A new generation of American battleships bearing President Donald Trump’s name is being planned, with the Navy outlining vessels that would carry nuclear capabilities and represent a return to a class of warship not used in combat for decades.
Speaking Monday, Trump said the ships are intended as a broad show of strength rather than a message to any single rival. “It’s a counter to everybody. It’s not China. We get along great with China,” he said. “It’s just everybody. You don’t know who comes along, but we just wanted peace through strength. Hopefully we never have to use them, but there will never be anything built like these.”
The announcement was made at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where Navy Secretary John Phelan described the vessels as “Trump-class battleships.” He said an upcoming ship, to be known as the USS Defiant, would be “the largest, deadliest and most versatile and best-looking warship anywhere on the world’s oceans.”
According to officials, the battleships will be outfitted with a wide array of weaponry, including traditional guns and missiles alongside hypersonic weapons, electronic rail guns, and high-powered laser systems. Phelan added that the ships will also be equipped with the “nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile.”
Trump said the goal is to establish an entirely new fleet of such vessels over time. “We envision that these ships will be the first of a whole new class of battleships to be produced in the years to come,” he said, adding that the long-term plan calls for as many as 20 to 25 ships.
The president also framed the idea as a revival of an older naval concept. “These have been under design consideration for a long time, and it started with me in my first term, because I said, ‘Why aren’t we doing battleships like we used to?'” Trump said.
The Defense Department said the Navy will take the lead in designing the ships, which are expected to be completed in the early 2030s. Trump indicated he intends to be involved in the process as well, saying he would participate “because I’m a very aesthetic person.”
Battleships have been largely absent from modern U.S. combat operations. The last time the United States deployed them in active fighting was in 1991, during the first Gulf War against Iraq.
The move fits into a broader pattern of Trump’s name and image being attached to federal institutions and projects during his second term. In recent weeks, a board selected by Trump voted to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Trump-Kennedy Center. His name was also added to the U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters, and the Interior Department last month showcased a 2026 national park pass featuring Trump’s likeness. Several of those actions are now facing legal challenges.
Despite the sweeping scope of the new naval plans, Trump emphasized that the battleships are intended to preserve stability rather than provoke conflict, portraying them as a tool to maintain U.S. dominance and deter any potential adversary that might emerge.
{Matzav.com}
U.S. regulators have authorized the first pill taken by mouth to treat obesity, opening the door to a new option for patients who until now needed injections to access GLP-1 weight-loss therapies. The Food and Drug Administration signed off on the drug Monday after studies showed meaningful weight reduction along with heart-health benefits, according to its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.
The newly approved tablet is designed to be taken once a day and uses semaglutide, the same compound found in the company’s injectable Wegovy and Ozempic. It is the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the United States for long-term weight management.
Approval covers adults with obesity, as well as those who are overweight and have at least one related medical condition such as heart disease, provided the medication is used alongside diet and exercise.
Clinical results played a central role in the decision. In the OASIS 4 phase 3 study, participants taking a 25-milligram daily pill shed an average of 16.6% of their body weight over 68 weeks, while those given a placebo lost 2.7%. Novo Nordisk said roughly one in three patients in the treatment group dropped at least 20% of their body weight.
The FDA’s decision was also backed by findings from the large SELECT trial, which showed that semaglutide lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, in adults with obesity or overweight who already had cardiovascular disease.
Until this approval, all FDA-cleared GLP-1 medications for weight loss were delivered by injection. Drugs in this class work by mimicking a hormone that helps control appetite and slows digestion, allowing patients to feel full for longer periods.
“With today’s approval of the Wegovy pill, patients will have a convenient, once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection,” Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in a news release. “As the first oral GLP-1 treatment for people living with overweight or obesity, the Wegovy pill provides patients with a new, convenient treatment option that can help patients start or continue their weight-loss journey.”
Novo Nordisk has indicated that the drug could enter the U.S. market at an initial price of about $149 for a month’s supply, far less than many injectable GLP-1 treatments that can run uninsured patients hundreds of dollars each month.
The company has argued that pills may be easier for insurers to cover than injections, potentially broadening access for people who have avoided shots or encountered insurance barriers.
Investors responded quickly to the announcement, pushing Novo Nordisk shares up more than 9% in after-hours trading on news of the approval and the company’s first-mover advantage in oral obesity treatment.
The manufacturer said it plans to roll out the Wegovy pill in the United States in early January and has already submitted the medication for regulatory review in Europe and other regions.
The approval arrives as competitors move closer to the same space. Eli Lilly and Company is developing its own once-daily oral weight-loss drug, orforglipron, which has delivered double-digit percentage weight loss at higher doses in late-stage trials and met key study goals. The company is expected to seek FDA clearance next year, setting up a head-to-head race in what analysts see as a future multi-billion-dollar global market.
Like other semaglutide-based products, the Wegovy pill carries warnings about gastrointestinal side effects and includes a boxed warning tied to thyroid tumors observed in animal studies.
{Matzav.com}
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By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld
The Rishonim argue whether going from one town to another town, and thereby having differences in the way the letters are written, constitutes a psul. The Rosh in 3:11, the Shiltei Giborim in Hilchos Sefer Torah 3, and the Meiri in Shabbos 104a all conclude that there is no chashash in switching the form of the letters. On the other hand, the Ramban in Meseches Shabbos writes that all the letters have special reasons for why they are formed the way they are, and therefore changing them would render them pasul.
The question then arises: if one has the masoreh to use ksav Bais Yosef, can he be yotzei with tefillin or a Sefer Torah written in ksav Ari or ksav Velish, which is the ksav of the Sefardim? And what about the opposite case? The Rema in 36:1 says that changing the ksav is not a problem; nevertheless, there is a great inyan to be chosheish for the Ramban.
On one end, we find in the name of the Gra that since the mesorah of Ashkenaz is not to use ksav Ari, this should be maintained. We see that the Chazon Ish was very makpid not to use Ari ksav and felt that it would be le’ikuva. The Steipler, in Kraina De’Igrasa 2:78, writes that one should not believe the rumors claiming that the Chazon Ish later regretted this position.
On the other hand, the Maharsham in Mafteichos 2:120 writes that the Sefer Torah of the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh was written in ksav Velish. The Chasam Sofer in Yoreh Deah 66 testifies that his rebbe, Rabbi Nosson Adler, had tefillin in which the letter tzaddik was written in ksav Ari. The Mishna Berura in 66:5 brings the Noda BiYehuda (80), who explains that whenever the Ramban was machmir, it applied only to letters rooted in the Gemara, and not to letters rooted in the Bais Yosef. The Ari himself held that all forms of ksav have valid sources.
LeMaaseh, despite the fact that many quote Rav Shach zt”l as having advised a grandchild of the Chasam Sofer that he did not need to switch his tefillin to ksav Bais Yosef, Reb Elyashiv zt”l held to the contrary. He maintained that if a person does most of his avoda in the Litvishe way, he would need to switch his tefillin to ksav Bais Yosef. The Mesoras Moshe relates a story in which someone brought Reb Moshe Feinstein to examine a letter in his tefillin. Reb Moshe said the letter itself was not a problem, but that the greatest hiddur would be for the person to switch all of his parshiyos to Bais Yosef.
Reb Chaim Kanievsky said that this applies only to tefillin or mezuzos. However, if one listens to krias HaTorah from a Sefer Torah written in ksav Ari, one is yotzei, even though lekatchila the Sefer Torah should be written in ksav Bais Yosef. Reb Chaim added that even the Chazon Ish held that one could be yotzei krias HaTorah and could even make a bracha on an Aliyah. His reasoning was that, according to the Rambam, one may make a bracha on a Sefer Torah that is pasul, and therefore it would not be a Bracha Levatala. The Brisker Rov, who held that lekatchilah one should use ksav Bais Yosef, would nonetheless be yotzei from a Sefer Torah written in ksav Ari when he was on vacation in Kreinitz before the Holocaust, and he would even take an Aliyah.
May we always be careful that what we read from is done kehalacha.
{Matzav.com}
Two nationally infamous political figures will take part in the inauguration of New York City’s next mayor when Zohran Mamdani formally assumes office.
According to plans released by the transition team, Bernie Sanders will preside over a celebratory, ceremonial oath during a New Year’s Day block party, while Letitia James will administer the official oath at midnight, the moment Mamdani’s term legally begins.
The transition announcement said Sanders’ “unapologetic progressive values inspired Zohran to run for office in the first place,” underscoring the ideological ties between the mayor-elect and the Vermont senator.
“It is an honor to be sworn in by two leaders I have admired for years: Attorney General Tish James and Senator Bernie Sanders. Attorney General James has taken on powerful interests in her defense of New Yorkers and embodied the principle of equal justice before the law,” Mamdani said in a statement.
“Senator Bernie Sanders laid the foundations for our movement with his steadfast commitment to the dignity of working people and his belief in a government that serves the many, not just the few. I can think of no better leaders to help usher in a new era for New York City,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani secured victory in last month’s election after defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, positioning him to take office on Jan. 1 as mayor of New York City. He also becomes the city’s first Muslim mayor. During the campaign, Mamdani frequently appeared alongside Sanders, drawing energy from the same progressive base that fueled the senator’s two presidential runs.
James emerged as one of Mamdani’s highest-profile supporters in a political landscape where many leading Democrats were cautious about embracing the progressive challenger. Because the Democratic primary used ranked-choice voting, allowing voters to rank up to five candidates, James publicly disclosed that she placed Mamdani third on her ballot. She later joined him at an October rally shortly after she was indicted on mortgage-related fraud charges, a case that was subsequently dismissed by a federal judge.
“He is a leader fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it’s like to be attacked, to be called names, to be threatened, to be harassed,” James said at the time.
{Matzav.com}
With Washington escalating its pressure campaign on Caracas, President Donald Trump suggested Monday that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro should consider stepping aside, even as Moscow publicly lined up behind the embattled government.
Speaking to reporters at his Florida residence, Trump was asked whether the administration’s warnings and military moves were meant to push Maduro out after more than a decade in power. “That’s up to him, what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that,” Trump said.
He followed with a sharper note of caution, adding: “If he wants to do something — if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”
The comments came as U.S. naval forces enforced a blockade targeting Venezuelan oil shipments, a move Trump announced last week against what he described as “sanctioned oil vessels” traveling to and from the country.
Russia, one of Caracas’ closest allies, responded by voicing firm backing for Maduro’s government, even as the crisis moved onto the agenda of the United Nations. Moscow’s statement was issued ahead of a UN Security Council meeting requested by Venezuela, with support from Russia and China, to address what Caracas calls escalating U.S. aggression.
In a phone conversation between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Washington’s recent actions — including strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats and the seizure of oil tankers — were sharply criticized. A U.S. official told AFP on Sunday that American forces were pursuing a third vessel.
“The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington’s actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping,” Russia’s foreign ministry said. It added that Moscow had reiterated “its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context.”
According to U.S. officials, naval strikes against boats alleged to be involved in narcotics trafficking have been underway since September under Trump’s orders, targeting vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The operations have reportedly resulted in more than 100 deaths, with families and some governments saying fishermen were among those killed.
Trump has repeatedly argued that Venezuela’s oil revenues are fueling criminal activity, accusing the Maduro government of financing “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.” He has also claimed Venezuela took “all of our oil” — a reference to the nationalization of its petroleum industry — saying “we want it back.”
Caracas has rejected those accusations, insisting Washington is pursuing regime change and branding the naval actions “international piracy.”
Russian officials said their foreign minister and his Venezuelan counterpart agreed to “coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN.” In a Telegram post, Venezuela’s foreign minister said the two discussed “the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government.” He added that Moscow had pledged its “full support in the face of hostilities against our country.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed Russia’s stance last week, saying Washington was “not concerned about an escalation with Russia with regards to Venezuela” because “they have their hands full in Ukraine.”
Relations between Washington and Moscow have grown more strained in recent weeks, with Trump expressing frustration over the lack of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Adding to the diplomatic pushback, Venezuela’s foreign minister read a letter from Maduro on state television Monday addressed to UN member states, warning that the U.S. blockade “will affect the supply of oil and energy” worldwide.
{Matzav.com}
Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, on Monday evening publicly presented his version of events for the first time in the case involving the alleged leak of classified documents, in which he is charged, as well as in the so-called “Qatargate” affair. Feldstein made the claims during an interview with Kan News.
According to Feldstein, the episode began with a late-night meeting in an underground parking garage at the Kirya military complex in Tel Aviv, where he was summoned by the prime minister’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman. Feldstein said Braverman contacted him after learning that a sensitive investigation was underway within the IDF’s Information Security Department—an investigation that, he claimed, could reach the Prime Minister’s Office.
During that conversation, Feldstein alleged, Braverman told him he could “shut it down” and even interfere with the investigation. Feldstein further claimed that Braverman asked whether he knew individuals connected to the affair, mentioned names of future suspects, and sought to determine whether they had ties to Feldstein or to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Feldstein said he shared the details of the encounter with Yonatan Urich, a senior adviser to Netanyahu whom Feldstein described as “my boss,” adding that he routinely updated him on all such matters. “I told him that the chief of staff said there was an investigation by the Information Security Department,” Feldstein said. “Tzachi knew there was an investigation inside the IDF that was reaching the Prime Minister’s Office, and he chose to meet me in the middle of the night, in parking level minus four at the Kirya.”
Feldstein said that only later, when he was arrested in connection with the classified document allegedly sent to the German newspaper Bild, did he fully understand the significance of that nighttime meeting and its connection to the investigation.
Addressing the Qatargate affair, Feldstein said that Srulik Einhorn, a former adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, asked him to issue an invoice to Gil Birger, a person Feldstein said he did not previously know. Feldstein claimed he was unaware at the time that Birger was acting on behalf of Jay Footlik, who operates for Qatar. “I didn’t know I was receiving money from the Qataris… I was stupid and naïve,” Feldstein said, adding that he avoided asking questions out of fear of losing what he viewed as the pinnacle of his career.
Feldstein also described his role following the October 7 Hamas attack, saying that his primary task was to remove the issue of responsibility from public discourse surrounding the prime minister. He recounted Netanyahu asking him what was being discussed in the news and whether responsibility was still being mentioned. “He gives me a mission—think about what to do with it,” Feldstein said. “They told me to remove the word ‘responsibility’ from the lexicon and to draft something without the word responsibility. It would not appear.”
He further described Netanyahu’s reaction upon being shown the first hostage video released by Hamas early in the war, featuring wounded hostage Mia Schem. Feldstein said the prime minister threw the phone away and refused to watch the footage. “I felt awful,” he said. Regarding Netanyahu’s position on hostage releases, Feldstein asserted that the prime minister’s drive to defeat Hamas and win the war outweighed other considerations.
Feldstein also claimed that Netanyahu held a dismissive attitude toward National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying the prime minister often believed they were “talking nonsense” and that parallel discussions were held merely to give them the feeling of involvement.
In response, the Prime Minister’s Office rejected Feldstein’s claims, calling them “a long series of false and recycled allegations” made by someone with clear personal interests. The statement said Netanyahu never instructed Feldstein to leak classified material, did not approve bypassing censorship, was not aware of any external payment mechanisms, and was not involved in any illegal actions. “The content of the conversations attributed to the prime minister is completely fabricated,” the statement said, adding that the court had already ruled that “Qatarfake” was a baseless allegation.
Braverman also denied the accusations, stating that Feldstein “is lying and inventing stories that never happened,” and stressing that the chief of staff has no authority to interfere with investigations. He added that Feldstein was once considered for a spokesman role but failed a security suitability check and was immediately disqualified.
Through his attorney, Lior Epstein, Einhorn likewise rejected Feldstein’s claims, saying that Feldstein worked as an independent consultant and that allegations regarding payment arrangements, invoicing, or mediation of employment within the Prime Minister’s Office were false.
{Matzav.com}
Naftali Bennett escalated his attacks on Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Monday, urging him to resign amid mounting allegations tied to the so-called Qatargate affair, which Bennett described as “the most serious act of treason in Israeli history.”
Bennett’s remarks came after fresh media reports detailed communications among suspects in the case, as well as alleged coordination with a journalist from a pro-Netanyahu outlet. The revelations concern claims that senior aides in the Prime Minister’s Office were simultaneously employed as paid lobbyists for Qatar — home to Hamas’s leadership — while continuing to work for Netanyahu.
According to a report aired Sunday by i24 News, correspondence between the suspects indicates they shared fabricated material attributed to “senior security officials” and “senior American officials.” The messages reportedly portrayed Qatar as central to negotiations with Hamas while attempting to marginalize Egypt, another key mediator in ceasefire efforts during the Gaza war.
The same report said the aides collaborated with a reporter from Channel 14, a pro-Netanyahu network, to “refine” an article so that it aligned with their preferred messaging.
“Netanyahu’s office betrayed the State of Israel and IDF soldiers during wartime and acted on behalf of Qatar for financial gain, and Netanyahu himself is covering it up,” Bennett said following the broadcast. “Whether Netanyahu knew or did not know that his office was working for the enemy in a time of war, both possibilities require his immediate resignation.”
Bennett, who is preparing a political comeback and plans to challenge Netanyahu in the next election, said that if he returns to power he will establish a state commission of inquiry “that will also investigate aid to an enemy state in a time of war.”
The investigation centers on close Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich and former spokesman Eli Feldstein. Prosecutors allege the two worked for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, maintained contact with a foreign agent, and engaged in multiple corruption offenses involving lobbyists and businessmen while employed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Previously revealed WhatsApp messages, published by Ynet in August, showed that former Netanyahu campaign adviser Yisrael Einhorn drafted pro-Qatar talking points and sent them to Feldstein. Feldstein then passed the material to Urich, who distributed the messaging to journalists in an effort to improve Qatar’s standing in Israel.
Bennett argued that the alleged conduct offers insight into what he views as the government’s wartime failures. “Three of Netanyahu’s closest advisers were in effect paid agents of Qatar and Hamas at the height of the war, while our soldiers were fighting and being killed by Hamas bullets purchased with Qatari money,” he said. He added that this “can certainly explain why the Israeli government failed in the ultimate goal it set for itself in the war: the destruction of Hamas.”
Continuing his critique, Bennett accused the Prime Minister’s Office of actively assisting Israel’s adversaries. “Qatar’s declared goal is Hamas’s survival. Israel’s declared war goal is the destruction of Hamas. They chose sides. Instead of acting for Israel, they acted for Israel’s enemies,” he said, asserting that Netanyahu’s staff worked “tirelessly to malign Egypt, which is anti-Hamas, and whitewash Qatar, which is pro-Hamas.”
Bennett said the damage extended beyond any eventual legal determination. Even if criminal guilt is not established, he argued, “from a security and ethical perspective,” the actions constituted “a betrayal of our soldiers.”
Calls for broader accountability have intensified across the opposition. Bennett, like other Netanyahu critics, has long demanded a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. Netanyahu has resisted those demands, despite polls showing broad public support, and has instead advanced an unusual plan for a politically appointed investigative body.
Other opposition leaders echoed Bennett’s language. Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, said any commission examining October 7 must also investigate Qatargate. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid labeled the affair “the most serious treason affair in the history of the country,” while Democrats chairman Yair Golan wrote on X that “Netanyahu’s office betrayed the country’s security in the Qatar affair, and Netanyahu must be fully investigated over it.”
Netanyahu, who has already testified as part of the Qatargate probe, has dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
{Matzav.com}
