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Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar being Menachem Avel the legendary Gerrer Askan Moti Bobchik.

A newly filed bill in Congress is proposing a different solution to the long-running daylight saving time debate, calling for clocks to move ahead by 30 minutes permanently rather than by a full hour.

The Daylight Act of 2026, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), would shift clocks forward by half an hour from their current setting and eliminate the twice-a-year time changes altogether.

Sleep specialists caution that even a 30-minute adjustment could carry health consequences, though they acknowledge it would be less disruptive than a full-hour change. Experts say that any permanent move forward may still negatively affect long-term well-being.

“Medically, a half hour delay would be less harmful than a full hour delay of permanent daylight saving time and would have the benefit of ending the biannual change,” Dr. Karin Johnson, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, told Nexstar via email.

Still, Johnson noted that such a change would reduce exposure to morning sunlight, which researchers generally consider beneficial. She also warned that a half-hour system could complicate daily scheduling. Permanent standard time would prevent “the confusion of trying to sync schedules that are offset by a half hour,” she said.

Jay Pea, president of the nonprofit Save Standard Time, agreed, emphasizing that “the design of Standard Time (when aligned properly to longitude) is to minimize misalignment between clocks and the sun to within 30 minutes or fewer.”

Pea also raised concerns about logistical challenges, pointing to the “unintended complications for technology, transportation, and business.”

Those complications would be particularly significant for international coordination. Time zones function on a global scale, not just within the United States. For instance, when it is 3 p.m. in New York City, it is also 3 p.m. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Lima, Peru.

Although regions may use different names for their time zones — Eastern Time in New York and Quebec, Peru Time in Lima — they are structured according to their offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the worldwide 24-hour clock system often referred to as Zulu time, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Eastern Time and Peru Time operate at -5 UTC, meaning they are five hours behind Greenwich, near London, where the modern time zone system was established in the 19th century.

Most time zones differ by whole hours — Central Time is one hour behind Eastern Time, for example — though there are exceptions. Afghanistan follows Afghanistan Time, which is +4.5 UTC. When it is 3 p.m. in New York, it is 12:30 a.m. in Kabul. Iran uses a time zone one hour behind Afghanistan, making it 11:30 p.m. there when it is 3 p.m. in New York.

“I appreciate the congressman’s willingness to explore alternatives to [permanent daylight saving time]. However, [permanent standard time] remains both the simplest solution and the true compromise between ‘fast’ and ‘slow time,’ as supported by health science, historical precedence, and first principles,” Pea said, in part, in a statement to Nexstar.

Other Florida lawmakers are pushing a different approach through the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. If enacted, clocks would move forward in March and remain unchanged throughout the year.

Steube has previously voiced support for permanent daylight saving time. Last year, he wrote on X that “it’s time to end this pointless ritual.” In November, he submitted a discharge petition seeking to bring the House version of the Sunshine Protection Act to the floor for a vote.

The Senate attempted to expedite its own version of the Sunshine Protection Act last October, but the effort ultimately stalled.

Steube’s office did not respond to Nexstar’s inquiry for comment prior to publication.

As of Tuesday, the Daylight Act of 2026 remains under review in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

A separate measure also titled the Daylight Act, introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), has likewise been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. That proposal would give individual states the authority to observe daylight saving time year-round.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in multiple states are weighing their own proposals related to daylight saving time during the current legislative session.

SEE THIS! The Kretchnif Kfar Ata Rebbe at Sudas Rosh Chodesh giving “Shyrayim” of streaming hot kugal with his hands. This is his first visit to the United States since becoming Rebbe.

James Blair on the Democrat shutdown: “This is really just the Democrats grandstanding, and really what they’re saying is, ‘We are not going to enforce federal immigration law in this country’.”

This morning, NYPD Harbor Unit officers spotted an injured bald eagle stranded on the Hudson River ice and quickly rescued it.

A wildfire broke out this afternoon in Beaver County, Oklahoma, sending thick gray smoke billowing into the sky. Authorities have named it the Ranger Road Fire and say its size has not yet been determined.

Peru’s Congress voted 75–24 to remove interim President José Jerí after only four months in office, stripping him of his roles as both head of state and President of Congress. The censure is linked to the “Chifagate” scandal, involving undisclosed meetings with Chinese businessmen, including an executive connected to active government contracts.

Pete Hegseth has ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove Col. Dave Butler from his position as chief of Army public affairs and chief advisor to Driscoll.

PHOTO: On Tuesday afternoon, community leaders gathered to celebrate the well-deserved promotions of Assistant Chief Charles Minch, Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South; Assistant Chief Mark Vazquez, Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North; Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh, Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Queens South; and Deputy Chief Aaron Klein, Commanding Officer of Detective […]

The Vaad Hakashrus Kehillos Chareidim of Lakewood & Central Jersey (KCL) has issued a public kashrus alert regarding the use of Instacart for grocery shopping at kosher supermarkets. In a notice released to the community, the KCL expressed concern over the growing use of Instacart’s third-party shoppers to fulfill orders placed at kosher establishments. The […]

Mike Waltz on President Trump’s leadership on Iran and the value of negotiating from a position of strength.

PETER DOOCY: I just got a text from a senior White House official confirming a story that just crossed Axios — Susan Wiles, the White House chief of staff, James Blair, one of her top lieutenants, and a bunch of chiefs of staff as well as some cabinet level secretaries, are meeting right now near […]

A speeding pickup truck hit a dirt mound, went airborne, and crashed into a home in Tigard, Oregon, early Friday morning. Doorbell camera footage captured the moment the vehicle flew through the air before slamming into the house.

The trial of Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, a college professor accused of killing a 69-year-old Jewish man during dueling Israel-related protests in Southern California, is set to begin Feb. 18, placing renewed focus on the volatile political climate that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Alnaji, 52, has pleaded not guilty to multiple […]

Dear Fellow Rabbanim and Askanim, I write to you with a heavy heart, on behalf of Yidden around the world. As I speak to my tzibur about growth, about drawing closer to Hashem, and about resisting the overwhelming gashmiyus that surrounds us, I feel that I can no longer remain silent. The extravagance at our […]

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday rolled out a proposed $127 billion budget, warning state leaders that if they refuse to approve higher taxes on wealthy residents, he will move forward with a significant increase in city property taxes.

The self-described democratic socialist characterized the spending plan as a fallback option to close projected gaps if Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to support raising taxes on high earners. His blueprint would also tap into the city’s $10 billion reserve fund.

“I do not want to raise property taxes,” Mamdani said of his preliminary budget plan, which would hike property taxes 9.5% to raise an additional $3.7 billion in the next fiscal year.

“When faced with this crisis, the question is who should pay these taxes? I believe that it should be the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations. I believe that they can afford to pay a little bit more,” Mamdani said.

The announcement begins what is expected to be months of budget talks with key city officials, including City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who quickly rejected the idea of higher property taxes.

“At a time when New Yorkers are already grappling with an affordability crisis, dipping into rainy day reserves and proposing significant property tax increases should not be on the table whatsoever,” Menin wrote in a statement.

Hochul, who is up for reelection this year and whose approval would be needed for changes to state income tax rates, likewise indicated she does not back a property tax increase, though the mayor would not require Albany’s consent to enact one.

“I’m not supportive of a property tax increase, I don’t know that that’s necessary,” Hochul told reporters Tuesday during an unrelated event.

Additional officials at City Hall also criticized the proposal.

“This is insanity,” one insider told The Post. “Property taxes haven’t been raised since 9/11.”

The same source warned that drawing heavily from city reserves could damage New York’s bond rating, calling the move a “major red flag” that might weaken the city’s ability to borrow.

If adopted, Mamdani’s plan would increase overall spending by roughly $11 billion compared to the current fiscal year, allocating new money for expanded legal services, homeless assistance programs and other initiatives.

The proposal follows Hochul’s announcement a day earlier that the state would provide an additional $1.5 billion in aid to the city, amid Mamdani’s repeated appeals to raise income taxes on affluent New Yorkers.

The mayor is seeking a 2% income tax increase targeting approximately 33,000 residents earning more than $1 million annually.

In recent weeks, Mamdani has repeatedly highlighted what he describes as looming fiscal trouble, using those warnings to press Albany to embrace his push to increase taxes on top earners.

Just three weeks ago, he estimated the city’s deficit at $12 billion. That figure shifted after updated revenue projections showed tax collections — largely fueled by Wall Street bonuses — coming in 24% higher than the previous year.

Last week, Mamdani said his budget team had reduced the shortfall to $7 billion. Then, in a post on X Tuesday morning, he announced the projected gap had fallen further to $5.4 billion.

{Matzav.com}

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A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement may not take Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into custody, finding that the legally permitted 90-day detention window has lapsed and that the government lacks a realistic path to deport him.

Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, has drawn national attention in the ongoing immigration debate after he was erroneously deported to his native country last year. Following his return to the United States, he has been contesting renewed efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to remove him, this time to several African nations.

In her order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland sharply criticized the government’s handling of the case. The government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” she wrote. “From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

Abrego Garcia, who is married to an American citizen and has a child, has lived in Maryland for many years. He entered the United States unlawfully as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge determined that he could not be returned to El Salvador due to credible threats from a gang that had targeted his family. Despite that ruling, he was mistakenly deported there last year.

Amid mounting public scrutiny and under court direction, President Donald Trump’s administration arranged for his return in June. His reentry, however, followed a federal indictment in Tennessee accusing him of human smuggling. Abrego Garcia has entered a plea of not guilty. At the same time, administration officials have maintained that he will not be allowed to remain in the United States, stating in court filings that they have sought to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, or Liberia.

A total of 85 countries have endorsed a Palestinian-initiated declaration criticizing recent decisions by Israel’s security cabinet designed to strengthen Israeli control in the West Bank.

The declaration, coordinated by the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations, states: “We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel’s unlawful presence in the West Bank.”

It continues, “Such decisions are contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed. We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation,” the countries add.

The Israeli security cabinet’s approved steps include policies intended to simplify the process for Israeli settlers to acquire land in the West Bank, alongside measures allowing for the expropriation of property from Palestinians who assert legal ownership.

Support for the statement comes from a broad coalition of nations across multiple regions, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.