Wednesday May 20 News Updates Lakewood

 Weather: 94° Sunny early, then thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible Chance of rain 60%.

 weather over Shavuos rainy cold in the 50's and 60's 

- Heavy  rain winds with falling trees this evening across the region with downpours expected 

: President Trump will reportedly visit Rockland County, NY this Friday, the first day of Shvuos, to address an official White House fundraiser event for GOP Congressman Mike Lawler.(KH)

- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called for eliminating federal income taxes on the bottom 50% of earners to ease affordability pressures. He highlighted how the top 1% already pay about 40% of income taxes and criticized government waste, like New York City's schools spending $44,000 per student with poor results. Bezos argued higher taxes on the rich won't help working people and praised efficiency over more revenue.

- The Keren Olam HaTorah Fund” raised about $30 million in South America, which will be distributed among more than 1,400 yeshivas and kollelim. The estimated monthly operating cost is around $12 million, and another fundraising campaign is expected soon in the United States per GLZ radio.

- With a change in routine and schedule especially with hot weather It’s important to keep the safeguards and implement reminders not to forget a child in the car. A good deterrent is for the Morah to call after a pre set time if the baby does not come after 10:15 am. It should be mandatory to take attendance each morning and call both parents if baby or child is not there by 10:30 .Tesla vehicles, for example, offer a “Dog/Pet Mode” that keeps the car climate controlled when occupied. There are also newer safety gadgets that use a tag placed in a child’s bag or backpack, which scans upon arrival at school or playgroup. If the child does not arrive, it triggers alerts on both parents’ phones until acknowledged, helping ensure parents are immediately notified if something is wrong.

-Watermelon goes on sale tomorrow at Shop Rite $3.99 with a digital coupon for memorial day sale 

- Trader Joe's flowers opens at 9 am 

- Mishpacha/Ami magazine $12 for Shavuos issue Yated $6.50 

- Hachnosas Sefer Torah at Cincinnati yesterday with the attendance ofthe Lakewood Rosh yeshiva Rav Dovid Schustal shlita

- Google, which has already added AI to the top of its search results as well as in a separate AI mode, is now redesigning the search box itself. It will now automatically expand for longer queries and offer suggestions as you go that go beyond traditional autocomplete.

-Giyus: A IDF representative at knesser hearing today: Part of the increase in ultra-Orthodox enlistment figures is a result of the sanctions. There are 80,000–90,000 draft evaders. There has been an increase in ultra-Orthodox combat-support personnel, and a moderate increase in ultra-Orthodox combat soldiers. We prepared to recruit two Hasmonean companies in the May enlistment cycle, but we will recruit only about one company.”

- DOJ has indicted Raul Castro, president of Cuba on murder and conspiracy charges for the 1996 killing of 4 American civilians when Cuba shot down Brothers to the Rescue humanitarian planes.

- A bipartisan group of senators introduced the “Jewish American Security Act,” which would increase federal funding for Jewish community security to about $1 billion and create a federal coordinator to combat antisemitism amid rising hate crimes in the U.S.

- Shocking incident in Bnei Brak when a mentally disturbed individual stabbed and murdered Rabbi Yishai Por z”l inside Kollel Chazon Ish while learning Torah. According to reports, the suspect had argued with him in recent days over studying the writings of the Rambam and allegedly carried out the fatal stabbing during seder, in front of the victim’s 13-year-old son.

- Chaos broke out Tuesday night at Pier Village as large groups of teens gathered, sparking fights, teens jumping on cars, and a massive police response from multiple surrounding towns. Authorities were forced to impose an 8 p.m. curfew as officers worked to disperse the crowds.

- Officers on horseback, police dogs and expanded surveillance could line the Seaside Heights boardwalk this Memorial Day weekend as officials try to prevent a repeat of recent summer violence

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- Jackson crossing seeks $120 million default judgment after jackson township council fails to respond to discovery demands Faanews 

- Toronto Police have upgraded the search for 14-year-old frum girl to a Priority 1 investigation as massive search efforts continue across North York. Hundreds of volunteers from the Jewish community, alongside Toronto Police and Shomrim, are searching parks, neighborhoods, and nearby properties after Esti disappeared Friday night near Bathurst & Sheppard. name is Esther Hodaya bas Shira Miriam

- Lakewood Township 2026 Memorial Day Parade will take place Monday, May 25, The program will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a flag-raising ceremony at Town Square at Clifton Avenue and 3rd Street. From there, participants will proceed southbound along Clifton Avenue in a memorial parade toward the All Wars Memorial at North Lake Park

- The Lakewood Police Department has announced the arrest of William Cottrell, 41, of Toms River, following an investigation into the theft of a boat engine from a marina on Lake Carasaljo.

- New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill tells she is considering merging the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and NJ Transit as an innovative way to address the transit agency's decaying equipment and to provide stable funding for NJ Transit, similar to the way a 2003 merger fixed the Driscoll Bridge.

- The Mayor of Boonton, New jersey vetoed a measure allowing a Pride flag to fly in a public park .

-New Jersey projects about $59.2 billion in revenue for the next fiscal year, which could leave nearly $6 billion in reserves and slightly reduce its deficit, though officials caution about economic uncertainty ahead of final budget negotiations.

- Rep. Thomas Massie after losing his the primary election: "I would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv.." Scott Jennings: of CNN “Thomas Massie tonight in his concession speech said something despicable, anti-Semitic, nasty, gutter politics right at the end. What a way to go out. 

- Italy Condemns Israeli Minister's Taunt of Detained Gaza Flotilla Activists, Meloni, in a joint statement with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, labeled the treatment unacceptable and summoned Israel's ambassador in Rome for explanations, demanding an apology and the immediate release of the detained Italians.