The Trump administration and officials from Ukraine have officially signed off on a plan to create a shared investment fund aimed at supporting Ukraine’s recovery, with an emphasis on developing its energy and mineral sectors, including oil, gas, and rare earth resources.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the new initiative on X, explaining that the fund would be evenly co-managed by both nations. She also noted that any upcoming military assistance from the U.S. could potentially be counted as part of America’s investment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided an upbeat assessment of the military’s progress during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, emphasizing a surge in recruitment and the administration’s firm efforts to eliminate woke culture from the armed forces.
The meeting followed a milestone for President Trump, who just marked his 100th day back in office the day before.
“Well, Mr. President, I think we’re controversial because we’re over the target,” Hegseth said. “And like so many things, Mr. President, you inherited a demoralized military that couldn’t recruit, that was perceived as weak after what happened in Afghanistan and elsewhere because of Joe Biden.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has unveiled a sweeping initiative as part of the new state budget that would prohibit students from using cellphones throughout the entire school day. The move aligns New York with a broader national effort to limit student screen time and reduce dependence on social media and other digital distractions.
The plan introduces a strict “bell-to-bell” cellphone restriction, meaning students won’t be allowed to use mobile devices from the start of the school day until dismissal. The restriction applies not just during lessons but extends to lunchtime and study hall as well.

A federal judge has issued a sweeping order that bars Border Patrol agents in much of California from arresting individuals suspected of being in the country illegally—unless certain legal conditions are met. Judge Jennifer Thurston of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, handed down the ruling this week, placing sharp limitations on how immigration enforcement is carried out in the region.
Thurston’s preliminary injunction specifically restricts Border Patrol agents in the state’s eastern district—the largest of California’s judicial jurisdictions—from apprehending individuals without a warrant unless they have a solid legal basis to suspect the person is in the U.S. unlawfully.

Authorities arrested a man on Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into the large-scale brush fires that broke out west of Yerushalayim. While speculation grew—especially on Palestinian social media—that the fires may have been deliberately set, officials stated by Wednesday evening that it was still too soon to determine whether arson had indeed caused the outbreaks.
The suspect, a 50-year-old man from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba, was apprehended after allegedly attempting to ignite dry brush in southern Yerushalayim, according to police.
Police said the arrest followed a tip from someone who reportedly saw an individual trying to set a fire. Officers from the Oz station in East Jerusalem brought the suspect in for questioning.

In a provocative social media post, Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, stirred controversy by implying that the Israeli left may have had a hand in the wildfires that were spreading across parts of the country.
“Something here is suspicious,” he wrote on X. “The Kaplanist left has been frantically trying in recent weeks to cancel Independence Day celebrations and the torch-lighting ceremony.”
His comment appeared to target anti-government protesters, commonly associated with demonstrations along Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv.
“I really hope the arson was only carried out by Arabs, without any collaboration from our own people,” he added.

As Israel began its 77th Independence Day under extraordinary and harrowing conditions, wildfires fueled by fierce winds raged across parts of the country. Amid the chaos, the traditional live Independence Day opening ceremony was canceled due to the extreme weather, and instead, a prerecorded version of the event was aired. In it, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered a pre-taped address meant for the original ceremony, sharing messages of resilience and unity while firefighters battled some of the most devastating fires the nation had seen.

Over a five-year span ending in 2022, around 30,000 people left New York City for Florida’s Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, bringing with them a staggering $9.2 billion in earnings, according to a new study.
The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan organization that monitors fiscal policy, reported Wednesday that these Florida destinations saw an influx of affluent households. Palm Beach attracted nearly 20,000 individuals with average incomes of roughly $190,000, while Miami-Dade welcomed over 26,000 people whose average income was around $266,000.

President Donald Trump urged Americans to remain calm and give his economic strategies time to take effect, emphasizing that the challenges currently facing the economy stem from the prior administration.
Posting on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump addressed concerns over financial turbulence during the early months of his presidency.
“This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers,” he stated in his message.
Trump expressed optimism for the future, insisting that the current difficulties are unrelated to his trade policies and instead blamed the previous leadership for leaving behind economic instability.

The moment headlines revealed that the Food and Drug Administration would be halting federal testing of commercial milk, the Orthodox Union’s kosher hotline was flooded with concerned inquiries, JTA reports.
“The flood of inquiries was off the hook … crazy: emails, calls, WhatsApp, everything,” Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, who leads the dairy division at OU Kosher, told JTA.
People were reaching out to express fears that the change in federal policy might jeopardize the kosher status of standard supermarket milk. Since 1954, many frum Jews in America have relied on a ruling by Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l that federal monitoring of the dairy industry suffices to ensure its kashrus.