Yeshiva World News

Trump’s Election Could Assure A Conservative Supreme Court Majority For Decades

Donald Trump has already appointed three Supreme Court justices. In his second term, he could well have a chance to name two more, creating a high court with a Trump-appointed majority that could serve for decades. The decisive outcome spares the court from having to wade into election disputes. It also seems likely to change the tenor of cases that come before the justices, including on abortion and immigration. The two eldest justices — Clarence Thomas, 76, and Samuel Alito, 74 — could consider stepping down knowing that Trump, a Republican, would nominate replacements who might be three decades younger and ensure conservative domination of the court through the middle of the century, or beyond. Trump would have a long list of candidates to choose from among the more than 50 men and women he appointed to federal appeals courts, including some of Thomas’ and Alito’s former law clerks. If both men were to retire, they probably would not do so at once to minimize disruption to the court. Justices David Souter and John Paul Stevens retired a year apart, in the first two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. Thomas has said on more than one occasion that he has no intention of retiring. But Ed Whelan, a conservative lawyer who was once a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, wrote on the National Review’s Bench Memos blog that Thomas will realize that the best way to burnish his legacy is to have a like-minded justice replace him and retire before the midterm congressional elections. If Thomas stays on the court until near his 80th birthday, in June 2028, he will surpass William O. Douglas as the longest-serving justice. Douglas was on the court for more than 36 years. There’s no guarantee Republicans will have their Senate majority then, and Thomas saw what happened when one of his colleagues didn’t retire when she might have, Whelan wrote. “But it would be foolish of him to risk repeating Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s mistake — hanging on only to die in office and be replaced by someone with a very different judicial philosophy,” Whelan wrote. Ginsburg died in September 2020, less than two months before Joe Biden’s election as president. Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy and majority Republicans rammed her nomination through the Senate before the election. Barrett, along with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s other two high court appointees, joined Thomas and Alito to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the national right to abortion. Along with Chief Justice John Roberts, the conservatives also have expanded gun rights, ended affirmative action in college admissions, reined in Biden administration efforts to deal with climate change and weakened federal regulators by overturning a 40-year-old decision that had long been a target of business and conservative interests. The court’s landmark decision didn’t end its involvement with abortion: the justices also considered cases this year on emergency abortions in states with bans and access to medication abortion. The new administration seems likely to drop Biden administration guidance saying doctors need to provide emergency abortions if necessary to protect a woman’s life or health, even in states where abortion is otherwise banned. That would end a case out of Idaho that the justices sent back to lower courts over the summer. […]

Canada Orders TikTok’s Canadian Business To Be Dissolved But Won’t Block App

Canada announced Wednesday it is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media app but said it won’t block access. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. “The government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice,” Champagne said. Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information. He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada’s national security. TikTok Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and America over security and data privacy. It comes as China and the West are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips. Canada previously banned TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices, reflecting widening worries from Western officials over the video sharing app. (AP)

From the Daf – Mi Sheberach for a Choleh – What’s the Source?

By Chaim Weber We are familiar with the custom to say a special mi sheberach for sick people during krias hatorah. What’s the source for this custom? The Starting Point – The Gemara in Bava Basra The Gemara in Bava Basra (116a) says that one who has a sick person in his house should go to a chacham – so that the chacham should ask for mercy on the sick person’s behalf. The Nimmukei Yosef writes that a custom developed in France that a sick person would go to the local Rosh Yeshiva for a blessing. The Rema (Darkei Moshe, Y:D 335:2) says that this is the source for the custom to say a special mi sheberach during davening for sick people. The Aruch Hashulchan (335:12) adds that the minhag is to say it specifically by the time of krias hatorah, as the mercy of Hashem is awakened then. Why is the mercy of Hashem specifically awakened at the time of krias hatorah? To understand this, let’s take a step back and look into what krias hatorah really is. The Source for Krias Hatorah – The Gemara in Bava Kamma The Gemara in Bava Kamma (82a) says that the neviim among the bnei yisrael instituted that we should have krias hatorah every Monday, Thursday and Shabbos – as a result of the Marah incident. In Marah, the bnei yisrael complained after having gone three days without “water.” The Gemara explains that “water” is actually a reference to Torah – and that the bnei yisrael stumbled and complained after having gone three days without Torah. This led the neviim among them to institute krias hatorah every Monday, Thursday and Shabbos to make sure that we never pass three days without learning. The Rambam explains that these “neviim among them” is actually a reference to Moshe Rabbeinu himself. The Gemara adds that generations later, Ezra Hasofer then instituted that we should also read krias hatorah by Shabbos mincha. The Parallel to Hakhel – Krias Hatorah as a Reenactment of Har Sinai Rav Hershel Schachter shlita (Rav Schachter on the Parshah, Volume III) quotes a fascinating insight from his rebbi, R’ Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik, zt”l into the very nature of krias hatorah. Although krias hatorah was an enactment of Moshe Rabbeinu, we do find that there’s krias hatorah that takes place on a de’oraisa level: The mitzvah of Hakhel. At the end of the shemitta year, the Torah commands all of klal yisrael to gather and hear the king read from the Book of Devarim. This is a krias hatorah that takes place on a Torah level. Therefore, although the obligation to read every Monday, Thursday and Shabbos was a decree made by Moshe Rabbeinu, when we do read the Torah and fulfill this decree, we fulfill a kiyum de’oraisa –  a concept that is found in the Torah itself. The Rambam (Hilchos Chagigah 3:6) writes that Hakhel isn’t just learning in a communal setting. Rather, Hakhel is where the Jewish people gather together and reenact the Sinai experience – where we each listen to the Torah and see ourselves as if we are receiving the Torah anew. (This is similar to Pesach where we’re obligated to see ourselves as if we ourselves left Egypt.) Rav Schachter notes that this may be why […]

H’YD: IDF Soldier From Jerusalem Killed In Hezbollah Rocket Attack

The IDF cleared for publication on Thursday morning that an IDF soldier was killed in the Hezbollah rocket attack on the Upper Galil on Wednesday afternoon. He was identified as Sgt. Ariel Sosnov, H’yd, 20, from Jerusalem, a soldier in the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion. He was killed during the barrage on the border moshav of Avivim. Three other soldiers were lightly injured in the attack. Sosnov’s death raises the number of soldiers killed in battle with Hezbollah to 62 and the number of soldiers killed since October 7 to 781. The IDF added that a soldier in the 90th Nachshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade was seriously wounded in battle in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli Teen, H’yd, 18, Murdered By Hezbollah Rocket Attack On A Kibbutz

Sivan Sade, H’yd, 18, was murdered in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk in the Western Galil on Wednesday evening. Sade, z’l, a resident of the kibbutz was working in the fields when he ws hit by rocket shrapnel during a Hezbollah rocket barrage of about 25 rockets at the area. An investigation of the incident showed that Sade got out of his tractor when the sirens sounded, presumably to find shelter in a nearby ditch. But one of the rockets fell only meters away from him and exploded, killing him. A farmer passing through the area hours later noticed him and alerted rescue forces, who were forced to declare his death at the scene. Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mate Asher Regional Council, told Kan News: “He went to irrigate the fields. According to what I was told, he acted according to the instructions and lay on the ground but there are no interceptions in the agricultural areas.” Paramedic Netanel Ben Yehuda said: “We were led to the scene by a farmer working in the area. We saw the injured person lying in the field, unconscious with severe shrapnel wounds to his body.” “We conducted medical checks but he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing and had life-threatening wounds on his body. We had no choice but to declare him dead.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

5 People Killed When Plane Crashes Through An Arizona Airport Fence And Collides With A Car

A 12-year-old boy was among five people who died in the fiery crash of a small business jet near a suburban Phoenix airport, authorities said Wednesday. Preliminary information indicated the six-seater HondaJet HA-420 aircraft was headed to Provo, Utah, when it aborted takeoff at the Falcon Field airport in Mesa on Tuesday afternoon. The plane crashed through the airport’s metal fence before colliding with a vehicle that was traveling on a road west of the airport, according to authorities. Aviation International News said data shows the HondaJet accelerated to more than 153 mph on a 5,100-foot runway before taxiing about 1,300 feet from the end of the runway. The jet then slowed to about 118 mph by the runway’s end. Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for Flightradar24 that shows air traffic in real time, said the HondaJet was traveling 78.25 mph at its last recorded position before the crash. It was not immediately clear why the plane was not able to take off. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with help from the Federal Aviation Administration and Mesa authorities. Four of the five passengers aboard the jet died at the scene, Mesa police said Wednesday. The unidentified pilot was hospitalized with serious burn injuries. Those aboard the plane included 12-year-old Graham Kimball and his 44-year-old father, Drew Kimball. The two other victims were Rustin Randall, 48, and Spencer Lindahl, 43, who were both listed as managers of Ice Man Holdings LLC, a company based in Mesa. The driver of the vehicle also died at the scene. Authorities were withholding the person’s name pending positive identification. (AP)

Trump Isn’t First To Be Second: Grover Cleveland Set Precedent Of Non-Consecutive Presidential Terms

On the list of U.S. presidents, several have been tapped by voters to serve for more than one term, with Donald Trump joining the group as the 45th president and now the 47th, too. But only one other American president did it the way Trump will — with a gap of four years between terms. That was Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd president after the 1884 election, and as the 24th president after the campaign of 1892. Cleveland was governor of New York when he was tapped as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 1884. He was “viewed as the epitome of responsibility and stability,” said Daniel Klinghard, professor of political science at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachussetts. A narrow victory in the popular vote gave him enough votes in the Electoral College to be named president. Four years later, even though he once again had a slight lead in the popular vote, he lost the Electoral College count to Republican Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland remained well-thought of by the public, though. He won both the popular and Electoral vote in 1892. During his first term, among the issues he took on: pushing for a reduction of tariffs that had been put in place during the Civil War. He advocated strongly for it, linking that position to the Democratic Party and getting public support, Klinghard said. “That model of a president being a vocal, clear spokesperson for a policy that animated the party” was emulated by future presidents like Woodrow Wilson, he said. And it helped keep Cleveland in the public eye during the years following his first term. “This is a point at which the modern notion of the of the national party really came together. Cleveland had a group of skilled political operatives, very wealthy folks, who saw themselves benefiting from free trade,” Klinghard said. “And they spent a lot of time sort of keeping Cleveland’s name in front of the electorate, sort of very much as Trump’s allies have done, sort of dismissing anybody else as a challenge — as a rival.” (AP)

FINAL NUMBERS: Donald Trump Wins 312 Electoral College Votes To 226 For Kamala Harris

According to the final tally, Trump won 312 electoral votes to Harris’s 226 in Tuesday’s presidential election, comfortably surpassing the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory. Trump also led the popular vote with over 72.9 million votes, compared to Harris’s 68.2 million votes. The election map shows Trump sweeping much of the country, particularly across the South, Midwest, and key battleground states. This includes crucial wins in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia, which were pivotal in solidifying his lead. Harris managed to secure traditional Democratic strongholds, including California, New York, and much of the Northeast, but it was not enough to counter Trump’s broader base of support. Trump’s victory marks a historic return to the White House, making him only the second U.S. president in history to serve non-consecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s. Trump celebrated the win in Florida, promising supporters a “new era of prosperity and security” and pledging to fulfill his vision of an “American golden age.” Kamala Harris did not make a public appearance on election night, instead choosing to release a statement the following morning, where she acknowledged the results and congratulated Trump on his victory. With Republicans also projected to regain control of the Senate and likely to retain control of the House, Trump’s administration will have the advantage of a more favorable Congress, potentially smoothing the path for his ambitious agenda. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Russia Ratifies North Korea Pact After US Says Up To 10,000 North Korean Troops Deployed To Kursk

The upper house of Russian parliament on Wednesday ratified a treaty with North Korea envisioning mutual military assistance, a move that comes as the U.S. has confirmed the deployment of 10,000 North Korean troops to Russia. The “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty,” which Russian President Vladimir Putin signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to Pyongyang in June, obliges Russia and North Korea to immediately provide military assistance using “all means” if either is attacked. It marked the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War. The pact’s endorsement by the upper house, the Federation Council, follows its ratification by the lower house, the State Duma, on Oct. 24. On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia’s Kursk region and were preparing to join Moscow’s fight against Ukraine in the coming days. If they engage in combat, it would be North Korea’s first participation in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Moscow and Pyongyang have responded vaguely to South Korean and Western claims of the North Korean troop deployment to Russia, emphasizing that their military cooperation conforms with international law, without directly admitting the presence of the North’s forces in Russia. On Monday, Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who was on an official visit to Russia since late last week. During her talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Choe reiterated Pyongyang’s support “for the just fight of Russia’s military and people to defend their country’s sovereign rights and security interests” in Ukraine. Russia and North Korea have previously rejected assertions by the U.S. and its allies that Pyongyang has given Moscow ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells for use in Ukraine. South Korean and Western officials voiced concerns about Russia’s possible transfer of technology to North Korea to enhance its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for its troops. On Tuesday, North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in a demonstration of its military capability hours before the U.S. presidential election. (AP)

A Heartfelt Thank You to YWN Staff and Loyal Readers for a Remarkable Election Night

Dear Readers, As the chief editor of Yeshiva World News (YWN), I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who played a part in making our Election Night program an overwhelming success. For 21 years, YWN has proudly served as the leading and most trusted source for news within the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States. This success is the result of tireless work by our devoted team and the continued trust and engagement of our readers. Tuesday night was a shining example of YWN’s dedication and efficiency. Our team of reporters, editors, and technical staff worked at an extraordinary pace to provide real-time coverage, churning out vast amounts of data and analysis. Their efforts allowed us to deliver the election results that matter most to our community faster and with more detail than many major news outlets. Their commitment to accuracy and timeliness, as always, was nothing short of remarkable. To our incredible team, I simply say thank you. But the greatest thanks goes to you, our readers. Without your trust and engagement, none of this would be possible. This Election Night, we saw the incredible reach and impact of YWN as hundreds of thousands of you turned to us for up-to-the-minute information. Our WhatsApp platforms (status and groups with more than 100,000) saw record engagement, while our Election Live Blog averaged tens of thousands of views every minute. By night’s end, YWN had reached more than 500,000 unique readers, with tens of millions of views across all our platforms – a truly unprecedented moment for Orthodox Jewish media. To each and every one of you who checked in with us, shared our updates, and placed your trust in our coverage: thank you. Your loyalty and faith in YWN as a source for reliable, timely, and relevant news inspire us to keep improving and innovating. We do not take your support for granted, and I want to assure you that we will continue striving to earn it each day. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Hundreds Flee And Homes Burn As Powerful Winds Feed Wildfires In Southern California

California was lashed by powerful winds Wednesday that fed a fast-moving wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds of residents to flee as forecasters warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” blazes. Northwest of Los Angeles, the Mountain Fire exploded in size and prompted evacuation orders for suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas near Santa Paula in southern Ventura County. A thick plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky, blanketing whole neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. At around 9:15 a.m. the blaze was mapped at just under 250 acres (100 hectares), and by 2:45 p.m. it was nearly 42 times larger at over 16 square miles (62 square kilometers). The erratic winds grounded fixed-wing aircraft because of “very dangerous” conditions caused by gusts topping 61 mph (98 kph), said weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. He said pilots could encounter turbulence capable of bringing a plane down, as well limited visibility from the smoke. Water-dropping helicopters were still flying. Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, the Ventura County Fire Department said, but it was not immediately clear how they got hurt. Aerial footage from local television networks showed dozens of homes in flames across several neighborhoods as embers were whipped from home to home. Other footage captured horses trotting alongside evacuating vehicles and golf carts. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire spokesperson, said he did not have details of how many structures had been damaged. Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he’s waiting to see whether conditions will change to decide if he should evacuate his horses and cattle. Around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to stay out of the way as others got their livestock out. His ranch is surrounded by others with horses and alpaca, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon did not seem panicked. “The horse community, they prepare for this because it’s always a possibility up here,” he said. Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly shut down the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire. It was 15% contained around 12:30 p.m. with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two structures burned. The National Weather Service office for the Los Angeles area amended its red flag warning for increased fire danger with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” label, and officials in several counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds. With predicted gusts between 50 mph (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 kph) and humidity levels as low as 8%, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said. Forecasters also issued red flag warnings until Thursday from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north, where strong winds were also expected. Utilities in California began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires […]

Oct. 7 Probe: No Betrayal, Hamas Obtained Info On IDF Via Cyber Ops

One of the reasons Hamas’s October 7 assault was so successful was the extensive intelligence information that Hamas had obtained on IDF operations, border security, and bases, causing many to believe that someone within the IDF had betrayed Israel and collaborated with the enemy. However, Channel 12 News reported on Monday evening that an IDF investigation of the security failures that led to October 7 showed that Hamas obtained extensive information on the IDF via social media and cyber-attacks. Hamas was able to obtain much information via the social media accounts of IDF soldiers, including photos of their bases and information about their operational activities. Additionally, two years before the attack, Hamas began hacking IDF soldiers’ phones, obtaining sensitive information via their messages and photos. The investigation also examined the IDF’s supply chain and found that Hamas hacked technical equipment purchases from outside providers. For example, Hamas hacked into thousands of security cameras at IDF bases that were purchased from China. Most of the results of the investigation are still under a gag order but an official told Channel 12 that the probe revealed numerous security lapses and showed that the IDF must implement drastic changes regarding its information security. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

UTJ MK Draws Paraellel Between US & Israel: “The Results Are At The Ballots, Not Shouts On The Streets”

Deputy Minister Uri Maklev (UTJ) referred to the Trump victory in the US in a speech from the Knesset plenum on Wednesday, saying that the results show that the media and “screaming on the street” don’t truly reflect what the public wants. “I want to congratulate Trump on being elected President of the United States,” Maklev said. “This result reflects the fact that the media, polls, and various commentators don’t truly reflect what the public wants. Many can shout but ultimately the citizens know what they are doing, and the result is in the ballot boxes, not in the screaming. Also in this term of ours here in Israel, the results are in the ballot boxes, not according to the screaming [a reference to the leftist protests].” “I saw hundreds of people in Chareidi areas standing in line and voting even in places where the influence is not as strong as in clearly Democratic States, and the outcome is known in advance, but the Rabbanim called to vote, so entire families, children and adults, stood to vote to fulfill the commandments of their Rabbanim,” concluded Maklev. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Germany’s Scholz Fires His Finance Minister As His Coalition Collapses

Germany’s center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday he was firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner, signaling the collapse of the ruling three-party coalition that relied on Lindner’s pro-business party. Scholz announced the move at a news conference following weeks of disputes among the coalition partners over ways to boost the country’s ailing economy. He said he would seek a vote of confidence in January that he said might lead to early elections that otherwise would be due next September. “I feel compelled to take this step to prevent damage to our country. We need an effective government that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country,” Scholz said. Lindner, from the pro-business Free Democrats, had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany’s strict self-imposed limits on running up debt. Scholz’s Social Democrats and the environmental Greens, who are also part of the coalition, wanted to see massive state investment and rejected the Free Democrats’ proposals to cut welfare programs. Lindner responded to his dismissal by accusing Scholz of failing “to recognize the need for a new economic awakening in our country. He has played down the economic concerns of the citizens.” He said the chancellor’s proposals to reenergize the economy were “dull, unambitious and make no contribution to overcoming the fundamental weakness of our country’s growth.” Scholz said about Lindner that “he has broken my trust too often. He even unilaterally canceled the agreement on the budget. After we had already agreed on it in long negotiations. There is no basis of trust for further cooperation. Serious government work is not possible like this.” He accused Lindner of publicly calling for a fundamentally different economic policy, including what Scholz said would be tax cuts worth billions for a few top earners while at the same time cutting pensions for all pensioners. “That is not decent,” Scholz said. Scholz said he would seek the vote of confidence in Germany’s Bundestag, or parliament, on Jan. 15, which would “allow the members of the Bundestag to decide whether to clear the way for early elections.” The election could then “take place by the end of March at the latest, in compliance with the deadlines set out in constitution,” he said. The regular election is scheduled for September 2025. Germany’s economy is expected to shrink in 2024 for the second year in a row, or at best stagnate, battered by external shocks and home-grown problems including red tape and a shortage of skilled labor. Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck’s environmentalist, left-leaning Greens and Lindner’s pro-business Free Democrats — a party that in recent decades has mostly allied with conservatives — set out in 2021 to form an ambitious, progressive coalition straddling ideological divisions that would modernize Germany. The government can point to achievements: preventing an energy crunch after Russia cut off its gas supplies to Germany, initiating the modernization of the military and a series of social reforms. But the impression it has left with many Germans is of deepening dysfunction. Ahead of the vote of confidence in January, Scholz said he would reach out to opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the center-right Christian Democrats to confer on possible ways of strengthening the economy and defense. “I will now very quickly seek talks with the leader of the opposition,” […]

SLAP ON THE WRIST: Antisemite Only Gets Probation After Swerving At Jewish Teen In Fleischmanns, NY

New York Judge John Hubbard sentenced 23-year-old Zachary Kowatch to five years of probation for attempted reckless endangerment in the first degree, a Class E felony. Kowatch, who had pleaded guilty on Oct. 21, was accused of swerving his car at a Jewish teenager while shouting antisemitic slurs in the village of Fleischmanns, N.Y., on May 9. Shawn Smith, acting district attorney for Delaware County, expressed frustration with the increasing frequency of similar incidents, telling JNS, “I have another one almost identical going on right now, and I don’t understand what’s the matter with people.” Smith referenced another case involving Joseph E. VanBlarcom, a 20-year-old who allegedly swerved his car at Jewish individuals while shouting bigoted insults on July 29, also in Fleischmanns. VanBlarcom faces charges of aggravated harassment in the second degree as a hate crime, a Class E felony, and awaits trial. Though Kowatch’s actions were initially charged as reckless endangerment as a hate crime, Smith said the charge “wasn’t strong enough” to pursue a harsher penalty. He noted that while Kowatch will have a felony on his record for life, further action will be taken only if he violates his probation. “If he can get [his alcohol issues] under control and turn over a new leaf, then that works out,” Smith said. “And if he doesn’t, then he’s convicted of a felony.” However, Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, criticized the sentence as too lenient, calling it “a sweetheart plea deal” that amounted to “a slap on the wrist.” Filitti argued that an “aggressive prosecutor could have charged him with a more serious offense: second-degree attempted murder.” He expressed disappointment that the plea deal seemed to prioritize cost over justice, saying, “It’s easy to believe that doing right by the Jewish community was outweighed by the cost of bringing Kowatch to trial.” He described the sentence as “a slap in the face not just to the victims but to the Jewish community.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

BIDEN: Selecting Harris Was ‘Best Decision I Made’

President Biden said selecting Vice President Kamala Harris was one of his best decisions and represents the best of America. In his first remarks after her election loss to President-elect Trump, Biden said Harris ran a “historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans.” “As I’ve said before, selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became the nominee for president in 2020. It was the best decision I made,” he said. “Her story represents the best of America’s story. And as she made clear today, I have no doubt that she’ll continue writing that story.” He added that Harris will continue to be a champion for all Americans and lead for generations as she “puts her stamp on America’s future.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

What Is The Electoral College And How Does The US Use It To Elect Presidents?

Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 because of the Electoral College. So did George W. Bush in 2000. Even when neither captured the popular vote. The Electoral College is the unique American system of electing presidents. It is different from the popular vote, and it has an outsize impact on how candidates run and win campaigns. Trump and Bush, both Republicans, lost the popular vote during those presidential runs but won the Electoral College to claim the White House. Some Democrats charge that the system favors Republicans and they would rather the United States elect presidents by a simple majority vote. But the country’s framers set up the system in the Constitution, and it would require a constitutional amendment to change. A look at the Electoral College and how it works: What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a 538-member body that elects a president. The framers of the Constitution set it up to give more power to the states and as a compromise to avoid having Congress decide the winner. Each state’s electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in that state. The runner-up gets nothing — except in Nebraska and Maine where elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results. To win the presidency, a candidate must secure 270 electoral votes — a majority of the 538 possible votes. Trump crossed that threshold early Wednesday with a win in Wisconsin. How is it different from the popular vote? Under the Electoral College system, more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than to the vote of someone in a large state, leading to outcomes at times that have been at odds with the popular vote. It also affects how candidates campaign. Because the outcome is almost certain in solidly Republican states and solidly Democratic states, candidates tend to focus most of their efforts on a handful of swing states that have split their votes in recent elections. How many electoral votes does each state have? Electors are allocated based on how many representatives a state has in the House of Representatives, plus its two senators. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. California has the most electoral votes at 54, followed by Texas with 40 and Florida with 30. Pennsylvania with 19 electoral votes is the largest prize of the presidential battlegrounds, followed by Georgia and North Carolina with 16 each. Who are the electors? It varies by state, but often the electors are picked by state parties. Members of Congress cannot serve as electors. How and when are the votes counted? After state election officials certify their elections, electors meet in their individual states — never as one body — to certify the election. This year, that will happen on Dec. 17. If the two candidates have a tied number of votes, the election is thrown to the House, where each state’s congressional delegation gets one vote. That has happened only twice, in 1801 and 1825. Once a state’s electors have certified the vote, they send a certificate to Congress. Congress then formally counts and certifies the vote at a special session on Jan. 6. The vice president presides as the envelopes for each state are […]

Donald Trump’s Transition Starts Now. Here’s How It Will Work

Donald Trump ‘s impending return to the White House means he’ll want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden. His team is also pledging that the second won’t look much like the first one Trump established after his 2016 victory. The president-elect now has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day arrives on Jan. 20. One top item on the to-do list: filling around 4,000 government positions with political appointees, people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump’s team. That includes everyone from the secretary of state and other heads of Cabinet departments to those selected to serve part time on boards and commissions. Around 1,200 of those presidential appointments require Senate confirmation, which should be easier with the Senate now shifting to Republican control. Here’s what to expect: What will the transition look like? Though the turnover in the new administration will be total, Trump will be familiar with what he needs to accomplish. He built an entirely new administration for his first term and has definite ideas on what to do differently this time. He’s already floated some names. Trump said at his victory party early Wednesday that former presidential hopeful and anti-vaccination activist Robert Kennedy Jr. will be tapped to “help make America healthy again,” adding that “we’re going to let him go to it.” Ahead of the election, Trump didn’t reject Kennedy’s calls to end fluoridated water. Trump has also pledged to make South African-born Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of the Trump campaign, a secretary of federal “cost-cutting,” and the Tesla CEO has suggested he can find trillions of dollars in government spending to wipe out. The transition is not just about filling jobs. Most presidents-elect also receive daily or near-daily intelligence briefings during the transition. In 2008, outgoing President George W. Bush personally briefed President-elect Barack Obama on U.S. covert operations. When Trump was preparing to take office in 2016, Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, briefed Michael Flynn, her designated successor in the new administration. In 2020, Trump’s legal challenges of the election’s results delayed the start of the transition process for weeks, though, and presidential briefings with Biden didn’t begin until Nov. 30. Who is helping Trump through the process? Trump’s transition is being led primarily by friends and family, including Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, as well as the president-elect’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and his running mate, JD Vance. Transition co-chairs are Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. Lutnick said this year’s operation is “about as different as possible” from the 2016 effort, which was first led by Chris Christie. After he won eight years ago, Trump fired Christie, tossed out plans the former New Jersey governor had made and gave the job of running the transition to then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence. At the start of his first term, Trump assembled an original Cabinet that featured some more mainstream Republicans and business leaders who ultimately disappointed, or broke publicly with him, or both. This time, Trump has promised to value loyalty as much as possible — a philosophy that may ensure he makes picks that are more closely aligned to his ideological beliefs […]

Opposition Feigns Shock At Gallant’s Dismissal, Calls For Civil Rebellion

The four leaders of the major opposition parties, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan, held a press conference on Wednesday at the Knesset in response to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday evening. Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke first, stating: “The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant yesterday is an act of insanity by an unfit prime minister.” Lapid continued by claiming that Netanyahu’s dismissal of Gallant amid a war was not carried out due to professional reasons but for political reasons – “only because he impeded Netanyahu from passing the recruitment exemption laws [for Chareidim].” Lapid made his claim despite the fact that it is well-known that Netanyahu wanted to fire Gallant as soon as he began publicly defying him during the pre-October 7 days at the height of the protests against the planned judicial reform laws. In fact, Netanyahu carried out his threat, firing Gallant in March 2023 and then relenting after the leftists held mass protests, sending Israel into chaos. In September, Netanyahu was about to fire Gallant but refrained from doing so when it became clear that Israel was about to carry out the “exploding pagers” operation in Lebanon. Gantz and Lieberman made similar claims and Golan called for a civil rebellion against the government in his speech. The Likud party quickly responded to the opposition by stating: “When the left, led by Golan, Lapid, and Gantz along with Lieberman, stands by Gallant – it says it all. Just two years ago, all four established a government together with the Muslim Brotherhood party and made a surrender agreement with Hezbollah – and they dare to talk about security?” “Just a few months ago, Lieberman mocked Gallant and said, ‘We don’t have a Defense Minister, we have a Minister of Threats,’ and two months ago, Gantz determined that Gallant must resign. Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with the new Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, will lead Israel to total victory. They will keep complaining and we will continue to win.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Coalition Deal With Sa’ar Submitted To Knesset: His Members Received These Positions

There will many changes in the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the wake of the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. On Wednesday, coalition whip Ofir Katz and MK Ze’ev Elkin submitted the coalition deal for the incorporation of the New Hope party into the 37th government. The deal was signed by Sa’ar after he joined the government in September but he did not commit to coalition protocols at the time. Gideon Sa’ar will be appointed as foreign minister, taking over for Yisrael Katz, who will replace Gallant as defense minister. Sa’ar’s partner, MK Ze’ev Elkin, will be appointed as a minister in the Ministry of Finance and will be responsible for the directorates overseeing the rehabilitation of Israel’s southern and northern areas that were ravaged by war with Hamas and Hezbollah, the Tekumah Directorate and the Northern Rehabilitation Directorate. MK Sharren Haskel will be appointed as the deputy foreign minister and will be responsible for Israeli public diplomacy matters within the ministry. Additionally, Ministers Sa’ar and Elkin will serve as members of the political-security cabinet. Sa’ar will regularly participate in security and policy consultations, including regarding the Iranian nuclear program. Elkin will be a partner in formulating the “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip. The coalition deal also states that members of the party will be granted freedom of vote regarding proposed laws concerning changes in the judicial system. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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