
High-level secret meetings were held this week in Bnei Brak between an American envoy representing U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior Gedolei Eretz Yisroel. The back-to-back meetings took place quietly at the homes of Harav Dov Landau, shlit”a and Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a. At the center of the discussions was a single, urgent issue: American intervention to halt the arrests of yeshiva bochurim who refuse to report to the IDF. According to sources close to the gedolim, the meetings were initiated in light of the growing distress in the Olam Hatorah over the government’s increasing aggression toward yeshivaleit. Chareidi leadership pointed to a precedent in Ukraine, where the U.S. previously intervened to oppose the lowering of the draft age — a move that threatened religious students in that country. The urgency was underscored earlier Thursday, Rav Dov Landau personally traveled to Beit Lid Military Prison to visit Refael and Baruch Itzhakov, two yeshiva bochurim from Tel Aviv’s Yeshivas Me’oros HaTorah who were arrested after refusing to report to the IDF draft office. Despite his advanced age and delicate health, the Rosh Yeshiva insisted on visiting the imprisoned bochurim, a sign of the grave concern and kavod haTorah the Torah leadership feels for the bnei yeshiva who are being treated as criminals for their commitment to Torah. Close confidants of the Rosh Yeshiva revealed that he has been unable to sleep at night, deeply tormented by the idea of young bnei Torah sitting in prison cells — not for theft or violence, but for staying true to Limud Torah. “He is carrying the burden of all of Klal Yisrael on his shoulders,” a person in Rav Landau’s orbit said. “Every bochur behind bars is a dagger in his heart.” The meetings with the U.S. envoy mark a significant shift in strategy among chareidi leadership — turning to international diplomatic pressure as the Israeli government doubles down on its attempts to criminalize Torah learning. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
POTUS: “I look forward to hosting the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, at the White House tomorrow for a Historic Peace Summit.”
AG Pam Bondi announces the DOJ and State Dep. are offering a $50 million reward for information that leads to the arrest of Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro.
On National Purple Heart Day, President Trump honors Purple Heart recipients at the White House: “Today, we give our everlasting thanks to you and your unbelievable families.”
