Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday held a hearing on petitions by five left-wing organizations against the Israeli government regarding its policy of allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The organizations are demanding that Israel significantly increase the scope of aid into the Strip. Bereaved families and relatives of IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza showed up to protest the hearing and made a ruckus, yelling out “Bushah! Bushah! Bushah!.” In response, the judges left the room. The right-wing B’Tzalmo organization, which called on Israelis to come to the hearing and see the “bushah v’cherpah” with their own eyes, said: “During the hearing, Judge Uzi Fogelman repeatedly expressed concern about the welfare of the enemy but the judges did not mention even once the welfare of Israeli citizens or the hostages in Gaza and the security of the IDF soldiers there. At one point, parents couldn’t help themselves and shouted at them: ‘What about the hostages? What about Israeli citizens? Have you no shame?'” “The judges, who had difficulty hearing the truth, ran away from the hearing and the security guards forcibly removed the protestors.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Today, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein joined with the administration and coordinators of Chevra Hatzalah at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the allocation of funding for three brand new ambulances which will service three separate neighborhoods. The state-of-the-art new emergency vehicles will service the neighborhoods of Boro Park, Flatbush and the Catskills region. Each of them will be outfitted with the proper equipment needed for the areas they will be servicing. These new ambulances are great news, not just for Hatzalah but for the community at large, giving the organization even more opportunities to perform their lifesaving mission. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Assemblyman Eichenstein paid tribute to Hatzalah and its wonderful work. “At today’s ribbon-cutting, we not only celebrate three new ambulances, but we also celebrate the Hatzalah organization, with its hundreds of volunteer members who are dedicated to saving lives and preserving lives selflessly in every community.” said Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein “They are truly heroes and it’s an honor to be doing my small part to assist them in their holy work.” Rabbi Yechiel Kalish, CEO of Hatzalah, thanked the Assemblyman for facilitating the funding for the ambulances. “We are grateful for Assemblyman Eichenstein’s dedication to saving lives in and around his district,” said Rabbi Kalish. “He is proactively there for Hatzalah 24/7, both in Albany and in his home district. Today’s event represents just a small portion of what the Assemblyman does for Hatzalah on behalf of his constituents.” Life is precious and Hatzalah has been saving countless lives since its inception decades ago. As communities grow, Hatzalah is determined to grow as well to accommodate the demand. These new ambulances allocated by Assemblyman Eichenstein will ensure that Hatzalah will be well-equipped with the proper number of emergency vehicles to continue their selfless and heroic mission.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance made his first solo campaign appearance a day after the White House race was thrown into upheaval when President Joe Biden dropped out. The Ohio senator held a rally Monday at his former high school in Middleton, his hometown, where he played up his local ties, praised running mate Donald Trump and attacked Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s now backed by more than half of the delegates needed to win her party’s nomination vote, according to an Associated Press survey. “I was told I was going to debate Kamala Harris and now President Trump’s going to get to debate her,” Vance said to laughs. “I’m kind of pissed off about that, if I’m being honest with you.” Vance tried to deflect the criticism that Trump, who has refused to accept his 2020 loss to Biden and tried to overturn the results, is a threat to democracy. The senator claimed that the real threat came from the push by “elite Democrats” who “decided to throw Joe Biden overboard” and then have the party line up behind a replacement without primary contests. Vance also seemed to question Harris’ patriotism, saying that when she gives a speech, “she talks about the history of this country not with appreciation but with condemnation.” He added: “Not everything’s perfect. It’s never going to be. But you, if you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it. You should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.” Vance gave no examples to support his assessment. The attack line against Harris was reminiscent of criticism of former first lady Michelle Obama, who said during husband Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential primary bid that it was the first time she felt really proud of her country. Conservatives seized on the comment to portray her as unpatriotic. She said the comment was taken out of context, and that she was talking about election results, not of the country itself. The applause for Vance from a crowd of about 900 was more muted than at the raucous rallies that Trump typically holds, though the senator drew a strong response when he endorsed Trump’s “America First” policies. Vance planned an evening event in Radford, Virginia. Trump’s campaign intends to use Vance, who became the GOP vice presidential nominee last week, in Rust Belt states that are seen as pivotal for Democrats’ path to the White House. That includes Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and places where the senator’s blue collar roots and populist views are expected to resonate. Middletown, between Cincinnati and Dayton, is considered to be part of the Rust Belt and allowed Vance to lean into his biography, which he laid out in his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” It also gave the campaign a chance to establish a fresh groundswell in a former swing state that has been trending Republican. Vance cited his origin story in his remarks, describing his grandma “Mamaw,” and joking, “A lot of you know the story of my family. Hell, a lot of you are my family, actually,” which drew laughs from the crowd. Vance tried to warm up to the audience in Middletown with lots of local references, including to ice cream and doughnut shops, a […]
Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress this week, according to reports. The decision, made before President Joe Biden’s announcement to withdraw from the 2024 race, has sparked speculation about the administration’s strategy. Harris was initially expected to sit directly behind Netanyahu’s podium during the Wednesday event. Instead, she is scheduled to speak in Indianapolis, a move a former senior administration official described as “probably not an accident.” The official suggested that Biden may be keeping Harris away from the White House during Netanyahu’s visit to avoid images of her associating with the Israeli prime minister. This development comes as Harris faces criticism from Zionist organizations over her comments on student protests in support of Palestinians and Hamas. However, a current U.S. official stated that a future Harris administration’s policies on the Israel-Palestinian would align with Biden’s, emphasizing support for Israel’s security and a two-state solution. A record number of Democrats are set to boycott Netanyahu’s speech, signaling a significant anti-Israel shift in the Democrat party in recent years. Meanwhile, President Biden may also snub Netanyahu, with a senior official hinting that a meeting between the two leaders is uncertain. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
European planemaker Airbus plans to show off its newest passenger jet with daily flight demonstrations during one of the world’s biggest aviation trade fairs. But an ongoing safety and manufacturing crisis has rival Boeing keeping a lower profile at the Farnborough International Air Show. The beleaguered American company isn’t bringing any jetliners to take part in aerial displays at the event that kicks off Monday near London. Ahead of the show’s opening, the company said it remained focused on satisfying the concerns of U.S. regulators and “meeting our customer commitments” rather than selling a lot of planes. Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Pope said Boeing was focused on “predictable deliveries” of jets to airline customers, and getting production of its troubled 737 Max jets back up to 38 per month. “This is transformational change. And you all know we have slowed down our factories pretty significantly to execute that change,” Pope, who also serves as chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, told reporters Sunday. The Farnsborough expo, held every other year in turn with the Paris Air Show, is traditionally a venue for aerospace companies to showcase their newest technological developments and for manufacturers to trumpet a flurry of orders for new passenger, cargo and military aircraft. Organizers expect about 1,500 exhibitors from 42 countries and 80,000 visitors during the weeklong event. Boeing’s subdued presence at this year’s show underscores its continuing woes. Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson said in a news release that the company has “reduced our commercial airplanes display and flight demonstrations at the show, and will focus on new technology, sustainability, security and services solutions.” The company has been reeling since a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 during a flight at the start of the year, rekindling safety fears that were subsiding after two crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The blowout of the panel, coupled with a string of current and former employees coming forward to allege quality-control lapses and retaliation against whistleblowers, brought renewed government scrutiny. The Justice Department revived a criminal fraud charge against Boeing in connection with the fatal crashes. Boeing agreed to plead guilty this month as part of an agreement that calls for an independent monitor to oversee the company’s compliance. Boeing’s leadership is in limbo as it searches for a successor to CEO David Calhoun, who’s stepping down at the end of the year. Calhoun apologized to crash victims’ relatives during a grilling from U.S. senators last month over the company’s safety record. “Hopefully, a new CEO next year will make that horrible situation better, but until then, people are just focused on circling the wagons and doing what they can to keep the company functioning,” said Richard Aboulafia, a longtime aerospace analyst and now a consultant at AeroDynamic Advisory. “It’s a tragedy and an embarrassment, but hopefully this air show will be remembered as the darkness before the dawn.” Boeing’s “customers have been very supportive,” said Pope, a possible successor to Calhoun. But “it still doesn’t take away the reality that we’ve disappointed them. And we’ve impacted their business.” “We are a stable company,” she said. While Airbus will take part in the aerial displays above the town of Farnborough with its new […]
With the Nine Days on the horizon, bipartisan lawmakers were looking for a perfect piece of meat to grill and tear into, and found their perfect prey on Monday in the form of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who arrived on Capitol Hill early this morning to brief Congress on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump a week and a half ago. From the get-go, things went quite badly for the embattled Cheatle. Rep. Fallon recreated the scene from the Butler, PA rally showcasing how easy the Secret Service made it for the assassin: “Do you know what the result was? “15 out of 16 kills shots and the one I missed would have hit the President’s ear that’s a 94% success rate!.. It’s a miracle President Trump wasn’t killed!” “I believe your horrifying ineptitude and your lack of skilled leadership was a disgrace.. You should be fired immediately and go back to guarding Doritos.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna left Cheatle shaking and in silence after catching her in perjury lie. “You have perjured yourself. I ask that we bring perjury charges against the Director. We are prepared to hold you in contempt!” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene torched the Secret Service director, forcing her to answer point-blank: “Was there a stand-down order, Ms. Cheatle? Was there a conspiracy to kill President Trump?!” Cheatle’s response says it all. Listen to the room gasp in horror. Rep. Burchett completely obliterated Cheatle: “I don’t think you should resign. I think you should have been fired. Mam, you are a DEI horror story.” Rep. Nancy Mace humiliated her in public, asking: “Would you like to use my five minutes to draft your resignation letter?” Jim Jordan put her on the hot seat after previously denying Trump additional Secret Service protection: “How many times did you tell them no, and what did you tell them no to?” Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna openly called for Secret Service Director Cheatle to resign. “You know what Stuart Knight did after [Regan’s assassination attempt]?” Khanna asked. “He remained on duty,” Cheatle replied. “He resigned. He resigned,” Khanna shot back. Rep. Tim Burchett asked: “How did no one inside that building hear someone moving on top of the metal roof?” “I don’t have the details…” Cheatle meekly responded. AOC: “This is about the safety of the most highly targeted and valued targets internationally and domestically in the United States of America. So, the idea that a report will be finalized in sixty days […] is simply not acceptable.” Last but not least, Rep. Lauren Boebert smoked Cheatle: “You are responsible for the loss of a life and the shooting that took place on President Trump. You do need to RESIGN. You need to be fired… I cannot tolerate your watch any longer. I am going to continue to call DAILY for you to be removed from your position, ma’am.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A report by Politico has cast doubt on the possibility of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump during Netanyahu’s visit to the United States. According to the report, which cites two unnamed sources familiar with the details, Trump has not rejected the idea of a meeting outright but has yet to agree to it. One source noted that if a meeting were to take place, it likely would not happen before Trump’s rally in North Carolina on Thursday evening. This would leave Friday as the only remaining day for the meeting, but Netanyahu not openly defiling Shabbos while in the US could complicate matters. To not violate Shabbos, Netanyahu and his entourage would need to stay in the US until Saturday night, potentially extending their trip. The Kan public broadcaster had previously reported that Netanyahu’s team was seeking a sit-down with Trump, but the Politico report suggests that the meeting is far from certain. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Even before President Joe Biden’s long-speculated withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, allies of former President Donald Trump floated the possibility of suing to block Democrats from having anyone other than Biden on the ballot in November. But election administration and legal experts said the timing of Biden’s exit on Sunday makes it unlikely that any Republican ballot access challenges will succeed, with some calling the idea “ridiculous” and “frivolous.” Democrats are on safe legal ground as they identify a new standard-bearer, they say, because the party hasn’t officially chosen its nominee. That typically occurs with a vote of delegates at the party’s convention. “It’s ridiculous for people to talk about ‘replacing Biden.’ He hasn’t been nominated yet,” said Richard Winger, a leading expert on state ballot access laws and the longtime editor of the “Ballot Access News” newsletter. Talk of possible Republican legal challenges has been swirling since Democrats began discussing — privately and publicly — whether Biden should drop out of the race. In June, a conservative Washington-based think tank laid out what it described as “the contentious path ahead” if Biden did not seek reelection. “There is the potential for pre-election litigation in some states that would make the process difficult and perhaps unsuccessful,” said Mike Howell, executive director of the Heritage Foundation’s “Oversight Project” in a public memo. Howell identified three battleground states — Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — as possible places where pre-election litigation could be filed to try to block a presidential candidate from withdrawing. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also raised the specter of legal challenges on Sunday morning, hours before Biden’s announcement. “I think they have got legal hurdles in some of these states, and it’ll be litigated, I would expect, on the ground there, and they will have to sort through all that. They have got a real problem,” Johnson, R-La., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” But several experts disagree. Trey Grayson, Kentucky’s former two-term Republican Secretary of State, said there are no grounds to challenge the Democratic Party from picking a post-Biden nominee. “It’s a pretty frivolous claim,” said Grayson, who also served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State and chair of the Republican Secretaries of State Association. “The filing deadlines haven’t passed yet, and the Democrats haven’t nominated anybody yet.” Delegates from every state, territory and the District of Columbia select their parties’ presidential and vice presidential nominees using a process outlined in national party rules. Even though Biden won enough delegates as of March 12 to unofficially clinch the nomination — making him the presumptive nominee — because he ended his campaign before delegates voted, the task of selecting the party’s candidate for the November election still falls to convention delegates. Had Biden stepped aside after the convention, a different process would have been triggered, one that could have been complicated by state ballot access deadlines. “The parties control the process as to who their nominee is,” said Edward B. Foley, a law professor who leads Ohio State University’s election law program. “I just don’t see how the Republican Party or anyone associated with the Republican Party would have any standing to bring any litigation in connection with this.” An Associated Press review of relevant state election laws showed that Biden’s withdrawal […]
Delta Air Lines struggled for a fourth straight day to recover from a worldwide technology outage caused by a faulty software update, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and drawing unwanted attention from the federal government. The airline’s chief executive said it would take “another couple days” before “the worst is clearly behind us.” Delta’s chief information officer said Monday that the airline was still trying to fix a vital crew-scheduling program. Other carriers were returning to nearly normal levels of service disruptions, intensifying the glare on Delta’s relatively weaker response to the outage that hit airlines, hospitals and businesses around the world. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received “hundreds of complaints” about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight. “No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg said. He vowed to help Delta passengers by enforcing air-travel consumer-protection rules. Bastian said in a video for employees that he told Buttigieg, “You do not need to remind me. I know, because we do our very best, particularly in tough times, taking care of our customers.” Delta has canceled more than 5,500 flights since the outage started early Friday morning, including at least 700 flights canceled on Monday, according to aviation-data provider Cirium. Delta and its regional affiliates accounted for about two-thirds of all cancellations worldwide Monday, including nearly all the ones in the United States. United Airlines was the next-worst performer since the onset of the outage, canceling nearly 1,500 flights. United canceled only 17 Monday flights by late morning, however. Other airlines that were caught up in the first round of groundings also returned mostly to normal operations by Monday. That included American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air. Bastian, the Delta CEO, said in a message to customers Sunday that the airline was continuing to restore operations that were disrupted. One of the tools Delta uses to track crews was affected and could not process the high number of changes triggered by the outage. “The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities,” Bastian wrote. Loads are the percentage of sold seats on each flight. Airlines have large, layered technology systems, and crew-tracking programs are often among the oldest systems. When the outage began Friday, it also affected systems used to check in passengers and make pre-flight calculations about aircraft weight and balance, airlines reported. United and American reported intermittent problems communicating with crews in the air, contributing to their decisions to briefly ground all flights. Some airlines, including Southwest and Alaska, do not use CrowdStrike, the provider of cybersecurity software whose faulty upgrade to Microsoft Windows triggered the outages. Those carriers saw relatively few cancellations. Delta, however, said that “upward of half” its IT systems are Windows-based. The airline said the outage forced IT employees to manually repair and reboot each affected system and synchronize applications so they start […]
In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, Rep. Jamie Raskin and James Comer have jointly called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. During a contentious House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, Raskin cited the “irretrievable” relationship between Cheatle and Congress as grounds for her resignation. “What is depressing is the extraordinary communications gap between the director of the Secret Service and Congress,” Raskin said. “I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point; and I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country.” Comer joined Raskin in calling for Cheatle’s resignation, stating, “Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures.” The two representatives signed and published a letter calling for Cheatle’s resignation, citing the need for “serious institutional accountability and transparency” amidst the ongoing presidential election. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday he spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris soon after she became the prohibitive favorite to lead the Democratic ticket, and said his state’s progress “should be a model for the country” as speculation swirled around whether he’s in the running to join the slate. Beshear took a more aggressive tone in criticizing Republican Donald Trump’s four years in the Oval Office. The second-term governor said his fellow Democrats should focus on everyday concerns of Americans and he blistered Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the newly christened running mate to Trump, as a less than authentic representative of working-class Americans. Beshear — just back from an economic development trip to Japan and South Korea — said Harris called him Sunday, a couple hours after President Joe Biden announced he would drop his reelection campaign. Beshear on Monday joined the parade of Democrats endorsing Harris for president. “That meant a lot to me, to reach out to me personally and ask for my support,” the governor said. “I pledged my support to her. The rest of that conversation I said would stay between us. We have a trust in where we’re able to exchange ideas and give advice.” Their interactions have been limited mostly to several meetings in the past few years, but Harris has become familiar with his family, Beshear said. “She’s gotten to know my kids and always asks about them by name, which is an easy way to get to my heart,” Beshear said during a sit-down interview with The Associated Press in the Kentucky governor’s mansion. Asked if he’s interested in a vice presidential bid, Beshear stuck to his usual script that he loves his job as governor and that his plan is to serve out his second term. “The only way that wouldn’t happen is if I have an opportunity to help Kentuckians in a different way that would bring additional value,” he said. But the 46-year-old governor sounded like someone auditioning for the role. He touted the Bluegrass State’s record-setting pace of economic development projects during his time in the governor’s office. “I certainly think what we’ve done here in Kentucky is something that should be a model for the country,” Beshear said. “Not just in winning but in governing. How at a time when the country is at a boiling point, with neighbors yelling at neighbors, we’ve turned down the temperature here.” Republicans dominate Kentucky’s legislature, and they say Beshear takes credit for economic gains they claim are the result of their business-friendly policies. In winning reelection last year, Beshear carried a number of rural counties that are Trump strongholds. Beshear said Monday that Democrats should focus on core issues that hit home for Americans — including jobs, health care, schools and public safety — to improve their standing in rural America. “What Democrats have to do is focus on people’s concerns when they wake up in the morning,” he said. “Concerns that really aren’t partisan, though everything is made partisan right now.” During his tenure as governor, Beshear mostly avoided criticizing Trump, who easily carried the Bluegrass State in 2016 and 2020 and is a prohibitive favorite to do so again in November. Asked Monday to sum up Trump’s legacy as president, Beshear said it was one of stoking […]
Did your parents warn you against jumping in the pool right after eating? They were misguided. In most cases, there’s no need to wait at least 30 minutes after eating to go for a swim, doctors say. That old warning stems from worry that people might drown or struggle because blood will be diverted to their full stomachs instead of their muscles. In reality, people still have plenty of blood flowing to their muscles after eating, said Dr. Matthew Badgett of the Cleveland Clinic. A former high school swimmer, Badgett used to eat a couple of bananas and drink some water or Gatorade before he raced. He worries that the old warning can actually cause complications. It’s important to quench your thirst before swimming, especially on sunny days. People often don’t realize they can still get dehydrated, which can lead to muscle cramps. “We sweat when we are in the water, we just don’t appreciate the water loss,” he said. So, jumping in the pool or ocean after eating is no big deal for recreational swimming. But people planning to swim laps or exercise may want to let their food digest to avoid cramps, just like they’d wait before jogging. Also, swimming after tossing back a few beers is risky. People tend to be more aggressive, less coordinated and prone to bad choices when they swim after consuming alcohol. Those factors all can cause problems when dealing with strong currents or ocean tides at the beach this summer. “You’re just not going to be as sharp,” Badgett said. (AP)
Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race injects greater uncertainty into the world at a time when Western leaders are grappling with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a more assertive China in Asia and the rise of the far right in Europe. During a five-decade career in politics, Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of public service poured in from near and far. The scope of foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. president makes clear how consequential what happens in Washington is for the rest of the planet. Here’s a look at some of them. ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS Biden’s strong support for Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has its roots in his half-century of support for the country as a senator, vice president, then president. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of former President Donald Trump who has clashed with Biden over Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza in recent months, did not immediately comment on Biden’s decision to drop out. Other officials stepped up to praise Biden’s staunch defense of their country, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanking Biden for his “steadfast backing” and President Isaac Herzog hailing him as a “true ally of the Jewish people.” Before jetting off to Washington Monday — where he is set to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday — Netanyahu said that “regardless of who the American people choose as their president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally.” With Vice President Kamala Harris being eyed as a potential replacement for Biden, Israelis scrambled to understand what her candidacy would mean for their country as it confronts increasing global isolation over its war against Hamas. Israel’s left-wing Haaretz daily newspaper ran a story scrutinizing Harris’ reputation as Biden’s “bad cop” who has vocally admonished Israel for not doing enough to protect civilians. “With Biden leaving, Israel has lost perhaps the last Zionist president,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. Palestinians interviewed in Gaza’s central city of Deir al-Balah on Monday said it didn’t matter who became the Democratic candidate as long as Israel kept dropping U.S.-manufactured bombs on the enclave. “We feel the United States is a partner in the assault on Gaza,” Hassan Shaqalieh said. Experts agreed. “Both (Biden and Harris) ultimately are running on a platform and have a history of endorsing Israeli hard-line policies against Palestinians,” said Tahani Mustafa, a Palestinian analyst at the Crisis Group. UKRAINE Any Democratic candidate would likely continue Biden’s legacy of staunch military support for Ukraine. But frustration with the Biden administration has grown in Ukraine and Europe over the slow pace of U.S. aid and restrictions on the use of Western weapons. “Most Europeans realize that Ukraine is increasingly going to be their burden,” said Sudha David-Wilp, director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund, a research institute. “Everyone is trying to get ready for all the possible outcomes.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he respected the “tough but strong decision” by Biden to drop out of the campaign, and he thanked Biden for his help “in preventing (Russian President […]
A new report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has raised concerns that up to $293 million in US humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may have been diverted to the Taliban. The report highlights inadequate documentation and oversight, with only three of five Afghan bureaus receiving US funds providing required documentation. The SIGAR report warns that the Taliban may have exploited US humanitarian aid to achieve their goals, and urges the State Department to trace the path of aid and obtain documentation on beneficiaries. The State Department has agreed with the findings and recognized the need for an investigation. The report comes amid ongoing concerns about the Afghan reappropriation of weapons left behind during the US withdrawal, which has worsened regional instability. Geopolitical analysts warn that embezzled funds and repurposed weapons are being used by terrorist organizations, fueling a surge in cross-border terrorism. The Taliban has denied allegations of misusing US aid, stating that NGOs managed by donor nations distribute aid through their policies, and the Islamic Emirate does not interfere with this system. However, experts argue that the lack of effective oversight and control has enabled the Taliban to exploit US aid, potentially leading to the spread of extremism across Southeast Asia. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Vice President Kamala Harris won the backing of more than half the Democratic delegates she needs to become her party’s nominee and set a new fundraising record Monday in her first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, as top Democrats rallied to her in their bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump. Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over President Joe Biden’s prospects behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris. Worries over Biden’s fitness for office were replaced by fresh signs of unity after a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the 2024 race. Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team. “It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.” Harris spoke at length in praise of Biden, who called into the meeting from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is recovering from COVID-19. “The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” Biden said in his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step aside, promising he was “not going anywhere” and plans to campaign on Harris’ behalf. He said of his decision to step aside, “It was the right thing to do.” Biden’s departure freed his delegates to vote for whomever they choose at next month’s convention. And Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, was working to quickly secure support from a majority. Big-name Harris endorsements Monday, including from Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, left a vanishing list of potential rivals. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party. More than 1,200 pledged delegates have told The Associated Press or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention — more than half the 1,976 benchmark set by Democratic National Committee rules. Winning the nomination is only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden’s decision to exit the race, which she learned about on a Sunday morning call with the president. She must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden’s with just over 100 days until Election Day. On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June. She added $81 million to that total in the first 24 hours after Biden’s endorsement, her campaign said — a presidential fundraising record — with contributions from more than 888,000 donors. The campaign also saw a surge of interest after Harris took over, with more than 28,000 new volunteers registered since the announcement — a rate more than […]
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says a “significant number” of the millions of computers that crashed on Friday, causing global disruptions, are back in operation as its customers and regulators await a more detailed explanation of what went wrong. A defective software update sent by CrowdStrike to its customers disrupted airlines, banks, hospitals and other critical services Friday, affecting about 8.5 million machines running Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The painstaking work of fixing it has often required a company’s IT crew to manually delete files on affected machines. CrowdStrike said late Sunday in a blog post that it was starting to implement a new technique to accelerate remediation of the problem. Shares of the Texas-based cybersecurity company have dropped nearly 30% since the meltdown, knocking off billions of dollars in market value. The scope of the disruptions has also caught the attention of government regulators, including antitrust enforcers, though it remains to be seen if they take action against the company. “All too often these days, a single glitch results in a system-wide outage, affecting industries from healthcare and airlines to banks and auto-dealers,” said Lina Khan, chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in a Sunday post on the social media platform X. “Millions of people and businesses pay the price. These incidents reveal how concentration can create fragile systems.” (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing criticism after being photographed with a cap bearing the inscription “Total Victory” during his trip to the US to address Congress. The cap, associated with Channel 14 personality Yinon Magal, sparked accusations of Netanyahu’s involvement in a marketing campaign. Netanyahu was pictured with his wife Sara in the conference room on the “Wing of Zion” plane, Israel’s version of Air Force One, with the cap prominently displayed on the desk. Online commentators quickly criticized the prime minister, with one reader saying, “To ensure that the total victory is not just a hat, it seems to me that we need more than just posing for the camera.” Others dubbed him “the leader of total failure” and accused him of being “disconnected from reality.” The controversy surrounding the cap began when a complaint was filed with the Second Authority for Television and Radio, alleging that Magal’s promotion of the cap on his program “The Patriots” constituted covert advertising. The complaint claimed that Magal used his broadcast license to profit from selling the cap, potentially in coordination with the Channel. Israel Hayom correspondent Amir Ettinger weighed in on the issue, writing, “The man is a campaigner. A hat hides the head, but does not cover the eyes of the hostage families and the residents of the north, and hides the sad reality.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Wide-eyed piglets rushing to check out the visitors to their unusual barn just might represent the future of organ transplantation – and there’s no rolling around in the mud here. The first gene-edited pig organs ever transplanted into people came from animals born on this special research farm in the Blue Ridge mountains – behind locked gates, where entry requires washing down your vehicle, swapping your clothes for medical scrubs and stepping into tubs of disinfectant to clean your boots between each air-conditioned barn. “These are precious animals,” said David Ayares of Revivicor Inc., who spent decades learning to clone pigs with just the right genetic changes to allow those first audacious experiments. The biosecurity gets even tighter just a few miles away in Christiansburg, Virginia, where a new herd is being raised – pigs expected to supply organs for formal studies of animal-to-human transplantation as soon as next year. This massive first-of-its-kind building bears no resemblance to a farm. It’s more like a pharmaceutical plant. And part of it is closed to all but certain carefully chosen employees who take a timed shower, don company-provided clothes and shoes, and then enter an enclave where piglets are growing up. Behind that protective barrier are some of the world’s cleanest pigs. They breathe air and drink water that’s better filtered against contaminants than what’s required for people. Even their feed gets disinfected – all to prevent them from picking up any possible infections that might ultimately harm a transplant recipient. “We designed this facility to protect the pigs against contamination from the environment and from people,” said Matthew VonEsch of United Therapeutics, Revivicor’s parent company. “Every person that enters this building is a possible pathogen risk.” The Associated Press got a peek at what it takes to clone and raise designer pigs for their organs – including a $75 million “designated pathogen-free facility” built to meet Food and Drug Administration safety standards for xenotransplantation. Creating pigs to ease the shortage of human organs Thousands of Americans each year die waiting for a transplant, and many experts acknowledge there never will be enough human donors to meet the need. Animals offer the tantalizing promise of a ready-made supply. After decades of failed attempts, companies including Revivicor, eGenesis and Makana Therapeutics are engineering pigs to be more humanlike. So far in the U.S. there have been four “compassionate use” transplants, last-ditch experiments into dying patients — two hearts and two kidneys. Revivicor provided both hearts and one of the kidneys. While the four patients died within a few months, they offered valuable lessons for researchers ready to try again in people who aren’t quite as sick. Now the FDA is evaluating promising results from experiments in donated human bodies and awaiting results of additional studies of pig organs in baboons before deciding next steps. They’re semi-custom organs — “we’re growing these pigs to the size of the recipient,” Ayares noted — that won’t show the wear-and-tear of aging or chronic disease like most organs donated by people. Transplant surgeons who’ve retrieved organs on Revivicor’s farm “go, ‘Oh my god that’s the most beautiful kidney I’ve ever seen,’” Ayares added. “Same thing when they get the heart, a pink healthy happy heart from a young animal.” The main challenges: how to avoid rejection and whether the animals might carry some unknown infection risk. The […]
Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly Monday to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their party that he would be unable to defeat Republican Donald Trump. Biden’s exit Sunday, prompted by Democratic worries over his fitness for office, was a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the 2024 race. Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden’s candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the hours after he announced he was dropping his reelection campaign. Biden’s departure frees his delegates to vote for whomever they choose. Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, is thus far the only declared candidate and was working to quickly secure endorsements from a majority of delegates. Additional endorsements Monday, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, left a dwindling list of potential rivals to Harris. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts to Harris, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, endorsed Harris Monday. Pelosi said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party. More than 1,150 pledged delegates have told AP or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention, which is over half of the pledged delegates she needs in order to clinch the nomination. Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination. Winning the nomination is only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden’s decision to exit the race, which she learned about on a Sunday morning call with the president. If she’s successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden’s with just over 100 days until Election Day. On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June. She added $81 million to that total in the first 24 hours after Biden’s endorsement, her campaign said — a presidential fundraising record — with contributions from more than 888,000 donors. Harris spent much of Sunday surrounded by family and staff, making more than 100 calls to Democratic officials to line up their support for her candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the effort. It comes as she tries to move her party past the painful, public wrangling that had defined the weeks since Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate with Trump. Speaking to party leaders, Harris expressed gratitude for Biden’s endorsement but insisted she was looking to earn the nomination in her own right, the person said. In a sign that the Democratic Party was moving to coalesce behind her, Harris quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian […]
The Shin Bet security agency announced today that it has thwarted a kidnapping plot by a terror cell from the Aqabat Jabr camp in the West Bank. The cell, comprised of Muhammad Tarik, 19, and Amin Qatash, 20, had planned to carry out a kidnapping attack. According to the Shin Bet, the cell members had established a network, purchased firearms, and recruited others to carry out shooting and explosive attacks against IDF troops and civilians in the West Bank. The agency seized a makeshift submachine gun, an explosive device, and other military equipment during the arrest. Tarik and Qatash were arrested by Israeli troops, while a third member of the cell was detained by Palestinian Authority security forces. Last week, the suspects were charged with serious security offenses related to their attempted kidnapping plans. The Shin Bet said that the cell had dug a hole, camouflaging its opening near one of the member’s homes, intending to hide the hostages. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
