Yeshiva World News

The Supreme Court has authorized Trump to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, possibly exposing them to deportation.

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike on Hamas operatives at a command center in central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today. According to the IDF, the site was being used by Hamas operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.

Democrat Senator of New York Chuck Schumer suggests President Trump and DOGE are to blame for the Mexican Navy ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge.

Former President Joe Biden’s recent diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer, with a Gleason score of 9 and metastasis to the bone, has not only elicited bipartisan sympathy but also ignited a firestorm of accusations that the Biden administration, his medical team, and a complicit mainstream media concealed critical information about his health for years—potentially as early as 2022, when Biden himself appeared to let slip that he had cancer. The cover-up, encompassing both his physical health and widely observed cognitive decline, may well be remembered as the most significant political scandal of the 21st century. The timeline of Biden’s health saga raises damning questions. On July 20, 2022, during a speech in Somerset, Massachusetts, Biden said, “That’s why I—and so many other people I grew up with—have cancer.” The White House quickly dismissed the remark as a “gaffe,” claiming Biden was referring to non-melanoma skin cancers removed before his presidency. At the time, the explanation was accepted by much of the mainstream media, despite Biden’s use of the present tense and the lack of follow-up clarity. Fast forward to May 2025, and the resurfaced 2022 clip has taken on a chilling new significance in light of his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis. Medical experts assert that a cancer as advanced as Biden’s—with a Gleason score of 9 and bone metastasis—could not have developed in mere months. Dr. Steven Quay, speaking to the New York Post, said, “It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.” He noted that Biden’s cancer would have shown elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels for years, detectable through routine screenings that any president would undergo. Similarly, an oncologist on NBC said, “He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021.” The implications are staggering. If Biden’s medical team knew of his cancer during his presidency, as many experts now believe, their silence represents a profound breach of public trust. This was no minor ailment; prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone is incurable, though manageable with hormone therapy. Concealing such a diagnosis from the American public, especially as Biden prepared to run for a second term in 2024, raises ethical and constitutional concerns about his fitness to govern. The presidency demands clarity and stamina—qualities that a serious illness, combined with Biden’s widely documented physical and cognitive decline, would severely compromise. The cover-up extends beyond cancer. Reports from The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and a forthcoming book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, detail how Biden’s aides went to extraordinary lengths to conceal his diminishing capacities. From pre-loading teleprompter answers to shielding him from unscripted interactions, the White House crafted a facade of competence. Incidents like Biden’s failure to recognize a longtime friend at a 2024 event or his catatonic appearance during the June 2024 debate against Donald Trump were dismissed as “jet lag” or “fatigue.” The mainstream media’s role in this scandal cannot be overstated. Outlets that once prided themselves on holding power to account largely parroted White House talking points, downplaying Biden’s stumbles, falls, and lapses as mere signs of aging. CNN Business reported in July 2024 that some White House […]

Whether it’s a road trip to a nearby lake or jumping on a plane to explore a big city, Americans are expected to get away in record numbers over the long Memorial Day weekend even as economic and technical worries rattle the U.S. travel industry. Over 45 million people — 1.4 million more than last year — will venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and next Monday, with the vast majority going by car, auto club organization AAA predicts. The holiday’s previous domestic travel record was set 20 years ago. AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said the analysts who prepared the forecast weren’t sure when they started their research if concerns about the economy would cause fewer U.S. residents to plan getaways for the unofficial start of summer, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. “People are still feeling pretty good about travel,” Diaz said, adding that some households and individuals may just opt to spend less money on their trips. Hitting the (hopefully) open road Like last year, about 87% of travelers are driving to their Memorial Day destinations, AAA said. About 39 million people, or 1 million more than last year, are expected to take road trips, which Diaz noted many families find easier and cheaper than flying. “You leave whenever you want,” she said. “You can pack as much as you want in the car, make stops along the way.” AAA’s fuel tracker shows motorists can expect to pay less for gasoline this year; the U.S. average price on Sunday was $3.18 for a gallon of regular gas compared to $3.60 a year ago. Renting a vehicle and staying in a hotel also may cost less, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index. Transportation-data firm INRIX anticipates the worst holiday traffic will be in the afternoons and evenings. It said drivers hitting the road on Thursday should leave before 12 p.m., and those planning Friday departures should leave before 11 a.m. On Memorial Day itself, the firm predicts the most congested time on roads will be 4 p.m.-7 p.m. What’s up with air travel? In 2024, the Friday before Memorial Day was among the record-setting days for the number of airline passengers screened at U.S. airports. While airports should be busy again this Friday, the outlook for air travel this year is unclear. Air safety has been on the minds of travelers after the deadly midair collision in January of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, flight delays and cancellations stemming from an air traffic controller shortage and equipment failures at a facility that directs in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport have also made some people wonder whether to get on a plane. Most major U.S. airlines said they planned to reduce their scheduled domestic flights this summer, citing an ebb in economy passengers booking leisure trips. Bank of America reported this month that its credit card customers were spending less on flights and lodging. But an analysis by aviation data provider Cirium of Memorial Day weekend tickets bought through online travel sites found an increase of about 3% across two dozen U.S. airports compared to last year. Bookings were down 10% for flights at Washington Dulles International Airport and down 9% for flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to Cirium’s data. AAA said the weekend isn’t expected to set a […]

“My dear friend Joe, with love from Israel, we pray for your full and fast recovery,” President Isaac Herzog tweets amid news that former US president Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer yesterday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment.

The IDF has released a graph showing the sheer size and weight of a Houthi ballistic missile.

רצועות – STRAPS OF TEFILIN ARE תשמישי קדושה זהירות שלא לגרור רצועות התפילין על הארץ ובפרט בשעת הנחתן וסילוקן THEY HAVE SANCTITY – AND MAY NOT BE LEFT TO TOUCH OR BE DRAGGED ON THE FLOOR !! THEY ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN A CHUMASH OR SIDDUR. הנהגות מהחזו״א זצוק״ל ע״י הגר״ח קניבסקי זצוק״ל ״הי׳ מדקדק בשעת כריכת התפילין שלא תגרר הרצועה על הארץ״ (footnote from Rav Chaim Kanevsky zt”l) ״וע׳ משנ״ב סי׳ כ״א סקי״ח גבי ציצית דהוי ביזוי מצוה, וכ״ש כאן שהן תשמישי קדושה״ The Chazon Ish was extremely careful when donning Tefilin that the straps should not drag on the floor” ובדינים והנהגות מבואר (או״ח פ״ג אות י״א), שאף לאחרים הזהיר להימנע מכך״, וכן הורה רבנו (דעת נוטה ח״ג תשובה י״ד) והעידו (אורחות רבנו ח״א עמ׳ מד) ״שהי׳ פעם שהתפלל בישיבת בית יוסף והי׳ בחור אחד בקצה ביהמ״ד שנגעו רצועות התפילין שלו בארץ, ורץ אליו החזו״א ממקומו בקצה השני של ביהמ״ד להעיר לו על כך״. “The Chazon Ish was mindful to call people’s attention to this. On occasion he once davened in a Yeshiva and noticed a student at the far end of the Bais Hamedrash whose Tefilin straps were touching the floor. He ran from where he was standing to that student to call his attention to this impropriety.”

In Khan Yunis, residents are protesting against Hamas, expressing frustration and calling for a ceasefire as IDF military operations escalate.

Stocks are falling today after Moody’s downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating Friday, citing repeated failures to rein in rising debt. The rating was cut from Aaa to Aa1, though Moody’s noted the U.S. still has “exceptional credit strengths” like a strong economy and the dollar’s global role. It’s the last of the three major agencies to issue a downgrade — following S&P in 2011 and Fitch in 2023.

WH Press Secretary stated that a member of one of the foreign delegations in the Middle East told her that President Trump’s historic victory “was like the lights turned on in a dark room.”

VP Vance on Biden’s cancer diagnosis: “Whether the right time to have this conversation is now or some time in the future, we really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job.”

Whether it’s a weekend by the lake or a quick city escape, Americans are heading out in record numbers this Memorial Day weekend. AAA expects over 45 million travelers to hit the road or take to the skies — the highest since 2005. Despite flight concerns and economic worries, it’s full speed ahead for the unofficial start of summer.

Former hostage Arbel Yehud urges Knesset lawmakers to stop the fighting and free the 58 captives still held in Gaza.

President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted. Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include “a barcode or quick-response code.” Those few technical words could have a big impact. Voting machines that give all voters a ballot with one of those codes are used in hundreds of counties across 19 states. Three of them — Georgia, South Carolina and Delaware — use the machines statewide. Some computer scientists, Democrats and left-leaning election activists have raised concerns about their use, but those pushing conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election have been the loudest, claiming without evidence that manipulation has already occurred. Trump, in justifying the move, said in the order that his intention was “to protect election integrity.” Even some election officials who have vouched for the accuracy of systems that use coded ballots have said it’s time to move on because too many voters don’t trust them. Colorado’s secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, decided in 2019 to stop using ballots with QR codes, saying at the time that voters “should have the utmost confidence that their vote will count.” Amanda Gonzalez, the elections clerk in Colorado’s Jefferson County, doesn’t support Trump’s order but believes Colorado’s decision was a worthwhile step. “We can just eliminate confusion,” Gonzalez said. “At the end of the day, that’s what I want — elections that are free, fair, transparent.” Target for misinformation Whether voting by mail or in person, millions of voters across the country mark their selections by using a pen to fill in ovals on paper ballots. Those ballots are then fed through a tabulating machine to tally the votes and can be retrieved later if a recount is needed. In other places, people voting in person use a touch-screen machine to mark their choices and then get a paper record of their votes that includes a barcode or QR code. A tabulator scans the code to tally the vote. Election officials who use that equipment say it’s secure and that they routinely perform tests to ensure the results match the votes on the paper records, which they retain. The coded ballots have nevertheless become a target of election conspiracy theories. “I think the problem is super exaggerated,” said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice. “I understand why it can appeal to certain parts of the public who don’t understand the way this works, but I think it’s being used to try to question certain election results in the past.” Those pushing conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election have latched onto a long-running legal battle over Georgia’s voting system. In that case, a University of Michigan computer scientist testified that an attacker could tamper with the QR codes to change voter selections and install malware on the machines. The testimony from J. Alex Halderman has been used to amplify Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, even though there is no evidence that any of the weaknesses he found were exploited. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has defended the state’s voting system as secure. In March, the judge who presided over Halderman’s testimony declined to block the use of Georgia’s voting equipment but said the case had “identified substantial concerns about the administration, maintenance and security of Georgia’s electronic in-person […]

Rep. Mike Lawler says he wouldn’t approve of an Iran Nuclear deal that didn’t include full denuclearization: “I don’t want to see a JCPOA 2.0, Iran cannot have a nuclear program or civilian capabilities … they can agree diplomatically or face the consequences”

AND SO IT BEGINS CNN sets the stage for David Axelrod to suggest that discussions about Biden’s cognitive concerns “should be more muted and set aside for now,” given that he’s struggling from prostate cancer.

The U.S. is offering up to $10 million for information on Hezbollah’s financial networks in South America, where the Iran-backed terror group, responsible for multiple attacks, generates significant revenue from drug trafficking, forgery, counterfeiting, smuggling, and other illicit and legitimate activities.

House Republicans narrowly advanced President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts package out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote, but just barely, as conservative holdouts are demanding quicker cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs before giving their full support. Speaker Mike Johnson met with Republican lawmakers shortly before the meeting and acknowledged to reporters that there are still details to “iron out.” He said some changes were being made, but declined to provide details. It’s all setting up a difficult week ahead for the GOP leadership racing toward a Memorial Day deadline, a week away, to pass the package from the House. The Budget Committee, which just days ago failed to advance the package when four conservative Republicans objected, was able to do so Sunday on a vote of 17-16, with the four hold-outs voting “present” to allow it to move ahead, as talks continue. “The bill does not yet meet the moment,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus, in a social media post immediately after the late-night session. “We can and must do better before we pass the final product.” The path ahead for Johnson is unclear as he tries to hold his narrow House majority together to pass the president’s top domestic priority of extending the tax breaks while pumping in money for border security and deportations — all while cutting spending. Republicans criticizing the measure argued that the bill’s new spending and the tax cuts are front-loaded in the bill, while the measures to offset the cost are back-loaded. In particular, they are looking to speed up the new work requirements that Republicans want to enact for able-bodied participants in Medicaid. Johnson indicated he wants to impose the the work requirements “as soon as possible” but acknowledged it may take states longer to change their systems. Those requirements would not kick in until 2029 under the current bill. “There will be more details to iron out and several more to take care of,” Johnson, R-La., said outside the hearing room. “But I’m looking forward to very thoughtful discussions, very productive discussions over the next few days, and I’m absolutely convinced we’re going to get this in final form and pass it.” More talks are ahead, but Johnson is looking to put the bill on the House floor before the end of the week. Democrats have decried the cuts Republicans are proposing to Medicaid and food stamps to offset the costs of the tax breaks. “This spending bill is terrible, and I think the American people know that,” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., told CNN’s “State of the Union″ on Sunday. “There is nothing wrong with us bringing the government in balance. But there is a problem when that balance comes on the back of working men and women. And that’s what is happening here.” The first time that Republicans tried advancing the bill out of the House Budget Committee last week, the deficit hawks joined with Democratic lawmakers in voting against reporting the measure to the full House. Those same four Republicans — Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia — cast their “present” votes Sunday. Norman pointed to a recent downgrade of the nation’s credit rating […]

Rabbi Aharon Shmuel HaCohen of Stepin (1739 – 1813), was a prime disciple of both the Maggid of Mezritch and Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz and he quotes them in his sefer. He also brings down Torah teachings from the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Zev Wolfe of Zhitomir and Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Koritz, author of Bris Kehunas Olam. He was a descendant of the Maharal of Prague and Rabbi Naftali Katz, author of Smichas Chachamim, and he also quotes them.