By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
For some time now, it has been evident that we are living through historic days. Choose any starting point. Take the Covid pandemic, for instance. A virus that emerged in China swiftly swept across the globe, infecting millions, claiming countless lives, and leaving lingering scars – physical, emotional, and societal. The pandemic wasn’t just a medical crisis. It rattled the foundations of the global economy. In the United States and beyond, businesses shuttered, industries transformed, and livelihoods vanished. The world was forced to adapt to a new, altered reality.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe issued a public statement Wednesday addressing the current state of Iran’s nuclear program following recent military actions.
“CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” he said.

Rumors have been swirling about the fate of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who went into hiding after the launch of Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic, with some reports speculating that he was badly injured or even killed. The rumors were put to rest on Thursday when Khanemei delivered a live televised speech, his first since before the war. Unsurprisingly, Khamenei spouted lies and propaganda about Iran’s “victory” and even claimed that the Islamic Republic delivered a “harsh blow to America’s face” and “crushed the Zionist state.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Footage of Hamas terrorists commandeering trucks of humanitarian aid that were transferred into Gaza without being inspected was published on Wednesday, raising the ire of many Israelis. In the wake of the footage, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a tense conversation, during which Smotrich threatened to topple the government if Israel continues to provide supplies to its own enemies. Shortly later, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz published a statement saying that they had suspended the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and ordered the IDF to present a plan within 48 hours to prevent Hamas from seizing humanitarian aid.

A fugitive drug trafficker wanted by authorities in Ecuador and the United States was recaptured more than a year after he escaped from prison in the Andean nation, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” who led a gang called “Los Choneros” in Ecuador and has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, was captured in the Ecuadorian city of Manta, his hometown, officials in Ecuador said. Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for Macias after hi s mysterious prison escape in early 2024 from the Guayaquil Regional Prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Ecuadorian authorities have yet to explain how he escaped.

Following the unprecedented remarks of US President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday evening called for the corruption cases against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be dropped, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar published a scathing post on Thursday morning in which he attacked the judicial system and deemed the cases against Netanyahu as a perversion of justice against him and the entire country.

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QUEENS NY (VINnews)-Today, Mayor Eric