California Governor Gavin Newsom raised the possibility Friday of the state reconsidering its contribution of federal tax dollars, following reports that President Donald Trump is weighing deep cuts to funding programs that benefit California.
The remarks came on the heels of a CNN story claiming the administration is exploring a “full termination” of federal grants for California’s public university system — a potential move that would strike at the heart of the state’s higher education infrastructure.

President Donald Trump clarified that he did not authorize the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who had been deported in March under contested circumstances.
“That wasn’t my decision,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News. “The Department of Justice decided to do it that way.”

Mahmoud Bassal, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, who has issued hundreds of false statements to international media since the war began, is an active Hamas terrorist, the IDF revealed on Sunday. The IDF confirmed the information following an analysis of intelligence documents found during operations in the Gaza Strip. Bassal, who “has served as the Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson for an extended period of time, exploits his position to spread false and unverified information to international media outlets while presenting distorted data and falsely attributing war crimes to Israel,” the IDF spokesperson stated.

An arsonist broke into the shul of the former Rishon L’Tzion, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, in the Sanhedria Murchevet neighborhood of Jerusalem and set it on fire in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning. Before fleeing the scene, he also sprayed crosses and other Christian symbols on the buildings next to the shul. Security camera footage shows the arsonist entering the shul around 3 a.m., approaching the Aron Kodesh and lighting the fire. The fire caused extensive damage to the shul, HaRav Yosef’s office and his magnificent chair, as well as his sefarim and those of his illustrious father, HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef, z’tl. Firefighters who were called to the scene brought the fire under control. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Iranian state-controlled media and affiliated news organizations asserted today that Tehran had successfully acquired a massive cache of highly classified Israeli intelligence, supposedly including details about Israel’s defense systems and nuclear infrastructure. No proof was presented to substantiate these claims.
State television announced, “Iran’s intelligence apparatus has obtained a vast quantity of strategic and sensitive information and documents belonging to the Zionist regime,” emphasizing the alleged magnitude of the haul.
The announcement was echoed by Hezbollah-aligned al-Mayadeen and the semi-official Iranian outlet Tasnim, though none of the reports offered any specifics about the contents or origin of the purported documents.

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City earlier today eliminated Asaad Abu Sharia, the head of the Mujahideen Brigades, a smaller terror group affiliated with Hamas. The group was implicated in the October 7, 2023, abduction and killing of several hostages, including Shiri Bibas and her two young sons. In a separate operation, another senior figure from the same organization, Mahmoud Kaheel, was also killed.
The Mujahideen Brigades acknowledged that both Abu Sharia and Kaheel had been killed. Abu Sharia led the group, which, though less prominent than Hamas, played a key role in the brutal attacks. Kaheel held a high-ranking position within the organization.

As Adirei Hatorah puts the final touches on its massive maamad hatorah taking place on Sunday night, a team of 15 Lakewood Alerts reporters and editors has assembled to bring you live coverage of the evening’s events. Providing photos and videos, real-time updates, and key moments from every inch of the Wells Fargo Center, Lakewood Alerts is the ONLY media outlet offering comprehensive, blanket coverage of the most momentous gathering of the year – for the fourth year! Don’t miss a moment of the historic maamad! Follow Lakewood Alerts’ coverage by clicking here!

Hamas today released a new image of Matan Zangauker, an Israeli hostage, and claimed that Israeli forces were surrounding the location in Gaza where he is allegedly being kept. The group threatened to kill him if the army came any closer.
In a response, the Israeli military issued a statement clarifying that they had not carried out any rescue attempt for Zangauker.
The photo shows Zangauker lying on his side, partially covered by a blanket. An IV bag is visible in the background, suggesting he is receiving some form of medical treatment.

Wildfires forced a further 1,000 people to flee their homes in Manitoba, one of two Canadian provinces under a state of emergency that has led to thousands of evacuations. The town of Snow Lake, Manitoba, issued a mandatory evacuation order for its residents Friday as a large wildfire threatens the area. That fire, which has now grown to more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,058 square miles, or over twice the size of Los Angeles), has already forced out all 5,000 residents of the nearby city of Flin Flon and a thousand more in surrounding cottages and homes. When the Snow Lake evacuees are added in, Manitoba has about 19,000 displaced from their homes. There are 27 total fires in the province of Manitoba, eight of them out of control.

President Donald Trump really wants to fly on an upgraded Air Force One — but making that happen could depend on whether he’s willing to cut corners with security. As government lawyers sort out the legal arrangement for accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, another crucial conversation is unfolding about modifying the plane so it’s safe for the American president. Installing capabilities equivalent to the decades-old 747s now used as Air Force One would almost certainly consign the project to a similar fate as Boeing’s replacement initiative, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Thursday that those security modifications would cost less than $400 million but provided no details.

As President Donald Trump’s administration targets states and local governments for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities, lawmakers in some Democratic-led states are intensifying their resistance by strengthening state laws restricting such cooperation. In California alone, more than a dozen pro-immigrant bills passed either the Assembly or Senate this week, including one prohibiting schools from allowing federal immigration officials into nonpublic areas without a judicial warrant. Other state measures have sought to protect immigrants in housing, employment and police encounters, even as Trump’s administration has ramped up arrests as part of his plan for mass deportations. In Connecticut, legislation pending before Democratic Gov.

Chiseling away at President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Rolling back the green energy tax breaks from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. At its core, the Republican “big, beautiful bill” is more than just an extension of tax breaks approved during President Donald Trump’s first term at the White House. The package is an attempt by Republicans to undo, little by little, the signature domestic achievements of the past two Democratic presidents. “We’re going to do what we said we were going to do,” Speaker Mike Johnson said after House passage last month.

Russian attacks targeting the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least four people and wounded more than two dozen others on Saturday, officials said, as hopes for peace dimmed further. The first wave on Ukraine’s second-largest city was a large Russian drone-and-missile attack in the early hours. It killed at least three people and wounded 21 others, according to local officials. In the afternoon, Russia dropped aerial bombs on the city center, killing at least one person and wounding five more, Kharkiv’s mayor said. The warring sides also accused each other of trying to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange, nearly a week after Kyiv embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.

The Pentagon’s watchdog is looking into whether any of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s aides were asked to delete Signal messages that may have shared sensitive military information with a reporter, according to two people familiar with the investigation and documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The inspector general’s request focuses on how information about the March 15 airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen was shared on the messaging app. This comes as Hegseth is scheduled to testify before Congress next week for the first time since his confirmation hearing.

Thousands gathered Thursday night at Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo in Rishon L’Tzion for the inauguration of the world’s largest and most ornate Aron Kodesh and the dedication of a new, exceptionally small Sefer Torah.
The celebration began with the writing of the final letters of the Sefer Torah at the home of Rabbi Moshe Buchris in Rishon L’Tzion. From there, a majestic procession made its way through the streets, which came to a standstill as throngs of locals joined.

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