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The Biden administration Tuesday will announce rules to block medical debt from being used to evaluate borrowers’ fitness for mortgages and other types of loans, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

The proposed rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau arrive less than five months before Election Day and are poised to be part of President Biden’s closing argument that he is addressing pocketbook issues as voters rank the economy as their top concern. The White House has repeatedly focused on the issue of medical debt, saying it disproportionately harms low-income Americans and communities of color.

“This is going to be an enormous relief for so many people battling bills when it comes to medical visits,” CPFB director Rohit Chopra said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” teasing the forthcoming rules.

The rules set to be announced Tuesday would ban credit reporting agencies from incorporating medical debt when calculating credit scores, said the people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. The rules would also bar lenders from using medical debt to determine loan eligibility, they said.

The proposal will undergo weeks of public comment – meaning this November’s election will probably determine whether the measures are finalized. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump did not seek to remove medical debt from consumers’ credit reports during his four years in the White House.

Roughly 15 million Americans have medical bills on their credit reports, according to a study released in April by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The figure used to be significantly higher – the agency in March 2022 found that medical bills appeared on about 43 million credit reports – but major credit bureaus voluntarily adopted limits on which medical bills were included in reports. People affected by medical debt disproportionately live in the South or in low-income communities, according to the CFPB.

Experts have warned that medical debt is linked to numerous health and financial harms, such as worse mental health or delays in obtaining additional medical care.

Medical debt “can lead to other kinds of financial vulnerability,” Cynthia Cox, vice president at KFF, a nonpartisan health-care research organization that has analyzed medical debt, wrote in a text message. “It’s a difficult cycle for people to pull themselves out of, especially at a time when they may be sick and less able to work.”

In a September briefing about the administration’s intent to focus on the issue, Vice President Harris and Chopra argued that unpaid medical bills and the related debts have little predictive power in determining whether a consumer will pay down an unrelated loan.

A bad credit score can weigh on the ability to afford a home, car and other essentials, Harris said.

The amount of debt consumers have, and their history of making timely payments, can significantly affect the interest rate offered by lenders, which in turn influences how much they must pay monthly to service the loan.

The proposed rules “can have a meaningful effect,” said Neale Mahoney, a Stanford University economist who has studied medical debt and served on the White House National Economic Council before leaving a year ago. He pointed to recent findings by the Urban Institute that medical debt affects the credit scores of at least 5 percent of Americans.

But Mahoney, citing his own research, noted that many people who carry medical debt also “have other flags on their credit report” that can make it hard for them to get loans even when medical debt is addressed.

“Once you already have a bunch of derogatories – a technical term – on your credit report, having one removed, or even a handful removed, is not going to make a big difference in your credit score,” Mahoney said.

Harris has spoken about the need for the new rules in recent speeches focused on the administration’s economic policies.

“Medical debt cannot be the reason someone is denied a car loan, a home loan or a small-business loan,” Harris said in remarks in Detroit in May.

“It’s just what’s morally right,” she told a crowd in Milwaukee days later.

Other Democrats are pursuing efforts to address medical debt. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and lawmakers in May proposed legislation that would eliminate all existing medical debt and impose restrictions to limit future medical debt.

Democratic mayors in D.C., New York and other major cities in recent years have worked to relieve residents’ medical debt by purchasing existing balances for pennies on the dollar and immediately canceling it.

(c) Washington Post

Air-raid sirens were heard in the Haifa area on Tuesday morning, after the Israel Defense Forces launched an interceptor missile at an unidentified object.

The military described the incident as a “false identification,” adding that it was under review. The sirens were sounded due to fears of falling shrapnel from the interception, according to the IDF.

It was the first time sirens were triggered in Chaifa since January, when an interceptor missile was fired at a “suspicious target.”

The latest incident came just hours after the military downed a “hostile aircraft” above the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the northern Israeli city. No sirens were triggered by the intrusion.

Sirens were also triggered in the city in November after Hamas terrorists in Southern Lebanon fired some 30 rockets at northern Israel.

Meanwhile, air-raid alarms sounded throughout Israel’s Galil and the Golan Heights on Tuesday morning, warning of incoming rocket and missile fire from the Land of the Cedars.

According to local reports, at least 40 rockets were fired towards the Upper Galil and the Galil panhandle. No direct hits or casualties were reported in the barrage.

The IDF confirmed some 50 rockets crossed into Israeli territory in the area of the central Golan Heights. Some of the projectiles were shot down, while the rest exploded in an open area, the military said.

Firefighters were dispatched to Had Nes and the Jordan River area of the Golan Heights and Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar in the Upper Galil to put out blazes that were sparked by the latest rocket attacks.

On early Tuesday afternoon, Israeli air-defense fighters in the Western Galilee downed a drone that crossed into the territory of the Jewish state from Lebanon. Alarms were activated in the Bedouin border village of Arab al-Aramshe for fear of falling interceptor fragments, the IDF said.

Overnight Sunday, air-raid sirens sounded in Acco in northwestern Israel, as well as in Kiryat Bialik, near Chaifa. The alarms were triggered due to fear of falling interceptor fragments after Israeli air-defense systems attempted to intercept a “suspicious aerial target” that had crossed into Israel from Lebanon. The incident was later declared to have been due to a “false identification.”

{Matzav.com}

By Tzvi Herman | All Make Appliances The collaboration between Whirlpool and the Star-K in the late 1990s marked the debut of “Sabbath Mode,” initially patented by Whirlpool. While the term “Yom Tov Mode” might have been more descriptive of the features it offers, Whirlpool opted for the term “Sabbath Mode” to market to kosher consumers. Despite being a popular choice among frum consumers, understanding what Sabbath Mode entails can be a bit perplexing. One of its key features, according to the psak of Rabbi Moshe Heineman, allows for temperature adjustments on Yom Tov when Sabbath mode is activated. However, there is disagreement among contemporary poskim, with many holding that even in Sabbath mode, temperature adjustments are prohibited. It’s advisable to consult with a Rav before utilizing this function. Shabbos mode does not disable the temperature sensor on the oven. Hence according to Star-K, one cannot open the oven door on Shabbos more than once. Although many Poskim permit opening the door multiple times, one is encouraged to ask a Shaila to their Rav. Apart from potentially permitting temperature adjustments on Yomim Tovim, this encapsulates what Sabbath Mode offers: Disable the lights Bypass the 12 hour shutoff (most ovens shut off after 12 hours) Disable the beep after a cook time cycle In many ovens today, the element/ignitor will shut off when the door is opened. Sabbath Mode will disable it completely or put it on a delay. (It’s important to note many Poskim hold that it is a problem if it shuts off on a delay and recommend disabling the door switch manually) For older GE Ovens see instructions here For newer GE ovens see instructions here Several years ago, GE made the decision to discontinue their relationship with the Star-K and work instead with Zman Technologies, who created an enhanced Shabbos mode under the Hashgacha of the OU, CRC and other Kashrus agencies. Initially this enhanced Shabbos mode was available as an add on device on most GE ovens. However, recently GE introduced an oven which retails for under $750, with the enhanced Shabbos mode built in. Unlike the Star-K Shabbos mode, the new enhanced Shabbos mode bypasses the door switches and sensors completely allowing one to open the oven at any time. In addition, this new feature allows the oven to be pre-programmed before Yom Tov to set the oven at different temperatures at different times of the day. Instructions for the Enhanced Shabbos Mode ranges Have questions about your specific model? Email tzvi@allmakeappliances.com for assistance. Please include the oven’s model number in your email.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday slammed a reported decision to release 30 Palestinian terrorists who were captured by Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip.

“The decision by the IDF and the National Security Council to release terrorists back into the Gaza Strip without conditions is unfathomably delusional,” the Otzma Yehudit Party leader told Channel 14 News.

“The IDF is expected to withstand the shortage of prison space during a war when there are tens of thousands of detained terrorists, just as the Israel Prison Service does very well,” he added, in reference to the organization that falls under his responsibility.

According to the Channel 14 report, the IDF and the Israeli National Security Council, which sits in the Prime Minister’s Office, decided to release 30 terrorists who were arrested in Gaza and have been incarcerated at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

The decision was reportedly made after a petition against the government was submitted to the High Court of Justice.

The petitioners complained of overcrowding at the facility, which houses Hamas operatives detained as part of the war against the terrorist organization, including during the Oct. 7 atrocities.

A document submitted to the court and seen by Channel 14 said the suspects would be set free in Gaza without conditions on Tuesday and that their criminal case would be examined following their release.

Earlier this year, 40 Palestinian administrative detainees were released from jail at the directive of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) as a goodwill “gesture” ahead of Ramadan, not due to lack of space in the prisons, Ben-Gvir tweeted in March..

That same month, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered an urgent directive for government ministries to prepare prisons for an influx of thousands of terrorists expected to be arrested this year.

The order came after the IDF and Shin Bet presented their assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv that in 2024, thousands of terrorists in Yehuda, Shomron and the Gaza Strip will be detained, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

{Matzav.com}

More than 50,000 pro-Israel people turned out for the UJA Walk with Israel in Toronto on Sunday, a record turnout for the event which is in its 55th year.

Adam Hummel, a lawyer in Toronto, told JNS that it was “remarkable and uplifting to see so many Jews come together” this year for the 5K walk (about 3 miles.)

“I was dumbstruck how many people were gathered and feeling the energy and community, especially when we have been struck by so much sorrow,” Hummel said.

Although it seemed in prior years that people attended out of inertia, this year was different, according to Hummel.

“It felt like people needed to be there,” he said. “Because of everything we have gone through as a community, and what Israelis went through, people needed to show up to stand with Israel.”

The event, a project of the UJA Federation of Toronto, moved from the heavily-Jewish neighborhood at the Bathurst Street corridor at Lawrence Avenue to the Federation’s Sherman Campus, which was rebuilt several years ago.

Guidy Mamann also told JNS that this year’s event felt different.

“I’ve been to many, many walks for Israel since I was a kid,” the Toronto lawyer said. “Normally, people go because they want to have fun and see old faces, but I think this year it was driven by a need to go.”

“There was a sense of needing to go to this walk-a-thon because of the trauma we’ve been through together,” he said. “We needed to feel each other and see each other in large numbers. I think the community really needed that.”

Brendan Shanahan, president of the Maple Leafs, the Toronto hockey team, and the singer Montana Tucker, who sang the Israeli national anthem, were among the celebrities present.

“We are thrilled by the overwhelming support for the walk this year from our community and our friends and neighbors across Greater Toronto,” stated Jeff Rosenthal, chair of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. “To see a record-breaking turnout this year speaks volumes about our community’s pride, resilience and determination to show our city who we are and what we stand for.”

Michael Kerzner, the solicitor general of Ontario, and Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of the Conservative Party, attended the event. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Olivia Chow, Toronto’s first Chinese-Canadian mayor, reportedly were not present.

Chow, who had skipped what she called a “divisive” annual Israeli flag raising at City Hall the prior month, said in an interview with a popular Toronto radio station on Monday morning that she had a prior commitment and couldn’t attend Sunday’s event.

“She wasn’t missed,” said David Burstein, a Toronto dentist.

“It was one of the most outstanding communal Jewish experiences of my life, and I’ve lived in Toronto my entire life. The energy was fantastic,” Burstein told JNS. “The fact that they got the four hostages out the day before, really helped morale and added to the joy of the day.”

Kevin Vuong, a federal politician of Chinese descent, told JNS that he was disappointed that Chow skipped the pro-Israel event, which she attended previously as a federal politician.

Vuong noted that Chow told the Jewish community that “you’re never alone” after a shooting at the Jewish girls’ elementary school Bais Chaya Mushka in Toronto in late May.

Chow’s statement implied that “she stood with Toronto’s Jewish community,” Vuong said. “She lied.”

“It’s clear that if it was any other community, she’d have been there. No mayor, nor prime minister for that matter, would skip an event attended by 50,000 Canadians,” Vuong added. “Unfortunately, as we’ve seen in the aftermath of Oct. 7, these so-called leaders make exceptions when it comes to Jews.”

Vuong and his wife attended the event “to show our support for Jews both here at home in Canada and abroad, and that meant walking the talk and walking the walk.”

The politician had harsh words for the hundreds of pro-Hamas demonstrators, who used bullhorns and loudspeakers to broadcast anti-Israel chants and Islamic prayers and who reportedly sought to enter a place where the event was taking place and had to be barred by law enforcement.

“One thing I couldn’t believe was that pro-Hamas supporters brought in speakers and blared the rocket sirens that go off when Israel is under attack,” Vuong told JNS. “I was shocked at the depravity that someone would think to do that in the hopes of triggering participants.”

“Sadly, I was not surprised when other counter-protesters gave up all pretenses and started cheering outright for Hamas,” he added.

Hummel, the Toronto lawyer, called the protesters “pathetic, paltry and sinister.”

“We celebrate life and they clearly do not. We were there in blue and white with our children, singing songs about life. There was a world of difference,” he told JNS. “They were wearing black and had their faces covered.”

“They stood with swastika signs. Repulsive and pathetic,” he added. “The visuals could not have been starker of what we’re fighting for, and what we are fighting against.”

Mamann, the other Toronto lawyer, told JNS that some of the protesters tailed Jewish community members after the event in a harassing way.

“These people come clear across town and out of town to disrupt us. The police were on our side. But at the end of the day, the protection doesn’t finish when the walk finishes,” he said. “There are thousands of people trying to make it home, and there is still work to do.”

Ali Siadatan was among the non-Jewish Canadians of Iranian descent who participated in the event to voice their support for the Jewish state.

“I stand with Israel because I wish to live in a free world. Israel is at the epicenter of a global ideological war,” Siadatan told JNS. “Israel’s victory will push back the forces of Islam and Marxism. Israel’s defeat would encourage these very forces to explode in the West and in Canada.”

“Even the future of Iran very much depends on the victory or defeat of Israel against the regional forces of Islamic militancy,” Siadatan added.

At the end of the walk, JNS caught up with the rapper Nissim Black, who performed at the festival, which also had kid-friendly activities and musical performances.

“Incredible energy,” Black told JNS. “It was so special seeing all those people together celebrating Eretz Hakodesh,”.

{Matzav.com}

Yeshiva World News (YWN) apologizes to its nearly 400,000 daily readers after its website was offline for approximately 18 hours on Monday due to a devastating outage affecting its server host, LiquidWeb. The incident impacted around 50,000 websites, leaving users in the dark about the cause and resolution. LiquidWeb’s lack of communication throughout the ordeal sparked frustration among its customers, including YWN, with many opting to switch services altogether. Speculation mounted about a potential ransomware attack, although this remains unconfirmed. After hours of downtime, LiquidWeb finally issued a statement, attributing the issue to “some areas of our NetApp-based products and services, including VMware, CloudSites, and SAN-based services.” However, this update did not immediately lead to restored services, and YWN’s website remained inaccessible until past 1 AM on Tuesday. In response to this unprecedented incident, YWN is now collaborating with technical teams in the US and Israel to implement alternative solutions and backup procedures to prevent such outages in the future and ensure uninterrupted service for our readers. During the outage, many readers signed up for YWN Groups and YWN Status, where they joined the already 100,000+ who continued receiving uninterrupted updates throughout the day despite our website being down. We thank our readers for their patience and understanding as we grappled with this technical issue. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

WILMINGTON, Del. — Guilty on all counts.

Hunter Biden has made history as the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime after a federal jury found him guilty of lying about his drug use to purchase a gun.

The jury, consisting of six men and six women, determined that President Biden’s 54-year-old son knowingly provided false information on a gun application form, denying drug use, before buying a Colt Cobra .38-caliber revolver at a Wilmington shop on Oct. 12, 2018.

At the time, Hunter Biden was addicted to crack cocaine, a fact he admitted in his 2021 memoir — evidence that prosecutors used against him.

Hunter was indicted on Sept. 14 of last year for making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed firearms dealer, and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of or addict to a controlled substance.

He faces up to 25 years in prison, though a lighter sentence is expected as he has no prior convictions.

This verdict is not the end of Hunter’s legal issues.

He is set to face another case in Los Angeles federal court starting Sept. 5, concerning allegations that he evaded $1.4 million in federal income tax from 2016 through 2019.

Prosecutors from special counsel David Weiss’ office used witness testimonies, Hunter’s own communications, data from his notorious laptop, and excerpts from his book “Beautiful Things” to demonstrate his crack use around the time of the firearm purchase.

Judge Maryellen Noreika ruled before the trial that prosecutors didn’t need to prove Hunter was under the influence on the exact day he bought the gun.

Jurors listened to numerous excerpts from Hunter’s memoir audiobook — narrated by Hunter himself — where he detailed his addiction struggles and claimed he had a “superpower of finding crack cocaine anytime, anywhere.”

The jury also reviewed many messages where Hunter appeared to be arranging drug deals and discussing his drug use, including a text to his dealer in the spring of 2018 asking: “Can you get baby powder, the real soft stuff.”

Witnesses included Hunter’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle. Buhle testified about discovering Hunter’s crack use the same year as Beau’s death when she found a pipe on the porch of their Washington, DC home. She noted that Hunter was “not himself,” and was “angry [and] short-tempered” when using.

Hunter’s defense team, led by attorney Abbe Lowell, argued that Hunter did not intentionally lie on the gun application form but was in a “deep state of denial” about his addiction.

Lowell also portrayed Gordon Cleveland, the salesman at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, as a “whale hunter” who pressured Hunter into purchasing the firearm.

The defense attempted to challenge the prosecution’s timeline of Hunter’s addiction, suggesting that he was struggling more with alcoholism than drug use.

Despite pleading not guilty to all charges, Hunter was initially set to plead guilty in June 2023. However, the plea deal collapsed in court when his legal team realized he would not receive blanket immunity from potential future charges.

{Dov T. Heller – Matzav.com}

A Manhattan private school that charges a yearly tuition of $63,400 has seen a change in leadership following overt efforts to fight antisemitism.

On Monday, head of school David Lourie announced plans to step down from his top position at the Collegiate School, a private K-12 boys’ institution on New York City’s Upper West Side. He has held the job since 2020.

Lourie called the school’s newly formed antisemitism task force “a joke,” labeling the initiative a “power play by Jewish families.”

He had responded to a task force created by the school’s board of trustees following complaints from more than 100 Jewish parents. A report found that some faculty had blamed “wealthy and influential” Jews for creating the hostile environment at the school after the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the start of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

Still, he did not mention steps to counter anti-Jewish sentiment on campus upon his leaving.

“We are, of course, living in a time when so many decisions are fraught with uncertainty, disagreement and dissension,” Lourie wrote in his announcement. “With every decision then [and] through every decision now, that has been my lodestar: what is best for the boys and their learning and well-being.”

{Matzav.com}

Hunter Biden has been convicted of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Maryellen Noreika, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether she would give him time behind bars. Now, Hunter Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the chief political rival of President Joe Biden, have been convicted by American jurors in an election year that has been as much about the courtroom as it has been about campaign events and rallies. Joe Biden has steered clear of the federal courtroom in Delaware where his son was tried and said little about the case, wary of creating an impression of interfering in a criminal matter brought by his own Justice Department. But allies of the Democrat have worried about the toll that the trial — and now the conviction — will take on the 81-year-old, who has long been concerned with his only living son’s health and sustained sobriety. Hunter Biden and Trump have both argued they were victimized by the politics of the moment. But while Trump has continued to falsely claim the verdict was “rigged,” Joe Biden has said he would accept the results of the verdict and would not seek to pardon his son. Hunter Biden’s legal troubles aren’t over. He faces a trial in September in California on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes and congressional Republicans have signaled they will keep going after him in their stalled impeachment effort into the president. The president has not been accused or charged with any wrongdoing by prosecutors investigating his son. The prosecution devoted much of the trial to highlighting the seriousness of Hunter Biden’s drug problem, through highly personal testimony and embarrassing evidence. Jurors heard Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former acquiantance testify about his habitual crack use and their failed efforts to help him get clean. Jurors saw images of the president’s son bare-chested and disheveled in a filthy room, and holding crack pipes. And jurors watched video of his crack cocaine weighed on a scale. Hunter Biden did not testify but jurors heard his voice when prosecutors played audio excerpts of his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” in which he talks about hitting bottom after the death of his brother Beau in 2015, and his descent into drugs before his eventual sobriety. Prosecutors felt the evidence was necessary to prove that Hunter, 54, was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell had argued that Hunter Biden’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he bought the gun — when he didn’t believe he had an addiction. Lowell pointed out to […]

During a press conference on Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the indefinite suspension of the congestion pricing program, noting that the pause allows for reconsideration of the plan rather than its termination.

When asked by reporter Juliet Papa about potential changes to the fees, timings, and areas affected by the congestion pricing, Hochul replied, “All options are on the table for future conversations.”

“There’s a big difference between a pause and elimination,” she added. “Elimination was an option.”

Governor Hochul clarified that the congestion pricing plan is not being eliminated but mentioned the need for innovative funding solutions for public transportation improvements. “To assume that the only funding source had to be congestion pricing shows a lack of imagination about understanding other opportunities,” she stated.

Hochul reaffirmed her commitment to mass transit projects. “I understand the level of concern at this time. But as the governor of the State of New York, I am committed to continuing those projects with alternative funding that is being worked out with the legislature. I gave them a number of options. Those conversations are very much alive and ongoing, and it will be resolved.”

Although specific alternative funding sources were not detailed, Hochul indicated ongoing discussions with legislative leaders and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber.

“I spoke to Janno Lieber yesterday, and he has been working hard with me,” Hochul said.

Lieber has yet to publicly comment on the pause since Hochul instructed the MTA to “indefinitely pause” the congestion pricing plan for Manhattan, which was nearly a month away from starting. She expressed concerns about the plan’s financial impact on everyday New Yorkers and the city’s post-pandemic recovery.

In a recorded statement last week, Hochul described the decision as “difficult” and reiterated her support for the environmental goals of the plan, such as reducing congestion and pollution. However, she emphasized that implementing the tolling now would “risk too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers.”

She highlighted the financial strain on New Yorkers, citing inflation and the high cost of living. She also noted that the landscape in Manhattan has changed post-pandemic, with remote work becoming more prevalent.

“Let’s be real, a $15 charge may not seem like a lot to someone who has the means, but it can break the budget of a hardworking or middle-class household. It puts the squeeze on the very people who make this city go,” she said in her address.

“This decision is about doing what’s right for the people who make our city thrive,” she said. “I’m here to say we are listening.”

Politico reported that Hochul is also mindful of the impact on vulnerable Democrats in competitive U.S. House races, with elections looming in five months. Hochul addressed these speculations by stating, “To those cynics who question my motivation, I approach every decision through one lens: What is best for New Yorkers?”

With no implementation date set, the state will support the MTA capital plan and explore alternative funding options as needed.

Mayor Eric Adams expressed his support for the governor’s decision to reassess the plan. “If she’s looking at what others we can do it and how we can do it correctly, I’m all for it,” he said. “This is a major shift for our city and it has to be done correctly.”

MTA board members, who oversee the transit agency, reported being caught off guard by the delay. “I’m in shock,” said Andrew Albert, a board member. “We won’t get new buses, new subway cars, new signals. It’s a betrayal of the millions and millions of people who would have been helped by this.”

The surprising decision came less than a month before the Manhattan congestion toll was scheduled to start on June 30. The MTA had already invested millions in installing cameras, sensors, license plate readers, and other equipment. The agency also planned public webinars to explain the system, which are now postponed “until further notice,” according to the MTA website.

The MTA had been moving forward with the controversial tolling program despite facing numerous lawsuits and opposition from various groups, including cab drivers, truckers, suburban commuters, small business owners, and the state of New Jersey. Some of these lawsuits are still pending in court.

{Matzav.com}

During a political-security cabinet meeting, a dispute arose between National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the release of bodies of terrorists held by Israel.

Minister Gallant asserted: “The defense minister has the authority to approve the return of terrorists’ bodies. A question arose concerning the bodies of terrorists with Israeli citizenship, and I decided to hold the body of Walid Daka and release five other terrorists’ bodies. Minister Ben-Gvir decided to disregard me and instructed the police not to comply.”

In response, Ben-Gvir stated: “This is a democratic state. In the process, it is determined that the National Security Minister is asked, and indeed my position is against this. I think that releasing the bodies of Israeli terrorists is negligent. It also harms our ability to release them in exchange for hostages or hostages’ bodies. I don’t understand the rush to release; we need to hold on to the bodies.”

ISA director Ronen Bar backed Gallant’s stance: “There is not much value in holding the bodies of Israeli terrorists. It just creates friction with Israeli Arabs.” Minister Ben-Gvir countered: “Unfortunately, you also made these assessments before October 7th, and the fact is that in deals, Hamas demanded the release of Israeli Arabs.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin questioned: “I don’t understand where the right to release bodies suddenly comes from? Where is it determined? No body of an Israeli Arab should be released.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu then joined the conversation, emphasizing: “Hamas demanded them, and we did not release them.” The ISA head pointed out that “we have not yet reached the stage of the bodies.” Ben-Gvir questioned the timing of the release, and the Prime Minister supported his view, stating, “We have no choice – we don’t need to release now.”

Minister Gallant, visibly frustrated, retorted: “So I give up my authority to make decisions – decide what you want.” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara then reminded Gallant: “You cannot give up your authority.”

The Prime Minister concluded that an announcement would be issued to the Supreme Court, stating Israel’s decision not to release the body of terrorist Walid Daka. He finalized: “We determine that the bodies of Israeli Arabs will not be released until a further decision.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Early Tuesday morning, the Knesset plenum approved the ongoing application of the Draft Law, which exempts chareidim, whose “Torah is their craft,” from serving in the IDF.

The bill passed with 63 Knesset members voting in favor and 57 against, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Except for Gallant, all coalition members supported the law.

This approval allows the coalition to advance the bill initially proposed by MK Benny Gantz in the previous Knesset regarding chareidi conscription, resuming the legislative process where it previously paused.

Thus, the government can expedite the bill’s progression to its second and third readings in the Knesset.

The legislation reduces the exemption age for chareidi yeshiva students from 26 to 21 and “gradually” increases the rate of chareidi enlistment in the IDF.

The proposal outlines that yeshiva students’ status will be formalized, with thousands of chareidim enlisting annually, while chareidi yeshivot will continue receiving state funding.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented before the vote, “I was not coordinated with Gantz and I am still not coordinated with Gantz. I am from the Likud and will remain in the Likud. I look at the soldiers in the eyes and they expect us to back them up. [They expect] that we will not do petty politics on the big backs of the soldiers.”

Following the vote, the National Unity Party stated, “The Prime Minister and the coalition proved tonight that they returned to October 6. During wartime, as IDF soldiers are fighting for their homeland, they are fighting to perpetuate the exemption from service. It is not too late to pass a broad and comprehensive outline that will satisfy the security and societal needs.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman harshly criticized the legislation’s approval.

“In the dead of night, while the finest of our sons and daughters are fighting on the battlefield, the Israeli government took another step towards the evasion law, which does serious harm to IDF soldiers and reservists, and contrary to the needs of the defense establishment – all for political survival. The citizens of Israel deserve a different leadership that will be worthy of them.”

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid also condemned the approval.

“One of the most despicable moments of shame of the Israeli Knesset ever. In the midst of another day of fighting in the Gaza Strip, the reckless government passes a law of evasion and refusal. It’s all politics. Zero values,” said Lapid.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Anti-Israel protesters chanted “Long live the Intifada” and waved a Hezbollah flag outside a memorial exhibit honoring the 364 victims of the October 7 Nova Music Festival attack on Monday night in downtown Manhattan. The protesters, organized by the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, clashed with police and yelled “Kill another Zionist now”, “long live the Intifada”, “Israel go to hell” during the “citywide day of rage for Gaza” demonstration. Six people were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and jumping turnstiles. “When the Zionists decided to rave,” a woman leading the chanting yelled and the crowd repeated after her, word for word, “next to a concentration camp, that’s exactly what this music festival was. It’s like have a rave right next to the gas chambers during the Holocaust.” “So this exhibit is nothing more than Zionist propaganda to try to justify” Israel’s war against Hamas, the woman and the chanters continued. Music mogul Scooter Braun, one of the exhibit’s organizers, denounced the protest in an Instagram post, saying, “I don’t understand why protesting a memorial for innocent music lovers who were raped and butchered and kidnapped helps.” Others, including former Israeli government speechwriter Aviva Klompas and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, called the protest “evil,” “vicious,” and “repulsive.” Rep. Michael Lawler labeled the actions of the protesters “disgusting,” while Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District, accused them of supporting terrorists. “They support the terrorists who perpetrated it, and they want it to happen again,” Petlin said. In response to the protest, the Nova Exhibit announced it would extend its run until June 22. The exhibit recreates the “Tribe of Nova” festival, which was brutally attacked by Hamas on October 7, killing hundreds of concert-goers. The United Nations has reported that Hamas terrorists also committed rape and “sexualized torture” during the assault. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she’s worried that former President Donald Trump will imprison her if he wins the presidential election in November. In an interview on Kara Swisher’s podcast “On with Kara Swisher,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “I mean, it sounds nuts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy threw me in jail… He’s out of his mind.” The Congresswoman referenced Trump’s previous campaign slogan “lock her up” and emphasized her belief that he will “round up people” if re-elected. “I take him at his word when he says that he’s going to round up people. I take him at his word when he threatens journalists. I take him at his word,” she said. Ocasio-Cortez also believes Trump has a legitimate chance of winning against President Biden. “Trump does absolutely have a chance to win. That is why I have thrown my support behind Biden early and I support it vociferously,” she said. She stressed the importance of preventing a Trump victory, warning that it could lead to the “dissolution of democracy in the United States of America.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Matzav.com would like to wish its readers all over the globe a chag sameiach. As we celebrate our 3,336th anniversary since receiving the Torah at Har Sinai, we are reminded of the supremacy of Torah learning above all else. There are myriad lessons to be learned at this time of year, and we share several with you here.

Once, after Reb Sholom Shwadron gave a speech a few days before Shavuos, one of the audience came over to him. He had a few issues in Yiddishkeit that didn’t sit well with him. He was a very smart and intelligent person who had once been non-religious, now he had become observant and attended shiurim. Therefore Reb Sholom understood that he looked disturbed about the issues, but he meant well and really wanted to understand.

“Reb Sholom. You rabbis know how to bend everything your way. I’ve heard much about the importance of learning Torah and how it has to be the center of one’s life. This type of talk sounds a bit exaggerated to me, but I understand. However, this time I think you went too far. You talked about the holiday of Matan Torah and how we learn the whole night, and how important it is to learn all night. I don’t understand this at all. How did you manage to bend everything to learning Torah?

“What are we talking about anyway? The day that Torah was given. And what happened? Hashem gave the 10 commandments. What’s written there? Don’t steal, don’t kill, honor your father, etc. Nu! Dear Rabbi, what does all this have to do with learning Torah? Where’s there any hint of learning Torah? How did you take an event about doing so many mitzvos, and you turned it into one mitzvah – learning? What’s going on here?”

Reb Sholom spent quite some time explaining to him:

You’re right. When they received the Torah, they received the commandment of the mitvos. But if all that happened was the giving of the 10 Commandments, why did the event need so much preparation?

The gemara tells us Shavuos revolves around learning Torah. “Rav Yosef used to say on Chag Shavuos to make him a nice fat calf. ‘If not for this day how many Yosefs are there in the market!’ (Pesachim 68b) Because of Shavuos, I’m special.” The Yom Tov of Shavuos created the difference between the Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon Rav Yosef, and Yosef who works in the market.

It must be that the joy of Shavuos is because of learning Torah. Look at how many mitzvos Klal Yisroel were commanded during the 40 years, both before and after Har Sinai. None of them required such a celebration! If Shavuos only commemorates the 10 Commandments what was the big commotion? Why did the giving of the 7 Noachide laws pass so quietly, while here the whole world was in an uproar. During Matan Torah Hashem came down on Har Sinai with thunder and lightning. We do we find such an event by any other mitzvah!

All the nations gathered around Bilaam and asked, what’s this commotion going on? Is there going to be another Flood? Bilaam answered them, Hashem has a wonderful gem in His treasure house, hidden away 974 years before Creation, and He is giving it to His Children.”

Bilaam didn’t say that this was the day the Jews became a people, that happened much later (Devorim 27:9). Bilaam said that Hashem was giving a secret treasure to Klal Yisroel.

Until Shavuos, Torah had been the possession of the Angels. Even if a person would learn Torah, but it wasn’t his. It belonged to Heaven. Now, on this day Torah was given to Yisroel. It’s ours. When we learn, it’s our Torah! When the chachomim decide on the halacha, that becomes the reality. They have the power to change nature according to how they poskin. Because Torah belongs to the people of Yisroel.

The gemara in Shabbos (88b) relates that when Moshe went up to receive the Torah the Angels protested. What does Torah have to with puny little Man, a lowly material being? Torah belongs to the realm of Heaven and the purely spiritual! Hashem told Moshe, “Answer them.” “But I’m afraid they will burn me up with the fire coming from their mouths.” “Hold on to My Throne of Glory and answer them.” So Moshe held on to the holy Throne and answered: Look at what is written in the Torah, Do not steal, do not murder, do not covet. Is there any theft up here? Is there any jealousy up here? Torah belongs to us. Man needs the Torah!

Until Matan Torah the angels didn’t protest when someone wanted to learn Torah. When the Avos learned Torah it wasn’t theirs. What did the angels care if someone learned Torah. But after Shavuos, Torah is no longer in Shomayim. It’s ours.

What is more, Torah has the power to change the person. If we learn Torah, it becomes a part of us. It lifts us up and we become different. Torah changes that puny physical creature called Man into something else, something more spiritual. They are different people. Look at the gedolim who are so attached to their Torah. They’re different. They are a sefer Torah!

And so on this day when the situation changed, and Hashem brought Torah down to this world, He had to open up the 7 Heavens and there was a tremendous commotion. The entire world changed! We now have the Torah. We are different.

Before we learn we make the bracha: “Blessed are You…. Who has chosen us from all the nations and given us His Torah.” We don’t make this bracha by any other mitzvah. We don’t give such a praise to Hashem for giving us any mitzvah. We praise Him for giving us His Torah. Now it’s ours! Such a bracha is possible only by Torah.

(Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff, Rosh Yeshiva,Yeshiva Shaare Chaim. Adapted from Lev Sholom, v. II, pgs. 241-245)

{Matzav.com Newscenter}

A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s ability to slow the disease outweighs its risks, including side effects like brain swelling and bleeding that will have to be monitored. “I thought the evidence was very strong in the trial showing the effectiveness of the drug,” said panel member Dean Follmann, a National Institutes of Health statistician. The FDA will make the final decision on approval later this year. If the agency agrees with the panel’s recommendation, the drug, donanemab, would only be the second Alzheimer’s drug cleared in the U.S. that’s been shown to convincingly slow cognitive decline and memory problems due to Alzheimer’s. The FDA approved a similar infused drug, Leqembi, from Japanese drugmaker Eisai last year. The slowdown seen with both drugs amounts to several months and experts disagree on whether patients or their loved ones will be able to detect the difference. But Lilly’s approach to studying its once-a-month treatment prompted questions from FDA reviewers. Patients in the company’s study were grouped based on their levels of a brain protein, called tau, that predicts severity of cognitive problems. That led FDA to question whether patients might need to be screened via brain scans for tau before getting the drug. But most panelists thought there was enough evidence of the drug’s benefit to prescribe it broadly, without screening for the protein. “Imposing a requirement for tau imaging is not necessary and would raise serious practical and access concerns to the treatment,” said Dr. Thomas Montine of Stanford University, who chaired the panel and summarized its opinion. At a high level, Lilly’s results mirrored those of Leqembi, with both medications showing a modest slowing of cognitive problems in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The Indianapolis-based company conducted a 1,700-patient study showing patients who received monthly IV infusions of its drug declined about 35% more slowly than those who got a sham treatment. The FDA had been widely expected to approve the drug in March. But instead the agency said it would ask its panel of neurology experts to publicly review the company’s data, an unexpected delay that surprised analysts and investors. Several unusual approaches in how Lilly tested its drug led to the meeting. One change was measuring patients’ tau, and excluding patients with very low or no levels of the protein. But panelists said there was enough data from other measures to feel confident that nearly all patients could benefit from the drug, regardless of their levels. In another key difference, Lilly studied taking patients off its drug when they reached very low levels of amyloid, a sticky brain plaque that’s a contributor to Alzheimer’s. Lilly scientists suggested stopping treatment is a key advantage for its drug, which could reduce side effects and costs. But FDA staff said Lilly provided little data supporting the optimal time to stop or how quickly patients might need to restart treatment. Despite those questions, many panelists thought the possibility of stopping doses held promise. “It’s a huge cost savings for the society, we’re talking about expensive treatment, expensive surveillance,” said Dr. Tanya Simuni of Northwestern […]

Dr. Itai Pessach of Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer, who oversees the medical care for the four Israeli hostages rescued on Shabbos, disclosed to CNN on Monday that the hostages endured beatings while held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

“It was a harsh, harsh experience, with a lot of abuse, almost every day,” he recounted. “Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension.”

Pessach noted that the eight months of captivity “left a significant mark on their health.” Despite their seemingly stable appearance, all hostages are suffering from malnutrition.

“They had no protein, so their muscles are extremely wasted, there is damage to some other systems because of that,” he informed CNN.

The hostages reported to Pessach that they were frequently relocated and had to contend with various guards. The availability of food and water was inconsistent.

“There have been periods where they got almost no food whatsoever. There were other periods where it was a little better, but all in all, the combination of the psychological stress, malnutrition or not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food, medical neglect, being limited to space, not seeing the sun and all of the other things have [a] significant effect on health,” he elaborated.

Dr. Pessach, who also treated some of the hostages released in the previous deal back in November, mentioned that the psychological damage in these four individuals is more severe due to the prolonged duration of their captivity.

“As time passes, hope of being released kind of decreases and you start wondering if this would ever end… losing that faith, I think, is where you get to the breaking point.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

The Regents exams are set to become optional.

On Monday, the New York state Education Department unveiled a plan to gradually eliminate the Regents exams as a high school diploma requirement.

This proposal emerges as thousands of students gear up for their June exams, which are still mandatory. No changes will take effect until the Board of Regents votes on the matter, which is still several months away. Therefore, the Regents exams will continue to be a requirement for at least one more academic year, according to school officials.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to receive the formal proposal in November. This proposal will outline the anticipated timeline, financial impacts, and the extensive regulations that need to be revised.

Once the changes are implemented, students will need to demonstrate their proficiency in various 21st-century skills. This could still be achieved through exams, as the Regents tests will remain available. Students will also need to pass the required high school courses. However, they could alternatively complete projects, deliver presentations, gain real-world experience through internships, or participate in performing groups to showcase their skills without taking a test.

How schools will structure these alternatives and whether some districts will still want to mandate Regents exams or final exams at the end of courses remains uncertain at this early stage.

The new skills students will need to demonstrate include critical thinking, innovative problem-solving, literacy across different content areas, and effective communication.

The aim is to provide students with the option to choose the best way to demonstrate their proficiency while minimizing the perception that some paths are easier than others, explained State Education Department Deputy Commissioner Angelique Johnson-Dingle.

This summer, state education officials will engage with school districts to determine what support they might need to implement the “expanded choice” graduation requirements. Potential challenges include the need for increased transportation for rural schools and additional staff to supervise students in real-world experiences.

“There is still a lot for us to figure out,” Johnson-Dingle stated.

Board of Regents members expressed their enthusiasm for the proposed changes.

“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Vice Chancellor Judith Chin. “As an educator over 30-some years, we’ve never had this conversation, and it’s about time we did.”

Regent Frances Wills emphasized that multiple-choice exams are not the best measure of mastering a subject.

“This is something we’ll have to get over, this ingrained mindset,” she said, recalling her own experience with the Regents exam in physics in 1959.

“I did well on the physics exam, but if someone had given me an activity — some experiment to do — or if I had to talk about physics, I could not do that,” she explained.

The Board of Regents had been hinting at this exam change for over a year but waited for recommendations from a committee comprising teachers, school leaders, students, and members of educational nonprofit organizations.

The committee’s formation began before the pandemic, but their meetings didn’t start until last year. They worked with urgency to complete their tasks sooner than expected. In November, they proposed a series of recommendations to overhaul high school graduation requirements.

The primary recommendation was to eliminate the Regents exams as mandatory graduation tests.

The exams, which have been around since 1878, were traditionally seen as beneficial for college-bound students. In the late 1990s, the Board of Regents made five exams mandatory for a high school diploma.

The committee also suggested changes to high school education, including more flexibility in math courses and a focus on high-demand skills rather than rote memorization.

They advocated for students to synthesize facts more thoroughly, particularly through projects, and for high schools to incorporate more real-world experiences such as internships and public speaking.

All of the committee’s recommendations will be implemented, state officials confirmed.

To illustrate the alternatives, state education officials provided examples of how students might meet the new effective communication requirement:
One student could earn the state Seal of Biliteracy, pass an English composition class, and complete a capstone project that integrates all course topics. Another student might pass a Career and Technical Education program in digital media communication, pass the English Regents exam, and work at the student newspaper.

Other options include completing projects, such as designing and building something in geometry class or writing a program for a computer science class. In the arts, a student might demonstrate proficiency through participation in a performance group. Certificates from vocational programs, real-world jobs, and internships would also be valid options.

Schools may also accept Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam results as alternatives.

{Matzav.com}

As the U.S. dairy industry confronts a bird flu outbreak, with cases reported at dozens of farms and the disease spreading to people, the egg industry could serve as an example of how to slow the disease but also shows how difficult it can be to eradicate the virus. There have been earlier bird flu outbreaks in the U.S., but the current one started in February 2022 and has forced the slaughter of nearly 100 million chickens and turkeys. Hot spots still occur, but their frequency has dropped in part because of biosecurity efforts at farms and a coordinated approach between companies and agricultural officials, experts say. Dairy farmers could try to implement similar safeguards, but the vast differences between the animals and the industries limit what lessons can be learned and applied. How can a 1,500-pound cow and a 5-pound chicken have the same illness? It’s commonly called bird flu because the disease is largely spread by wild birds that can survive infections. Many mammals have caught the illness too, including sea lions and skunks. Animals can be infected by eating an infected bird or by being exposed to environments where the virus is present. That said, there are big differences in how cows and chickens have fared after getting infected. Bird flu is typically fatal to chickens and turkeys within days of an infection, leading to immediate mass killings of birds. That’s not true for cows. Dairies in several states have reported having to kill infected animals because symptoms continued to linger and their milk production didn’t recover, but that’s not the norm, said Russ Daly, an extension veterinarian at South Dakota State University. He said it appears that bird flu isn’t usually fatal to cows but that an infected animal can be more vulnerable to other ailments typically founds in dairies, such as bacterial pneumonia and udder infections. What has the egg industry done to protect chickens? Egg operators have become clean freaks. To prevent disease from spreading, egg producers require workers to shower and change into clean clothes before they enter a barn and shower again when they leave. They also frequently wash trucks and spray tires with solutions to kill off virus remnants. Many egg operations even use lasers and install special fencing to discourage wild birds from stopping by for a visit. “Gone is the day of the scarecrow,” said Emily Metz, president of the American Egg Board. Without these efforts, the current outbreak would be much worse, said Jada Thompson, a University of Arkansas agriculture business professor. Still, maintaining such vigilance is difficult, even if the cost of allowing disease into an operation is so high, she said. Chickens raised for meat, known as broilers, also have been infected with bird flu but such cases are less common. In part, that’s because broiler chickens are killed when they’re only 6 to 8 weeks old, so they have less time to get infected. Can the same be done to protect cows and dairy workers? Yes and no. Dairies can certainly reduce the spread of disease by limiting access to barns, so people and equipment don’t bring in the virus from elsewhere. Workers could also wear eye protection, aprons and gloves to try to protect themselves, but there’s no way around it: Big animals are […]