The IDF on Sunday announced the drafting of the first 50 Charedi soldiers into the newly established Chashmonean Brigade, marking a new era in integrating more Charedim into military service. The soldiers will form the brigade’s inaugural company, while an additional 100 older Charedi men have been drafted into the brigade’s first reserve unit. These reservists, having previously completed basic training under the Shlav Bet program for older recruits, will now undergo six months of combat training before joining the Chashmonean Brigade’s reserve forces. The IDF plans to continue expanding the brigade, with more recruits expected in the coming months. This initiative aims to address operational needs driven by the ongoing war. To accommodate the recruits, the IDF renovated a training base to align with the strict Charedi observance of halacha and recruited staff accordingly. The brigade will be led by Col. Avinoam Emunah, a frum senior officer. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will again call on allies to boost its air defenses at this week’s meeting in Germany, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes over later this month with a vow to end the almost three-year war quickly. Zelenskyy said that dozens of partner countries will participate in the meeting of the Ramstein group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, “including those who can help boost our capabilities not only to defend against missiles but also against guided bombs and Russian aviation.” “We will discuss this with them and continue to persuade them,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday. “The task remains unchanged: strengthening our air defense.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin will attend the meeting. Biden was originally scheduled to attend the October summit in Ramstein but it was postponed because of response to Hurricane Milton that battered the U.S. In its last few weeks in office, the Biden administration was pressing to send as much military aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump is sworn in Jan. 20. Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could end the war in one day and his comments have put a question mark over whether the United States will continue to be Ukraine’s biggest — and most important — military backer. Zelenskyy said last week that Trump is “strong and unpredictable,” and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, and capitalized last year on weaknesses in Ukraine’s defenses to slowly advance in eastern areas despite high losses of troops and equipment. The war’s trajectory isn’t in Ukraine’s favor. The country is shorthanded on the front line and needs continued support from its Western partners. Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russian and North Korean troops had suffered heavy losses in the fighting in Russia’s Kursk region. “In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, in the Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroopers,” Zelenskyy said. “This is significant.” Zelenskyy said last month that 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed and wounded in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in August, dealing a blow to Russia’s prestige and forcing it to deploy some of its troops from a slow-moving offensive in eastern Ukraine. The incursion didn’t significantly change the dynamic of the war, and military analysts say Ukraine has lost around 40% of the land it initially captured. In other developments, nine people were wounded in a Russian guided bomb attack on the border town of Semenivka in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region on Saturday evening, local officials said. Moscow sent 103 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s air force, 61 drones were destroyed and 42 were lost likely due to electronic jamming. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 61 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight into Sunday in five regions of western Russia. No casualties were reported but Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said residential buildings and cars had been damaged by falling drone debris. (AP)
The timeless music of Reb Shlomo Carlebach Z”L resonates in shuls, homes, and yeshivas worldwide. But fans were treated to something extraordinary last Thursday—a previously unreleased “Carlebach song” composed over 30 years ago. Titled “Niggun Vayigash,” the song was discovered on an old cassette and sent to Yehuda Solomon and Shlomo Katz, who unveiled it for the first time. Watch, listen, and enjoy this rare treasure! (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
This Jan. 6 won’t be the same. Four years ago, then-President Donald Trump urged supporters to head to the Capitol to protest Congress’ certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. “Will be wild!” Trump promised on Twitter a few weeks before Jan. 6, 2021. And it was. Trump gave a vitriolic speech to thousands of people gathered at the Ellipse behind the White House, after which many marched to the Capitol and stormed the building in an attempt to stop the previously routine final step in formalizing the winner of the presidential election. Even after the rioters dispersed, eight Republicans in the Senate and 139 in the House voted against ratifying Biden’s win in certain swing states, despite no evidence of problems or wrongdoing that could have affected the outcome. This year, the only turbulence preceding the quadrennial ratification of the presidential election resulted from House Republicans fighting among themselves over who should be speaker. “There will be no violence. There will be no attempt to mount an insurrection against the Constitution,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. “It will be a lot more like what we’ve seen for the rest of American history.” The last time, Trump urged his vice president, Mike Pence, who was presiding over the certification, to intervene to keep him in the White House. This time, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee against Trump, has acknowledged her loss and isn’t expected to try to change long-established procedures for certifying the election. No other prominent Democrat has urged the party to contest Trump’s win, either. Congress also has since updated the law that governs the proceeding, clarifying the process in the states and specifying the vice president’s role as merely ministerial. After the 2020 election, many Republicans contended there were signs of massive voter fraud that made it impossible to confirm Biden’s victory, even though there has never been any indication of widespread fraud. After Trump won this November, many of those same Republicans had no such objections, saying they trusted the accuracy of the vote count. It was a change in sentiment shared by Republicans across the country. “As citizens, we should all be happy when it goes smoothly,” said Edward Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University. “It’s always better not to have major contestation over elections, especially when there isn’t a reasonable position for it.” Still, the calm may be illusory. Trump and Republicans had signaled that if had Harris won, they were prepared to contest her victory. Vice President-elect JD Vance, as an Ohio senator, argued that Pence should have acted to overturn Biden’s election. Vance himself is set to be in the position to preside over the next significant Jan. 6 — in 2029, when Congress will be scheduled to accept the electoral votes for the winner of the 2028 presidential election. “The most dangerous January 6 event is not January 6, 2025. It’s January 6, 2029, and beyond,” said David Weinberg of Protect Democracy, which defends against what it terms authoritarian threats to the country. “It creates an enormous problem when only one side of the aisle stands down when it loses an election.” The Constitution lays out some basic steps required to choose the next president, and congressional legislation has filled in the procedural blanks. […]
Heavy snow and freezing rain brought widespread disruption across Europe on Sunday, particularly in the U.K. and Germany, with several major airports forced to suspend flights With the weather set to stay inclement on Sunday in the U.K., there are concerns that many rural communities, particularly in the north of England, could be cut off, with up to 40 centimeters (15 inches) of snow on ground above 300 meters (985 feet). The National Grid, which oversees the country’s electricity network, said it had been working to restore power after outages across the country. The company’s live map shows power cuts in Birmingham in central England, Bristol in the west and Cardiff in Wales. Many sporting events have already been postponed, though the heavyweight Premier League fixture between rivals Liverpool and Manchester United is on, following an inspection at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield and of local conditions. Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport had to close runways, but both appeared poised to reopen them by late Sunday morning. Leeds Bradford Airport, however, said it had closed its runway on Sunday morning. The road network was heavily impacted too, on what would have been a very busy day with many families returning home from the Christmas and New Year break and students heading back to universities. Many roads had been preemptively closed by local authorities but stranded vehicles and collisions have caused disruption elsewhere. On the railways, many services were canceled, with National Rail warning of disruption continuing into the working week. Britain’s main weather forecaster, the Met Office, says sleet and snow will continue to push north on Sunday and will be heaviest in northern England and into southern Scotland. After experiencing freezing rain, which occurs when supercold rain freezes on impact, the south will turn milder. The Environment Agency has also issued eight flood warnings across southern England on the River Taw and River Avon. Snow and ice were also causing havoc in Germany, where a bout of winter weather is spreading from the southwest. Authorities have issued black ice warnings for drivers and pedestrians, advising people to stay home where possible. Frankfurt airport canceled 120 of its 1,090 planned takeoffs and landings on Sunday, according to the Fraport press office. At Munich airport, only one runway was open while the other one was being cleared. In Baden-Wuerttemberg eight people were injured when a bus skidded off the road near the town of Hemmingen. Long-distance train connections also experienced irregularities in the Frankfurt area. (AP)
Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, has warned that the terror group’s “patience may run out” as Israel continues limited operations during the ongoing ceasefire. Israel argues its actions target Hezbollah operatives violating the truce, which stipulates Israel’s full withdrawal from Lebanon by the end of January, at which point the Lebanese military is set to assume control of border areas to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing positions near Israel. “There is no timetable for our resistance,” Qassem said in a speech. “Our patience may expire at any moment, and when it does, the enemy will see our response.” The ceasefire followed a two-month Israeli offensive from September to November that decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and military capabilities. The campaign culminated in the death of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and the appointment of Qassem as his successor. Qassem claimed Israel’s limited ground advancement marked a victory for Hezbollah’s fighters, despite Israel’s stated goal of eliminating border threats rather than pursuing deeper incursions. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A cartoonist has decided to quit her job at the Washington Post after an editor rejected her sketch of the newspaper’s owner and other media executives bowing before President-elect Donald Trump. Ann Telnaes posted a message Friday on the online platform Substack saying that she drew a cartoon showing a group of media executives bowing before Trump while offering him bags of money, including Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Telnaes wrote that the cartoon was intended to criticize “billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.” Several executives, Bezos among them, have been spotted at Trump’s Florida club Mar-a-Lago. She accused them of having lucrative government contracts and working to eliminate regulations. Telnaes said that she’s never before had a cartoon rejected because of its inherent messaging and that such a move is dangerous for a free press. “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable,” Telnaes wrote. “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’” The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists issued a statement Saturday accusing the Post of “political cowardice” and asking other cartoonists to post Telnaes’ sketch with the hashtag #StandWithAnn in a show of solidarity. “Tyranny ends at pen point,” the association said. “It thrives in the dark, and the Washington Post simply closed its eyes and gave in like a punch-drunk boxer.” The Post’s communications director, Liza Pluto, provided The Associated Press on Saturday with a statement from David Shipley, the newspaper’s editorial page editor. Shipley said in the statement that he disagrees with Telnaes’ “interpretation of events.” He said he decided to nix the cartoon because the paper had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and was set to publish another. “Not every editorial judgement is a reflection of a malign force. … The only bias was against repetition,” Shipley said. (AP)
The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data. “A lot of flu out there,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Carrie Reed. Of course, there are a number of bugs that cause fever, cough, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms. One is COVID-19. Another is RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but can be dangerous for infants and the elderly. The most recent CDC hospitalization data and other indicators show that the flu virus is trending higher than the other germs, Reed said. Several seasonal flu strains are driving cases, with no dominant one, she added. Pediatric hospitals have been busy since November with RSV, but “influenza has now joined the party,” said Dr. Jason Newland, an infectious diseases specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Now we’re really starting to roll,” he added. ”Our hospitals are busy.” Where flu illnesses are the highest One indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. That level last week was about equal to the peak of last winter’s respiratory virus season — which occurred at the same time of year. Reed noted that most people avoid medical appointments over the holidays if they can help it, so the data in late December might be skewed by people who came down with sudden illnesses. Last week’s flu activity was particularly intense in the South, Southwest and western U.S. The states reporting lesser amounts of suffering were mostly in the northern Great Plains and in New England. So far this season, the CDC estimates, there have been at least 5.3 million flu illnesses, 63,000 hospitalizations, and 2,700 deaths — including at least 11 children. It’s not clear if this winter respiratory virus season will be any worse than others. So far it seems relatively typical, at least for kids, Newland said. How to protect yourself from seasonal illnesses U.S. health officials recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccination, and they say it’s not too late to get a shot. You should also avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth because germs can spread that way, health officials say. You should also wash your hands with soap and water, clean frequently touched surfaces and avoid close contact with people who are sick. Other germs are being watched The CDC also has been keeping its eye on a rise of illnesses from norovirus, a nasty stomach bug, with 91 outbreaks reported early in December. Investigators also have been closely watching another kind of influenza virus, the Type A H5N1 version of bird flu. The CDC says 66 human U.S. cases of that were reported last year, but none of them in the last week. The cases are “fairly sporadic” and the overall risk to the public remains low, Reed said. Almost all have been traced to direct contact with infected animals, with no proof of spread between people. (AP)
Significant progress in talks for a hostage release deal has been reached, according to a report in the Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper on Sunday. “Today is a decisive day for the fate of the negotiations between Hamas and Israel,” a Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations told the outlet. “The mediators have succeeded in bridging the gaps between the two sides and are waiting for a response from the Israeli government tonight.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a security assessment on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, the head of the security establishment, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, and Ministers Gideon Sa’ar, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Betzalel Smotrich. The details of the meeting have not been clarified. Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office claim that the meeting is not about a potential hostage deal. However, Ynet reported that Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea is scheduled to fly to Doha on Monday. A Biden administration delegation headed by Middle East envoy Brett McGurk is already in Qatar, which according to the report, “indicates the importance that the Biden administration attaches to the meetings and the efforts to reach a deal before Donald Trump takes office on January 20th.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Iran has issued a warning to Israel, declaring it is fully prepared to respond forcefully to any further military strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to Chinese media, made it clear that Tehran is ready for escalation if Israel proceeds with additional attacks. “We are fully prepared for the possibility of further attacks by Israel – and our response will be swift and decisive,” Araghchi told CCTV. The warning follows Israel’s large-scale airstrike on Iran in October, which came in retaliation for two huge drone and missile offensives launched by Iran over the past year. Those attacks targeted critical infrastructure and population centers in Israel, exacerbating hostilities between the two countries. In recent weeks, Israel has faced increasing pressure to launch another strike against Iran, as Tehran’s proxy forces in Yemen – the Houthis – have intensified their aggression. The Houthis have fired multiple ballistic missiles at central Israel, including during nighttime raids that heightened public alarm. “I strongly advise Israel to reconsider any reckless move. Such actions will not go unanswered and could ignite a large-scale war across the region,” Araghchi warned. Israel has not officially commented on the latest remarks. Defense analysts suggest Israel may be weighing further strikes, particularly in light of the escalating missile threats from Iranian-backed forces. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of turning its virtual assistant Siri into a snoop that eavesdropped on the users of iPhones and other trendy devices in a betrayal to its long-standing commitment to personal privacy. The proposed settlement filed in federal court earlier this week still needs to be approved by a judge, but here are a few things to know about the case and the privacy issues that it raised. WHAT WAS THE LAWSUIT ABOUT? The Wood Law Firm, which specializes in class-action lawsuits, filed the complaint against Apple in August 2019, shortly after The Guardian newspaper published an article alleging that Siri’s microphone had been surreptitiously turned on to record conversations occurring without the users’ knowledge. Apple issued a September 2014 software update that was supposed to activate the virtual assistant only with the triggering words “Hey, Siri,” but The Guardian story alleged Siri was listening and recording conversations at other times to help improve the company’s technology. The story led to the lawsuit, which later raised allegations that Apple shared some of the conversations that Siri secretly recorded with advertisers looking to connect with consumers who were more likely to buy their products and services. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COVERED BY THE SETTLEMENT? Tens of millions of U.S consumers who owned or purchased iPhones and other devices equipped with Siri from September 17, 2014, through the end of last year will be eligible to file claims. HOW MUCH MONEY WILL EACH ELIGIBLE CONSUMER RECEIVE? It’s far too early to tell for certain, but the settlement currently envisions paying out up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, with each consumer limited to a maximum. The final amount could be affected by two factors: the number of claims and how much of the settlement fund is reduced to cover legal fees and costs. A claims administrator estimates only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers will file claims. The lawyers in the case currently are seeking nearly $30 million in fees and expenses, but that figure could still be lowered by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who is overseeing the case in Oakland, California. A proposed Feb. 14 court hearing has been proposed to review the settlement terms. DID APPLE BREAK ANY LAWS? If the allegations were true, Apple may have violated federal wiretapping laws and other statutes designed to protect people’s privacy. But Apple adamantly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that it would have been cleared of any misconduct had the case gone to trial. Lawyers representing the consumers asserted that Apple’s misbehavior was so egregious that the company could have been liable for $1.5 billion in damages if it lost the case. Although Apple hasn’t explained the reasons for making the settlement, major companies often decide it makes more sense to resolve class-action cases rather than to continue to run up legal costs and risk the chance of potentially bad publicity. The lawsuit also targeted one of Apple’s core values framing privacy as a “fundamental human right.” Although $95 million sounds like a lot of money, it’s a pittance for Apple. Since September 2014, the company’s total profits have exceeded $700 billion — a streak of prosperity that has helped propel the company’s market value to about $3.7 trillion. DO I […]
Your car is spying on you. That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk’s company was impressive, but also shines a spotlight on a difficult question as vehicles become less like cars and more like computers on wheels. Is your car company violating your privacy rights? “You might want law enforcement to have the data to crack down on criminals, but can anyone have access to it?” said Jodi Daniels, CEO of privacy consulting firm Red Clover Advisors. “Where is the line?” Many of the latest cars not only know where you’ve been and where you are going, but also often have access to your contacts, your call logs, your texts and other sensitive information thanks to cell phone syncing. The data collected by Musk’s electric car company after the Cybertruck packed with fireworks burst into flames in front of the Trump International Hotel Wednesday proved valuable to police in helping track the driver’s movements. Within hours of the New Year’s Day explosion that burned the driver beyond recognition and injured seven, Tesla was able to track Matthew Livelsberger’s movements in detail from Denver to Las Vegas, and also confirm that the problem was explosives in the truck, not the truck itself. Tesla used data collected from charging stations and from onboard software — and to great acclaim. “I have to thank Elon Musk, specifically,” said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill to reporters. “He gave us quite a bit of additional information.“ Some privacy experts were less enthusiastic. “It reveals the kind of sweeping surveillance going on,” said David Choffnes, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. “When something bad happens, it’s helpful, but it’s a double edged sword. Companies that collect this data can abuse it.” General Motors, for instance, was sued in August by the Texas attorney general for allegedly selling data from 1.8 million drivers to insurance companies without their consent. Cars equipped with cameras to enable self-driving features have added a new security risk. Tesla itself came under fire after Reuters reported how employees from 2019 through 2022 shared drivers’ sensitive videos and recordings with each other, including videos of road rage incidents and, in one case, nudity. Tesla did not respond to emailed questions about its privacy policy. On its website, Tesla says it follows strict rules for keeping names and information private. “No one but you would have knowledge of your activities, location, or a history of where you’ve been,” according to a statement. “Your information is kept private and secure.” Auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Telemetry Insight, said he doesn’t think Tesla is “especially worse” than other auto companies in handling customer data, but he is still concerned. “This is one of the biggest ethical issues we have around modern vehicles. They’re connected,” he said. “Consumers need to have control over their data.” Tensions were high when the Cybertruck parked at the front doors of Trump’s hotel began smoking, then burst into flames. Just hours earlier a driver in another vehicle using the same peer-to-peer car rental service, Turo, had killed 15 people after […]
“Telling your wife your needs and wants” is a complete waste of time for married men who want happiness and I’ll tell you why. So many marriage experts claim they have the secret to a happy marriage and that it all comes down to communication, boundaries and bringing in more money. They tell you to help out more at home, talk about the past, go together to a marriage professional but never stop to take inventory of whether ANY of these methods are actually WORKING in creating happiness and joy! I am not saying those strategies don’t work at all, but they are the long… slow… painful way of having a happy home. And for the few that make it with these strategies, they’ve done it while he doesn’t get what he needs, and she doesn’t get what she needs. Meanwhile, we’re helping our clients connect with their wives on the highest level, living lives full of happiness and excitement and it gets more and more joyful by the day where both husband and wife feel happiness and excitement… … all without needing their wife to meet them halfway! To check out how they do this, click below to watch my free presentation where I share all the details … you’re going to thank me for it! 5 Steps Married Men Use to Get Rid of Friction and Create Happiness and Excitement… Without Needing Their Wife to Meet Them Halfway!
The two Israelis who were injured in the New Orleans shooting and ramming attack last week are good friends in their 20s who served together in reserve duty after the October 7 assault in both Gaza and Lebanon. Ironically, the reservists were spared from harm from Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists but were critically and seriously wounded by an ISIS-inspired attack while on a six-week trip to the US to recover from their reserve duty. The two were injured by the car ramming rather than gunfire. One victim is still in critical condition with head trauma and limb injuries and his life is still at risk. He underwent two emergency surgeries and will need further surgeries on his limbs when his condition stabilizes. The second victim suffered serious internal injuries along with injuries to his limbs but his life is no longer in danger after undergoing two major surgeries. Baruch Hashem, he was removed from the ventilator on Friday morning and is now breathing on his own and communicating with his family members, who were flown to the US by Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “That’s the tragic irony,” Israel’s Deputy Consul General to the U.S. Elad Shoshan told The New York Post from the New Orleans hospital where the two men are being treated. “They left the terror of one country and never expected to be victims of it in another,” Shoshan said of the reservists, whose families asked not to disclose their names. “They came here to relax, to travel. That was interrupted in the most horrific way.” Shoshan said that the critically injured victim tried to communicate with him before his first surgery. “He pressed my hand,” said the consul. “He’s in severe pain all over his body.” “In an emotional moment, the other soldier recited the Jewish prayer called the Shema, appealing for his friend’s full recovery,” the Post wrote. According to the report, the soldiers’ relatives are being supported by the local Jewish community, which numbers about 12,000. “The road ahead will be challenging, but we remain optimistic and remain hopeful for their speedy recovery,” the father of the critically injured man told The Post. Shoshan commented on the New Year’s Day anti-Israel rally in New York City the same day as the terror attack. “When people chant, ‘Globalize the intifada,’ it means importing violence from one region to another,” he said. “And that’s exactly what’s happening.” “They want to bring violence and terror to America,” Shoshan noted, adding that Israel and the US are fighting the “same ideology, the same enemy” as on Oct. 7. “Hamas acted like ISIS, that was its inspiration – just like this terrorist.” “We said on October 8th: ‘The West is Next,’” Shoshan asserted. “This isn’t the first time America has suffered an [Islamic] terror attack. It will continue unless it’s completely eradicated.” “You don’t put out 50 percent of a fire. You need to fully stamp it out to make sure it never happens again.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
President-elect Donald Trump has expressed frustration that flags will be flying at half-staff when he takes office later this month. It’s an action put in place by President Joe Biden to honor the late President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at 100. It’s not a timeline that Trump can do anything about — until after he takes office. Here’s what to know about why flags are lowered when a president dies, who can issue that order and how long the process lasts: Why are U.S. flags being flown at half-staff? On Sunday, Biden ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the late former president. It’s an honor that indicates that the country or a state is in mourning. The U.S. flag code lays out parameters for lowering the U.S. flag to half-staff, including a 30-day period for current or former presidents to cover flags at federal government buildings and their grounds, as well as at U.S. embassies and other facilities abroad, including military installations and vessels. Flags can be lowered to commemorate the deaths of other officials, including the vice president, Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, although those periods aren’t as long. Flags can also be ordered lowered in other circumstances, including a national tragedy or on Memorial Day. Since U.S. flag code states that no flag should fly higher than the American flag on the same pole or nearby, state flags get lowered during those periods, too. How long will flags be lowered? According to Biden’s proclamation, U.S. flags will be lowered for 30 days from Carter’s death, until Jan. 28. With the inauguration on Jan. 20, that means that flags will be at half-staff when Trump takes office and for the first week of his administration. Who decides when to lower flags? According to the U.S. General Services Administration, the president, a governor and the mayor of the District of Columbia can order U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff. What has Trump said about flags being lowered? On Friday, Trump posted on social media that “Democrats are all ‘giddy’” about the notion that flags will be lowered when he takes office as president. “Nobody wants to see this,” Trump wrote. He added that “no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Asked about Trump’s post at Friday’s briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would not consider reversing or reevaluating the half-staff plans. Can Trump decide to raise the flags? Yes. U.S. flag code dictates that flags remain lowered for the 30-day period from the death of a former president. But that code isn’t mandatory, so once he becomes president, Trump could technically override it. That’s what happened in February 1973, when then-President Richard Nixon opted to raise flags — which he had ordered lowered in mourning following the death of former President Lyndon Johnson — before the 30-day mark to honor the first American prisoners of war released from Vietnam. The hiatus only lasted a day, and flags went back to half-staff thereafter for eight days. Flags had also been at half-staff when Nixon was sworn in for his second term in January 1973, due to Nixon having ordered them lowered after the death of former President Harry S. Truman. Has Trump taken issue […]
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Saturday he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed a second time. The announcement came after the People’s Party and the Social Democrats on Saturday continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions. “Unfortunately I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” said Nehammer, the conservative party’s leader, in a statement on social media. He said that “destructive forces” in the Social Democratic Party have “gained the upper hand” and that the People’s Party will not sign on to a program that it considers to be against economic competitiveness. Social democratic leader Andreas Babler said he regretted the People’s Party decision to end the talks. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said. Babler said that one of the main stumbling blocks had to do with how to repair the “record deficit” left by the previous government. “I have offered to Karl Nehammer and the People’s Party to continue negotiating and called on them not to give up,” he told reporters Saturday evening. The next government in Austria faces the challenge of having to save between 18 to 24 billion euros, according to the EU Commission. In addition, Austria has been in a recession for the past two years, is experiencing rising unemployment, and its budget deficit is currently at 3.7% of Gross Domestic Product — above the EU’s limit of 3%. Babler blamed the collapse of the negotiations on “forces within the People’s Party” that were against a coalition with the Social Democrats, while praising Nehammer for his readiness to compromise. A coalition between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats was considered shaky from the beginning since the two parties together only have a razor-thin one-seat majority in the Austrian parliament. It was not immediately clear what would happen next. The People’s Party will have to search for a replacement for Nehammer, who has always ruled out the possibility of a coalition with far-right leader Herbert Kickl. But Nehammer’s expected resignation could now prompt the party to rethink its options under new leadership. People’s Party officials planned to meet Sunday to discuss choosing a new leader. The People’s Party and the far-right Freedom Party are close on economic policies as well as other issues such as migration and are already working together in five coalitions on the local level. An early election would be another option. But given Austrian election laws, such an election would unlikely take place before May. Coalition talks had dragged on after Austria’s president tasked the conservative chancellor in October with putting together a new government. The request came after all other parties refused to work with the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which in September won a national election for the first time with 29.2% of the vote. According to the latest opinion polls published in December, the Freedom Party increased its support to between 35% and 37%. Party leader Herbert Kickl criticized Nehammer, Babler and Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen in a written statement on Saturday evening for having created “chaos instead of stability” and said the ball is now in Van der Bellen’s court. Van der […]
An IDF soldier who is also a survivor of the October 7 Nova massacre, was forced to flee Brazil after the Brazilian federal court launched a “war crimes” probe against him, Brazilian media outlets reported overnight Motzei Shabbos. The soldier, who served in Gaza, was on vacation in the South American country when the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an antisemitic international organization, submitted a claim against the soldier for “participating in massive demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction.” The Belgium-based organization submitted a 500-page report to the court, claiming that it has evidence from open sources, presumably from social media, of the soldier’s “war crimes.” The anti-Israel organization noted that the lawsuit “marks the first case of a state that is a signatory to the Rome Statute directly enforcing its provisions without relying on the International Criminal Court (ICC),” and added that it constitutes “a powerful precedent.” Following the submission of the complaint, the Brazilian federal court ordered the police to launch an investigation against the soldier. Kan News reported that after hours of fear and uncertainty, the soldier managed to escape Brazil before the authorities detained him. His family told Ynet that he and his friends left the country before legal action could be taken. Sadly and ironically, this is the second time the soldier had to escape anti-Israeli and antisemitic terror elements, the first time from armed terrorists and the second time from “terrorists in suits.” In a video that appeared online two weeks after October 7 and went viral, the soldier described his dramatic escape from the Nova massacre, as he ran many kilometers over many hours, narrowly escaping gunfire. This is not the foundation’s first attempt to have an IDF soldier arrested abroad for “war crimes.” Earlier this year, an IDF reservist fled Cyprus after Israeli security officials warned him that the organization issued a “war crimes” complaint against him. Another soldier fled Sri Lanka for the same reason. Following the report, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein on Sunday morning announced he scheduled an urgent classified meeting to take place on Monday to discuss the persecution of IDF soldiers abroad. “For months, the members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, including myself, have warned time and time again, that the judicial persecution under false accusations of war crimes would not stop with the prime minister and the defense minister but would inevitably also target IDF soldiers,” Edelstein said. “I am embarrassed for Brazil and its government for capitulating to pro-Palestinian legal terrorism. I expect to hear from IDF and Foreign Ministry representatives about their plan of action to defend our soldiers from these malicious sanctions and criminal persecution.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
President Biden on Saturday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor – upon none other than Democratic megadonor and left-wing puppet master George Soros. The move sent shockwaves through critics who lambasted the selection as a “national disgrace” and an affront to the millions suffering from the very policies Soros has gleefully bankrolled. Soros, 94, was one of 19 recipients, joining a rogues’ gallery of establishment darlings like U2 frontman Bono, actor Denzel Washington, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – herself a magnet for controversy. Unsurprisingly, Clinton’s inclusion also drew criticism. “George Soros spent millions electing soft-on-crime politicians that let criminals wreak havoc in our major cities,” said Montana Senator Tim Sheehy. “Hillary Clinton abandoned our Navy SEALs in Libya. Joe Biden’s decision to give Hillary Clinton and George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a national disgrace.” Soros, perhaps too preoccupied dismantling the American justice system to attend in person, had his son and political heir, Alex Soros, accept the award on his behalf. According to the citation read during the ceremony, Soros’s background as a Holocaust survivor somehow qualifies him for a medal honoring “guardians of democracy,” despite his well-documented efforts to bankroll the Defund the Police movement and fund radical district attorneys who are more interested in prosecuting victims than criminals. Biden’s praise for Soros reached new heights of absurdity. “I am grateful for the work you will inspire for generations to follow,” the president said, apparently heralding a future filled with skyrocketing crime rates, safe injection sites, and the steady erosion of law and order. Soros, whose net worth exceeds $7 billion, has funneled tens of billions into his Open Society Foundations – a leftist juggernaut responsible for promoting criminal-friendly policies and installing radical district attorneys like Alvin Bragg (Manhattan), Kim Foxx (Chicago), George Gascón (Los Angeles), and Larry Krasner (Philadelphia). The result? Soaring crime, open-air drug use, and communities in tatters. In New York, Soros-backed nonprofits have distributed free needles, crack pipes, and even devices to “cook” heroin, all in the name of “harm reduction.” “Truly a sad day for America,” lamented New Jersey GOP Rep. Jeff Van Drew. “Communities all across our country will likely never recover from the damage George Soros and his radical left prosecutors have inflicted upon them.” Adding fuel to the fire, Soros’s vast network of influence extends beyond domestic borders. His organizations have poured millions into groups supporting anti-Israel protests on college campuses, stoking tensions and contributing to the rising tide of antisemitism in the United States. Meanwhile, Democrats have wasted no time attacking Elon Musk’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, decrying the billionaire’s influence over policy. Yet when Soros – a man who gleefully funds the progressive dismantling of American cities – is handed the highest civilian honor, the hypocrisy couldn’t be more glaring. Musk himself took to his platform X, calling the decision a “travesty” – a sentiment that resonates across conservative circles. Adding to the farce, Clinton’s medal marked nearly 12 years since her husband, Bill Clinton, received the same award from Barack Obama. The former first lady, whose political career remains forever marred by the Benghazi debacle and the FBI investigation into her private email server, accepted the honor with a standing ovation. Hunter Biden, the president’s […]
Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.S. Congress. Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, Murthy argues in his advisory, noting alcohol consumption is to blame for nearly one million preventable cancer cases in the U.S. over the last decade. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, according to his advisory. Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels that say pregnant women should not drink and that alcohol consumption can impair someone’s ability to drive a car. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too. “It’s pretty crazy that there’s a lot more information on a can of peas than on a bottle of whiskey,” said Dr. Timothy Naimi, who directs the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. “Consumers have the right to basic information about health risks, serving size and drinks per container.” Consuming alcohol raises the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer diseases, including liver, breast and throat cancer, research has found. His advisory also notes that as a person’s alcohol consumption goes up, so does the risk for developing those illnesses. “For individuals, be aware that cancer risk increases as you drink more alcohol,” Murthy wrote Friday on the social media platform X. “As you consider whether or how much to drink, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to cancer risk.” Even with the Surgeon General’s advisory and new research that shows the dangers of drinking, it’s unlikely Congress would act swiftly to enact a new Surgeon General’s warning on alcohol products. It’s been nearly four decades since Congress approved the first government warning label on alcohol, the one that says pregnant women shouldn’t drink and warns about the dangers of driving while drinking. No updates have been made since then. Before that, Congress approved a label on cigarettes cautioning users that smoking is hazardous to health, a move that is credited with helping America substantially reduce its bad habit. Any effort to add a cancer warning label to alcohol would face significant push back from a well-funded and powerful beverage industry, which spends nearly $30 million every year lobbying Congress. Other research around alcohol, including reports that moderate drinking can be associated with lower risks to of heart disease compared to no alcohol consumption, should be considered, said Amanda Berger of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “Many lifestyle choices carry potential risks, and it is the federal government’s role to determine any proposed changes to the warning statements based on the entire body of scientific research,” Berger said in a statement. The surgeon general’s advisory comes as the government is in the process of updating dietary guidelines, including those around alcohol, that will form the cornerstone of federal food programs and policy. The updated guidelines are expected later this year. The current guidelines recommend women […]
