Russia and Ukraine carried out a massive prisoner exchange on Friday, marking the most significant swap since the war between the two nations began more than three years ago. President Trump remarked that the exchange “could lead to something big.”
A total of 390 individuals from each country were returned home, including both military personnel and civilians, with officials indicating that additional transfers are anticipated in the coming days.
This exchange followed a rare direct dialogue between Russian and Ukrainian representatives last week, during which both sides agreed to release 1,000 prisoners each—marking their first face-to-face peace discussion since the early phase of Russia’s invasion in 2022.

An emergency asifas tehillim is taking place now at the Pine River shul for Refoel ben Sara (Faham) who is in extremely critical condition following this morning’s tragic accident. Another asifas Tehillim for Refoel will be taking place at 4 pm at Ohr Mattisyahu, 953 E. County Line Road.  

In a powerful and unanimous show of support, the Florida Legislature recently passed an impactful bill backing Hatzalah South Florida and its critical mission to deliver rapid, life-saving emergency medical services. The legislation passed with a 115-0 vote in the House and a 37-0 vote in the Senate, solidifying overwhelming bipartisan recognition of Hatzalah’s vital role in public safety. Today, Friday, May 23, 2025, Governor Ron Desantis signed that important lifesaving legislation into law.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Avrohom Meir Lichtenstein z”l, the devoted gabbai of both the Vizhnitzer Beis Medrash in Yerushalayim and the Magdanos Eliyahu shul in the Tenuva neighborhood. He was just 47 years old.
Rav Avrohom Meir was a son of Rav Chaim Yaakov Lichtenstein zt”l, the Gaavad of Batehlan and son of Rav Yehuda zt”l, Av Beis Din of Batehlan, and his mother, Mrs. Yocheved Perl.

Adi Alexander, the father of Edan Alexander—one of the hostages recently released from captivity in Gaza—has revealed disturbing details about what his son endured while being held by Hamas.
Speaking to Channel 12 News, Adi recounted that Edan had to conceal his identity during his time in a Hamas-run holding site where multiple hostages were being detained. “They put a ski mask with a green ribbon on him, and he walked between the cells, serving and clearing plates,” Adi said. “The other hostages didn’t even know who he was.”

The Auschwitz museum has issued a serious warning about the use of artificial intelligence to generate fabricated images and biographical details of Holocaust victims, calling the trend a dangerous distortion of historical truth.
Officials at the memorial site for the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, which has long relied on social media to share real photos and stories of those murdered by the Nazis, say they’ve recently come across Facebook pages publishing altered or entirely fictional profiles.

NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agen

The Orthodox Union (OU), one of the most recognized kosher certifying agencies worldwide, has announced that it is no longer certifying any Beech-Nut brand baby food products. The change in certification status is effective immediately. In a kashrus advisory released Friday, the OU emphasized that while some Beech-Nut baby food items on store shelves still bear the OU symbol and remain certified kosher, products without the OU symbol are no longer under OU supervision. Due to overlapping inventory, both certified and non-certified Beech-Nut products may currently be found side by side in the marketplace. Consumers are urged to carefully check each package for the presence of the OU symbol before purchase or consumption.

ANNAPOLIS, Md.