Feed aggregator

The latest American initiative aimed at ending the war in Ukraine is drawing intense scrutiny in Washington, where officials are struggling to understand why Kyiv would ever accept the terms being floated, the NY Post reports. The framework — crafted by President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff after conversations with Ukrainian and Russian counterparts — asks Ukraine to relinquish nearly the entire Donbas region while giving up key strategic goals.

Under the outline circulated to senior officials, Ukraine would effectively abandon its claim to Donbas, ceding territory that Russia has failed to fully control since its initial incursion there in 2014. In addition, Ukraine would halt its pursuit of NATO membership, downsize its military from roughly 900,000 troops to about 600,000, and sign off on sweeping wartime amnesty that would prevent any future prosecution of Russian war crimes.

Experts familiar with the document are warning that the terms would leave Kyiv with more losses than gains. “The proposal is a bad deal and one that the Trump administration rightfully refused to accept in the past,” Institute for the Study of War Russia program lead George Barros told The Post. He stressed that real deterrence requires “a strong Ukrainian military, foreign support to Ukraine — ideally in the form of foreign troops in-country — and a defendable frontline.”

Inside the administration, one persistent challenge in discussions with Moscow has been getting Russian representatives to even contemplate stepping back from their long-standing ambition of overtaking the whole country. As one senior U.S. official put it, “I mean, look, everyone knows Vladimir Putin wants to take the whole country. That’s his been his long-sought goal. That is something he’s made quite clear. The president is very aware of that.”

The same official argued that, on paper, the plan would impose meaningful setbacks on the Kremlin. “This plan obviously stops [Putin] in his tracks, ends the war — and also forces him to relinquish some territory, which you know is a huge loss for him and for Russia,” the source said. “And there’s some other little details in there as well that are concessions from their side too, but yeah, sort of the overall point.”

Supporters of the draft deal say some elements came directly from high-level Ukrainian input. Officials told The Post that Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, offered “positive feedback” during recent talks with Witkoff in Miami. U.S. officials emphasized that Umerov had helped shape the contours of the proposal. “The plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of Zelensky’s administration, Umerov,” an official said. “So Umerov agreed to the majority of this plan, and he made several modifications to it, which we included and presented it to President Zelensky.”

Still, those same officials conceded that Kyiv has not locked itself into any agreement. “I don’t want to say that [Kyiv] full-heartedly … agreed to it and they’re ready to sign off. They agreed to the majority of the plan,” the source said.

One of the most controversial components — a full and unconditional amnesty for all parties — was, according to a senior White House official, an idea that surfaced directly from Ukrainian leadership. Before that, the draft had included stricter accountability measures. “Ukraine will conduct a full audit of all aid received and create a legal mechanism to recover any errors found and punish those who illegally profiteered from the war,” the source said, describing the original text.

But Umerov publicly rejected claims that he had approved, watered down, or embraced any part of the proposal. In a post on X, he wrote, “Media reports about alleged ‘approvals’ or ‘removal of points’ have nothing to do with reality. These are examples of unverified information that arose outside the context of the consultations.” He added, “We are thoroughly working through our partners’ proposals within Ukraine’s unchanging principles — sovereignty, the safety of our people, and a just peace.”

Requests from The Post seeking Kyiv’s official clarification on Umerov’s position have gone unanswered.

Some senior U.S. officials say the contradictions surrounding Umerov’s role raise questions. One official called it “fishy” that he would appear to distance himself from language that Ukraine itself had suggested. “You will see that point 26 gives amnesty to all parties, meaning both Russia and Ukraine. OK, that was not the idea of the United States; the Ukrainians inserted that language,” the official said.

According to that source, U.S. drafters had preferred stronger oversight instead: “The US had [that] ‘Ukraine will conduct a full audit of all aid receipts and create a legal mechanism to recover any errors found and punish those who illegally profited from the war’ — that’s something the American people want to see. That’s also something the Russians do support.” But, the official added, “The Ukrainians rejected that, and they said, ‘No, we’d rather give amnesty to both sides of the war.’”

{Matzav.com}

A serious breach of protocol occurred at the Kosel Plaza this morning, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, when members of the Women of the Wall group smuggled a Sefer Torah into the plaza through the public restroom stalls, in what authorities are calling a blatant act of disrespect toward the kedushah of both the Sefer Torah and the site.

Thousands of mispallelim gathered at the Kosel from vasikin onward, as is customary on Rosh Chodesh. Throughout the morning, a small group affiliated with Women of the Wall attempted to carry out a provocation by circumventing security procedures that govern the handling of Sifrei Torah at the site.

According to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, the group brought the Sefer Torah into the public bathrooms and transferred it from there into the main plaza, an act the Foundation described as degrading and deeply offensive.

In a statement, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said: “We view with extreme severity any attempt to undermine the traditions and kedushah of this holy site, and we will continue to act to preserve proper conduct and respect at the Kosel Plaza.”

This is not the first such incident. In July, the same group brought a Sefer Torah into the plaza against established regulations. At that time, the Foundation reported that the group hid the Sefer Torah inside a baby carrier, denouncing the act as “a violation of the sanctity of the site and the honor due to a Sefer Torah.”

The Foundation stressed that it remains committed to upholding the standards and minhagim of the Kosel, ensuring the area remains a place of tefillah, respect, and reverence for all who visit.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s High Court of Justice ordered the state to begin criminal proceedings against yeshivaleit who have ignored IDF draft orders. The unanimous decision accused the government of “almost totally shirking” its obligation to enforce the law and warned that the current system of mass non-enforcement is eroding the rule of law and damaging soldier morale […]

Fifteen Hamas fighters surfaced from two separate tunnel openings in eastern Rafah on Wednesday, according to an initial Israeli military assessment. The IDF said the terrorists emerged inside a sector firmly under IDF control, near the Yellow Line — the dividing corridor between Israel-controlled territory and the rest of Gaza — where tens of Hamas […]

A major storm has erupted in the public-health world after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly rewrote key language on its website, suggesting that a connection between vaccines and autism cannot definitively be ruled out. This represents a complete reversal of the agency’s decades-long—and unequivocal—position that no such link exists.

The move stunned experts because the scientific consensus on this issue has been settled for years. Research across multiple continents, involving millions of children, has thoroughly debunked the claim of any correlation. Nonetheless, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been pushing this discredited theory for years, now appears to be steering federal health messaging in a dramatically different direction.

Public-health leaders warned that this sudden about-face lands at precisely the wrong moment. Childhood vaccination rates have already slipped nationwide, leading to the revival of illnesses once nearly eradicated, including measles and pertussis. They fear the new CDC language will pour gasoline on the fire.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism,” said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She emphasized the overwhelming scientific record, stating, “Since 1998, independent researchers across seven countries have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism.”

Dr. Kressly also criticized the agency’s direction in stark terms. “Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents. We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.”

Federal officials, however, doubled down. In a statement to NPR, Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon echoed one of the new website assertions: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” He said the department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.”

The Autism Science Foundation sharply rebuked that explanation, saying the revised wording “shows a lack of understanding of the term ‘evidence,’” adding, “No environmental factor has been better studied as a potential cause of autism than vaccines.”

Dr. Paul Offitt of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said the new wording is intentionally confusing. He called it a repackaging of familiar misinformation tactics: “These are the usual anti-vaccine tropes, misrepresentation of studies, false equivalence,” adding pointedly, “They might as well say chicken nuggets might cause autism because you can’t prove that either.”

Inside the CDC, the shift triggered alarm and internal turmoil. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis—who left the agency over the summer—said the changes “blindsided” longtime scientists. “The scientists did not participate in its creation,” he explained. “And the data are unvetted.”

Two current CDC employees, who contacted NPR anonymously, echoed that the new language signals that the agency’s vaccine information is being distorted. They described the updated website as “anti-science” and said they feared retaliation for speaking out.

These developments are only the latest in a series of moves by Kennedy that run counter to the positions of leading medical institutions, including the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American College of Physicians. Vaccine advocates warn that the administration’s new posture threatens to undermine trust built over generations.

This year alone, Kennedy dismissed every member of the CDC’s powerful Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and installed his own appointees. The newly reshaped committee quickly recommended eliminating thimerosal from the small subset of flu vaccines in which it still appears—despite years of evidence demonstrating its safety.

Federal agencies have also tightened access to COVID-19 vaccines and halted grants supporting new mRNA-based vaccines, cutting off development pipelines for future immunizations.

Alongside these moves, Trump administration officials have claimed a connection between acetaminophen and autism and touted leucovorin—a prescription form of vitamin B9—as a treatment for autism despite extremely limited evidence.

The current ACIP working group is evaluating additional sweeping changes, including removing aluminum-based adjuvants that have been safely used for nearly a century to boost vaccine effectiveness. They are also considering breaking up the single MMR shot into separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella—decisions experts warn would dismantle a vaccination system that has shielded American children for generations.

The committee is even debating delaying the hepatitis B vaccine, which has long been administered at birth to prevent severe liver disease and cancer.

In an unusual twist, the CDC acknowledged in a footnote that its site still features the longstanding header “Vaccines do not cause autism*.” The asterisk notes that the phrase remains only because of “an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”

NPR contacted the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who leads the HELP Committee and supported Kennedy’s confirmation, but received no immediate reply. Later in the day, Cassidy posted on X: “I’m a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”

Public-health officials fear that unless the CDC reverses course, vaccination rates could continue to fall—jeopardizing herd immunity, reviving diseases long under control, and placing millions of children at risk.

{Matzav.com}

BANGLADESH QUAKE KILLS 8: A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Bangladesh on Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 300, officials said. The quake hit near Narsingdi district, about 25 miles from Dhaka, and was strong enough to sway buildings in the capital. Authorities said many of the injuries occurred as people […]

A fire briefly swept through pavilions used for U.N. climate talks in Brazil on Thursday, prompting evacuations. Officials said 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation.

U.S. Southern Command released footage showing Marine Corps F-35B jets from VMFA-225 “Vikings” flying missions out of Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico as part of Operation Southern Spear.

An Indian Air Force HAL Tejas fighter jet crash-landed at the Dubai Air Show, killing the pilot.

The IDF says reservists from the 55th Paratroopers Brigade seized weapons during recent ground operations in southern Syria.

SWALWELL ANNOUNCES GOV RUN: Rep. Eric Swalwell has officially announced he is running for governor of California, saying he will be a “protector and fighter.” He made the announcement on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and said he wants to build a safer, more affordable state. Swalwell vowed to fight for lower prices, support businesses, modernize infrastructure, […]

Five terrorists who surfaced from a tunnel in eastern Rafah — an area of southern Gaza under IDF control — were killed in an airstrike moments ago, the military says.

[Video below.] At a time when the frum world is grappling with extraordinary communal challenges, Rav Kalman Epstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Shaar Hatorah in Queens, delivered a forceful and deeply reflective message about the escalating culture of extravagance in our community—lavish weddings, multi-course smorgasbords, and even the rise of private jets becoming a normalized symbol of status.

Speaking last night, he urged Klal Yisroel to confront the spiritual cost of this lifestyle honestly and courageously.

Rav Epstein began by reflecting on COVID, a period that disrupted every facet of Jewish communal life. With weddings limited, bar mitzvahs scaled down, and parlor meetings halted, he had hoped this would spark a long-needed cultural reset away from excess.

“One of the things that happened during COVID [is] that there weren’t any, at least most of the time, there weren’t any large gatherings. People stopped making big chasunas and big bar mitzvahs and parlor meetings. And we thought, I don’t know, we thought, at least I thought, that maybe this will be an impetus for the community. Here we’re not talking about yechidim. Yechidim really can’t change that…”

But instead of shifting permanently to simpler simchos, the Rosh Yeshiva lamented that the opposite has happened—extravagance has grown even more entrenched.

“And that affluence brought with it tremendous extravagance. And we thought that, again I say, at least I thought, that maybe that tekufah when that extravagance can’t be practiced will make it permanent, that we’ll learn that this is not the way we’re supposed to live.”

Rav Epstein explained that the Torah’s model of life is the very opposite of showiness. He invoked the pasuk of “hatzneia leches,” which he described as a mandate to live quietly, modestly, and without self-display.

“When we say, higid lecha adam ma tov u’ma Hashem doresh mimcha, asos mishpat v’ahavas chesed, and v’hatzneia leches im Hashem Elokecha, hatzneia leches means that you’re not supposed to have 20-man bands at weddings. You’re not supposed to have shmorgasbords, meals, and then something afterwards, whatever they call it. It means that Yidden are not supposed to show and not supposed to show themselves.”

In one of the most pointed comments of the evening, he highlighted the proliferation of private planes owned by members of the community.

“It means that we live in a situation where the airport in Lakewood is full of private planes. That’s not who we are supposed to be. Maybe it’s not even, most of us are, but it’s not who we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be… hatzneia leches means we’re supposed to be b’sheket, we’re supposed to be quiet, we’re not supposed to be showy. That’s what hatzneia leches means. And that’s the tzurah of Klal Yisrael.”

Rav Epstein drew a direct link between unchecked materialism and a weakening of spiritual sensitivity. Historically, he explained, our lack of material abundance actually elevated us.

“Because to the extent that we engage in gashmiyus, we lose ruchniyus. Yidden once upon a time when they were in the shtetlach and they were poor and they didn’t have much, but because they didn’t have much, because the gashmiyus wasn’t, the gashmiyus is a stirah to ruchniyus. Because the gashmiyus wasn’t there, then they felt closer to the Ribbono Shel Olam.”

He quoted Chazal’s instruction to daven not for luxuries, but for the ability to have Torah penetrate the heart.

“K’fi erech that is, Chazal say, k’fi erech ad she’atem mispallel that you should get parnasah, that you should get ma’adanim, you should be mispallel that you should get, that the Torah should go into libcha. You should be mispallel not to have ma’adanim. Ma’adanim and gashmiyus is a stirah to the feeling of kirvas Elokim, to the feeling of the Ribbono Shel Olam.”

The Rosh Yeshiva then shifted to a more recent chapter of suffering—Jewish hostages held in horrific underground captivity. Their plight, he said, should have stirred the community to more introspection and restraint.

“In the past few years when there were hostages who were in a horrible matzav, and if we were misbonein their matzav, it also should have been difficult for us to engage in extravagant gashmiyus.”

He told over the remarkable reaction of Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky—son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky—who stopped sleeping in a bed during the hostage crisis.

“Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky, the son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, who comes to America sometimes, I’m told that when the hostages were taken a few years ago, he stopped sleeping in a bed. How could I sleep in a bed when there are hostages who are underground in a horrible matzav?”

And he shared a moving story about his own family—a young bar mitzvah boy who chose to sleep without a pillow.

“I have a niece who made a bar mitzvah recently. And her bar mitzvah boy, who at the time that the hostages were taken was 11 years old – this is on his own, they live in Lakewood, this is on his own – he decided that he can’t sleep, he stopped sleeping with a pillow. An 11-year-old boy, he had that hergesh that if there are hostages, if there are hostages who are in such a horrible matzav, how could I sleep on a pillow? How could I use things that are more gashmiyus than I need? I can manage to sleep without a pillow.”

Rav Epstein stressed that no one is asking people to sleep on the floor or deprive themselves of basic comforts. But he urged Klal Yisroel to take the message to heart: Hashem expects us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh, a nation that does not drown itself in luxury.

“And even though at this point in time maybe, at this point in time there are no hostages, at this point in time we don’t expect anybody to sleep without a pillow, we don’t expect anybody to sleep on the floor. But we still should be misbonen to what we’re supposed to learn from this. That even though we don’t have to, we don’t have to do things that are metza’er ourselves, but we should learn that the Ribbono Shel Olam wants us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh.”

Because spiritual depth, he emphasized, cannot coexist with unrestrained indulgence.

“And a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh doesn’t engage in this extravagant gashmius, because that’s the only way to engage and connect and feel the kirvas Elokim…and feel ruchnius is if we’re mema’et in the gashmius that we can afford and that we’re capable of.”

The Rosh Yeshiva closed with a heartfelt personal plea, one he said applies to himself as much as anyone.

“I just hope, one hopes, that this is not, I am saying this for myself too, I’m not just saying this for all of you. We just hope that we we all learn from these terrible years that passed, and hopefully the terrible years are over. The terrible years that passed, how we’re supposed to view things, what’s supposed to be important in life, what we’re supposed to be machshiv and what we’re not supposed to be machshiv.”

And finally, he reminded listeners of the promise embedded in living according to Hashem’s expectations.

“And if b’ezras Hashem if we’re mekayem what Hashem is doresh from us, which is ahavas chesed, asos mishpat, ahavas chesed, and hatznei’a leches, we’ll be zoicheh to see that b’karov, be zoicheh to see that the bracha and the tefillos that we’re mispallel on Rosh Chodesh that it should be a new beginning, a new start, and we should be zoicheh to geulos and yeshuos, the klal and the prat.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Observers wonder how a highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday will go following their history of taking swipes at each other.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly rewritten its official webpage on vaccines and autism, introducing new language that dramatically departs from decades of public-health messaging and immediately ignited nationwide controversy. The updated CDC page now states that the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim,” asserting that studies […]

[Video below.] Candace Owens has been advancing a string of unproven theories about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and one of those theories appears to have led her straight into an embarrassing on-air prank. While hosting her show, she began reading what she described as a serious tip—only for viewers to quickly note that the address at the center of the supposed revelation belonged to her own legal team.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10 while attending an event at Utah Valley University. Since then, Owens has floated a variety of conspiratorial claims, including suggestions of Israeli involvement and even speculation about the Egyptian military. None of these assertions have been backed by evidence.

One of her favorite narratives has involved an Egyptian military plane. Owens claimed the aircraft departed Utah immediately after Kirk’s killing, but her timeline relied on confusing UTC with a Utah-based time zone—a mistake that placed the takeoff hours after the shooting when, in reality, the plane had left long before. Despite being corrected, Owens has continued promoting the idea.

Her latest twist came when she told viewers she received an email from a tipster alleging that “government entities” orchestrated Kirk’s assassination. The message insisted that the movements of the plane and certain government vehicles all traced back to a single Delaware address: 920 North King Street, also known as One Rodney Square.

Owens read the email aloud, describing the location as a hub for federal agencies such as the Department of Justice. But the clip quickly went viral for a very different reason. Online commentators pointed out that 920 North King Street is actually the office address of Richards, Layton & Finger—the law firm representing Owens in multiple legal matters, including the defamation suit connected to French President Emmanuel Macron and remarks Owens made about Brigitte Macron.

“Candace Owens appears to have been PRANKED on air by a tip,” wrote the account that shared the clip. “The tip said all directions pointed to the address: One Rodney Square, 920 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Which just so happens to be the address of Candace Owens’ lawyer.”

Even with that revelation circulating widely, Owens doubled down. On X, she dismissed criticism as coordinated government meddling, posting, “Looks like another round of a desperate and fake debunking regarding the Egyptian planes! These federally-sponsored trends are as fun as they are predictable now :-).”

She went on to write, “And I can tell you guys with absolute certainty that today I learned the Federal government is in a panic about the mention of their joint DHS, FBI, and DEA office at 920 N King. The tip proved absolutely solid and I was informed so. It is now a fact that a foreign dignitary was picked up after arriving from Provo the morning of Charlie’s assassination on the Egyptian plane, and then transferred to 920 King for some joint operation.”

Owens did concede, at least partially, that a law firm exists in the building, saying, “And yes, despite the massive office space, there is NOTHING else in that building except a law firm (and a place to eat). The law firm piece is an interesting side fact related to portions of the e-mail that I chose not to read on air.”

Yet she offered no explanation for why she didn’t mention that the law firm is her own counsel. Instead, she signed off with a promise of more revelations, writing, “Yet. Stay tuned!”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing Ukraine to accept a sweeping peace deal that would force Kyiv to surrender additional territory to Russia, cap the size of its army, and permanently abandon NATO membership, according to a confidential 28-point proposal obtained by Axios and verified by U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The plan—drafted largely by Trump’s […]

CNN’s top elections analyst issued a blistering alert to Republicans on Thursday, pointing to fresh polling data showing Democrats holding a sharp and historically unusual advantage heading into the 2026 midterms. The warning came from CNN data guru Harry Enten, who detailed numbers from a new Marquette University Law School poll that he said “didn’t […]

The Coast Guard issued an emphatic rejection of a Washington Post story that claimed the service was preparing to stop classifying swastikas, nooses, and similar imagery as prohibited hate symbols. Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday stated plainly, “The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy.”

According to the Post’s reporting, internal documents suggested the Coast Guard — which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — would soon categorize swastikas and nooses as “potentially divisive” rather than explicitly hateful. The paper said this policy shift would place such imagery in the same category as Confederate flags and would require supervisors to review complaints and consult with legal advisors before directing their removal once the change takes effect on December 15.

DHS blasted the article immediately. One message on X dismissed the piece as an “absolute ludicrous lie and unequivocally false,” while DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted, “The @washingtonpost should be embarrassed it published this fake crap.” The department followed with a second post saying, “Y’all are just making things up now.”

The Post reported that under the new guidance, Coast Guard members would have 45 days to report displays of swastikas or nooses. The newspaper also cited the service’s 2019 directives, which already empowered commanders to order the removal of such symbols even if they were not ruled a “potential hate incident.”

That 2019 guidance spelled out examples: “The following is a non-exhaustive list of symbols whose display, presentation, creation, or depiction would constitute a potential hate incident: a noose, a swastika, supremacist symbols, Confederate symbols or flags, and antiSemitic symbols, among many others.” The document added that these symbols are inherently connected to “supremacy, racial intolerance, religious intolerance, or other bias,” and that such imagery can appear in many forms, including images, wording, numbers, clothing, or materials.

The Coast Guard’s newly released policy, published this month, indicates that the term “hate incident” has been retired from official usage. It explains that “conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual, or in accordance with Chapter 11 of this Instruction.” The service emphasized that the new terminology does not alter the prohibition itself.

Adm. Lunday reiterated that principle in his formal response: “The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy.”

Later in the day, however, the Coast Guard told the Post that it was reevaluating the updated language. “We will be reviewing the language,” Coast Guard spokesperson Jennifer Plozai said.

The issue caught congressional attention as well. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, weighed in pointedly: “Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate. Coast Guard: be better.”

{Matzav.com}