President Donald Trump pressed the Baseball Hall of Fame selection committee to reverse years of rejection and finally induct pitcher Roger Clemens, issuing an extended appeal on Truth Social that celebrated Clemens’s legacy while sharply criticizing the forces he believes kept the star out of Cooperstown.
In his message, Trump urged the voters to act decisively as they meet to consider new inductees. “The Baseball Hall of Fame Committee is voting on admitting new Members TOMORROW, and these highly respected owners, executives, writers, and, most importantly, Hall of Famers, should do the right thing by finally putting Roger Clemens, known as ‘The Rocket,’ in the Hall!” he wrote, calling on the panel to correct what he views as years of unfair treatment.
Trump went on to highlight Clemens’s extraordinary career, laying out the statistical record he believes leaves no doubt about the pitcher’s place in baseball history: “Roger is clearly one of the Greatest Pitchers of All Time, with amazing achievements that include winning 354 Games, seven Cy Young Awards (A Record, by a lot!), and playing in six World Series, winning two. ‘The Rocket’ is second only to another All Time GREAT, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, in most strike-outs,” he wrote.
He then turned his ire toward the Justice Department under President Barack Obama, claiming its failed attempt to prosecute Clemens on perjury allegations over suspected steroid use derailed his Hall of Fame chances. Clemens, who consistently denied wrongdoing, was acquitted of all charges in 2012.
The message continued with Trump insisting that the lack of induction is indefensible. “Roger Clemens is the only pitcher who has won 300 games to not have the honor of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is a total travesty! The only reason he is not is because of rumors and innuendo, which were not proven. He never tested positive and, when the Obama DOJ went after him in a criminal case claiming that he did take steroids, Roger, who has always denied taking any drugs, was FULLY ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES. ‘The Rocket,’ a nickname he earned very early in his career because of his blazing fastball, was just as dominant before those erroneous allegations were leveled against him. I sincerely hope that the Committee uses its great judgment (Roger’s opponents never proved a thing against him, and he may have the best pitching record, all told, in the History of Baseball!), and the Baseball Commissioner has the Strength, Wisdom, and Power to do the right thing, and put Roger Clemens in The Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT”
Trump has long been vocal about Clemens’s omission from Cooperstown and has previously encouraged the legendary pitcher to pursue legal action against Major League Baseball over the continued snub.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping reassessment of the nation’s childhood vaccination timetable, instructing the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether other advanced countries have developed stronger, more effective models. The move could lead to a significant reshaping of how and when American children receive vaccines.
Trump issued the directive in a memorandum addressed to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and acting CDC Director Jim O’Neil, tasking both officials with conducting a comprehensive international comparison. The document opens by pointing out that major industrial nations, such as Japan, Denmark, and Germany, recommend far fewer vaccines during childhood than the U.S. does. As of January, American children were advised to receive immunizations for 18 different diseases, including coronavirus, before reaching adulthood.
According to the memo, the current U.S. approach is not simply more extensive—it stands sharply apart from its peers. Germany urges 15 vaccines, Japan recommends 14, and Denmark suggests only 10 — a stark contrast with the American roster. “Other current United States childhood vaccine recommendations also depart from policies in the majority of developed countries. Study is warranted to ensure that Americans are receiving the best, scientifically-supported medical advice in the world,” the memorandum states.
The president’s order directs that the U.S. schedule be adjusted if evidence shows that other nations’ frameworks offer better outcomes. The memo lays out the precise instruction: “I hereby direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review best practices from peer, developed countries for core childhood vaccination recommendations — vaccines recommended for all children — and the scientific evidence that informs those best practices, and, if they determine that those best practices are superior to current domestic recommendations, update the United States core childhood vaccine schedule to align with such scientific evidence and best practices from peer, developed countries while preserving access to vaccines currently available to Americans.”
The policy review comes as Trump publicly welcomed a separate decision by a federal advisory panel that voted to eliminate the longstanding recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine. He praised the shift in a Truth Social statement, asserting that most infants face no exposure risk. “Today, the CDC Vaccine Committee made a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles,” Trump wrote.
He followed by criticizing the existing schedule as excessively burdensome for families. “The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 ‘jabs,’ for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary,” he added.
{Matzav.com}
Shas issued an unusually blistering public offensive this weekend against religious activists leading a growing campaign against the newly proposed draft law and the arrangement of yeshiva students’ status.
In a sharply worded editorial published in the party’s official newspaper, Shas denounced religious opponents of the bill, charging that their rhetoric surpasses anything heard from hostile sectors. The article claimed that “at the forefront of these jarring voices stand men wearing kippot, but the messages emerging from their mouths are far more repulsive and sickening than anything said by adversaries from other groups.”
The piece went further, accusing certain religious activists—women among them—of spearheading unprecedented public attacks “in the name of Torah” against those who devote their lives to Torah study. “The poisonous and horrific statements we are hearing in the general media, led by women with head coverings who speak in the name of Torah against those who toil in Torah, are unprecedented in their brazenness. They show no concern for the severe spiritual pitfalls that may await their husbands and sons who observe Torah and mitzvos in military service.”
The editorial escalated dramatically, declaring that these activists stand “arrogantly and brazenly as the modern-day heirs of Dasan and Aviram. They are not willing to tolerate even a single Torah learner.”
Shas continued its criticism by invoking a sharp line associated with Rabi Akiva prior to his spiritual transformation: “It is the same intense hatred that characterized Akiva before he became Rabi Akiva: ‘Give me a Torah scholar and I will bite him like a donkey.’ They now preside over a bonfire of incitement, pouring oil and gasoline over a spreading blaze of hatred.”
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a fierce response, condemning the remarks and warning of their consequences. “To all who disgrace the sons of the religious-Zionist community from Shas and to all who support them in silence: you will not receive forgiveness, not in this world and not in the next, until you walk among the hundreds of graves of the holy fallen soldiers of the religious-Zionist community, who united sefer and sword in their lives and in their deaths. You should go to each one and apologize for disrespecting them and their wives, whom you mock as ‘women who do not understand the spiritual dangers to their husbands.’”
Bennett added that invoking Rabi Akiva was deeply misguided. “By the way, the quote about Rabi Akiva—Rabi Akiva, even as a great rabbi, carried the weapons of Bar Kochba in the war against the Romans. I have no doubt he would be ashamed of you for speaking this way.”
Former minister Yoaz Hendel also condemned Shas’s rhetoric, saying, “A government that relies on such a party will never be able to fix anything here. This is a party that denies the fundamentals.”
Former minister Matan Kahana joined the criticism as well: “Aryeh Deri calling the religious-Zionist community the heirs of Dasan and Aviram? Shame is gone. We need a coalition of public servants.”
{Matzav.com}
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan cautioned that abandoning the US-supported ceasefire blueprint for Gaza would amount to a “huge failure” for both Washington and the broader international arena. He emphasized that President Donald Trump has been personally steering the diplomatic track.
In an interview with Reuters during the Doha Forum, Fidan asserted that Hamas had already signaled willingness to relinquish governing authority in Gaza. But he made clear that such a transition hinges on the creation of a functioning Palestinian Arab administrative body and a professional, non-Hamas internal security force. “First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza – again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas,” he said.
Turkey, which played a central part in shaping the ceasefire arrangement and signed the agreement finalized in Egypt, has pledged to oversee its enforcement. Ankara has also expressed interest in taking part in the planned stabilization contingent intended to support Gaza’s security infrastructure.
Israel, however, has drawn a hard line against any Turkish role in Gaza’s next chapter. Jerusalem’s refusal stems from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s escalating barrage of public attacks on Israel since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, making Turkish participation politically and strategically unacceptable to Israeli leadership.
Fidan noted in his latest remarks that the envisioned Gaza police apparatus would operate with backup from the international stabilization force. He also disclosed that the US has been urging Israel to consider Ankara’s request to join the mission and highlighted that Turkey stands prepared to send troops should that be part of the final framework.
{Matzav.com}
Egypt’s top diplomat, Badr Abdelatty, called for the immediate dispatch of an international team to oversee the ceasefire arrangements outlined in the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza initiative. He argued that only outside monitors can stabilize the situation on the ground.
Abdelatty charged that Israel has repeatedly breached the terms of the truce that began in October. “As for the International Stabilization Force, we need to deploy this force as soon as possible on the ground because one party, which is Israel, is every day violating the ceasefire… so we need monitors,” he said, according to AFP.
He also stressed that Egypt will not permit any use of the Rafah border crossing that could facilitate population transfers out of Gaza. In his words, the crossing “is not going to be a gateway for displacement. It’s only for flooding Gaza with humanitarian and medical care.”
Despite Abdelatty’s accusations, Hamas itself has failed to uphold key components of the agreement. The terror group did not return all hostages within the required 72-hour period and has repeatedly breached the “yellow line,” the designated humanitarian corridor used to deliver aid into southern Gaza. Hamas gunmen have also opened fire on IDF forces stationed in the area.
In recent days, reports circulated claiming that Egypt would reopen Rafah exclusively to allow Gaza residents to exit into Egyptian territory. Cairo swiftly rejected those claims, insisting it would only authorize the crossing to operate if travel is permitted “in both directions.”
{Matzav.com}
Israeli health authorities revealed overnight that influenza has taken hold far sooner than expected this year, both in Israel and in other parts of the world. The pace of infection is rising sharply, and officials describe the surge as highly irregular for this stage of the season.
International surveillance data points to a tough winter ahead, with projections showing an especially intense flu season and a higher-than-normal rate of illness. These trends have prompted urgent discussions among health experts.
Because of the troubling spike, the Epidemic Response Team is scheduled to meet on Sunday. Their objective will be to analyze the most recent findings and craft practical guidance aimed at slowing the spread before cases climb even further.
Health officials stressed once again that the influenza shot is not an ironclad barrier against catching the virus. Nonetheless, they made clear that it “significantly reduces the severity of illness in most cases and greatly lowers the risk of serious complications and death,” underscoring its critical role in minimizing medical dangers.
The Ministry of Health reiterated its call for widespread vaccination, noting that the flu shot is safe and strongly recommended for everyone six months of age and older. It is offered at no cost through every health fund, making it easily accessible across the country.
The announcement wrapped up with a succinct reminder: “The vaccine is available – protection begins with vaccination.”
{Matzav.com}
