Health officials are warning of a potentially punishing flu season as a new strain of influenza circulates widely, prompting concern among doctors and researchers as winter illnesses accelerate nationwide.
The strain drawing attention has been dubbed the “super flu,” a variant of influenza A H3N2 known as subclade K. Previous H3N2 outbreaks have been associated with more intense illness and longer recovery periods compared to other flu strains.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the variant first surged in the United Kingdom before spreading across Europe and Australia, eventually reaching the United States.
“The United Kingdom got hit pretty hard by this,” said Neil Maniar of Northeastern University. “I think that’s a pretty good harbinger of what we are likely to see here. This is going to be a very difficult flu season.”
People infected with the K subclade have reported classic flu symptoms such as high fever, severe body aches, extreme fatigue, persistent cough, sore throat, and intense headaches. Doctors say many patients are also experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, gastrointestinal distress, and lingering weakness well beyond the acute phase of illness.
As case numbers continue to climb, physicians stress the importance of early treatment, particularly for patients at risk of severe disease. Antiviral medications remain a central tool in managing serious infections.
The CDC currently recommends four antiviral drugs: Tamiflu, Xofluza, Relenza, and Rapivab. Xofluza is prescribed as an oral treatment for uncomplicated flu in patients aged 5 and older. Relenza is approved for individuals 7 and older, while Rapivab can be administered to patients as young as 6 months.
“Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, get sufficient rest and take Tylenol or Advil to manage fever, headaches and muscle aches at home,” said Dr. Mark Mulligan of NYU Langone Health’s Vaccine Center.
Public health experts say warnings about the flu have been circulating since early fall, but the emergence of the super flu strain combined with lagging vaccination rates has intensified concern.
“This can be a very serious illness. We need to take it seriously, and we need to take measures to protect ourselves,” Maniar said. “As we go deeper into the flu season, this is likely to be a tough one.”
Infectious disease specialists fear that relatively low vaccine uptake could result in one of the most severe flu seasons in recent memory, though they emphasize there is still time to reduce the impact.
“It is certainly not too late, especially as we’re thinking about holiday gatherings and travel,” said Dr. Andrew Pekosz. “Now would be a great time for individuals to go out and get that last influenza vaccine or that COVID vaccine to provide one layer of protection for this holiday season.”
Some experts have noted concerns that this year’s flu vaccine may not be a perfect match for the K subtype. Pekosz said it nonetheless remains effective.
“There are three different influenza strains that cause influenza. The vaccine covers all three. And with two of them, it looks like there’s a pretty good match right now … and we think it’ll provide at least partial protection against this clade K H2N2 virus.”
The CDC continues to recommend annual flu vaccination for everyone aged 6 months and older.
While the latest nationwide flu data has been delayed due to the Christmas holiday, figures through mid-December already showed a sharp rise in positive cases. Virus activity has reached “very high” levels in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Louisiana, and Colorado. Manhattan alone recorded a 104% jump in infections earlier this month.
“We see the sudden spike in New York because of their more dense population,” said Dr. Ulysses Wu of Hartford Hospital. “They’re a center for international as well as domestic travel.”
Significant flu activity has also been reported in Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, and South Carolina, adding to fears of a widespread and difficult season ahead.
{Matzav.com}
Fresh online chatter about President Donald Trump’s health surfaced after viewers scrutinized video from his high-stakes talks on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, focusing on what some described as an unusual mark on his left hand.
Comments circulated quickly on X, where several users zeroed in on the appearance of Trump’s hand during the meeting. One user, Aaron Rupar, wrote: “There appears to be a hole in Trump’s left hand.” Another, Derek Guy, posted: “Seems to be a small hole at the site of discolouration.” A third commenter, Adam Parkhomenko, added: “Can’t use the right hand anymore. Docs had to switch hands.”
Parkhomenko’s remark referenced earlier explanations offered by the White House regarding bruising that had appeared on Trump’s right hand in recent months.
At the time, the White House said the discoloration was the result of frequent handshaking. Officials have not addressed any claims or speculation related to Trump’s left hand.
Questions about Trump’s health have periodically drawn attention, echoing the intense scrutiny faced by Joe Biden during his term in office.
Just last month, the White House confirmed that Trump underwent an MRI scan focused on his abdomen, saying the results were “perfectly normal.”
Trump has also stated publicly that he has taken multiple cognitive assessments and that he “aced” them each time.
{Matzav.com}
The future of Israel’s proposed draft law is increasingly uncertain after a scheduled discussion was abruptly canceled and senior chareidi figures acknowledged that the chances of advancing the legislation during the current Knesset term have dropped sharply.
The debate, which had been set for Tuesday in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was called off at the request of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Publicly, the cancellation was attributed to other pressing committee matters, but behind the scenes, chareidi factions say they are coming to terms with the likelihood that the bill may not survive.
Initially, after the presentation of the draft law by committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth, chareidi party leaders were told that the committee’s legal adviser, attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor, supported most of the bill’s core provisions. They were led to believe that if the law passed, the Knesset’s legal department would defend it against High Court petitions.
As time passed, however, senior chareidi officials realized that Frenkel-Shor in fact opposed many of the substantive elements of the new draft law. Several party leaders said they were surprised by the scope of her objections. Aside from one senior Shas figure, others had expected that she would seek adjustments but ultimately back the revised proposal.
With the committee legal adviser’s position now clear, chareidi factions are pinning their hopes on the Knesset’s chief legal adviser, attorney Sagit Afik, to support the law and defend it before the High Court, despite the stance taken at the committee level.
A senior chareidi lawmaker involved in the issue said that without such backing, the legislation is a nonstarter. “If the Knesset’s legal counsel does not commit to defending the law at the High Court, there is no reason for us to pass it,” he said. “That is the directive of the gedolim. The damage outweighs the benefit of passing a law that does not meet the High Court’s initial test and would immediately face an interim injunction. A central condition for advancing the law is legal support from the Knesset’s legal counsel.”
The same official explained that opposition from the Attorney General’s Office had been expected from the outset. “The government’s legal advisers are against us — that was clear from day one. Our hope was that the Knesset’s legal counsel would defend the law, so that even if it were ultimately struck down, there would be no interim order against it and it would take a year or two before being invalidated. But if Sagit Afik also does not support the law, there is a very high chance that an interim injunction will be issued.”
Legal sources in the Knesset, however, say the prospects of Afik breaking with the committee’s legal opinion are slim. One legal official noted that Frenkel-Shor also serves as deputy to the Knesset legal adviser and has been closely involved in draft legislation for more than a decade. “It is hard to see Sagit Afik turning her back on her and going against the legal position of the adviser who has accompanied every clause of this law,” the source said.
{Matzav.com}
Yehuda Leib Lazarov, a Chabad-affiliated yeshiva student from Texas who was critically wounded in the terror attack in Sydney while assisting with a Chanukah event, underwent his seventh surgery overnight, his family said.
The update was delivered by his father, Rabbi Yosef Lazarov, a Chabad shaliach in Texas, who reported that the operation—performed under full anesthesia, as were the previous procedures—ended with what family members described as the “best possible outcome” under the circumstances.
Before being taken into surgery, Yehuda Leib asked to put on tefillin.
Earlier this week, Yehuda Leib received his personal tefillin back after they were examined by a certified sofer stam. He had been concerned that shrapnel from the attack may have damaged them. The inspection determined that the tefillin were fully kosher.
Yehuda Leib was injured while helping Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries organize a Chanukah event in Sydney. During the attack, he acted with notable presence of mind and courage, saving the life of a police officer who had been shot. According to accounts from those familiar with the incident, Yehuda Leib removed his shirt and used it to apply a tourniquet, stopping the bleeding and preventing the officer from bleeding to death.
Rabbi Lazarov previously described the dramatic moments during the attack, recounting that the wounded officer was incapacitated as the terrorist advanced toward them. “The officer was neutralized, and as the terrorist moved closer, Leib begged the officer to give him his gun, telling him that he was from Texas, licensed to carry a firearm and knew exactly how to use it—and if not, ‘we’re both going to die.’”
He continued, “As his father, I can testify to Leib’s extraordinary abilities. Despite that, Rabbi Eli was shot and killed, and shortly afterward Leib himself was shot twice—in the stomach and the leg—by shotgun and rifle fire, and now he is fighting for his life.”
Rabbi Lazarov added that he hopes Australia will one day recognize his son as a national hero. “Leib faces a long medical road with many surgeries ahead,” he said, noting that just a month earlier, Lazarov had played the piano and sung movingly at a memorial ceremony for other victims of terror.
According to his father, Yehuda Leib has reflected humbly on the events, saying that despite his efforts and nearly bleeding to death, “I wish I could have done more. I tried, but I was shot.”
All are asked to continue davening for the recovery of Yehuda Leib ben Mania.
{Matzav.com}
Federal authorities have already secured convictions in a sweeping fraud investigation centered in Minnesota, with additional cases expected, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday.
In a message posted on X, Bondi said investigators have been building the case for months and credited outside reporting for highlighting the scope of the alleged misconduct. “@NickShirleyyy’s work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” she wrote. “@TheJusticeDept has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court.”
Bondi signaled that the prosecutions are far from over, adding, “We have more prosecutions coming…BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Her remarks followed the release of videos by citizen journalist Nick Shirley documenting visits to several Minnesota daycare facilities that were reportedly receiving millions of dollars in federal funding despite appearing to have no children on site.
According to Breitbart News, one such location Shirley filmed in South Minneapolis stood out for an error on its signage. Shirley visited the “Quality Learning Center,” noting that the word “learning” was misspelled as “learing.”
Video from the visit shows tension as Shirley approached the building. An unidentified woman could be heard shouting, “Don’t open up,” while incorrectly asserting that Shirley and his companion were agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At one point in the footage, Shirley remarked, “There’s no one here.”
Bondi’s post stated that 85 Somalian nationals are among those charged in connection with the alleged fraud schemes operating in the state under Gov. Tim Walz.
The investigation has also drawn attention from federal law enforcement leadership. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel previously said the bureau was already acting on the issue. He noted the FBI is “aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota,” and added that “even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
{Matzav.com}
An emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on Monday focused on Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland, a move that has drawn international criticism and prompted sharp exchanges at the UN.
Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, argued ahead of the meeting that the issue had been wrongly elevated. “This is not a question of international security but of double standards. When countries in the UN unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, the issue is accepted without discussion and without objection. When Israel exercises its sovereign powers and acts in accordance with international law, the Security Council convenes for an urgent session. This illustrates the one-sidedness and hypocrisy of some of the council members.”
Speaking during the session, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce forcefully backed Israel’s position. “Israel has the same right to conduct diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state,” she said, according to AFP.
Bruce contrasted the current reaction with earlier decisions by other countries, telling the Council, “Earlier this year, several countries, including members of this Council, made the unilateral decision to recognize a nonexistent Palestinian state. And yet, no emergency meeting was called to express this Council’s outrage.”
She went on to fault what she described as a misplaced focus by the body, stating, “This Council’s persistent double standards and misdirection of focus distract from its mission of maintaining international peace and security.”
Addressing Washington’s own policy, Bruce emphasized that the United States has not altered its stance on the matter. “On the matter of Somaliland, we have no announcement to make regarding US recognition of Somaliland. And there has been no change in American policy.”
The debate followed Israel’s announcement on Friday that it had formally recognized the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. That decision was condemned by the European Union and by a bloc of Arab and Islamic countries, along with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
{Matzav.com}
