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New York City won an initial procedural victory Friday in the court fight over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s two-year rent freeze, as a judge ruled that a lawsuit seeking to overturn the policy was brought in the wrong borough and must be transferred from Staten Island to Manhattan.

The ruling does not resolve the central dispute over whether the Rent Guidelines Board acted lawfully when it froze rents on approximately one million rent-stabilized apartments. Instead, it delays consideration of those arguments, along with pending efforts by groups representing landlords and tenants to intervene in the case.

Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio ordered the proceeding moved to Manhattan Supreme Court, although he made clear that he had been ready to address the substance of the challenge.

Porzio said he “was prepared to decide the issue on the merits,” pointing to the “enormity and the impact this case has.”

“However, this venue motion… had to be decided, and I’ve decided it this way.”

The legal battle began last month when a coalition of New York City landlords sued the Rent Guidelines Board over its June decision to impose a two-year freeze affecting roughly one million rent-stabilized units. The landlords contend that the process was a rigged “sham” and “unlawful.”

The case was filed by Randy Mastro, who served as first deputy mayor before becoming a prominent legal adversary of the Mamdani administration. Friday’s decision represented an early setback for Mastro and the small landlords he represents.

City attorneys quickly challenged the decision to bring the case in Staten Island, arguing that the lawsuit belonged in Manhattan regardless of the underlying merits of the landlords’ claims.

At issue was a procedural requirement governing Article 78 proceedings, the type of lawsuit used to challenge decisions by government agencies and public bodies. City attorneys maintained that such a case must be brought in the location where the government action being challenged took place. Because the Rent Guidelines Board proceedings at issue occurred in Manhattan, they argued, Manhattan was the proper venue.

“This venue motion has nothing to do with your honor’s ability to hear the case on its merits,” Corporation Counsel Steven Banks said during Friday’s virtual court proceeding. “It has to do with the importance of adhering to the rules.”

Mastro, who told the court that Friday happened to be his birthday, pushed back against the city’s position and argued that Staten Island was an entirely appropriate place to bring the challenge.

He noted that the Rent Guidelines Board’s decision applies citywide and directly affects Staten Island, where approximately 8,200 apartments are subject to rent stabilization.

“Staten Island may be smaller in population than the other boroughs in our city, but it is every bit as important, and it is just as affected by this decision as any other borough,” Mastro argued.

Attorney Deborah Reigel, who is also representing the landlords, warned that accepting the city’s reasoning could create troubling incentives for municipal agencies.

Reigel argued that the contention that Staten Island was an improper venue because the Rent Guidelines Board did not conduct rent-freeze hearings there “really invites bad behavior,” potentially allowing city agencies to avoid holding proceedings in certain boroughs in order to make it more difficult for residents there to challenge their decisions.

Porzio rejected that interpretation, saying the landlords’ attorneys had “misconstrued” the applicable legal standard.

“The material event is not where the impact will be felt, but … where the proceedings were brought,” Porzio said while reading from his order.

The judge’s written ruling similarly concluded that the fact that Staten Island residents will be affected by the rent freeze was not enough to establish the borough as the proper location for the lawsuit.

“While the rent regulations will apply in Richmond County … neither the decision complained, nor the process undertaken to arrive at that determination, have a material connection to Richmond County,” Porizo’s ruling read.

The dispute stems from the Rent Guidelines Board’s June vote to freeze rents for two years on approximately one million stabilized apartments, a decision that delivered Mamdani one of the signature policies he had championed.

Landlords challenging the freeze maintain that the board’s process was improperly engineered to produce the result favored by the mayor and are seeking to have the decision overturned.

Friday’s ruling, however, addressed none of those allegations. It dealt only with where the case must be heard.

As a result, the city’s victory is procedural rather than a ruling upholding the legality of the rent freeze itself. The landlords will still have an opportunity to press their claims and ask a judge to invalidate the Rent Guidelines Board’s action.

Porzio said the litigation will now continue in Manhattan, where a new date is expected to be scheduled for arguments addressing the substance of the landlords’ challenge.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the Trump administration was handed a massive fiscal problem by the Biden administration, describing it as a “debt bomb” while arguing that President Donald Trump’s economic team has a strategy to make U.S. economic growth outpace the growth of the national debt.

Vance made the remarks during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE,” where host Carl Higbie questioned him about the administration’s approach to the national debt, which recently surpassed $40 trillion.

“There’s a weird way where American taxpayers are getting fleeced because of the very high debt charges,” Vance said.

Vance said the high cost of servicing the federal debt largely took shape during the Biden administration and maintained that the Trump administration has already begun improving the situation.

“By the way, very high debt charges that started under the Biden administration. This is a crisis that we inherited, and I think has gotten better.”

According to Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pursuing a “very discreet plan,” with Trump’s support, aimed at expanding the economy at a faster rate than the country’s debt burden is growing.

“And if you look, we are on track. So even though the debt is too high, even though we inherited this debt bomb from the Biden administration, we actually do have a plan to get the economy growing faster than the debt. And that’s the most important thing,” Vance said.

Vance argued that the central problem during the Biden years was not simply the size of the debt, but the fact that borrowing was increasing at a faster pace than the overall economy.

“The issue that we’ve had under the Biden administration and what we’re still kind of dealing with is that the debt was growing faster than American GDP [gross domestic product]. That’s the problem.”

Both the Trump and Biden administrations, however, enacted policies that contributed trillions of dollars to projected federal borrowing.

A 2024 analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that policies approved during Trump’s first term would add approximately $8.4 trillion in borrowing over a 10-year period. Policies approved during Biden’s first three years and five months in office were projected to add approximately $4.3 trillion over the same time horizon.

When major COVID-19 relief measures were removed from the calculations, the CRFB estimated that Trump-approved policies would account for roughly $4.8 trillion in additional 10-year borrowing, compared with approximately $2.2 trillion resulting from policies approved under Biden.

The organization also cautioned against simply attributing increases in the national debt during a president’s tenure directly to that president. Federal borrowing can be driven by previously enacted laws, changing economic conditions and other circumstances beyond a president’s direct control.

Vance nevertheless said the current administration recognizes the seriousness of the debt problem and that Bessent has Trump’s full support in attempting to address it.

“That’s something that we’re certainly fixing every single day in the Trump administration. Scott Bessent is very much on top of it,” he said.

“He knows it’s a problem, and he’s got the president’s empowerment to do something about it.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump scored a significant legal victory Friday as the Supreme Court allowed construction of his massive new White House ballroom to continue while litigation over the project moves forward, lifting for now a lower-court restriction that had blocked portions of the work.

The ballroom, being constructed on the site of the demolished East Wing, is expected to span approximately 90,000 square feet — roughly twice the size of the main portion of the White House complex. Although Trump had repeatedly said taxpayers would not be responsible for the project, its cost has reportedly climbed to at least $300 million, with some public funding now expected to be involved.

Friday’s Supreme Court action marked the latest development in a months-long legal fight between the Trump administration and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nonprofit sued in an effort to stop the project, contending that Trump cannot undertake construction of this magnitude on the East Wing site without first obtaining authorization from Congress.

The ballroom would dramatically expand the White House’s capacity for large-scale official functions, addressing what Trump has long complained is inadequate space for major events, particularly state dinners and gatherings involving foreign leaders.

Trump has also maintained that the project goes far beyond entertaining guests. He has said the new complex will incorporate major national-security infrastructure, including bomb shelters, medical facilities, sniper positions and a drone port.

The Supreme Court became involved after a series of conflicting lower-court decisions left the future of the construction uncertain. The justices faced a Friday deadline to act on the administration’s emergency request.

In a brief order signed by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court stayed the lower-court ruling that had halted portions of the construction, clearing the way for work to proceed while the underlying legal dispute continues.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation warned the justices earlier this week that allowing the administration to continue building could effectively render its lawsuit meaningless because so much of the project could be completed before courts reach a final decision.

“Rather than obtain permission from Congress, Petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review” by accelerating construction, the organization wrote. “It is clear that in Petitioners’ view, if the Court grants their stay application, this case is over—despite every court to have reviewed their project having found it to be patently unlawful, and no matter the fact that this Court has not reviewed those decisions on the merits.”

The legal battle began in March, when U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled against the Trump administration and ordered construction stopped except for portions of the project related to White House safety and security.

The administration appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which subsequently permitted construction to continue temporarily. Leon later refined his order, allowing underground work on the ballroom complex to move ahead while continuing to prohibit above-ground construction.

Trump sharply objected to the distinction, arguing that the security components and ballroom construction could not realistically be separated.

“It’s all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit, which is vital for National Security and Military Operations of the United States of America!” Trump wrote on social media.

The dispute returned to the appeals court, but the Trump administration ultimately sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow the entire project to move forward while the litigation continues.

Construction began last July and has already significantly altered the area surrounding the White House. Access to portions of the north side of the White House grounds and Lafayette Park, areas previously accessible to the public, has been restricted as work has progressed.

The project has also generated considerable public opposition. An April Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 56% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing and construct the ballroom.

Friday’s Supreme Court order does not resolve the central legal question of whether Trump ultimately has the authority to complete the ballroom without congressional approval. Instead, it allows construction to proceed while the courts continue considering the case.

For Trump, however, the immediate effect is clear: work on one of the most ambitious physical transformations of the White House in modern history can continue.

{Matzav.com}

A group of Jewish hikers came under attack by dozens of Arab rioters on Friday after entering the Palestinian Authority-controlled village of Sa’ir in the eastern Gush Etzion region, apparently by mistake, prompting security forces to rush to the area and evacuate them.

The hikers were traveling through the eastern Gush Etzion area when they entered Sa’ir, where a large group of local Arabs began hurling rocks at them.

Israeli security forces were summoned to the scene and moved to rescue the hikers from the village.

According to initial reports, a local community security coordinator was among the first security personnel to reach the area. He was reportedly struck by a rock thrown by one of the attackers and responded by opening fire in self-defense.

Palestinian Arabs offered a different account of the incident, claiming that the Israelis had deliberately entered Sa’ir and started a fire in the village, sparking the confrontation.

The IDF subsequently issued a statement confirming that Israeli civilians had been injured in the rock-throwing attack and that a security official had opened fire, resulting in Palestinian casualties.

“Earlier today (Friday), IDF soldiers dispatched to the area of Sa’ir following a report of Palestinians hurling rocks towards a group of Israeli civilians who were present in the area without advanced authorization.”

“As a result of the rock hurling, Israeli civilians were injured. A security official opened fire in the area, and there are Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting.”

The military also addressed reports of a fire at a structure in the village, saying firefighters had been dispatched to bring the blaze under control.

“In an additional report that was received regarding a structure under construction being set on fire, firefighting crews worked to extinguish the fire.”

IDF troops worked to break up the confrontation before removing the Israeli hikers from the area.

“IDF soldiers operated to disperse the confrontation and removed the Israeli civilians from the area.

“The IDF clarifies that the presence of Israeli civilians in the area without prior coordination and authorization endangers the civilians and diverts the soldiers’ efforts away from defensive and counterterrorism activities.

“At this time, officers from the Judea and Samaria District Police are at the scene with IDF soldiers, operating to collect evidence and testimonies as part of an investigation that has been launched.”

Police have identified 26-year-old Liel Ifergan as the primary suspect in the shocking murder of seven-year-old Hillel Mordechai Dadon in Beit Shemesh, where two young cousins were allegedly attacked with a knife while playing in a pool.

According to investigators, Ifergan allegedly stabbed Hillel and his four-year-old cousin during the attack. Hillel was killed, while the younger child suffered serious injuries.

Ifergan, who lives near the location of the stabbing, was taken into custody by police shortly after the deadly incident.

Investigators suspect that several hours before the attack, Ifergan came to the vicinity of the apartment where the children were later stabbed. He reportedly had a brief conversation with the homeowner before leaving. Police believe he subsequently returned to the location and attacked the two children with a sharp object.

A court has ordered Ifergan to remain in custody until next Tuesday as police continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing.

Chief Inspector Guy Avrahami, deputy head of interrogations at the Jerusalem District Central Unit, described the horrific scene encountered by investigators following the attack.

“We arrived at a very difficult scene, where a young child lost his life while playing in a pool.”

Police are now working to determine what may have motivated the suspect and what circumstances preceded the attack, while investigators continue collecting evidence and reconstructing the sequence of events.

“At this stage, we are focusing our investigative efforts on understanding exactly what the suspect’s motive was and what led him to harm the children. The work of gathering evidence and putting together the pieces of the puzzle continues, with the aim of uncovering the truth and bringing the suspect to justice to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

Jill Biden is leaving open the possibility that Joe Biden may have been drugged before his disastrous 2024 presidential debate against President Donald Trump, while revealing that doctors examined him that night amid her own fears that he may have suffered a stroke.

During a podcast interview Thursday, host Jamie Kern Lima directly asked Jill Biden whether doctors had ruled out a stroke following her husband’s alarming performance on the debate stage.

“Well, they did. They said, I mean, I didn’t say to them, when I was writing my book, I was reflecting, but I didn’t say, ‘God, did Joe have a stroke?’ I just said, ‘Is he OK? Is he OK?'” Biden responded.

When Lima pressed her on what she personally believes caused her husband’s performance that night, Biden said she still does not know, pointing to his extensive travel schedule, fatigue and the fact that she had spent little time with him in the period immediately preceding the debate.

“I mean, there’s all kinds of theories — you know, he had been traveling,” she said. “I know he was tired, he didn’t feel well that day, when I saw him, but there was nothing definitive that I could point to. And I had been on the road for two weeks up until that moment. So, I wasn’t with him. I didn’t see him days before, weeks before. I saw him maybe one hour before.”

Lima then raised a more startling possibility, asking whether someone could have secretly put something into Biden’s drink before he took the debate stage.

“There’s no way anyone could have, God forbid, laced his drink or something?”

“Who knows? Who knows?” Biden responded.

Joe Biden’s office did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital seeking comment on the remarks.

The June 2024 debate against Trump became one of the defining events of the presidential campaign. Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words, appeared confused at times and experienced lengthy pauses, triggering an immediate political crisis as even some prominent Democratic supporters began publicly calling for him to abandon his reelection bid.

Jill Biden has revisited the episode in her memoir, “View from the East Wing,” writing that as she watched her husband onstage that night, she became frightened that he might be suffering a stroke.

“I wasn’t horrified. I was frightened,” Jill Biden recalled in a May interview.

She said Biden’s appearance and behavior were unlike anything she had previously witnessed from him and that her immediate reaction was concern that something medically serious was unfolding.

“I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since,” the first lady said. “I don’t know what happened. As I watched it, I said, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’ It scared me to death.”

During Thursday’s podcast appearance, Jill Biden said doctors were routinely around the presidential couple and that she was assured her husband was medically fine that evening. Biden subsequently continued with additional scheduled events.

“It was like such an aberration,” she added.

Jill Biden’s decision to repeatedly revisit the tumultuous final months of the 2024 campaign during publicity appearances for her book has drawn criticism from some Democrats, who would prefer to move beyond an election that ultimately ended with Vice President Kamala Harris losing to Trump.

Andrew Bates, who served as a Biden spokesperson, publicly questioned the wisdom of reopening the controversy while Democrats are preparing for the midterm elections.

“I don’t see why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened right now.”

Jill Biden responded sharply to Bates’ criticism, challenging him to address his objections directly to her.

“I want to say to Andrew: Call me up, and say it to my face, buddy.”

Matt Dallek, a professor of political management at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that he does not expect Jill Biden’s memoir tour or the renewed discussion of the 2024 campaign to have a significant effect on voters in either the midterms or the 2028 presidential race. He said, however, that many Democrats view the Bidens’ recent public appearances as dwelling on a difficult chapter the party would rather leave behind.

“Democrats seem to feel like they’re focused on the past, they’re focused on Trump coming back to power,” Dallek said. “They’re focused on the perceived sense of failure of Biden and his unpopularity as he left office.

“I think that the memoir tour, the various appearances by — whether it’s Jill Biden or Hunter Biden — I think there’s still, you know, a lot of affection for Joe Biden, for the Bidens in the Democratic Party. There’s also, I think, a certain amount of pain associated with the memory of the Biden presidency and especially the last kind of year or two,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Joe Biden is expected to offer his own account of his presidency in a book scheduled for release in November, following the midterm elections.

{Matzav.com}

A New York Supreme Court judge has temporarily halted the remaining construction of Crown Heights’ controversial protected bike lane project following a lawsuit challenging the city’s procedures for moving forward with the project.

New York Supreme Court Justice Rachel Freier granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) from proceeding with additional portions of the project on Kingston and Brooklyn Avenues and several surrounding streets. The order will remain in effect until the case returns to court, with the next hearing scheduled for September 16, when the court will consider the matter further.

The lawsuit was brought by Crown Heights resident Yosef Wolf, a member of the Chabad community, against the City of New York, the Department of Transportation, and DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. Wolf argues that DOT began implementing the project without completing the formal notifications, consultations, and certifications required by city law before a major transportation project can proceed.

The order came after construction had already begun. DOT had completed the protected bike lane on Kingston Avenue between East New York Avenue and Winthrop Street and was preparing to continue the project on Brooklyn Avenue and other locations. That includes the planned protected lane on Brooklyn Avenue, the remaining Kingston Avenue work, pedestrian islands, curb extensions, planters and concrete barriers, a protected loop around the Wingate campus, and additional bike lanes planned for Rutland Road and Fenimore Street.

The city argued that extensive community outreach had already taken place. DOT says it presented the project to elected officials, the FDNY, NYPD, and other city agencies, as well as Community Board 9 and Crown Heights organizations including Shomrim, Hatzalah, the Crown Heights JCC, and the Jewish Future Alliance.

Wolf’s lawsuit, however, argues that community outreach alone was not sufficient and that DOT failed to complete the formal legal procedures required before construction began. His filing claims that Councilmember Rita Joseph had not been notified that DOT was beginning implementation and that Councilmember Crystal Hudson was also not properly notified. The lawsuit further alleges that DOT failed to provide required certifications documenting consultations with the FDNY, NYPD, Small Business Services, and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.

Court filings also show that DOT had already modified the original project following community opposition. The initial plan extended farther north toward Empire Boulevard, while the current version begins at East New York Avenue. DOT also reduced the projected loss of parking spaces and made other design changes.

While the lawsuit centers on the city’s legal procedures, many Crown Heights residents have also raised concerns about the safety of protected bike lanes, particularly for children boarding buses on their way to yeshiva.

Crown Heights resident Boruch Sholom, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said he supports bike lanes generally but has concerns about protected lanes.

“I’m a cyclist, and I use bike lanes, but protected bike lanes are dangerous, especially for children boarding buses.”

Sholom said that if the goal is safety, the safety of everyone — including children getting on and off buses — must be taken into account.

The case is also notable for being heard by New York Supreme Court Justice Rachel Freier, whose background and familiarity with the Orthodox and Chassidic Jewish community are well known.

For many Crown Heights residents, having a judge who understands the community’s way of life and the practical concerns facing its families provides a meaningful sense of reassurance.

Justice Freier’s temporary restraining order, however, is based on the legal issues raised before the court, and the case will now proceed through the judicial process.

Wolf is seeking not only to stop the remaining construction but ultimately to overturn DOT’s decision to implement the project and require the city to restore portions of the streets that have already been altered.

For now, Judge Freier’s order puts the remaining construction on hold, giving the court an opportunity to examine the legal questions surrounding the project before the city moves forward.

{Matzav.com}

Israel Airports Authority Chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftah Ron Tal sharply condemned the surprise strike that threw Ben-Gurion Airport into chaos on Thursday, vowing that those found responsible will face both administrative and legal consequences.

Speaking to 103FM on Friday morning, Ron Tal described the work stoppage as unjustifiable and denounced the conduct behind it as “bullying and intolerable behavior.” His comments came as the airport continued dealing with the aftermath of the disruption, including passengers facing lengthy waits for their luggage.

“I regret the distress and the damage caused to passengers, which is completely unjustifiable. In my eyes, this is bullying and intolerable behavior, and we will examine it in the coming days,” he said. “As soon as we identify who is responsible for this, they will pay the price,” Ron Tal said.

Ron Tal indicated that the response will not be limited to internal disciplinary action, saying the Airports Authority intends to carefully examine what legal measures may also be warranted.

He added: “The steps that will be taken are not only administrative; they are also legal. I do not want to do things in a way that will not be correct.”

At the same time, Ron Tal defended the broader workforce at Ben-Gurion, praising employees for continuing to perform their jobs through demanding circumstances and making clear that his criticism was directed at those responsible for the strike rather than airport workers as a whole.

“Our employees are simply excellent. During the war and today, they work under difficult and complex conditions, and they do not deserve to be directed this way,” he said.

Ron Tal also cautioned against responding to the dispute with unilateral action, arguing that such an approach could ultimately undermine organized labor throughout Israel.

“We do not take unilateral steps; this will harm organized labor in the State of Israel.”

Turning to broader problems within the Airports Authority, Ron Tal acknowledged that significant reforms are needed and said changing an organization that has operated for decades will not happen immediately.

“You do not change Rome in one day. You speak to the solution, not the problem; that is why I am here,” he stated.

Still, he insisted that reform will take place, describing the authority’s existing organizational structure as deeply problematic and saying officials have little choice but to address it.

“Not only is it possible to change, but we will change it, period. The authority has existed for 50 years, and its organizational structure is very problematic. We will find the way because we have no other choice,” he said.

Ron Tal specifically characterized Ben-Gurion Airport’s staffing structure as an “inverted pyramid,” saying the balance between permanent and temporary employees needs to be addressed even if doing so results in confrontation with organized labor.

“It is an inverted pyramid; there are far fewer temporary workers than permanent employees. Management needs to manage, and workers need to work. There will be friction, and perhaps there will be a struggle, but this will change. This is our obligation,” he said.

The Airports Authority chairman also challenged assertions by the workers’ committee that Ben-Gurion is operating with a shortage of approximately 400 baggage handlers, questioning the source and accuracy of that figure.

“Where does this number come from? If you are getting this number from the workers’ committee, I suggest you check it. Even if there is a shortage of workers, it is among manual labor workers. This airport operated yesterday and the day before under conditions that were no less difficult,” Ron Tal said.

He similarly disputed claims that airport employees are required to perform physical labor for 15 hours without interruption, saying their working conditions are governed by existing labor agreements.

“They work 12 hours; this appears in the labor agreements, and there is a break between one plane and another,” he said.

By Friday, Ron Tal said Ben-Gurion had returned to normal operations, with airport officials working through the remaining backlog created by the strike. He said 16 flights had been canceled but would be restored as operations returned to full capacity.

“The situation at the airport has returned to normal operations, and we are closing gaps. There were 16 flights that were canceled, and they will return. The airport is operating at full capacity.”

The fallout from the strike also reached Israel’s political arena. On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Airports Authority workers’ committee chairman Pinchas Idan to be expelled from the Likud Party after Likud denounced “the wild and illegal strike at the airport that harmed the citizens of the country and damaged the economy.”

Idan fired back at Netanyahu on Friday, making clear that he had no intention of voluntarily leaving the party.

“in the Likud before Bibi and I will stay after Bibi,” Idan said, according to KAN News.

He also dismissed the significance of his position within the party apparatus.

“What is a member of the Likud central committee? Nothing,” he added.

Idan then warned that additional airport strikes could occur unless management brings in more workers, arguing that the current staffing levels will be insufficient to handle the upcoming holiday travel period.

“We won’t get through the chagim if there is no hiring,” he said. “It’s a waste of time, lest they say I didn’t say so.”

{Matzav.com}

The Skulener Rebbe of Yerushalayim shared an unusual chassidishe teaching about the spiritual significance of kugel, citing earlier tzaddikim who taught that eating the traditional dish on Shabbos and Yom Tov carries the power of “breaking harsh judgments.”

The Rebbe addressed the obvious question: How can an ordinary food such as kugel possibly be credited with such a profound spiritual effect?

In explaining the idea, the Rebbe cited teachings passed down in the name of tzaddikim of previous generations, who emphasized that seemingly simple Jewish customs — particularly those connected with honoring Shabbos and Yom Tov — can contain lofty spiritual meaning far beyond what is apparent on the surface.

The Rebbe then turned to this year’s Rosh Hashanah, when the first day falls on Shabbos and the shofar is therefore not blown.

The Rebbe said that under such circumstances, the kugel eaten on Shabbos takes on a particularly significant role — serving, in a manner of speaking, in place of the shofar blowing.

The Rebbe explained that if tzaddikim teach throughout the year that Shabbos kugel possesses the power to “break harsh judgments,” then on a Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos, when there is no shofar blowing, eating kugel can be viewed as an additional spiritual means of sweetening the judgments on the Yom HaDin.

The Rebbe stressed that the observation was offered “in a humorous vein,” rather than as a literal halachic statement. At the same time, he noted that chassidishe sayings delivered with a smile often contain a much deeper message.

The teaching, he explained, reflects the sanctity of Shabbos, the spiritual power contained within longstanding Jewish customs, and the understanding that avodas Hashem is expressed not only during exalted moments of tefillah and shofar blowing, but also through the seemingly ordinary actions of a Yid who honors and sanctifies Shabbos.

{Matzav.com}

Several El Al aircraft landed at Ben Gurion Airport shortly before the onset of Shabbos on Friday evening, leaving some Shabbos-observant passengers facing the extraordinary prospect of spending Shabbos inside the airport after there was insufficient time for all their luggage to be unloaded and for them to leave before shkiah.

The unusual situation unfolded amid the continuing fallout from Thursday’s surprise strike by workers at Ben Gurion Airport, which caused massive disruptions to flights and baggage handling and left airport personnel struggling to clear a significant backlog throughout Friday.

Several El Al flights arrived in Israel extremely close to the onset of Shabbos. Although the aircraft themselves succeeded in landing before Shabbos, the late arrivals left passengers with only a very limited window to disembark, pass through passport control, retrieve their luggage and leave the airport.

The continuing baggage crisis made that virtually impossible for some travelers.

With suitcases not expected to be unloaded in time, Shabbos-observant passengers who remained at the airport when Shabbos began were expected to spend Shabbos at Ben Gurion rather than leave the airport after shkiah. Their luggage was expected to remain in the airport’s baggage system until it could be processed.

The remarkable scene was the latest consequence of a chaotic 24 hours at Israel’s primary international airport. While Thursday’s strike ended and airport operations formally resumed, its effects continued throughout Friday, particularly in the baggage-handling system.

Thousands of pieces of luggage had accumulated during the disruption, leaving ground crews facing a major backlog as they attempted to service arriving and departing aircraft.

Some arriving travelers were forced to wait extended periods for their suitcases, while some departing flights reportedly left Israel without all of their passengers’ checked baggage in an effort to prevent further flight delays.

The proximity of Shabbos created an additional complication for El Al, which maintains a longstanding policy of not operating flights on Shabbos.

Earlier Friday, El Al canceled Flight LY8 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after delays made it impossible for the aircraft to reach Israel before Shabbos. Passengers had already boarded and were seated when the decision was made to cancel the flight.

Rather than allow the aircraft to depart knowing that it would land after the onset of Shabbos, El Al returned the plane to the gate and had passengers disembark.

The flights that were already airborne and approaching Israel Friday afternoon presented a different scenario. Those aircraft were able to touch down before Shabbos, but the narrow window between landing and shkiah left observant passengers confronting the question of whether they could actually get out of Ben Gurion in time.

For those who could not, the issue went well beyond the inconvenience of delayed baggage. Once Shabbos began, traveling home from the airport was no longer an option for Shabbos-observant passengers.

As a result, some passengers were expected to remain inside Ben Gurion throughout Shabbos, unable to continue their journeys until after Shabbos ended Saturday night.

The extraordinary predicament underscored the far-reaching consequences of Thursday’s airport strike. What began as a labor dispute and resulted in flight cancellations, lengthy delays and mountains of stranded luggage ultimately spilled into Erev Shabbos, leaving travelers racing against a deadline that could not be pushed back.

For the passengers aboard the final El Al flights to arrive Friday afternoon, the planes made it to Israel before Shabbos.

Getting home before Shabbos was another matter entirely.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is looking for a new cook at Gracie Mansion, with the city seeking someone experienced in preparing South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine to serve the mayor, his wife and their guests for a $64,500 annual salary.

The city posted the opening earlier this month for a “Cook” to join the kitchen staff at the mayoral residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Beyond culinary skills, applicants are expected to exercise considerable discretion about what they see and hear while working inside the mayor’s home.

“Reporting to the Senior Executive Chef, the Cook is responsible for preparing and serving high-quality meals for the Mayor, the Mayor’s family, and their guests for daily service, events, and official functions,” the job posting states.

The listing makes clear that privacy is a significant part of the position.

“Must maintain strict confidentiality regarding the Mayor, Principals, guests, and household operations,” it adds.

The successful applicant will also need experience preparing the types of food favored by Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji.

“The role requires experience with multiple cuisines with a focus on South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine.”

The listing does not specify exactly which dishes the new cook will be expected to prepare. Mamdani has previously named biryani, paan and lamb adana laffa among his favorite foods while discussing his preferred New York City restaurants.

Mamdani also marked his election victory as the city’s first Muslim mayor by sharing an aloo dum lunch with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in November.

The opening was created after a member of the Gracie Mansion kitchen staff left to take a restaurant job. The four remaining members of the five-person culinary team all served at the mayoral residence during the administration of Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams.

In addition to maintaining confidentiality, applicants are expected to have at least three years of culinary experience, possess “strong knife skills,” be capable of lifting as much as 50 pounds and “adapt quickly to shifting kitchen demands,” according to the posting.

The city did not provide specific working hours for the full-time position, but anyone hoping for a predictable schedule may be disappointed. Applicants must be prepared for a “fully flexible schedule including days, nights, weekends, holidays, and short notice shifts.”

At $64,500 annually, the Gracie Mansion position pays considerably more than the average compensation for comparable cooking jobs in New York City, according to Salary Expert.

It also pays more than some other culinary positions within city government. A senior cook opening posted last month by the New York City Department of Correction offered a maximum salary of $52,242.

The newest member of the Gracie Mansion kitchen will work under Executive Chef Feliberto Estevez, who has remained in charge of the mayoral residence’s kitchen through the administrations of Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams and now Mamdani.

Mamdani confirmed in June that Estevez would remain in the position. The mayor said some of the most noticeable culinary changes under his administration included bringing meat back onto the menu while excluding pork — and ending the green smoothies that became closely associated with Adams.

Adams had posted videos showing himself preparing the unusual drink, which combined romaine lettuce, avocado, banana, orange and red apple.

Asked whether he had instructed the Gracie Mansion staff to continue making his predecessor’s vegetable-and-fruit concoction, Mamdani indicated that he had not.

“I have not asked,” Mamdani told Fox 5.

{Matzav.com}

A 40-year-old Jewish woman was tragically killed after a vehicle plunged into a residential backyard swimming pool on Elinor Road in Hewlett, Long Island.

The horrific accident occurred when the vehicle apparently left the roadway, crashed onto private property and landed in the swimming pool behind a home.

Emergency personnel rushed to the scene following reports of the crash. Despite efforts to save the victim, the woman was pronounced dead.

The circumstances surrounding the crash, including what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway, were not immediately clear. Authorities are investigating the sequence of events leading up to the fatal accident.

It was also not immediately clear whether anyone else was inside the vehicle at the time of the crash or whether additional injuries were reported.

Additional details, including the identity of the victim, have not yet been released.

Boruch Dayan Ha’emes.

{Matzav.com}

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly pursued a far more ambitious role in American political life than previously known after leaving their duties as senior members of the British royal family, including an alleged effort by Markle to position herself for Kamala Harris’ U.S. Senate seat and a later attempt by the couple to secure an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden.

According to a source cited by the New York Post, Markle sought a meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election because she “wanted to be considered to be appointed” to Harris’ Senate seat if the California senator became vice president. The source said the conversation was publicly portrayed as a welcome-to-California discussion in an effort to head off questions about its purpose.

It remains unclear how seriously Newsom considered any such request. After Harris resigned from the Senate shortly before becoming vice president on Jan. 20, 2021, Newsom selected then-California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill the vacancy. Padilla went on to win a full six-year Senate term in the 2022 election.

A source close to Harry and Meghan strongly denied that Markle had sought Harris’ Senate seat

A memorandum from Newsom’s office that emerged in February 2021 showed that the governor held an “introductory meeting” with Harry and Meghan on Oct. 19, 2020. Newsom’s office characterized the conversation as social and did not disclose what was discussed. It was unclear whether Markle separately sought another meeting with the governor following the election.

Had Markle actually been appointed to the Senate, her status as the Duchess of Sussex could have raised significant constitutional questions. Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust … shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

The presence of a member of the British royal family in the U.S. Senate could also have collided with longstanding American hostility toward hereditary titles. Alexander Hamilton wrote in “The Federalist Papers” that “the importance of the prohibition of titles of nobility … [is] the corner-stone of republican government; for so long as they are excluded, there can never be serious danger that the government will be any other than that of the people.”

The reported interest in Harris’ Senate seat was not the only effort by Harry and Meghan to establish connections at the highest levels of American politics after their departure from royal duties.

In late 2021, the couple sought a meeting with Biden inside the Oval Office and also requested accommodations at Blair House, the presidential guest residence generally used to host foreign dignitaries during official visits, according to multiple sources.

White House officials rejected the proposal. One source said an Oval Office appearance featuring Biden alongside Harry and Meghan “would have caused a major diplomatic kerfuffle” with both the British government and the Royal Family.

A former Biden administration official said Biden and first lady Jill Biden, both admirers of Queen Elizabeth II, were wary of becoming entangled in the highly publicized tensions between Harry and other members of his family.

The Bidens “didn’t want to get into a family squabble,” the source said.

An Oval Office reception and stay at Blair House would have given Harry and Meghan a significant boost in stature as they attempted to establish a new public identity in the United States following their January 2020 departure from frontline royal duties, widely dubbed “Megxit.”

The couple enlisted several political consultants with ties to the Obama administration, including Miranda Barbot, who currently serves as Harry’s chief of staff. Those connections reportedly helped provide a channel to the Biden White House through which the couple’s request was communicated.

Jen Psaki, who served as Biden’s White House press secretary after previously working as communications director in the Obama administration, was reportedly among those connections. Psaki wrote in her 2024 memoir, “Say More,” that Markle once sent a box of lemons to her home in Virginia so that Psaki could personally bring them through White House security and deliver them to Jill Biden’s East Wing office.

A source close to the Sussexes denied Thursday that Harry and Meghan had requested either an Oval Office meeting or accommodations at Blair House. However, the couple reportedly made another unusual request involving the presidency the following year.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, Harry and Meghan inquired about returning to the United States aboard Air Force One, according to the report.

That request was quickly rejected.

The couple also became involved in American political issues through public statements and advocacy. During a September 2020 video appearance for Time magazine, they encouraged Americans to vote and “reject hate speech,” remarks widely interpreted at the time as favoring Biden. The intervention drew criticism from those who argued that Harry and Meghan were violating the British royal tradition of remaining outside partisan politics.

“I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he’s going to need it,” Trump responded dismissively to the couple’s appeal.

Markle, who remained an American citizen after marrying Harry in 2018, later became directly involved in a major legislative debate. In November 2021, she personally contacted several U.S. senators as part of an effort to advocate for federally mandated paid family leave.

Despite those moves, Harry and Meghan never succeeded in establishing the kind of major political influence they reportedly sought, with their attempts to build a significant role in American politics eventually losing momentum alongside setbacks in some of their Hollywood and lifestyle ventures.

Sources said the couple also eventually exhausted some of the goodwill they initially enjoyed within the Biden administration, despite the Bidens’ personal sympathy toward Harry over the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a 1997 automobile crash. Biden had himself endured a devastating family tragedy when his first wife, Neilia, and infant daughter, Naomi, were killed in a 1972 car accident that also injured his sons Beau and Hunter.

Jill Biden had meanwhile been a regular presence at the Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for wounded military personnel founded by Harry in 2014, and had frequently appeared alongside the prince at the event. After becoming first lady in January 2021, however, she stopped attending, reportedly because of concerns over the political and diplomatic optics created by Harry’s split from the Royal Family.

{Matzav.com}

More than four decades after the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, a painful chapter in Israeli military history has finally come to a close, as the remains of Staff Sgt. Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, the last soldier still missing from the 1982 battle, were laid to rest on Har Hazeisim in Yerushalayim.

Katz’s remains were located this week in Lebanon during a joint operation carried out by the IDF and Mossad, 44 years after he disappeared during the First Lebanon War.

The funeral procession began at the Kerem B’Yavneh Hesder Yeshiva, where Katz had learned before serving in the IDF, and continued to Har Hazeisim.

Rav Mordechai Greenberg, the rosh yeshiva, recalled Katz’s commitment to maintaining his spiritual standards while serving in the military.

“Yehuda wrote for himself what special commitments he had undertaken to uphold in the army,” Rav Greenberg said.

The Association of Hesder Yeshivot said Katz embodied the ideals upon which the Hesder system was established — combining Torah learning with a sense of responsibility toward the Jewish people and Eretz Yisroel.

Katz’s brother, Avi, delivered an emotional hesped, describing the decades of uncertainty endured by the family and the difficulty of finally accepting that his brother had been identified.

“How much hope and longing for rebirth and a new beginning your name carries. When the army informed us that you were missing, Dad’s first sentence was, Auschwitz is not over. When they came this week to tell us about the identification, it took us 14 hours of struggle to convince ourselves that this was final. My brother, today we are burying you, but this is not our private story, this is the story of Am Yisrael,” he said.

Avi recalled how his brother had touched the lives of others from a young age and said his influence only grew during the 44 years that he remained missing.

“Already from a young age, you touched people and influenced them deeply. There are countless stories we hear from your friends, and in the 44 years of your absence, your influence did not diminish but only intensified. My children and my sister’s children grew up with you, prayed and hoped, dreamed dreams about you and about the day you would return to us. Dad and Mom traveled for 12 years, night after night, summer, winter, rain, snow, from Ramat Gan to the Kosel in Yerushalayim to pray for you to return. We never despaired and never gave up on you for a moment.”

Struggling through his grief, Avi said that the discovery of his brother’s remains had brought pain rather than relief.

“The feeling when we were informed that he had been found was not relief or joy, but pain and deep sadness, like someone had plunged a knife deep into his heart. For us, Yehuda was killed this week and not 44 years ago. At this moment, I ask your forgiveness for all those moments when I despaired.”

Col. Gal Levy, commander of the IDF’s 10th Brigade, delivered remarks on behalf of the military, reflecting on the question that had haunted the Katz family for more than four decades.

“44 years in which Yehuda was missing. Years of longing, memories and one question that gave no rest: Where are you? The tank soldier who went out to battle and did not return. That question accompanied the Katz family for four decades. Today we can say Yehuda has returned home, after the family never stopped the struggle to bring him back. Sadly, his parents Sarah and Yosef are not here with us at this historic and painful moment.”

The Association of Hesder Yeshivot also issued a lengthy statement honoring Katz and the persistence of those who never stopped hoping for his return.

“For 44 years, Yehuda Yekutiel Katz was missing from his family, his friends, Kerem B’Yavneh Yeshiva and the entire Hesder Yeshiva family. Generations of students were born and grew up since that battle, but the prayer for his return never ceased. Yehuda embodied in his character the deep foundation upon which the world of Hesder Yeshivot was built – the connection between the bais medrash and responsibility for the nation and the land. Between toil in Torah and the willingness to leave the seforim at a moment’s notice, put on a uniform and go out to defend Israel. We embrace the Katz family, his friends and the family of Kerem B’Yavneh Hesder Yeshiva.”

Katz disappeared during the fierce Battle of Sultan Yacoub on June 11, 1982, the sixth day of Operation Peace for Galilee. The battle took place south of the Lebanese village of Sultan Yacoub in the Bekaa Valley, just hours before a ceasefire was scheduled to take effect.

Twenty Israeli soldiers were killed in the battle, dozens more were wounded, and six soldiers were initially listed as missing.

Three of those missing soldiers were subsequently returned to Israel through prisoner-exchange agreements.

The remains of Zachary Baumel were recovered in April 2019 with assistance from the Russian Defense Ministry. The remains of Zvi Feldman were brought back to Israel on May 11, 2025, following a covert Mossad operation.

With the identification and return of Yehuda Yekutiel Katz this week, the fate of the final missing soldier from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub has now been resolved, bringing an end to a 44-year wait for his family and for Israel.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has developed a carefully structured strategy, backed by President Donald Trump, aimed at bringing the nation’s soaring $40 trillion debt under greater control by ensuring that economic growth ultimately outpaces the growth of federal debt.

During an appearance on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie Frontline,” Vance said the administration’s approach has been deliberately pursued by Bessent and is already beginning to move the country in the desired direction.

“He [Bessent] has had a very discreet plan, of course, supported by the president of the United States, to get the United States to a point where our economy is growing faster than our debt,” Vance said on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie Frontline.”

Vance acknowledged that the size of the debt remains a serious problem, while blaming the Biden administration for leaving the Trump administration with what he described as a fiscal “debt bomb.” He said the key to addressing the problem is generating economic expansion at a faster pace than the debt accumulates.

“And if you look, we are on track. So, even though the debt is too high, even though we inherited this debt bomb from the Biden administration, we actually do have a plan to get the economy growing faster than the debt and that’s the most important thing,” the vice president added.

Vance’s comments came the same day Bessent argued that robust economic growth can enable the United States to overcome its massive debt burden, which crossed the $40 trillion threshold on Wednesday.

“There’s nothing magic about the $40 trillion number, and we can grow our way out of that,” Bessent told “Squawk on the Street” co-host Sara Eisen on CNBC.

The Treasury secretary also pushed back against what he characterized as misleading claims surrounding the federal deficit and the deficit as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product.

“But what we do want to signal is I think there’s been a lot of misinformation in terms of what’s going on with the deficit, what’s going on with the deficit to GDP,” he added.

Bessent said part of the current debt picture reflects a temporary factor stemming from tariff refunds mandated by the Supreme Court after its February ruling against emergency tariffs imposed by Trump.

According to Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer intends to establish “the same level of tariffs,” which the Treasury secretary expects will leave “2026 tariff income is going to be roughly what it was in ’25.”

The $40 trillion debt milestone has renewed concerns on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have increasingly warned about Washington’s inability to meaningfully confront a fiscal problem that has grown steadily more difficult to ignore.

Republicans have generally pointed to the scale of federal spending and the cost of entitlement programs as major drivers of the country’s mounting debt. Democrats, meanwhile, have argued for raising additional revenue from wealthy Americans and corporations while also pursuing changes to federal spending.

The IDF has eliminated a Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7 massacre, was involved in holding numerous Israeli hostages in Gaza, and later took part in their transfer to the Red Cross during the November 2023 hostage releases.

The terrorist, Sabhi Sami Mahmoud Shahatut, was killed Wednesday in an IDF strike in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza. Shahatut served as a platoon commander in Hamas’ military wing.

According to the IDF, Shahatut infiltrated Israeli territory during the Hamas-led massacre on October 7 and subsequently played a role in holding multiple hostages in Hamas captivity throughout the war.

Shahatut was also directly involved in the November 2023 hostage releases conducted as part of Operation “Heaven’s Doors.” He participated in Hamas’ staged handover ceremonies and was documented transferring returning Israeli hostages into the custody of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The IDF said that more recently, Shahatut had been working to advance terrorist attacks against both Israeli troops and civilians.

The military said he was therefore targeted and eliminated in order to remove the threat he posed.

IDF Southern Command forces remain deployed throughout the area in accordance with the existing agreement and will continue operating against any immediate threats to Israeli forces and civilians, the military said.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump and his onetime personal attorney Michael Cohen appear to have put years of bitter hostility behind them, with the two speaking directly in a radio interview and Trump praising Cohen for walking back previous claims he made about the president.

Excerpts from their conversation aired Thursday on Cohen’s program on New York’s 77 WABC, with the complete interview scheduled to be broadcast Sunday.

Cohen spent years as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer before becoming one of his fiercest adversaries. Their relationship collapsed spectacularly, and Cohen later emerged as the prosecution’s star witness in Trump’s 2024 New York criminal trial involving hush-money payments. Cohen acknowledged in court that he facilitated payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels related to an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

During their new conversation, however, Trump struck a dramatically different tone toward his onetime confidant, arguing that Cohen had been used as part of a broader campaign against him and praising him for subsequently reversing his previous statements.

“They weaponized you; they weaponized a lot of people, and I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said, and that’s a big thing that you did,” Trump said during the interview.

Cohen has recently made public efforts to repair his relationship with Trump. Appearing last month on John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby’s WABC program “Cats & Cosby,” Cohen revealed that he unexpectedly received a message from Trump approximately six months earlier.

“Out of nowhere, when I was sitting with my wife at a restaurant, my phone buzzed and it was a text from that friend who expressed to me the president’s genuine empathy for the hell that I was being dragged through … I deeply appreciated that text,” Cohen said. “I actually texted the president. I thanked him. Expressed my sincere hope that this long, exhausting feud between the two of us could finally end.”

According to Cohen, Trump responded “almost immediately” and indicated that it was “actually time for us to meet.”

Cohen leaned into the extraordinary reconciliation on his own program Thursday, playing War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” immediately before airing the Trump interview.

Once the conversation began, the former bitter rivals moved on to politics and policy, discussing polling and the state of the economy. Trump expressed confidence about his political standing and suggested that his margin of victory would be enormous if he were facing voters now.

“running today, I think I’d win by 25 points.”

The discussion also touched on immigration and security at the southern border, along with U.S. military operations involving Venezuela and Iran.

Trump additionally addressed Israel and the Middle East, asserting that his presidency had been critical to Israel’s survival and that the region would otherwise have faced devastating consequences.

“Look, there would be no Israel if there was not a Donald Trump president,” he said.

A New York Jewish couple visiting South Florida was subjected to a violent antisemitic attack in Surfside, with the assailant allegedly striking the husband in the head, hurling antisemitic abuse at the couple and threatening to kill him.

Jordan Steven Peruzzo, 35, was arrested Wednesday at the Surfside restaurant where he works in connection with the attack. Authorities allege that Peruzzo targeted the victim because of his Jewish religious and ethnic identity.

The incident occurred Sunday evening near 95th Street and Harding Avenue in Surfside, an area that is home to a large Jewish community.

The victims, Avraham and his wife, Sofia, were visiting from New York and had just left a restaurant when Peruzzo allegedly approached them while riding an electric scooter.

According to police and the victims’ accounts, Peruzzo began directing antisemitic insults at the couple and Jews generally, referring to them as “evil demons.”

The confrontation then allegedly turned physical, with Peruzzo striking Avraham in the head and threatening his life.

“Now you’re going to die,” Peruzzo allegedly told him.

“Stay away before I kill you,” he also allegedly threatened.

Sofia managed to record part of the confrontation on her cellphone. She said Peruzzo also attempted to attack her during the incident.

The confrontation ended after an older passerby intervened, shouting at the alleged attacker in Spanish and causing him to flee the area.

Surfside Police Chief Jay Matelis said his department would not tolerate attacks of this nature.

Police records reportedly indicate that Peruzzo has had previous encounters with law enforcement. In June, he was arrested on suspicion of slashing a giant inflatable World Cup soccer ball displayed in Miami Beach.

Avraham and Sofia expressed appreciation to police for their swift handling of the case.

Despite the frightening attack, the couple said they would not allow the incident to deter them from returning to South Florida in the future.

{Matzav.com}

The New York Times was ordered Thursday to pay $9.25 million to former University of Alabama basketball player Kai Spears after an Alabama jury found that the newspaper defamed him in a 2023 article that falsely placed him at the scene of a deadly shooting.

Spears was an 18-year-old freshman walk-on with the Alabama Crimson Tide when the Times published a report incorrectly identifying him as a passenger in a vehicle present at the scene of the January 2023 shooting that killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

Following a nine-day trial, an eight-member jury sided with Spears and determined that he was entitled to $9.25 million in damages from the newspaper.

The false identification appeared in a March 2023 article written by New York Times sports reporter Billy Witz. The report linked Spears to the scene of the fatal shooting despite the fact that he had not been the person inside the vehicle.

The Times eventually appended a lengthy editor’s note to the article in June 2023, after Spears had already filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

“The original version of this article, published March 15, misidentified the person who was in the car with [Crimson Tide star player] Brandon Miller when the shooting occurred,” the note began.

The Times acknowledged that its initial reporting had relied on information that wrongly identified Spears. The newspaper also said that although Spears’ father and the University of Alabama athletic director had denied that Spears was present, the Times initially reviewed its reporting and decided against making any further changes.

“Based on information from a person familiar with the case, the article erroneously identified that person as Kai Spears, a freshman basketball player. After the article was initially published, Alabama’s athletic director and Spears’s father denied that Spears was present. The Times included those responses and reviewed its reporting, but did not conclude that any other change to the article was warranted at that time.

“On Wednesday, Spears filed a defamation suit against The Times that included new details about the incident. Based on that information, editors assigned further reporting, which determined that the other person at the scene was not Spears but Cooper Lee, a student manager for the team. The Times regrets the error in the initial report.”

During the trial, Witz testified about the sourcing behind the incorrect identification. The longtime Times reporter, who began working for the newspaper in 2008, said one anonymous source he relied upon was a “high-level person, professional.”

Witz explained that he considered the source well-positioned to know details surrounding the case because of the individual’s professional position and access to investigative materials.

“I think the way I was looking at it, Source A, by their job title and by virtue of their access to the transcript, videos and impound photos, was somebody who knew a lot about this case,” Witz said, according to a report from The Tuscaloosa Patch.

Witz also described the broader direction he believed the article was taking as he worked on the story.

“In my mind, the story had a focus, and this tragedy, as bad as it was, could have been much worse.”

Another unnamed source had provided Witz with a vague description of the person believed to have been in the vehicle, without supplying a name.

“I can tell you it’s a White guy on the basketball team, I just don’t remember his name,” that source told Witz, according to his testimony.

While testifying at the defamation trial, Witz ultimately acknowledged that the published account had gotten a significant fact wrong.

“Yes, [the story] had a mistake, no question.”

The Times, reporting on the verdict itself, noted that the case marked an extraordinary legal defeat for the newspaper. According to its account, the Times had not lost a defamation lawsuit in the United States stemming from one of its articles in more than half a century.

Following the jury’s decision, the newspaper said it disagreed both with the finding of liability and with the multimillion-dollar damages award and indicated that it could pursue further legal action.

“We’re disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake,” a Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We thank the jury for its service, but believe the verdict and award of damages are contrary to law and not supported by the evidence. We are reviewing our legal options.”

Dear Matzav Inbox,

There comes a point when a community is entitled to ask a question that nobody in government wants to hear.

Is Lakewood, NJ being punished?

I understand how serious that question is. I understand that accusing an elected official of political retribution is not something to toss around casually. I also understand that budgets are complicated, that federal cuts have consequences, that Trenton has its own fiscal problems, and that every government official can produce a spreadsheet explaining why this dollar disappeared and that program had to be reduced.

But there is also something called looking at what is happening in front of your eyes.

And what is happening to Lakewood right now is outrageous.

Families throughout the Lakewood region learned yesterday that the cost of non-mandated busing through the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority is exploding from $385 per child to $945 for the coming school year. It is an additional $560 per child, announced practically on the doorstep of the new school year.

Think about what that means in Lakewood.

We are not talking about a town where the typical family has one child who needs transportation to school. A family with four children affected by the increase is suddenly looking at $3,780 for busing. Five children? $4,725. Six? $5,670.

For a bus to get your children to school.

And this is happening in a community where families are already being squeezed from every direction.

So naturally, people want to know: How did we get here?

The answer begins well before the $945 bill landed in parents’ laps.

Lakewood has an educational structure unlike virtually any other municipality in New Jersey. Tens of thousands of children attend nonpublic schools, creating transportation obligations and other expenses that simply do not fit neatly into a state school-funding formula designed around conventional public-school districts. This isn’t some newly invented Lakewood talking point. The problem has been litigated for years, and an appellate court previously found merit in Lakewood’s contention that its unusual financial circumstances, including the enormous costs associated with transporting nonpublic-school children and providing special-education services, were not adequately addressed by the state’s system.

And now, instead of fixing the problem, government has tightened the vise.

The Sherrill administration came into office confronting a state budget gap and proposed billions of dollars in spending reductions. The governor’s first budget ultimately totaled more than $60 billion, and New Jersey nevertheless retained billions of dollars in reserves.

At the same time, the Trump administration’s federal reductions have placed additional pressure on New Jersey and its municipalities. Governor Sherrill herself has repeatedly complained about the impact of federal cuts on the state.

Fine.

Blame Washington where Washington deserves blame. If President Trump’s administration cut money that Lakewood relied upon, say so. Republican dollars aren’t greener than Democratic dollars. A cut is a cut, and Lakewood families don’t care whether the hand reaching into their pockets has an R or a D attached to it.

But then comes the part that is so difficult to swallow.

Lakewood cannot simply make up the shortfall by raising whatever revenue it needs. New Jersey has imposed restrictions on local property-tax levy increases. The state controls the rules, controls the funding structure and, in Lakewood’s case, has exercised extraordinary oversight over the school district.

In other words, government can reduce the money coming in, limit the ability to replace it locally, and then stand back when services have to be eliminated.

What exactly did everyone think was going to happen?

Money doesn’t materialize because somebody in Trenton uses the words “fiscal responsibility.”

When the dollars disappear and Lakewood cannot replace them, something has to go.

And this time, it was the buses.

The elimination of non-mandated transportation funding has pushed the burden directly onto parents, resulting in the astonishing $945-per-child charge that families are now staring at. According to reporting surrounding the current crisis, approximately $2.7 million had been associated with the busing funding at issue.

And that brings us back to Governor Mikie Sherrill.

Governor, Lakewood remembers Election Day. You certainly do, too.

Lakewood went overwhelmingly for Jack Ciattarelli.

This wasn’t exactly a secret ballot collectively. The Orthodox community’s political leadership made a unified push for Ciattarelli, and contemporary election coverage specifically identified Lakewood as a major source of Republican strength. Even in analyzing congressional-district results after the election, the New Jersey Globe noted that Lakewood had voted overwhelmingly for Ciattarelli.

Maybe Lakewood made the wrong choice. Maybe it made the right choice. That’s democracy. People vote. Sometimes they vote for you. Sometimes they don’t. You won anyway. Congratulations.

But once the election is over, you become governor of all of New Jersey.

That includes Newark. That includes Jersey City. That includes Montclair. And yes, Governor Sherrill, it includes Lakewood.

Even Lakewood. Especially Lakewood.

This is where the optics become impossible to ignore.

A community votes overwhelmingly against the governor. Months later, that same community finds itself facing a devastating financial squeeze involving one of its most basic daily needs. State funding disappears. Local revenue options are constrained. Non-mandated transportation gets sacrificed. And suddenly ordinary parents are handed a bill of $945 per child.

Are we supposed to pretend nobody is going to connect those dots?

Now, can I prove that Governor Sherrill sat in an office somewhere and said, “Lakewood voted against me, so take away their money”? No.

And unless somebody produces evidence of that, nobody should claim that as an established fact.

But politics is also about trust. Government officials have an obligation not merely to avoid retaliation, but to govern in a manner that does not reasonably leave communities wondering whether retaliation is exactly what they are experiencing.

Right now, many Lakewood families have every reason to wonder. Because from where they are sitting, this sure feels like revenge. And if it isn’t revenge, Governor Sherrill has a wonderful opportunity to prove it.

Restore the funding. Fix the problem.

Call in the people who understand Lakewood’s unique school transportation system and figure out how to prevent thousands of working families from absorbing a massive, last-minute increase.

Don’t give us a speech. Don’t tell us about federal cuts. Don’t explain that the formula is complicated. We know it’s complicated. Governing is complicated. That’s why we have a governor.

What is particularly galling is that the state knows Lakewood is different. Everyone knows it. Lakewood isn’t hiding 30,000-plus nonpublic-school children in somebody’s basement. The demographic reality of this town has been discussed in Trenton for years. The transportation problem has been discussed for years. The funding problem has been litigated for years.

And yet somehow every few years Lakewood arrives at another crisis and everybody acts surprised.

How many times can you watch the same movie and still gasp at the ending?

There is another point that needs to be said plainly. Busing in Lakewood is not some luxury perk. Anyone who lives here understands what putting thousands more children into private vehicles twice a day would mean.

Have you driven on Route 9? Have you tried Cross Street at school arrival time? Have you been on County Line Road, New Hampshire Avenue, Cedar Bridge Avenue or Oak Street when schools are letting out?

School transportation in Lakewood is not merely an educational convenience. It is part of the functioning infrastructure of one of New Jersey’s largest and fastest-growing communities.

Take children off buses and you don’t make the transportation need disappear. You replace buses with cars. Lots and lots and lots of cars.

Parents still have jobs. Children still have to get to school. Schools still open in the morning. So now mothers and fathers who cannot afford another several thousand dollars annually will have to start arranging carpools, leaving work, juggling schedules and putting additional vehicles onto roads that are already bursting.

Who wins? The children don’t. The parents don’t. The schools don’t. Motorists don’t. Lakewood doesn’t. And New Jersey doesn’t.

Which is why the response from Trenton cannot simply be: Sorry, that’s the budget.

Governor Sherrill campaigned on affordability. That was one of the central themes of her campaign and of the Democratic message that carried New Jersey in 2025. Well, Governor, here is affordability. It isn’t a slogan. It is a father sitting at his kitchen table calculating $945 times four. It is a mother wondering whether she should pay the transportation bill or try to construct a carpool for children attending different schools at different times. It is a family already paying tuition, property taxes, food bills, insurance and every other expense of raising children in New Jersey being informed, at the end of August, that another several thousand dollars is now their problem. That is affordability.

And there is something else.

Lakewood pays taxes too. Sometimes one gets the impression that because so many Lakewood children attend yeshivos, the families raising those children somehow exist outside the ordinary compact between taxpayers and government. They don’t. Their parents pay property taxes. They pay sales taxes. They pay income taxes. They pay gasoline taxes. They own businesses. They employ people. They contribute enormously to the economy of Ocean County and New Jersey.

Their children count.

A child does not become less deserving of a functioning transportation system because his parents send him to a yeshiva. And a family does not forfeit its right to fair treatment from Trenton because it pulled the lever for Jack Ciattarelli.

That, ultimately, is the issue.

Not Jack. Not Trump. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. Fairness.

If the state government’s position is that these reductions were entirely fiscal, entirely neutral and entirely unrelated to Lakewood’s politics, then show Lakewood.

Don’t demand that the community prove retaliation. Prove that it wasn’t.

Explain why these dollars had to disappear. Explain what alternatives were examined. Explain why a community whose transportation situation is unlike anywhere else in the state should absorb this blow. Explain why Trenton cannot find roughly $2.7 million for transportation in a state budget exceeding $60 billion.

And then fix it.

Because $2.7 million sounds enormous around a kitchen table. In a $60.74 billion state budget, it is approximately four one-thousandths of one percent. Four one-thousandths of one percent.

You’re telling us the State of New Jersey cannot figure this out? Please.

Lakewood should also learn something from this. We love politics when politics loves us. We take pictures with candidates. We announce endorsements. We talk about voting blocs and influence and access and who can deliver whom. Wonderful.

But political influence is not measured by how many politicians appear at a pre-election event. It is measured the morning after the election. It is measured when your candidate loses. It is measured when the person you didn’t support controls the budget and your community needs $2.7 million. That is when you discover how much influence you actually have.

So where is everybody? Where are Lakewood’s elected officials? Where are the people who have relationships in Trenton? Where are the people who told us for years how important Lakewood has become politically?

This is the moment. Not three weeks before an election. Now.

Governor Sherrill, Lakewood didn’t vote for you. Yippie do. Shame on us, perhaps. Or perhaps not. But you are our governor anyway. That’s how America works. And if what is happening here truly has nothing whatsoever to do with politics, then there is a very simple way to demonstrate that.

Treat Lakewood like it voted for you. Find the money. Restore the transportation funding. Get the $945 burden off the backs of families who cannot afford it. And show the people of Lakewood that elections determine who governs us — not which communities deserve to be governed fairly.

Because if Trenton cannot do that, people are going to keep asking the question: Is this about the budget? Or is Lakewood being taught a lesson for Election Day?

Governor Sherrill, the next move is yours.

Avi Shapiro

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