Crown Heights has officially thrown its support behind Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming mayoral primary, making it the third Orthodox Jewish community to endorse the former governor. The neighborhood joins Far Rockaway and the Bobov community in Borough Park in backing Cuomo’s bid. This endorsement is particularly significant, as YWN reported in may 2021, Crown Heights was the first Chassidic community to endorse Mayor Eric Adams in the 2021 primary. With Mayor Adams not running in the democratic primary, and polls showing a competitive contest between Zohran Mamdani and Cuomo, the Crown Heights Jewish community has now united behind Cuomo.

Tzvi-Hirsh (Grisha) Zurgazda, a 32-year-old father of two and a beloved member of the kehilla in Odessa, was killed in combat last Thursday while serving on the front lines near Kherson. He is the third Jewish soldier to fall in Ukraine’s ongoing war within the past two weeks. Zurgazda served in the Ukrainian army’s 34th Brigade, which is responsible for defending key areas in the country’s southern region, including coastal defenses near the Black Sea. A proud Jew and graduate of Odessa’s Or Avner-Chabad school, Zurgazda remained deeply connected to Torah even while in uniform. Before the war, he worked as a professional chef and often spoke of his dream to open Odessa’s first Michelin-starred kosher restaurant—an ambition put on hold by the ongoing conflict.

A Brazilian activist (aka anti-semite) aboard the Gaza-bound vessel Madleen claimed Sunday that the ship’s navigation and communication systems were being jammed, suggesting that Israel is preparing to intercept the controversial flotilla before it reaches the Gaza Strip. Thiago Ávila, a left-wing activist sailing with the flotilla, posted a video alleging that their onboard tracker was spoofed, showing their location not near Gaza but bizarrely at Jordan’s airport. “We know what this means,” he said.

Outrage and fear swept through the Boro Park community after a young Jewish child was brutally assaulted in a brazen, unprovoked attack Thursday afternoon — but thanks to the lightning-fast response of Boro Park Shomrim and the NYPD, the suspect was tracked down and arrested within minutes. The horrifying incident unfolded on Webster Avenue, where a group of children were playing peacefully on the sidewalk. Surveillance footage shows a man approaching the group, striking one of the boys in the face and knocking his yarmulke to the ground — all without saying a word. The suspect then casually walked away as the children scattered in terror. Terrified and shaken, the children ran to alert nearby adults, who immediately called the Shomrim hotline.

Convicted killer and recaptured prison escapee Grant Hardin, known as the “Devil in the Ozarks,” has been transferred to the Varner SuperMax prison southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas prison authorities announced Saturday. After a nearly two-week search in the rugged mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities recaptured Hardin on Friday 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the prison from which he escaped. Hardin briefly attempted to run from officers when he saw them approach, but he was quickly tackled to the ground, said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas prison system. Authorities tried to track Hardin using drones, bloodhounds and a helicopter, but high water from heavy rains during the search raised the water level in creeks and streams around the prison.

A Chicago police officer was unintentionally shot and killed by her partner after they chased a suspect into an apartment and encountered another person with a rifle, officials said. Krystal Rivera, 36, a four-year veteran of the department, is survived by a 10-year-old daughter. The partner was the only person who fired a weapon, and the “gunfire unintentionally struck Officer Rivera,” city police said in a statement Friday. An autopsy showed she was shot in the back. Rivera died at a hospital late Thursday, less than an hour after being shot. Colleagues had brought her to the hospital in a squad car that crashed and caught on fire due to a malfunction, according to Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. She was then transported in another squad car.

U.S.-China trade talks in London this week are expected to take up a series of fresh disputes that have buffeted relations, threatening a fragile truce over tariffs. Both sides agreed in Geneva last month to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, “rare earths” that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities. President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track.

Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Kyiv that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Ukraine had postponed the swap. Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian side, but that there are “signals” that the process of transferring the bodies will be postponed until next week.

Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible candidate in the country’s presidential election next year, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said. His conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.” The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former President Alvaro Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood being held by several people.

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef arrived at the Ohr Chaviv shul on Sunday afternoon and witnessed the damage caused by a deliberate act of arson overnight. The sight caused tears to roll down his face. HaRav Yosef arrived at Ohr Chaviv together with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, who met earlier with senior police officials at his home. Deri also spoke with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who informed him that the Shin Bet is treating the incident with the highest level of severity, as a nationalistic terror attack, and that an accelerated investigation is underway. According to a Kikar H’Shabbat report, the Shas party is paying for a personal security guard for HaRav Yosef until the end of the investigation.