Friday July 3 News Updates Lakewood

Friday, July 3, 2026 / י״ח תמוז תשפ״ו ערב שבת פרשת פינחס

Candle lighting 8:11 pm

Shkiah/Sunset 8:29 pm

Weather: Today 103° sunshine followed by isolated thunderstorms this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Chance of rain 30%.

Friday night 78° scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Chance of rain 40%.

Shabbos day:101° Mostly sunny skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible

Motzei Shabbos 73° Potential for severe thunderstorms.  Chance of rain 50%

Sunday hi 86

- America celebrates 250th birthday on the fourth of July independence day. Millions of spectators expected to descend on Washington D.C. to celebrate "Salute to America 250” events and fireworks  taking place in the nation's capital.

- Catskill NWS issues severe thunderstorm warning for  Sullivan County until 6:45 pm

-Prepare  for power ouutages on Shabbos:

Power grid operator PJM, the organization responsible for the electricity in New Jersey and 13 other states, says it is under a "federal alert" to cut electricity consumption across its territory as it deals with generator outages, massive overloading on its transmission lines ⁠and a surge in air conditioning use from prolonged sweltering heat.

- PSA: During extreme heat, some residential central AC systems can't keep indoor temperatures below the upper 70s. Many homeowners are adding window AC units to help keep their homes cooler.

 - A pilot paid tribute to America's 250th anniversary with a patriotic flight over Ohio ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.

- Footage shows a Cessna tracing "USA 250th" inside the outline of the contiguous United States, creating a striking aerial salute to the nation's milestone birthday.

- Trump: It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for “fixing their car.” While I know this sounds ridiculous, it is nevertheless a fact, and part of the Weaponization and Stupidity that our Country had to endure during four long years of Sleepy Joe Biden. I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW! President DONALD J. TRUMP

-  Inaugural issue of Hamavdil periodical has been distributed to Lakewood area residents  a seasonal magazine bringing awareness to the nisyonos and distractions of technology 

- Media Personality Benny Johnson: 

Communist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who just came to this country, chose to become an American, is deciding he is the foremost authority to tell Americans what it means to be American. He has the AUDACITY, on America's 250th birthday, to call our great nation "an arena of supremacy" — a nation that "persecutes," ruled by "oligarchs."He sneers that his fellow Americans are "small, weak, unoriginal."He says “ICE is invading our streets” while he endorses and welcomes an invasion of third-world savages. Millions dream of the gift he was given. A man who spends his time burning the most American city to the ground does not deserve to be America, let alone dictate to others what it means to be an America.

- NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani used America’s 250th anniversary to sharply criticize the country, accusing the U.S. of allowing children to go hungry while billionaires and “oligarchs” gain more power. He said America’s wealth was built by working people with “calloused, dirt-streaked hands" while accusing the country of allowing the wealth built by workers to be concentrated in “the soft hands of a precious few.”

- Update: Mir Yeshiva yerushalayim has denied reports that the 21-year-old American bochur indicted on espionage charges was one of its students, stating he was never enrolled, never studied there, and has no connection to the yeshiva. The yeshiva also criticized media outlets for linking it to the case, calling the reports false and misleading. The suspect is accused of carrying out assignments for Iranian operatives, including photographing locations, conducting dead-drop missions, and allegedly attempting to recruit other yeshiva bochurim in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.

- Giyus: The first-ever cadets in the IDF’s Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox soldiers completed the first part of their officers’ course this week.

- Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein, a senior lawmaker who has served in several leadership roles during his decades in office, announces he is leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. “I do not intend to run in the Likud primaries, I am setting off on a new political path,” Edelstein says, in an interview with Channel 12’s “Meet the Press,” that will air in full tomorrow evening.

- U.S. security agencies are preparing for possible terror threats ahead of America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations tomorrow.

- Giyus: 43 yeshiva students spensding shabbos in jail for Draft dodging 

- B"H condition of Brisk Rosh Yeshiva Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik has improved and he was released back home according to reports.

- Lakewood township 4th of July fireworks and drone show scheduled for Sunday night 8:45pm at the  lake 

- Many  Admorim will be spending shabbos in the Catskills 

- The US has issued warnings to Warsaw that Russia is preparing to launch an armed attack on its territory as a provocation intended to test NATO's determination and cohesion. According to the warnings, critical infrastructure in Poland could be targeted by missile or drone attacks, or Russian soldiers could cross the border into the territory of a NATO member state

-With millions expected to travel to the Jersey Shore over the holiday weekend, motorists should plan for extra travel time if heading to the coast. nj 12

- Kashrus PSA The CRC Kashrus Division is reminding the public to remain vigilant about kashrus while shopping during the summer. Consumers should verify the country of origin of fruits due to terumos and maasros concerns with produce from Eretz Yisroel, avoid cut-up fruit from non-Jewish stores, ensure fish is identified by its kosher סימני טהרה rather than its name alone, and maintain the same kashrus standards when traveling as they do throughout the year.

- The rotunda of New Jersey State House bedecked in red, white and blue in honor of the country's 250th anniversary celebration.

The Trenton building, just off the Delaware River, is the third-oldest state house in use in the country.  Onejersey

- A message to Americans... 250 years from now.

A 900-pound time capsule packed with items from all 50 states has officially been sealed ahead of America's 250th birthday. The capsule, created by the nonpartisan America250 commission, will be buried in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, and isn't scheduled to be opened until the year 2276. After years of planning, engineers say the moment the lid was finally sealed was both surreal and emotional, as part of many celebrations for a special independence day.

- Howell, NJ: A 24-year-old woman has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly leaving four children, including a 6-month-old infant, in a running car for more than 20 minutes while shopping at Walmart on Sunday. The car was left running Police found the children sweating in the vehicle on an approximately 80-degree afternoon. EMS evaluated them at the scene, and they were not injured. The investigation is ongoing.

- Governor Sherrill signed landmark voting rights legislation on Thursday, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to enact new state-level voting rights protections following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

- A 21-year-old American bochur  living in Yerushalayim and attending a mainstream yeshiva ( Update: The reported yeshiva denies the bochur  was registered there) and  has been indicted on charges of carrying out espionage missions for Iranian intelligence in exchange for cryptocurrency payments totaling approximately $1,379 (about NIS 4,225). He was responded to an ad on the Telegram App and through that made contact with Iranian agents who asked him to take pictures of buildings around Yerushalayim.

- Tucker Carlson says he is committed to helping launch a new political party in the United States, declaring that the Republican and Democratic parties have become indistinguishable on the issues he believes matter most and promising to work toward breaking what he called a one-party political system.

He argued that “because of this war…America’s relationship with Israel, while it may be based on good intentions, is hurting the United States very badly” and urged Washington to end all assistance to Israel, saying, “I don’t think the United States owes Israel anything. I don’t think the United States should give Israel anything. I think we should stop all aid to Israel, all special deals for Israel.”

At the Woodbourne shul in the Catskills the Nilolsburger rebbe prepares the food for Oisfasten after the fast last night.