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After several months of quiet, the IDF Military Police have resumed their controversial operations targeting yeshiva students who have not reported for military service. The renewed effort began overnight with an attempted arrest in the chareidi neighborhood of Neve Yaakov in northern Yerushalayim.

The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight between Sunday and Monday, saw Military Police investigators attempt to detain a yeshiva student at his home on Edmond Fleg Street. Within minutes, large crowds of local residents gathered in protest, leading to a major confrontation that forced the police to retreat from the area without completing the arrest.

Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as residents poured into the streets, chanting and blocking police vehicles. The Peleg Yerushalmi issued a statement claiming responsibility for the resistance. “The masses who arrived prevented the arrest, and the police withdrew,” the statement read. “Eyewitnesses reported that the Military Police used force in an attempt to break down the door.”

The dramatic standoff marks the first such attempt in months. Until now, the Military Police had largely confined their operations to airport arrests — detaining yeshiva students identified as draft evaders when attempting to leave or return to the country.

The renewed activity comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the draft issue and ongoing debates within the government over the future of the draft law. Community leaders in Neve Yaakov condemned the incident, warning that any attempt to arrest yeshiva students from their homes risks inflaming already fragile relations between the religious community and the state.

For now, the yeshiva student remains free, and police sources say the operation will be reviewed, though indications suggest that further arrest attempts could follow in the coming weeks as enforcement intensifies.

{Matzav.com}

Israel Police chief Danny Levy has ordered police officers to refrain from arresting Chareidi “draft dodgers,” despite the IDF and Justice Ministry’s request for assistance in enforcement, Haaretz reported on Monday. According to the new directive, from now on, if a Chareidi “draft dodger” is encountered by a police officer, he will receive a summons to appear at the military police, but he will not be arrested or immediately transferred to the military police. According to the report, the new directive was issued due to concerns about protests and a shortage of security manpower. In a discussion held last month at the Ministry of Justice, it became clear that the police had changed their approach and were unwilling to assist the military police in the arrest of Chareidim, partially due to concerns about clashes and disturbances that would require the police to allocate large forces to restore public order. The document distributed to police officers states that police officers are forbidden from carrying out joint operations with the military police to capture deserters, such as joint roadblocks. “The Israel Police does not carry out proactive activities on the subject,” it stated. The statement continues by saying, “Locating and arresting deserters may lead to public order events, including protests and clashes, both locally in the area of the arrest and more broadly in response. If it is discovered that a person detained incidentally is a deserter, the police officers should give him an invitation to visit the military police facility and release him on the spot, without arresting him or transferring him to the military police.” The statement added that the police officers should refrain from “provocations and expressing an opinion” towards those detained. i24 News reported weeks ago that the reason for the halt in the arrests of Chareidi “deserters” by the police was the IDF’s refusal to recruit five reserve Border Police (Magav) companies requested by the police. These reserve units were meant to assist police in dealing with public disturbances that tend to erupt following the arrests of bnei yeshivos. The police had demanded the reserve companies—which the IDF is responsible for recruiting and funding—so that other special riot-control units (Yasam) could be redirected to handle Chareidi protests that break out in response to such arrests. According to a police source, the IDF refused to call up the reserve units, and as a result, the police stopped arresting deserters, instead issuing them summonses to report to the military police. The judicial system has strongly criticized the change in the police approach. “They are leaving the military police to deal alone with thousands of deserters and draft dodgers,” a source told Haaretz. “It is illogical and impossible. The police simply do not want to get involved in this event and are afraid of protests instead of assisting in law enforcement.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Hagaon HaRav Malkiel Kotler who is on a short trip to Eretz Yisroel met on Monday with HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rosh Yeshivas Rashbi and Zakein Chevrei Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah.

President Trump says that there will be “NO” boots on the ground in Gaza.

POTUS: “We have peace in the Middle East for the first time ever. We made a deal with Hamas that… They’re gonna behave, they’re going to be nice, and if they’re not… we’re going to eradicate them if we have to. They’ll be eradicated — and they know that.”

TRUMP: “I think China’s been very respectful of us. They’re paying tremendous amounts of money to us in the form of tariffs. As you know, they’re paying 55% — that’s a lot of money… China’s paying 55% and a potential 155% come November 1st unless we make a deal.”

President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Albanese sign a $8.5B rare earth minerals agreement.

A newborn girl was found wrapped in a blanket on the stairs of 34th Street–Penn Station during Monday’s morning rush. She was alert and taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. The NYPD is reviewing footage, and no arrests have been made.

Israel’s governing coalition is reportedly considering a dramatic political move: lowering Israel’s electoral threshold, a step that could reshape the upcoming elections and determine the fate of several parties currently hovering near the cutoff.

According to a report by journalist Amit Segal on Channel 12 News, discussions are underway within the coalition to reduce the threshold from its current 3.25% (equivalent to four Knesset seats) amid growing concern over polls showing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party struggling to cross it. Such a scenario could lead to the loss of thousands of right-wing votes and potentially shift the balance of power in the next election.

The talks come as the political establishment begins to gear up for elections expected sometime within the coming year, though the exact date remains unclear due to ongoing coalition disputes and legislative uncertainty.

MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee — the body that would oversee any such legislative amendment — has reportedly been holding meetings with representatives from multiple factions to gauge support for the proposal. Among those he has met with is Hadash-Ta’al chairman MK Ayman Odeh, signaling an effort to secure a broad parliamentary majority for the change.

Sources within the coalition believe that lowering the threshold could garner significant support across party lines. However, one major opponent has already emerged: Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who is said to oppose the idea out of concern that it could pave the way for the return of a rival Sephardic party led by Eli Yishai, potentially siphoning off votes from Shas’s traditional base.

Segal reported that “Shas, which enjoys a monopoly over the Sephardic chareidi electorate, currently opposes the proposal, fearing the emergence of new parties that could threaten that dominance.”

In light of this opposition, coalition officials are reportedly holding quiet talks with Shas to win its backing. One idea under discussion is to establish a broad surplus-vote agreement among right-wing parties — a strategy aimed at reassuring Deri that lowering the threshold would not endanger Shas politically.

If approved, the change could have far-reaching implications not only for Smotrich but also for centrist factions such as Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, which has also seen fluctuating polling numbers in recent weeks. The move, supporters argue, would prevent wasted votes and ensure greater political representation — but critics warn it could open the door to a proliferation of small, unstable parties in the Knesset.

{Matzav.com}

China likes to condemn the United States for extending its arm too far outside of its borders to make demands on non-American companies. But when it sought to hit back at the U.S. interests this month, Beijing did exactly the same. In expanding export rules on rare earths, Beijing for the first time announced it will require foreign firms to obtain approval from the Chinese government to export magnets containing even tiny amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or produced with Chinese technology. That means a South Korean smartphone maker must ask for Beijing’s permission to sell the devices to Australia if the phones contain China-originated rare earth materials, said Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative. “This rule gives China control over basically the entire global economy in the technology supply chain,” he said. For anyone familiar with U.S. trade practice, China is simply borrowing a decades-long U.S. policy: the foreign direct product rule. It extends the reach of U.S. law to foreign-made products, and it has been used regularly to restrict China’s access to certain U.S. technologies made outside of the United States, even when they are in the hands of foreign companies. It is the latest example of Beijing turning to U.S. precedents for tools it needs to stare down Washington in what appears to be an extended trade war between the world’s two largest economies. “China is learning from the best,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. “Beijing is copying Washington’s playbook because it saw firsthand how effectively U.S. export controls could constrain its own economic development and political choices.” He added: “Game recognizes game.” The idea goes back to at least 2018 It was in 2018, when President Donald Trump launched a trade war with China, that Beijing felt the urgency to adopt a set of laws and policies that it could readily deploy when new trade conflicts arise. And it looked to Washington for ideas. Its Unreliable Entity List, established in 2020 by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, resembles the U.S. Commerce Department’s “entity list” that restricts certain foreign companies from doing businesses with the U.S. In 2021, Beijing adopted the anti-foreign sanction law, allowing agencies such as the Chinese Foreign Ministry to deny visas and freeze the assets of unwelcome individuals and businesses — similar to what the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Treasury can do. Calling it a toolkit against foreign sanctions, intervention and long-arm jurisdiction, the state-run news agency China News in a 2021 news report cited an ancient Chinese teaching, saying Beijing would be “hitting back with the enemy’s methods.” The law “has combed through relevant foreign legislation and taken into consideration the international law and the basic principles of international relations,” said the Chinese scholar Li Qingming as quoted in the news report. He also said it could deter the other side from escalating. Other formal measures Beijing has adopted in the past several years include expanded export controls and foreign investment review tools. Jeremy Daum, a senior research scholar in law and senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, said Beijing often draws from foreign models in developing its laws in non-trade, non foreign-related areas. As China seeks capabilities to retaliate in kind in trade and sanctions, the […]

The Knesset’s 25th assembly opened its winter session on Monday with an official ceremony in the plenum, but behind the formality lies a looming political showdown that could determine the government’s survival. The upcoming session is expected to be one of the most volatile and decisive in recent years, a season that will test whether Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s coalition can maintain stability or face another election.

At the center of the storm is the long-simmering debate over the draft law. Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Boaz Bismuth is preparing to unveil a new draft proposal, based on a framework developed after extensive talks with defense officials and representatives of the chareidi community. The bill aims to find a delicate balance between the manpower needs of the IDF and the preservation of the world of Torah — a formula that could ultimately decide the coalition’s fate.

Another critical challenge is the 2026 state budget. Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich has already instructed his ministry to begin drafting it immediately, aware that it will serve as a key political and economic survival test for the government. The budget must address Israel’s ongoing security challenges, rehabilitation efforts in the South, and economic growth — all while navigating internal coalition pressures.

Simultaneously, the government is seeking to advance several structural reforms. Chief among them is a proposed Basic Law on Appointments, initiated by Netanyahu, which aims to regulate senior appointments in the public sector and streamline governance. Justice Minister Yariv Levin and MK Simcha Rothman are also expected to reintroduce portions of the controversial judicial reform package, while attempting to avoid renewed coalition turmoil.

Adding to the tension, Otzma Yehudit is pressing for the advancement of a bill instituting the death penalty for terrorists. Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has warned that he has given Netanyahu a deadline to move the legislation forward, threatening to break up the coalition if it stalls. The specific deadline remains undisclosed.

Meanwhile, discussions are intensifying over the formation of a governmental commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre. The panel would examine the chain of failures that led to that day’s devastating events. Disputes are already brewing over the commission’s establishment, leadership, and powers — all of which could spark further political friction in the weeks ahead.

{Matzav.com}

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the architects of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, pushed back against accusations that Israel committed “genocide” in Gaza, defending the country’s military actions during a joint interview Sunday on 60 Minutes. Asked by correspondent Lesley Stahl whether they believed the war amounted to genocide, Kushner immediately replied, “No, no.” Witkoff followed: “Absolutely not. No. There was a war being fought.” Kushner, who visited Gaza after the ceasefire, described extensive destruction but placed blame squarely on Hamas. “It looked almost like a nuclear bomb had been set off in that area,” he said. “You see these people moving back … to the areas where their destroyed home was, onto their plot, and they’re going to pitch a tent. It’s very sad, because you think to yourself: they really have nowhere else to go.” The two men, who have led Trump’s diplomatic efforts in the region, appeared in Tel Aviv last week at a rally celebrating the pending release of 20 hostages. The crowd at Hostages Square chanted “Thank you, Trump!” as they touted the president’s role in brokering the deal. During his own visit to Israel earlier this month, Trump said Gaza’s reconstruction presented a “great opportunity,” adding that “even before the war, it was a hellhole.” Still, he emphasized that Gazans are “good people” and should be able to “remain there as it is rebuilt.” Kushner, echoing that message, told 60 Minutes his “biggest message” to Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to “help the Palestinian people thrive and do better,” arguing that doing so would help Israel “integrate with the broader Middle East.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Kamala Harris took aim at Joe Biden’s judgment this week, calling his 2021 decision to exclude Elon Musk from a high-profile White House electric vehicle summit a “big mistake.” Her remarks came as the 82-year-old ex-president continues treatment for prostate cancer.

Speaking Tuesday at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., Harris said the move — widely viewed as a gesture to organized labor — backfired politically and alienated one of America’s most influential innovators. “I write in the book that I thought it was a big mistake to not invite Elon Musk when we did a big EV event,” Harris told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell.

“I mean, here he is, the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space,” Harris said, referring to Musk’s role in transforming the global electric vehicle industry.

Harris has been on a media tour promoting her memoir 107 Days, in which she faults Biden for what she describes as “recklessness” in seeking re-election despite declining health.

In August 2021, Biden hosted executives from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis to celebrate a push for half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to be zero-emission — but Tesla, the nation’s leading EV maker, was conspicuously left off the guest list.

At the time, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the invitees as “the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers,” a pointed reminder that Tesla’s workforce is nonunion. When pressed about whether Tesla’s exclusion was deliberate, Psaki replied, “I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.”

Musk, who had sold more electric cars than all three automakers combined, expressed his irritation in real time, tweeting: “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.” A month later, he accused Biden’s team of being “not the friendliest” and “controlled by unions.”

The administration stood by its outreach to Detroit’s Big Three, calling them essential to Biden’s goal of creating union-backed green jobs. Musk, meanwhile, mocked the president online, especially after SpaceX’s historic civilian spaceflight went unacknowledged by the White House.

At the Fortune event, Harris argued that national leaders should rise above partisan allegiances when recognizing innovation. “So, I thought that was a mistake, and I don’t know Elon Musk, but I have to assume that that was something that hit him hard and had an impact on his perspective,” she said.

Her comments mirrored a section of her new book, where she writes that the episode alienated Musk and helped push him toward President Donald Trump’s orbit. Musk went on to contribute nearly $300 million to Republican-aligned political groups during the 2024 election cycle.

Harris also used the platform to question the administration’s early policy priorities. “When we made the decision as an administration to put the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act first, I actually think that was a mistake,” she said.

“Very important work, no question, but we did that before putting the immediate needs ahead of anything else.” She argued that the administration should have prioritized child care and paid family leave sooner, saying Americans felt neglected as inflation rose. “If we can’t meet the basic needs of the people, there will be this backlash, which is going to resonate and sound like it is about ‘blame the rich’,” she said. “It’s about, ‘we need help for our basic needs, and please prioritize those needs’.”

Reports from the time revealed that Tesla officials repeatedly requested meetings with the White House but were ignored, partly due to union pressure. When Musk learned Tesla wouldn’t be invited to the EV event, White House officials reportedly called to apologize.

Tensions escalated further when Biden publicly praised GM CEO Mary Barra for having “electrified the entire automobile industry” — a claim that infuriated Musk, whose company had sold more than 115,000 EVs that quarter compared with GM’s 26,000.

Although Biden aides later sought to repair the relationship, arranging calls between Musk and top officials, the rift persisted. Musk increasingly aligned himself with conservatives, railing against “the woke mind virus” and backing Trump’s comeback campaign through his super PAC, America PAC.

{Matzav.com}

Metal shrapnel from an exploding artillery shell fell hit and damaged a California Highway Patrol vehicle as personnel at a U.S. Marine Corps base fired live rounds over a highway — against the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom — during weekend exercises observed by Vice President JD Vance, state authorities said Sunday. No one was injured. The incident occurred when ordnance detonated overhead prematurely during Saturday’s exercise at Camp Pendleton, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release. Newsom had strongly objected to the firing of munitions over Interstate 5 for safety reasons. The Democrat closed a 17-mile (27 kilometers) stretch of the road connecting Los Angeles and San Diego during the drills, which were held to mark the upcoming 250th birthday of the Marine Corps. The incident occurred in an area where officers had shut down traffic, the highway patrol said. A Marine Corps spokesperson said the service was aware of “a possible airborne detonation” of a 155 mm artillery round outside the exercise’s designated impact area. “Following established safety protocols, firing was suspended. No injuries occurred and the demonstration concluded as scheduled,” Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis of the I Marine Expeditionary Force said in an emailed statement. An investigation has been initiated, he said. “We are committed to determining the incident’s root cause and applying findings to future missions,” Dreibelbis said. The Marine Corps had said there was nothing unsafe about the exercise and that it was unnecessary to disrupt traffic on I-5. An incident report filed by the highway patrol said one officer heard what sounded like pebbles falling on his motorcycle and about 3 feet (91 centimeters) around him. His motorcycle was not damaged. He found a 1 inch-by-0.5 inch (2.5 cm-by-1.3 cm) piece of shrapnel nearby. One unoccupied patrol vehicle was hit by shrapnel. Officers found a 2 inch-by-0.5 inch (5 cm-by-1.3 cm) piece of shrapnel on the vehicle. It left a small dent and scratch on the vehicle’s hood. Officers said they notified the Marine Corps, which then canceled the firing of additional live ordnance over the freeway. Officers didn’t find any additional metal on freeway lanes and reopened the road. Newsom, a Democrat, posted a comment on the social media site X Sunday. “We love our Marines and owe a debt of gratitude to Camp Pendleton, but next time, the Vice President and the White House shouldn’t be so reckless with people’s lives for their vanity projects,” Newsom said. Vance, a Republican, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the base in north San Diego County for the Nov. 10 anniversary of the Marine Corps’ founding and to watch troops demonstrate a beach assault. Vance spent four years in the Marines and served a tour in Iraq. (AP)

Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes that he believes Hamas is genuinely attempting to locate the remains of Israeli hostages, not deliberately stalling their return.

As of early Monday, Hamas had still not handed over 16 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages believed to have remained in Gaza when the ceasefire began on October 10.

Hamas has claimed that the devastation across the Gaza Strip has made it difficult to find the bodies quickly, while Israeli officials have accused the group of deceit, insisting that it knows where most of the remains are and could release them immediately.

Addressing the contradictory reports and Washington’s involvement in resolving them, Kushner said there has been “a very intense effort on behalf of our joint center with Israel and with the mediators in order to convey whatever information Israel has on the whereabouts of the bodies to the mediators and to Hamas– in order to retrieve them.”

He added that the U.S. is actively working to “push both sides to be proactive in terms of finding a solution instead of blaming each other for breakdowns.”

When pressed on whether he believed Hamas was “acting in good faith — seriously looking for the bodies,” Kushner responded affirmatively. “As far as we’ve seen from what’s being conveyed to us from the mediators, they are so far,” he said. “That could break down at any minute, but right now– we have seen them looking to honor their agreement.”

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked President Donald Trump’s assertion that recent U.S. airstrikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, calling the claim a fantasy.  “The U.S. president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” Khamenei wrote on X, in a post that quickly went viral across Persian and English-language networks. The sharp exchange followed Trump remarks in which the president described the strikes on suspected Iranian nuclear sites as a “decisive victory” for American security interests. U.S. defense officials later told Congress that intelligence showed key facilities at Natanz and Fordow had sustained “irreparable damage.” Iranian officials, however, rejected those claims. Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on state television that enrichment activities had resumed at alternative locations and that “the Islamic Republic’s nuclear knowledge cannot be bombed away.” Analysts said Khamenei’s comments reflect both defiance and political calculation. “This is classic Khamenei: projecting strength to rally hardliners at home while avoiding direct confrontation,” said Sanam Vakil of Chatham House. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

King Charles on Monday visited the scene of Yom Kippur’s deadly attack at a Manchester shul which left two people dead. The King was greeted by Rabbi Daniel Walker, the shul’s rav, upon his arrival at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation. He spent several minutes at a memorial site outside the shul, where flowers and handwritten messages have been placed in tribute to the victims. Authorities say 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie carried out the attack, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State terror group during a call he made to police amid his assault. He drove his car into mispalelim before attacking others with a knife and attempting to storm the shul while wearing a fake suicide belt. Armed police shot and killed him at the scene. Two men were killed: 66-year-old father of three Melvin Cravitz and 53-year-old Adrian Daulby, who investigators believe was fatally struck by police gunfire as he tried to block the shul doors to stop the attacker from entering. Three others were injured, including a security guard who was rammed by the attacker’s car, a volunteer who was stabbed, and Yoni Finlay, who underwent seven hours of surgery after reportedly being struck by police fire. Finlay was released from the hospital last week. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel needed to begin supporting the Palestinian population and investing in their wellbeing if it hoped to achieve lasting acceptance in the Middle East, Jared Kushner said in a televised interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes. Kushner, who served as an adviser to President Donald Trump and is also his son-in-law, said the message to Jerusalem was clear.

“The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that, now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better,” he said, sitting beside U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Kushner noted that he and Witkoff had only begun the process of communicating this message to Israeli leaders and regional partners, saying that the two were “just getting started” in their efforts.

Elaborating on his long-term vision for the Palestinian people, Kushner said the administration’s goal was to ensure that both sides could live safely and prosper together. He explained that the U.S. approach focused on security and economic stability for both populations. “We’re focused on creating a situation for joint security and economic opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians so that they can live side by side in a durable way,” he said.

When asked whether this plan pointed toward Palestinian statehood, Kushner avoided setting labels, saying the final status should be determined by the people themselves. “What you end up calling it over time, we’ll allow the Palestinians to determine that themselves,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent development of life-threatening allergies, new research finds the change has made a big difference in the real world. About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending introducing the allergen to infants starting as early as 4 months. “That’s a remarkable thing, right?” said Dr. David Hill, an allergist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and author of a study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics. Hill and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from dozens of pediatric practices to track diagnoses of food allergies in young children before, during and after the guidelines were issued. “I can actually come to you today and say there are less kids with food allergy today than there would have been if we hadn’t implemented this public health effort,” he added. The researchers found that peanut allergies in children ages 0 to 3 declined by more than 27% after guidance for high-risk kids was first issued in 2015 and by more than 40% after the recommendations were expanded in 2017. The effort hasn’t yet reduced an overall increase in food allergies in the U.S. in recent years. About 8% of children are affected, including more than 2% with a peanut allergy. Peanut allergy is caused when the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies proteins in peanuts as harmful and releases chemicals that trigger allergic symptoms, including hives, respiratory symptoms and, sometimes, life-threatening anaphylaxis. For decades, doctors had recommended delaying feeding children peanuts and other foods likely to trigger allergies until age 3. But in 2015, Gideon Lack at King’s College London, published the groundbreaking Learning Early About Peanut Allergy, or LEAP, trial. Lack and colleagues showed that introducing peanut products in infancy reduced the future risk of developing food allergies by more than 80%. Later analysis showed that the protection persisted in about 70% of kids into adolescence. The study immediately sparked new guidelines urging early introduction of peanuts — but putting them into practice has been slow. Only about 29% of pediatricians and 65% of allergists reported following the expanded guidance issued in 2017, surveys found. Confusion and uncertainty about the best way to introduce peanuts early in life led to the lag, according to a commentary that accompanied the study. Early on, medical experts and parents alike questioned whether the practice could be adopted outside of tightly controlled clinical settings. The data for the analysis came from a subset of participating practice sites and may not represent the entire U.S. pediatric population, noted the commentary, led by Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a child allergy expert at Northwestern University. However, the new research offers “promising evidence that early allergen introduction is not only being adopted but may be making a measurable impact,” the authors concluded. Advocates for the 33 million people in the U.S. with food allergies welcomed signs that early introduction of peanut products is catching on. “This research reinforces what we already know and underscores a meaningful opportunity to reduce the incidence and prevalence of peanut allergy nationwide,” said Sung Poblete, chief executive of the nonprofit group Food Allergy Research & Education, or FARE. The new study emphasizes the current guidance, updated in 2021, which […]

A new Gotham Polling/AARP survey shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo could be in a dead heat with Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani if Republican Curtis Sliwa drops out of the NYC mayoral race. With Sliwa out, Mamdani leads 44.6% to Cuomo’s 40.7% — within the margin of error. With all three candidates running, Mamdani still holds a strong lead: 43.2% to Cuomo’s 28.9% and Sliwa’s 19.4%.