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Massive crowds poured into Washington, DC, today as part of a wave of “Hands Off!” demonstrations held nationwide. The protests were aimed at opposing spending reductions implemented by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Trump’s newly introduced “Liberation Day” tariffs. One fiery speaker urged demonstrators to strike fear into the hearts of both men.

Gathering near the Washington Monument, thousands of attendees held homemade signs—many with explicit language—criticizing Republicans, while similar protests took place in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

“Trump and Musk, who want to be dictators and want to be kings and lords, they are afraid of the power of love and truth and justice!” thundered Rev. William Barber II, one of the opening speakers in DC.

“They are afraid of your unity and diversity. Well, let’s keep them afraid until they change,” he added, raising his voice. “This is an outright battle for civilization! We are not going to bow to power drunk neofascist extremists.”

The event was backed by a broad alliance of progressive organizations and marked one of the largest protests in the capital since Trump’s return to office in January. Parallel rallies occurred at more than 1,000 locations nationwide, including in New York City at Columbia University and Bryant Park.

There has been a rise in acts of vandalism targeting Tesla facilities and vehicles across the country, which Trump—who survived two assassination attempts in the past year—has condemned as acts of domestic terrorism.

Among the organizers were Indivisible, which recently called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to resign after he helped avert a government shutdown, and MoveOn.org, a well-known activist group.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the House prosecution during Trump’s second impeachment, followed Barber at the podium and praised him, saying he was “the great Rev. Barber.”

Speaking to the energized crowd, Raskin said, “the right to call the president deranged for crashing our economy, destroying $6 trillion of wealth and turning my 401k into a 201k.”

“No moral person wants an economy-crashing dictator who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,” he continued, drawing applause.

Raskin didn’t limit himself to economic issues, either. He slammed the administration’s foreign policy ambitions.

“We say to Donald Trump and Elon Musk, hands off Greenland! That’s an independent country,” he said. “Hands off Canada! That’s an independent country. Hands off Panama! That’s an independent country. Statehood for Washington, DC!”

Demonstrators brought with them the now-iconic Trump baby balloons and chanted slogans like “DOGE [profanity]!” The event wrapped up peacefully in the afternoon, with no reports of violence or confrontations with police.

Expecting potential unrest, the White House had preemptively canceled its Saturday garden tours and erected anti-riot fencing. Trump himself was not in the capital for the weekend.

In New York, Columbia University—which has been a hub for anti-Israel protests since October 2023—saw only a small turnout, with about 20 mostly older demonstrators holding signs that read “Democracy, not dictatorship” and chanting “hands off our students!”

One protester, 71-year-old retiree Kathryn Graybill, told The NY Post, “I’m very disturbed that people are being picked up and taken to prisons in other countries without due process. That’s against our Constitution. Our Constitution says that no one should deprive anybody of freedom of speech.”

She added, “That happened in Hitler’s Germany and I’m not comfortable with it.”

The Trump administration is currently pursuing the deportation of former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, who allegedly distributed pro-Hamas materials on campus.

Elsewhere in Manhattan, a different group of demonstrators marched past towering skyscrapers with signs shaped like hearts that read “hands off our libraries,” referring to one of Musk’s budget cuts.

Julie Peppito, an artist who crafted two large yellow hand props for the event, said, “painted all the things they wanted the Trump regime to keep their hands off: our rights, our land, all the things we hold dear.”

Among the marchers were Sandy and Eddie Pomerantz, a couple in their 90s, who told The Post that staying active is their secret to staying young.

“We’re still doing everything we did at the age of 25,” Eddie said, recalling their activism from the 1960s. “It is long, long overdue to charge the president of the United States with the attempted murder of our democracy.”

{Matzav.com}

In a moment that caught Kamala Harris and her team completely by surprise, Donald Trump—known for his combative political style—responded with unexpected grace when Harris phoned to concede the 2024 presidential race. He commended her on running a “great” campaign and called her a “tough cookie,” according to revelations in a new book.

On the call, which took place the day after the election, Harris reportedly said, “I’m calling to concede. It was a fair election. The peaceful transfer of power is important. It’s important to the country,” as detailed in Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History by author Chris Whipple.

She didn’t hang up without getting in a subtle remark about Trump’s often polarizing style, adding, “I hope you’re president for all Americans.”

Rather than reacting defensively, Trump took the high road and expressed admiration for Harris’ campaign effort, even though she had entered the race late. Whipple writes that the president-elect was in a celebratory mood following his unprecedented win.

“You’re a tough cookie. You were really great. And that Doug — what a character! I love that guy,” Trump told her, referring fondly to her husband, Doug Emhoff.

Despite Trump’s cordial tone, one of Harris’ staffers didn’t buy it and viewed his demeanor as suspicious given his usual rhetoric during the campaign.

“I was like, what?” the aide reportedly exclaimed. “Honestly, I felt like, what is this? It’s so manipulative. He’s a sociopath.”

The now-routine concession call almost didn’t happen at all, as technical glitches made the process unexpectedly clumsy, according to Whipple’s account.

Harris’ campaign chief of staff Sheila Nix and her White House chief of staff Lorraine Voles tried to initiate the call from the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. But when Harris attempted to dial Trump, the phones wouldn’t connect properly.

Ultimately, Voles used her own phone to call Trump and then passed it to Harris while she and Nix physically pressed their devices together to complete the conversation, Whipple reports.

As Trump’s voice came through the line, Harris reportedly “felt the weight of the crushing defeat,” capturing the emotional toll of the moment, Whipple writes.

The book, Uncharted, is set to be released on Tuesday.

{Matzav.com}

Protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in Mauritania to protest the strikes on Gaza

Eight decades after the liberation of Auschwitz from Nazi control, Jewish visitors now have access to kosher food at the site. Just a short distance from the former concentration camp, travelers will for the first time be able to purchase ready-to-eat kosher meals at the Auschwitz Jewish Center. This center, now functioning as a museum, is also home to the only synagogue that still stands in Oświęcim, the town the Nazis once renamed Auschwitz.

The kosher food service is launching in conjunction with Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on the evening of April 23. In Poland, the solemn day is marked by the March of the Living, an annual event where thousands walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The Auschwitz Jewish Center plans to enhance its programming for the event by offering prayer services.

Eighty survivors of the Holocaust are expected to take part in this year’s march, making it one of the most significant survivor gatherings at Auschwitz in recent memory. They’ll be joined by Jewish teenagers from various parts of the globe.

Prior to the Holocaust, the Jewish community made up more than half of Oświęcim’s population. The town boasted over 30 synagogues, as well as kosher bakeries, restaurants, and butchers. Today, only one Jew is known to live there — a woman employed by the Auschwitz Jewish Center. Hila Weisz-Gut relocated in 2023 to live with her Polish partner. Her grandmother survived Auschwitz, though many of her relatives were among the one million Jews who perished there.

Since reopening in 2000, the Auschwitz Jewish Center has welcomed around 800,000 guests. Although that figure represents only a fraction of the over one million annual visitors to Auschwitz itself, the foundation’s leadership believes it’s important to accommodate religious Jewish travelers.

“Opening the city’s first post-war kosher concession was a natural step, ensuring that Kosher-observant visitors could pray or reflect in our synagogue while also enjoying a kosher meal,” said Simon Bergson.

Until now, observant Jews visiting the site had to bring food with them or coordinate catered meals in advance. But the new kosher option at the center is about more than convenience, says Jack Simony, the foundation’s director general.

“This concession is more than just a place to eat – it symbolizes continuity, resilience, and hope for future generations,” he said in a statement.

{Matzav.com}

Azerbaijan’s intelligence agency disclosed today that it had prevented an assassination attempt targeting the country’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Shneur Segal.

Authorities reported that Agil Aslanov, a known drug dealer, was recruited by the Iranian Quds Force to carry out the mission. Aslanov allegedly met with a commander from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last autumn, who gave him “precise instructions” on how to execute the killing.

Azerbaijani officials stated that Aslanov had accepted a $200,000 payment offer in return for carrying out the murder of Rabbi Segal.

The plot was reportedly stopped in January by Azerbaijani security personnel, who also prevented an attack that had been planned on an educational center within the country.

Aslanov, a Georgian national, has since been apprehended and faces charges related to terrorism and attempted murder.

Rabbi Segal shared with the Washington Post that he became aware of the assassination plot targeting a “religious figure” through media coverage. Despite the threat, he emphasized that, “Jews live in tranquility and without fear” in Azerbaijan.

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday, costing over 1 million rials for a single greenback as tensions between Tehran and Washington likely will push it even lower. The exchange rate had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay. On Ferdowsi Street in Iran’s capital, Tehran, the heart of the country’s money exchanges, some traders even switched off their electronic signs showing the going rate as uncertainty loomed over how much further the rial could drop. “We turn it off since we are not sure about the successive changes of the rate,” said Reza Sharifi, who works at one exchange. Tensions with US squeeze the rial Iran’s economy has been severely affected by international sanctions, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. At the time of the 2015 deal, which saw Iran drastically limit its enrichment and stockpiling of uranium in exchange for lifting of international sanctions, the rial traded at 32,000 to the dollar. After Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January, he restarted his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Tehran with sanctions. He again went after firms trading Iranian crude oil, including those selling at a discount in China. Trump meanwhile has written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, trying to jumpstart direct talks between Tehran and Washington. So far, Iran has maintained it is willing for indirect talks, but such discussions under the Biden administration failed to make headway. Meanwhile, Trump is continuing an intense airstrike campaign targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the last force in Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” able to attack Israel after other militant groups were mauled by Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mehdi Darabi, a market analyst, said he believed that foreign pressures in recent months caused “expectations for the possibility of a decrease in oil sales and more inflation, and it caused a higher rate for hard currencies,” according to Tehran’s Donay-e-Eqtesad economic newspaper. A pensioner who gave only his first name, Saeed, for fear of reprisals, said if Iran stopped its hostile policy toward the outside, financial relief could be possible. “If we want to live a comfortable life, we should maintain good ties with our neighbors,” he said. “We shouldn’t bare our teeth at them. They will do the same.” Economic pressure inflames Iranian public and politics Economic upheavals have evaporated the public’s savings, pushing average Iranians into holding onto hard currencies, gold, cars and other tangible wealth. Others pursue cryptocurrencies or fall into get-rich-quick schemes. Meanwhile, internal political pressure remains inflamed still over the mandatory hijab, or headscarf, with women still ignoring the law on the streets of Tehran. Rumors also persist over the government potentially increasing the cost of subsidized gasoline in the country, which has sparked nationwide protests in the past. Iran’s theocracy has responded by dialing broadly back hijab enforcement and easing restrictions […]

Tosay, the Hamas terrorist organization released the first footage indicating that hostages Maxim Herkin and Bar Kupershtein, abducted during the October 7 attack, are still alive and in captivity.

Out of sensitivity to the families, the video—or any part of it—will only be released publicly with their explicit consent.

Currently, 59 individuals remain imprisoned in Gaza, with 24 believed to be alive. Since the conclusion of the second negotiated exchange, indications of life have emerged regarding 19 of them.

The Herkin family identified Maxim’s voice in the brief video clip issued by Hamas. Maxim is a Russian citizen, and in the past, Russia has made efforts to secure his freedom.

Two months ago, senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, who led a delegation to Moscow, commented that any discussion regarding Herkin’s release would only occur during the second phase of the negotiated deal.

Kupershtein, who turned 23 on Sunday, remains captive. He had been working as a security guard at the Nova music festival and was actively involved in helping the wounded during the attack. In a separate video, he is seen restrained and being taken by Hamas operatives.

Bar’s family has obtained information about his current conditions from individuals who were freed in the previous hostage deal.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters issued a statement: “The families of Bar Kupershtein and Maksym Harkin do not authorize the publication of the video released by Hamas earlier this evening, nor any parts or images from it. The families have requested that their privacy be respected during this time.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Extensive damage reported in Yemen following US airstrikes on Houthi terror hubs

Aftermath following extensive Israeli air strikes on Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

PALISADES PARKWAY: An MVA involving an overturned vehicle occurred on the Palisades Parkway Southbound between exits 11 and 10. Hatzoloh EMS, Hillcrest Fire Department, Spring Hill EMS, Rockland Paramedics, and NYSP are on the scene. Injuries were reported. HEAVY TRAFFIC REPORTED AVOID THE AREA.

On Friday, President Trump shared an attack in Yemen that documented the elimination of a gathering of several dozen Houthi terrorists.

Torrential rains and flash flooding hit the Midwest and South on Saturday, worsening conditions in areas already reeling from deadly tornadoes, with swollen rivers triggering emergencies across Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas, threatening widespread damage as at least seven deaths were reported and more twisters loomed.

WATCH: Aerial footage from earlier today of the flooding at Bishop Park in Bryant, Arkansas.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security mistakenly emailed several Ukrainians legally residing in the U.S. under a Biden-era parole program on Thursday, claiming their status was revoked and threatening immediate departure or federal action, but corrected the error on Friday, affirming their original parole terms remain intact.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that he is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to restrict any further issuance to prevent entry into the United States, effective immediately, due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner.

Latest CENTCOM video footage of US fighter jets taking off from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to strike Houthi targets.

WATCH: Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Boston demonstrating in the anti-Trump “Hands Off!” rally. It’s one of 1,200 other protests unfolding in all 50 states across the country.

Senate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurtling past Democratic opposition toward what President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill” that’s central to his agenda. The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines, but with sharp dissent from two prominent Republicans. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment, with the economy churning after Trump’s new tariffs sent stocks plummeting and experts warning of soaring costs for consumers and threats of a potential recession. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky both voted against the measure. But with a nod from Trump, GOP leaders held on. Approval paves the way for Republicans in the months ahead to try to power a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress over the objections of Democrats, just as they did in Trump’s first term with unified party control in Washington. “Let the voting begin,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday night. Democrats were intent on making the effort as politically painful as possible, with action on some two dozen amendments to the package that GOP senators will have to defend before next year’s midterm elections. Among them were proposals to ban tax breaks for the super-wealthy, end Trump’s tariffs, clip his efforts to shrink the federal government, and protect Medicaid, Social Security and other services. One, in response to the Trump national security team’s use of Signal, sought to prohibit military officials from using any commercial messaging application to transmit war plans. They all failed, though a GOP amendment to protect Medicare and Medicaid was accepted. Democrats accused Republicans of laying the groundwork for cutting key safety net programs to help pay for more than $5 trillion tax cuts they say disproportionately benefit the rich. “Trump’s policies are a disaster,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, as is Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, he added. “Republicans could snuff it out tonight, if they wanted.” The Republicans framed their work as preventing a tax increase for most American families, arguing that unless Congress acts, the individual and estate tax cuts that GOP lawmakers passed in 2017 will expire at the end of this year. The Senate package pulls in other GOP priorities, including $175 billion to bolster Trump’s mass deportation effort, which is running short of cash, and an additional $175 billion for the Pentagon to build up the military, from an earlier budget effort. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 ranking Republican, said voters gave his party a mission in November, and the Senate’s budget plan delivers. “It fulfills our promises to secure the border, to rebuild our economy and to restore peace through strength,” Barrasso said. The framework now goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could bring it up for a vote as soon as next week as he works toward a final product by Memorial Day. The House and Senate need to resolve their differences. The House’s version has $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over 10 years and some $2 trillion in budget cuts, and pointed at changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other programs. Some House Republicans have panned the Senate’s approach. Republican senators used their majority to […]

In its latest act of psychological terror, Hamas published a propaganda video on Shabbos of hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin. The families have not approved the publication of the video. Herkin, 37, and Kupershtein, 23, were both abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after spending Shabbos in Budapest, will make a brief trip to Washington, D.C. on Sunday to meet with US President Donald Trump, following a phone call in Hungary where they discussed Trump’s decision to impose a 17% tariff on Israeli goods, prompting Trump’s invitation to address the matter face-to-face.