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HAKEEM JEFFRIES: “This isn’t Liberation Day. It’s Recession Day in the United States of America. That’s what the Trump tariffs are going to do.”

Boeing CEO on Trump tariffs impact: “It depends on what the tariffs are. I obviously don’t know that…80% of the commercial airplanes we deliver are outside the United States. Free trade is very important to us…we really are the ideal kind of an export company.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and soon-to-be ousted Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited troops in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Rafah today, as the military expanded its offensive against Hamas. During the visit, Zamir says that “the only thing that can stop us from advancing is the release of our hostages.” Bar says that “Hamas will continue to pay prices as long as the 59 hostages are not returned.”

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul and a key figure in his administration, will be stepping back from his current role in the coming weeks. The announcement, made during a brief Oval Office address, marks a significant shift in the dynamic between Trump and Musk, whose partnership has been a cornerstone of the administration’s early months. The move has also sparked speculation about Musk’s future influence and the trajectory of Trump’s ambitious government overhaul. “Elon’s done a fantastic job—tremendous, really—but he’s going to step back in the coming weeks,” Trump said, flanked by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “He’s a busy guy, a genius, and he’s got Tesla, SpaceX, all these great companies to run. We’ve got a great team in place now, and he’s set us up beautifully.” Trump offered no specific timeline beyond “weeks” and declined to elaborate on whether Musk’s departure was voluntary or prompted by internal pressures. Musk has served as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a controversial advisory body tasked with slashing federal spending and bureaucracy. Since Trump’s January 20 inauguration, Musk has wielded unprecedented influence, orchestrating mass layoffs, freezing billions in grants, and pushing a “slash-first, fix-later” approach that mirrored his corporate playbook at Twitter and Tesla. His tenure, however, has been mired in legal challenges, with federal judges halting some DOGE actions, and growing unease among GOP lawmakers over his outsized role. The announcement follows a Cabinet meeting where Trump reportedly reined in Musk, clarifying that Cabinet secretaries—not Musk—hold final authority over cuts, after clashes with figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Sources close to the administration suggest mounting friction, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and others urging Trump to prioritize confirmed officials over the unelected billionaire. “Elon’s a visionary, but he’s not the government,” one senior GOP aide told Politico, speaking anonymously. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Senator Rubio stated that the U.S. remains far from any deal, the report says. Top Trump officials believe an Ukraine ceasefire is unlikely anytime in the coming months.

China has extended its military drills around Taiwan into a second day, intensifying tensions with live-fire exercises in the East China Sea.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday morning that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to appoint the current Shin Bet Deputy Chief to the position of acting head while he continues his search for a new Shin Bet chief to replace Ronen Bar. The Shin Bet Deputy Chief is known only by S., his first initial.

Hagaon HaRav Berel Povarsky, Rosh Yeshiva Ponevezh, reciting Birchas Ilanos (Photos by Shuki Lerer for YWN)

After TikTok was banned in the United States earlier this year, President Donald Trump gave the platform a reprieve, barreling past a law that was passed in Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court that said the ban was necessary for national security. The Republican president’s executive orders have spurred more than 130 lawsuits in the little more than two months he has been in office, but this one barely generated a peep. None of those suits challenges his temporary block of the 2024 law that banned the popular social video app after the deadline passed for it to be sold by ByteDance, its China-based parent company. Few of the 431 members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who voted for the law have complained. Despite a bipartisan consensus about the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China, “it’s as if nothing ever happened,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute. TikTok has stayed online, delighting 170 million users in the U.S. TikTok continues to function, much to the delight of its 170 million users in the U.S., and the tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle have been persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump’s Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them. Trump declared he was suspending the law for 75 days, though no provision of the rule would appear to allow for that, to give ByteDance a fresh chance to find a U.S. buyer. The president has suggested he could extend the pause, but he has since said he expects a deal by Saturday, when the reprieve expires. He is meeting Wednesday with aides about possible suitors for TikTok. Oracle and the investment firm Blackstone are among the potential investors. Trump’s action followed a fast-tracked free-speech challenge by TikTok and its users that ended with a unanimous Supreme Court ruling days before Trump’s inauguration, in which the justices held that national security concerns overcame their usual receptivity to First Amendment claims. The court’s opinions dealt at length with the potential for China to harvest vast quantities of TikTok users’ data that could allow it to track the locations of federal employees and contractors. “The record before us establishes that TikTok mines data both from TikTok users and about millions of others who do not consent to share their information,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a brief separate opinion. “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, TikTok can access ‘any data’ stored in a consenting user’s ‘contact list’ — including names, photos, and other personal information about unconsenting third parties.” TikTok, which has headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles, has said it prioritizes user safety, and China’s Foreign Ministry has said China’s government has never and will not ask companies to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in foreign countries. Trump was against TikTok before he was for it The day after the ruling, TikTok went dark for U.S. users, but it came back online after Trump vowed to stall the ban. The president’s position has evolved over time. During his first term, he used an executive order to try to ban TikTok on national security grounds. But federal courts blocked it. His administration then tried to negotiate a sale of the platform, but it failed. Trump changed his […]

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Baruch Dayan HaEmes – A tragic loss struck the Zonnabend family of Bayit Vegan with the passing of the tzaddekes, Mrs. Esther Ahuva Liba Zonnabend a”h, at just 36 years old.

Daughter of HaGaon Rabbi Zev Freind shlit”a and granddaughter of the Admo”r of Sochatchov zt”l, she was the devoted wife of HRH”G Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Zonnabend shlit”a and mother of nine young orphans.

A woman of exceptional middos and unwavering emunah, she endured immense suffering with faith and love for HaShem, always prioritizing her children’s wellbeing. Even in her final days, she continued to express gratitude to HaShem, inspiring all who knew her.

She leaves behind a grieving husband and nine unmarried orphans.

To donate click here

The post Heartbreaking Tragedy in Bayit Vegan first appeared on Matzav.com.

Baruch Dayan HaEmes – A tragic loss struck the Zonnabend family of Bayit Vegan with the passing of the tzaddekes, Mrs. Esther Ahuva Liba Zonnabend a”h, at just 36 years old. Daughter of HaGaon Rabbi Zev Freind shlit”a and granddaughter of the Admo”r of Sochatchov zt”l, she was the devoted wife of HRH”G Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Zonnabend shlit”a and mother of nine young orphans. A woman of exceptional middos and unwavering emunah, she endured immense suffering with faith and love for HaShem, always prioritizing her children’s wellbeing. Even in her final days, she continued to express gratitude to HaShem, inspiring all who knew her. She leaves behind a grieving husband and nine unmarried orphans. To donate click here

The Israel Defense Forces has begun an investigation into a recent trip taken by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner to Syrian territory earlier this week.

According to a report published Monday by Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Aviner, joined by his aide Rabbi Mordechai Tzion and several IDF reservists from the Military Rabbinate, traveled to Tel Kudna, a location situated on the Syrian side of the border. The IDF clarified that while the excursion had received clearance from some military personnel, it was not authorized by individuals with the proper authority to grant such permission.

The area visited lies within the Golan Heights, a region administered by Israel, but in close proximity to the Syrian frontier.

Rabbi Mordechai Tzion told Arutz Sheva that their intention was to offer spiritual encouragement to troops stationed near the border, saying they came to “strengthen their fighting spirits.”

Recalling the visit, Rabbi Tzion shared words Rabbi Aviner had offered during their time at the site: “The rabbi said that it is not clear from the Torah that the location we were in is considered ‘Syria,’ but it is probably the land of Israel.”

He added that Rabbi Aviner had elaborated on a well-known Midrash, stating, “The rabbi also explained the Midrash that says that Yerushalayim would extend until the gates of Damascus, saying that our yeshiva, Ateret Yerushalaim, is in the center of Jerusalem and we were on the road to Damascus – it’s an allegory.”

Responding to the incident, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit issued the following statement: “Those in the photo are on active reserve duty, and they went to the area as part of their job to give a lesson about Passover. Their entry into Syrian territory was approved by an official not qualified to do so, and so the incident is under inquiry.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Three kedoshei elyon had one common concept when it came to learning Torah – they were the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar 1696-1743) when he came to Eretz Yisroel; the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto 1707-1746) when he lived in Padua, Italy;  and Hagaon, Harav Chaim Volozhiner, (1749-1821) the famous talmid of the Gaon of Vilna. They each had a yeshiva with ‘around-the-clock’ Torah learning, 24-hours a day, so that there would be no minute when the sound of Torah learning would not be heard in this world. The 24-hour period would be divided into shifts, and as one ended the next would begin. Torah-24 A “Torah-24” Center has been opened in Yerushalayim and the Nasi is Maran Sar Hatorah, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l. Under ONE ROOF, from 6:00 am – 6:00 am, 10 kollelim fill successive learning shifts. Each kollel focuses on a specific area of in-depth Torah study. The “Torah-24” Kollelim include: Boker (Gemora), Yerushalmi, Bavli, Zeraim-Taharot, Dalet Chelkei Shulchan Aruch, Erev (Gemora), Chatzos- Zohar/Kabbolah, Erev Shabbos (Chumash / Medrash b’iyun).  Already there are 52 avreichim metzuyonim, and a large number of candidates are vying for the remaining slots in the kollelim. All the avreichim are required to take rigorous monthly tests. Endorsements & Letters Endorsements include Maranan Hagaonim shlit”a: Harav Gershon Edelstein, Harav Berel Povarsky, Harav Shimon Badani, Harav Dovid Cohen, Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Harav Chaim Feinstein, Harav Shimon Galai, Harav Shraga Shteinman. Letters of support-encouragement have been received from Maranan Hagaonim, shlit”a: Hamekubal Harav David Bazri, Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Elimelech Biderman, Hamekubal Harav Yaakov Meir Schechter, Harav Moishe Sternbuch, Harav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss. For more “Torah-24” information click on: www.torah-24.com or call 718-766-5022

In the last two days, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy dedicated a new Holocaust and Genocide Research Center at a high school in his state and announced that he intends to join this year’s International March of the Living in Poland, describing both as “pretty solemn but pretty special” events “bound by history.”

The governor, a Democrat, told JNS on Tuesday that both trips were not responses to “the unspeakable level of antisemitism” that followed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel but acknowledged that they certainly could focus attention on the issue.

“One of the humbling parts of this job is when you make a move with the size of the bully pulpit that we have, that that move is noticed, whether it’s an event you go to, a trip you take, a speech you make, a bill you sign, an executive order you promulgate,” Murphy told JNS.

“You know that it’s got a specific implication for whatever the topic is,” he said. “But also, New Jersey is a big state with a big platform. It has a signalling impact. God willing, in this case that will, in fact, be the case.”

The Anti-Defamation League reported a record 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2023, with 5,204 coming after Hamas attacked the Jewish state.

On Monday, Murphy visited the research center at Kittatinny Regional High School in Newton, N.J., with the Holocaust survivor Maud Dahme and Mary Houghtaling, Sussex County’s teacher of the year.

“The sobering part is it’s the only entity of its kind anywhere in New Jersey,” Murphy told JNS. “And so in the ‘never again, never forget’ category, you’d like to think that it has a broader reach. But that shouldn’t take away from how incredibly impressive and sobering this was.”

As for the March of the Living, Murphy told JNS that he and his wife Tammy Snyder Murphy had always wanted to participate but couldn’t until now.

As U.S. ambassador to Germany, Murphy visited the concentration camps and memorials in the country, but he has not been to those in Poland, he told JNS.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy meets Holocaust survivor Maud Dahme as he tours the Holocaust and Genocide Research Center at Kittatinny Regional High School in Newton, N.J., on March 31, 2025. Credit: Rich Hundley III/New Jersey Governor’s Office.

“With antisemitism on the rise, we must always stand alongside our Jewish friends and neighbors to reject hate,” he said in a statement, announcing the visit.

In the same announcement, Tammy Snyder Murphy called the march “an important reminder of the horrific suffering and loss that Jewish people endured in World War II.”

New Jersey State Police Col. Pat Callahan intends to join the governor and state’s first lady in Poland and to lead more than five dozen fellow law enforcement officers on the march.

“As we walk the same path that so many innocent victims once took, we reaffirm our commitment to remembering history and eliminating hatred and intolerance from our world,” Callahan said in the announcement.

JNS

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A trio of elections on Tuesday provided early warning signs to Republicans and President Donald Trump at the beginning of an ambitious term, as Democrats rallied against his efforts to slash the federal government and the outsize role being played by billionaire Elon Musk. In the marquee race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, the conservative judge endorsed by Trump and backed by Musk and his groups to the tune of $21 million lost by a significant margin in a state Trump won in November. And while Florida Republicans held two of the most pro-Trump House districts in the country, both candidates also underperformed Trump’s November margins. The elections — the first major contests since Trump’s return to power — were seen as an early measure of voter sentiment as Trump works with unprecedented speed to dramatically upend the federal government, clashing with the courts and seeking revenge as he tests the bounds of presidential power. The party that loses the presidency in November typically picks up seats in the next midterm elections, and Tuesday’s results provided hope for Democrats — who have faced a barrage of internal and external criticism about their response to Trump — that they can follow that trend. Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and podcaster whose group worked alongside Musk to boost conservative Brad Schimel in Wisconsin, argued Tuesday’s Supreme Court loss underscored a fundamental challenge for Republicans, particularly in races where Trump is not on the ballot. “We did a lot in Wisconsin, but we fell short. We must realize and appreciate that we are the LOW PROP party now,” he said in an X post, referring to low-propensity voters who don’t regularly cast ballots. “The party has been remade. Special elections and off-cycle elections will continue to be a problem without a change of strategy.” Major shifts in Wisconsin Trump won Wisconsin in November by 0.8 percentage points, or fewer than 30,000 votes. In the first major test since he took office, the perennial battleground state shifted significantly to the left. Sauk County, northwest of the state capital of Madison, is a state bellwether. Trump won it in November by 626 votes. Sauk shifted 16 percentage points in the direction of Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal favorite backed by national Democrats and billionaire donors like George Soros. Besides strong turnout in Democratic-heavy areas, Crawford did measurably better in the suburban Milwaukee counties that Republicans rely on to run up their margins statewide. Crawford won Kenosha and Racine counties, both of which went for Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. She won by about 10 percentage points. In interviews with more than 20 voters in Waunakee, a politically mixed town north of Madison, several Democrats suggested without prompting that their vote was as much if not more of a repudiation of Trump’s first months in office as it was a decision on the direction of the state high court. “This is our chance to say no,” said Linda Grassl, a retired OB-GYN registered nurse, after voting at the Waunakee Public Library corridor Tuesday. Others disliked the richest man in the world playing such a prominent role. “I don’t like Elon Musk spending money for an election he should have no involvement in,” said Antonio Gray, a 38-year-old Milwaukee security guard. “They should let the voters vote for who they want to […]

Violent crime in New York City has seen a steep decline in the opening months of 2025, coinciding with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s decisive and reform-focused leadership.

After assuming control of the department late last year, Tisch quickly removed several senior officials accused of misconduct and rolled out sweeping reforms aimed at enhancing public safety and addressing quality-of-life concerns across the five boroughs.

As the first three months of the year wrapped up, newly finalized crime statistics shared exclusively with The Post offered a clear view of the impact of those reforms.

The number of murders dropped significantly, with 63 recorded killings this quarter compared to 96 in the same stretch of 2024 — a dramatic 35% reduction, sources said.

Shooting incidents also dropped notably, with 140 reported so far in 2025 and 164 victims, a decrease from the 182 shootings and 214 victims recorded during the same time frame last year.

If crime continues to fall at this rate, New York City could be headed toward its safest year in nearly a decade, potentially matching lows last seen in 2017 for homicides and 2018 for shootings.

“Tisch is running this like a business, and the bottom line is crime reduction,” a detective based in Manhattan told The NY Post.

This positive trend follows another milestone — NYC ended February with the lowest number of shootings in 30 years.

Since stepping into her role in November, Tisch has moved quickly to revive dormant initiatives and implement a new system that monitors police follow-ups on 311 complaints, part of a broader mission to enhance daily life for residents.

A major element of her reform strategy is a newly created “Quality of Life” unit designed to crack down on issues such as public drug use, aggressive begging, and street homelessness. This unit operates under a unified command structure, which Tisch said improves focus and consistency by having officers report to streamlined leadership rather than scattered departmental units.

In addition, Tisch adjusted the entry requirements for the police academy, aiming to increase the department’s ranks. Among her changes: reinstating the timed 1.5-mile run and lowering the required number of college credits from 60 to 24.

Earlier this year, Tisch penned a guest column in The Post, emphasizing the urgency of tackling recidivism — a problem she sees as undermining both public confidence and officer morale.

“Imagine how disheartening it is for our cops to arrest the same people, for the same crimes, in the same neighborhoods, over and over. And how scary it is for New Yorkers to see the same person who victimized them one day, walking the streets the next,” Tisch wrote.

“The time for band-aids and half measures is over, because the revolving door of the criminal justice system fails to put the rights and needs of victims first. New Yorkers demand, and they certainly deserve, better.”

{Matzav.com}

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The White House got into the April Fools’ Day spirit by pulling a prank on reporters stationed in the press briefing room.

Just after 6 p.m. Eastern, Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers made an announcement over the intercom, catching journalists off guard with unexpected news: the evening was apparently going to run long.

“You have a dinner lid until 8:47,” Rogers said, according to a video posted online by a fellow staffer. “Enjoy your dinner.”

Not long after, Rogers returned to the microphone to reveal the joke.

“Happy April Fools!” she said, as laughter broke out among those gathered in the room.

“Enjoy your evening and Happy Liberation Day eve,” she added, alluding to President Trump’s looming April 2 tariff deadline.

April Fools’ gags have become something of a tradition at the White House, with lighthearted antics often aimed at press or staff.

Back in 2021, then-First Lady Jill Biden pulled off a memorable stunt by dressing as a flight attendant—complete with a black wig—and surprising journalists with ice cream bars during a flight from California to D.C. Years earlier, when she was second lady, she once climbed into an overhead bin aboard Air Force Two and startled an unsuspecting traveler trying to store their luggage.

{Matzav.com}

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) revealed in a recent interview that he gave former Vice President Kamala Harris a candid warning before joining her presidential ticket.

“I said about 90 percent of the time, I can be really good, but about 10 percent of the time, I can be a train wreck because I’m speaking from the heart, like a teacher sitting in a teachers lounge or a laborer sitting at the break table,” Walz shared with New York magazine when asked about his role on the campaign trail with Harris.

Harris’s decision to choose Walz as her vice-presidential candidate elevated him to the forefront of national politics.

“I thought they would choose the district attorney and the teacher over the hedge-fund manager and the billionaire,” he remarked.

Despite their combined efforts, the Democratic ticket of Harris and Walz was ultimately defeated by the Republican duo of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

Reflecting on the loss, Walz suggested that their campaign lacked the boldness needed to inspire and galvanize voters, which may have played a key role in the outcome.

“Maybe we’re not aspirational,” Walz said, speaking frankly about the Democratic Party’s approach.

In the same interview, he acknowledged that while he advocated for progressive reforms, those efforts did not necessarily translate into meaningful economic prospects for college-educated individuals seeking to get ahead.

“I heard this from someone who said, with Democratic go-to messages, basically to Black men, these Democratic politicians led with ‘We restored felon voting rights,’ and the Black men said, ‘But we’re not felons, we’re MBAs looking for capital,’” he told New York magazine.

“The restoration of felon voting rights is important — I did that in Minnesota — but it’s not aspirational. With Donald Trump, everything’s gold-plated and he’s hanging around with these stars, and I don’t know if we do enough of that.”

Walz also said that Democrats have faced challenges with voter engagement for multiple election cycles, well before last year’s race. He added that Harris had little time to shape the campaign after President Biden unexpectedly exited the race.

“Well, I won’t critique the campaign. They need to do what they need to do, but I don’t think Vice President Harris got to be bold. We were dealing with a short runway. That was that one election,” he said.

“I think it would be foolish for us to take a ton of lessons from that because this has been going on for several cycles, certainly since 2016, that we are really struggling to broaden our appeal and energize folks.”

As Walz has continued to speak openly about areas where the party must evolve, Harris has remained largely out of the spotlight, opting instead to sign with a leading talent agency—a move mirrored by other former Biden administration figures.

There is also growing speculation that Harris may be eyeing a future run for California governor in 2026, as the Democratic Party looks to position strong contenders ahead of the 2028 presidential race.

{Matzav.com}

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