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What was Vivek Doing at the DNC?

Introduction By Rabbi Yitzchok Ehrman COO, Agudath Israel

Headlines were ablaze with news of a disturbing incident at an Agudath Israel of America event held on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Anti-Israel protestors forcibly interrupted our gathering, which was intended to raise awareness about the growing menace of antisemitism faced by Jews in America, particularly Orthodox Jews.

Watch:

The irony of mindless slogan-chanters targeting Orthodox Jews while trying to disrupt a gathering about antisemitism cannot be overstated. It demonstrates the societal evil better than any speech or chart.

While the world is captivated by political drama, the Agudah staff is engaged in a different kind of vigilance, intently observing to fulfill our chovas hishtadlus—our duty to engage in proactive efforts on behalf of Klal Yisroel. We are not merely observers, but active participants, ensuring that our shtadlanus serves the greater good of Klal Yisroel and is mekadeish Sheim Shamayim.

Let us stay focused on this essential narrative and continue to support our shared mission with unwavering resolve.

www.charidy.com/WeDo

Did I belong at the DNC?

By Rabbi A.D. Motzen National Director of Government Affairs

“What’s he doing here?”

That was my reaction when Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate, passed me at the Democratic National Convention, followed by a gaggle of reporters. I assume he didn’t agree with much of what he heard at this convention. Then I stopped to reflect on my own presence at the DNC. As a registered Republican (who occasionally votes for Democrats) representing the Torah values of Agudath Israel — did I belong here?

The simple answer is that I work for Agudath Israel of America, which, as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, can’t endorse or oppose any candidate or party for office. But our gedolim have mandated that we be effective shtadlanim, or advocates, for the Orthodox Jewish community. That means showing up on Capitol Hill and in statehouses and city halls across the country. You can’t be effective if you aren’t at the table, engaging with elected officials and influential people in both parties.

While the focus of these conventions is on the presidential candidates, there are tens of thousands of local, state, and federal officials and party activists in attendance. At an Agudah event on the sidelines of the convention more than 150 elected officials and party activists mingled with Jewish leaders from across the country. The event was not an endorsement of the Democratic Party or its platform, but rather an opportunity to help educate public officials and activists about our community and engage them in important conversations.

Democratic officials stood in silence as the Neutra family spoke about their son Omer, who has been held hostage by Hamas since October 7. In addition, there were banners posted around the room highlighting the need to condemn anti-Semitism by name, and not simply lump it together with ritual denunciations of “all other forms of hate,” and pointing out that a majority of anti-Semitic assaults around the country involve those who are identifiably Jewish — the Orthodox community. The elected officials who spoke at this event condemned this abhorrent trend and explained how they plan to combat it with concrete action.

At a time when both major parties are accused of harboring anti-Semites in their ranks, we can’t afford to ignore either of them. For now, I’m encouraged that both parties feel that being perceived as the stronger one on the issue of anti-Semitism will get them more votes. Voters will ultimately decide who they believe.

The other goal of The Agudah’s DNC event was to highlight the growth of the Orthodox Jewish community and its increasing electoral strength. Most Orthodox Jews live in blue states. Our message, delivered by elected officials, was simple — ignore the Orthodox community at your peril.

Vivek Ramaswamy was also at the DNC to engage people, and his verbal exchanges went viral. I doubt that Vivek recruited anyone at the DNC to the Republican cause, but he proved that when you engage honestly and directly with people who disagree with you, you may be surprised at how they respond.

As I drove home from Chicago late Thursday night, I revisited my question from a few hours earlier: Did I belong at the DNC? Like Vivek, I was there to share our agenda and not to accept theirs. How could I not have attended?

WATCH: Inside the Agudah: Rabbi A.D. Motzen

An interview with R’ Yitzchok Hisiger

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, in a special meeting, stated, “We are heading towards a broad campaign of one intensity or another.”

Netanyahu’s directive came during a high-level security and strategy discussion attended by senior defense officials, along with ministers Yoav Gallant, Yisrael Katz, Betzalel Smotrich, and Ron Dermer.

On Monday, the Cabinet is scheduled to convene to deliberate on the northern front.

During Thursday’s meeting, defense leaders indicated that a diplomatic solution alone would not be enough to bring northern residents back to their homes. According to Channel 13 News, a close aide of Netanyahu emphasized that no exact date has been set for the military operation, though it is expected to happen within a timeframe ranging from several weeks to a few months.

Meanwhile, military officials believe that if the conflict in the north escalates, it will necessitate a scaling back of forces currently stationed in Gaza.

In response to the developments, Amit Sofer, head of the Merom HaGalil Regional Council, remarked, “After almost a year of fighting in the north, we hear for the first time that the Prime Minister wants to expand the attacks in Lebanon. We support any formula that will bring security to the north, bring back the residents and keep the terrorists away from the border line. I believe that only crushing the enemy will bring such quiet. Now we also want to see actions and not just words.”

Naim Qassem, deputy to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, commented on Saturday, “there is no plan to initiate a war, but the expansion of aggression on the part of Israel will be met with a response.”

He further stated, “If there is a war – there will be enormous damage to Israel and Lebanon.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported on Shabbos that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted a military facility used by Hezbollah operatives, as well as another military structure in the Blida region of southern Lebanon.

Additionally, IDF artillery fired at positions in the Ayta ash Shab area, also in southern Lebanon.

On the same day, the IAF struck a launcher that had fired projectiles toward the Galilee region.

Overnight, the IAF also attacked a launcher responsible for firing rockets into the Upper Galilee, alongside a Hezbollah military facility located near Kfar Remen in southern Lebanon.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is actively preparing for a return to the political arena, according to a report by Chadashot Sof Shavua. Bennett has reportedly reached out to over 100 activists as part of a broader strategy to reestablish his political presence. One key figure in this effort is a woman described as the “head of the field headquarters,” who has begun sending out text messages to rally support. Bennett’s resurgence comes amid recent polls showing him as a strong contender for the prime ministerial position. A poll conducted by Ulpan Shishi revealed that 40% of respondents viewed Bennett as the best candidate for the role, compared to 29% who favored current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, a quarter of respondents did not support either candidate, and 6% remained undecided. When posed against opposition leader MK Yair Lapid, Netanyahu held a slight edge, garnering 31% support compared to 29% for Lapid. However, a significant 34% of respondents indicated that they believe neither is a suitable candidate for prime minister. These results suggest that Bennett’s potential return could significantly shift the Israeli political landscape, as many voters appear disillusioned with both the current leadership and the primary opposition​. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

On Motzei Shabbos, Chadashot Sof Hashavua reported that former Israeli Prime Minister Nftali Bennet is preparing for his return to politics.

According to the report, Bennet has gathered a group of over 100 activists, and set up a ‘head of the field headquarters’ who is sending out text messages.

In recent polls, Bennet has topped the list of politicians Israelis beleive would be best suited to be Prime Minister, ahead of his rival and current PM Bibi Netanyahu, and that a party led by Bennet would win the most seats in the Knesset.

A recent poll conducted by Ulpan Shishi, 40% of people chose Bennet as their choice for VP, with Netanyahu lagging behind at 29% support.

Meanwhile, the same poll showed that if faced against Yair Lapid, 31% of people would support Bibi, compared to 29% for Lapid, while 34% of people would chose neither.

{Matzav.com}

Former president Donald Trump has started pushing the theory that first started online that Kamala Harris’ pearl earrings from this week’s debate were actually a bluetooth earpiece.

“I hear she got the questions and I also heard she had something in the ear. A lil something in the ear—‘No Kamala do this. Say it this way, Kamala. Ok, be quiet, too many people watching,’” Trump said at his Las Vegas rally on Friday.

It’s been suggested online that Harris’ earrings were not from Tiffany but instead were a pair of NOVA H1 Audio Earrings offered by German tech/design brand Icebach Sound Solutions.

ABC has denied that Harris got any advantage in the lead-up to the debate, stating, “Absolutely not… Harris was not given any questions before the debate.”

In a special security and strategic discussion on Thursday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reportedly ordered the IDF to prepare for a broad campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying:”We are heading towards a broad campaign of one intensity or another.”

The discussion included leaders of the Defense establishment alongside Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

The cabinet is expected to meet on Monday to discuss the situation in the north.

In the discussion on Thursday, Defense officials also claimed that a diplomatic agreement alone would not be enough to bring Israeli residents of the north back home. Defense officials also believe any broader war in Lebanon will require the IDF to reduce it’s presence in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Channel 13 quoted a Netanyahu associate, saying no date has been set for an invasion on Lebanon, and a date could be weeks or months away.

Responding to the news, the head of the Merom HaGalil regional council, Amit Sofer, said: “After almost a year of fighting in the north, we hear for the first time that the Prime Minister wants to expand the attacks in Lebanon. We support any formula that will bring security to the north, bring back the residents and keep the terrorists away from the border line. I believe that only crushing the enemy will bring such quiet. Now we also want to see actions and not just words.”

{Matzav.com}

The IDF has reported significant progress in its ongoing operations in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, where troops from the 162nd Division have been carrying out precise, intelligence-driven operations against terrorists. The targeted operations have resulted in the elimination of over 100 terrorists from the Tel al-Sultan Battalion, who were entrenched in the area. In addition to neutralizing terrorists, the IDF has located and destroyed rocket launchers, weapons caches, and other terrorist infrastructure. Among the seized items were sniper rifles, anti-tank missiles, ammunition, and grenades. As part of the broader effort to dismantle underground terror networks, IDF troops have also uncovered multiple tunnel shafts and mapped out extensive underground tunnels over the past two weeks, further weakening the terror groups’ capabilities. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

An Austrian woman has been found guilty of fatally infecting her neighbor with COVID-19.

The woman received a three-month suspended sentence and a fine of $886.75 for grossly negligent homicide, avoiding jail time.

The family of the deceased man, who was a cancer patient, alleged that he encountered the 54-year-old woman in a stairwell on Dec. 21, 2021, although she maintained she was too sick to leave her bed that day. However, the viral DNA was a match for both the man and the woman, suggesting with “almost 100 percent” certainty that the defendant had transmitted it, according to an expert witness.

“I feel sorry for you personally—I think that something like this has probably happened hundreds of times,” the judge told the woman at sentencing. “But you are unlucky that an expert has determined with almost absolute certainty that it was an infection that came from you.”

This is the second time the woman has been convicted of an offense related to COVID. Last summer, she received a separate three-month suspended sentence for intentionally endangering people with the virus. Read more.

The first ever photos of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility—used to create the country’s stock of nuclear warheads—were released in a provocative move from the hermitic dictatorship.

The images from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) show state leader Kim Jong Un conferring with military officials amid rows of centrifuges.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours a facility involved in the development of weapon-grade nuclear materials at an undisclosed location in North Korea.

KCNA added that Kim has called for the facility—in an “undisclosed location”—to increase its output, a move quickly condemned by South Korea.

Leif Eric-Easley, a professor at Seoul’s Ewah University, told the BBC that North Korea highlighted the facility to “boast of its nuclear development and signal that its weapons program is irreversible.”

He added, “The Kim regime may also be flaunting that it still enjoys diplomatic and economic support from Russia and China.”

Other photos recently released by KNCA show Kim posing with members of his country’s military at an army training base, as well as watching shirtless training drills and a rocket launch. Read more at BBC.

In a development that could reshape the narrative of one of the most infamous espionage cases of the Cold War, a recently declassified memo from a top U.S. government codebreaker suggests that Ethel Rosenberg may not have been directly involved in spying for the Soviet Union.

The document, obtained by Rosenberg’s sons through a Freedom of Information Act request, has reignited debate about the atomic espionage case that led to the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg in 1953.

The memo, written by Meredith Gardner, who was a linguist and codebreaker for what later became the National Security Agency, states that while Ethel Rosenberg knew about her husband’s espionage activities, she “did not engage in the work herself” due to ill health, the Associated Press reported.

This assessment, made days after Rosenberg’s arrest in August 1950, contradicts the prosecution’s portrayal of her as an active participant in her husband’s spy network.

Robert and Michael Meeropol, the Rosenbergs’ sons, view the memo as a “smoking gun” that proves their mother’s innocence.

“This puts it on both sides of the Atlantic—in other words, both the KGB and the NSA ended up agreeing that Ethel was not a spy,” Robert said. The brothers are now urging President Joe Biden to issue a formal proclamation exonerating their mother.

The Rosenberg case has long been a subject of historical debate and controversy. While Julius Rosenberg is widely accepted to have been a Soviet spy, questions about Ethel’s role have persisted for decades. The newly released memo adds weight to arguments that Ethel may have been unfairly convicted and executed.

However, some historians maintain that there is still evidence of Ethel’s involvement in supporting her husband’s activities. Harvey Klehr, a retired Emory University historian, argues that while she may not have directly passed on classified information, she was “an active participant in her husband’s spy network.”

The memo’s release comes after years of efforts by the Meeropols to clear their mother’s name. In 2015, grand jury testimony from Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, was unsealed, revealing that he had not implicated his sister in espionage activities, contrary to his damaging trial testimony that helped secure her conviction.

The Meeropols believe that the Gardner memo would have been available to FBI and Justice Department officials during the investigation and prosecution of their parents. This raises questions about why Ethel was put on trial and ultimately executed despite the codebreaker’s assessment.

The case continues to resonate with many in the Jewish community, highlighting issues of antisemitism and the climate of fear during the McCarthy era.

Robert Meeropol, now 77, had a very delayed bar mitzvah celebration six years ago at a Rohr Jewish Learning Institute retreat, where he put on tefillin for the first time and spoke openly about his experiences as the “Cold War’s most famous orphan.”

As the debate over Ethel Rosenberg’s role in the espionage case carries on, the full implications of this new evidence remain to be seen. As his efforts to clear his mother’s name continue, Robert Meeropol noted, “I’m incredibly relieved to have this out while I’m still alive.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Thursday during a security meeting that Israel is on the brink of a “large-scale confrontation” with Hezbollah in the north, according to Channel 13 news. Although no specific timeline has been set for the escalation, sources close to Netanyahu suggest it could occur in the coming weeks or months. Security officials during the discussion emphasized that a diplomatic solution alone won’t be enough to return the tens of thousands of displaced northern residents to their homes. The officials reportedly stressed that Israel’s goal is to open a war front with Lebanon when the IDF is fully prepared and international backing is secured. However, they noted this would likely require reallocating some forces currently engaged in Gaza.

‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary voices his concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign strategy on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

WATCH:

A Georgia county’s emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School, records released Friday by Barrow County show. Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with automated message saying there was a “high call volume,” WAGA-TV reported. One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school. Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them. “My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,’ ” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?” Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information. “Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?” one caller asked. “We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now,” the operator responded. “We have a lot of calls coming in.” More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday. “Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.” The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire. Colt Gray is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others. The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday. (AP)

The city of Pittsburgh is seeking approval of a half-million-dollar payment to settle lawsuits over the collapse of a bridge into a ravine more than 2 1/2 years ago. Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said Friday he had asked the Pittsburgh City Council to authorize a payment of $500,000, the full liability damage cap, to settle lawsuits filed on behalf those who were on the city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge when it fell Jan. 28, 2022, plunging a bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) into the Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle drove off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof. There were injuries but no one died. The agreement needs approval from the council and a judge overseeing the case. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the action was a surprise but that they appreciated the city “accepting responsibility for allowing one of its bridges to collapse, and agreeing to pay its statutory limits to partially resolve this case,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Legal action against three engineering firms will continue, they said. Federal investigators have said that the city didn’t adequately maintain or repair the bridge and failed to act on inspection reports, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs. City officials didn’t dispute the findings and cited creation of a new bridge maintenance division and a tripling of funding for maintenance and repairs. A new bridge at the site 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of downtown Pittsburgh opened in December 2022. (AP)

Traffic police operating in Ramat Gan on Friday morning spotted a man riding an electric bike without a helmet properly secured on his head. They stopped the man and after asking him for his ID, he tried to flee. The officer responded swiftly, arresting the suspect and transferring him for questioning at the Bnei Brak police station. During the interrogation, the police discovered that the “Chareidi” man was an illegal Palestinian, 49, from the Shomron. A search of the suspect and his belongings revealed a stolen identification card showing him to be a Chareidi man from Bnei Brak, four mobile phones, an IDF combat soldier identification card, pepper spray, and a large sum of cash. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

Non-stop sirens blared in northern Israel from the early hours of Shabbos morning as Hezbollah pounded the area with a heavy rocket barrage of over 60 rockets and drones. The rockets were aimed mainly at Tzfas, the Galil, and the Kinneret area. Most of the rockets fell in open areas and others were intercepted by the Iron Dome.  B’Chasdei Hashem, there were no injuries but several fires broke out in multiple locations in the Upper Galil. In response to the launches, the IDF carried out aristrikes on Hezbollah terror sites in southern Lebanon and destroyed one of the rocket launchers used in the attack. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

A recent survey by Rasmussen Reports, released on Thursday, reveals that former President Donald Trump is narrowly leading Vice President Kamala Harris by two percentage points, with Trump at 49% and Harris at 47%. This lead follows their intense debate on Tuesday.

Despite this snapshot, pollsters noted that the data, collected from September 5 and September 8-11 among 2,390 likely voters, might not fully capture the debate’s influence. Previously, Trump was slightly ahead by one point, with 47% to Harris’s 46%.

The current poll has a margin of error of three points and a confidence level of 95%. It also indicates that only 1% of respondents are considering other candidates, while 2% remain undecided.

Trump’s edge in the poll is attributed to his stronger support among independent voters. He received 51% of the independent vote compared to Harris’s 39%. On the other hand, Harris garnered 82% of Democratic votes, whereas Trump secured 82% of Republican votes.

Additionally, Trump leads among men with 54% to Harris’s 42%, while Harris is favored by women with 51% to Trump’s 46%.

Breaking down the results by ethnicity, the poll shows:

• White voters: Trump at 49%, Harris at 47%.
• Black voters: Trump at 33%, Harris at 64%.
• Hispanic voters: Trump at 58%, Harris at 38%.
• Other minorities: Trump at 64%, Harris at 30%.

Regarding age demographics, Harris is leading among voters under 40 with 50% to Trump’s 44%. However, Trump is ahead among those aged 40-64 by 51% to 46%, and he also holds an eight-point lead among voters aged 65 and older.

In terms of political ideology, 90% of self-identified liberals support Harris, while 77% of conservatives back Trump. Harris also leads among moderate voters with 55% to Trump’s 44%.

When it comes to income, Harris is favored by voters earning more than $200,000 annually, with 56% supporting her compared to Trump’s 40%. Conversely, Trump leads by six percentage points among voters with an income between $30,000 and $50,000, receiving 51% of the vote compared to Harris’s 45%.

Finally, among voters who believe the country is on the right track, 84% support Harris. Conversely, 75% of those who think the country is heading in the wrong direction favor Trump.

{Matzav.com}

A message reportedly sent by Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas, to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, surfaced on Hezbollah’s official Telegram channel on Friday morning. In this correspondence, Sinwar conveyed his appreciation to Hezbollah for their support.

Sinwar thanked Nasrallah for expressing condolences after the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas political chief. Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Tehran this past July. Although there are allegations that Israel was behind the killing, no official confirmation has been given by Israeli authorities.

Since the attacks on October 7, Sinwar has not made any public appearances, with many believing that he is directing the conflict from Gaza’s underground tunnel network. This note marks the second communication from Sinwar this week, following a message on Tuesday in which Hamas announced that Sinwar had sent congratulations to Algerian President Abdulmadjid Tebboune on his reelection.

The letter begins with, “Honorable Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah in Lebanon, peace and blessings.”

It continues, “We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, have received your letter with great respect and appreciation, which included blessings and condolences for the fall of our martyrs, including your comrade in the struggle and resistance, the martyred leader Ismail Haniyeh ‘Abu Abed,’ head of the political bureau of the movement, and his companion, the martyr Wasim Abu Shaban ‘Abu Anas.'”

Sinwar went on to express deep gratitude for Hezbollah’s solidarity, noting the group’s “noble actions” in supporting the broader resistance movement and its involvement in the Palestinian cause. He offered prayers for the safety of Nasrallah and Lebanon. “We pray that God blesses your efforts and protects you and your country from harm,” the letter said.

The message also highlighted the death of Haniyeh, whom Sinwar described as “the leader and symbol of the nation of Palestine, ‘Abu Abed,’” noting that he died during the “Al-Aqsa Storm,” a battle Sinwar called one of the most critical in the history of the Palestinian people.

In closing, Sinwar reaffirmed Hamas’ commitment to continue the struggle until “the expulsion of the occupation” and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He underscored the necessity of protecting sacred sites, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

{Matzav.com Israel}

When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room. It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company. While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts. Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said. The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen. “I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said. Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’ Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment. “It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.” Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news. But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs. It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation. “There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.” Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found. White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found. Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to […]

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asked a rally crowd in Michigan if they had expected former President Donald Trump to burn part of Tuesday’s night’s presidential debate on false claims about pet-eating Haitian migrants in Ohio, the crowd responded by breaking out into chants of “we’re not eating cats.”

The rebuke, recorded by journalists in attendance, was to the cadence of the Harris-Walz campaign catchphrase “we’re not going back,” which is frequently chanted at the vice president’s rallies.

In response to the cat-chant at Thursday’s rally, Walz said, “It would be funnier, too, if it weren’t so dangerous.”

“It’s not as if I didn’t warn these guys a few months ago: You mess with cat people and you will find out,” he said. “They did. So beautiful strategy there.”

Read more at The New York Times.