Yeshiva World News

This morning, the DEA detained two illegal aliens in Denver possessing 130,000 fentanyl pills and linked to the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.

In California, you need to present a PHOTO ID to access your fire-damaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles, but not to cast a vote.

 

U.S. Soldiers and Marines have been sent to the Southern Border to assist in safeguarding the country and its security.

Google Maps will update the name from ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’ following an executive order by Trump to rename the gulf.

A year after the launch of the short-lived Coca-Cola Spiced, Coke is adding another new flavor to its lineup. Coca-Cola Orange Cream is scheduled to go on sale Feb. 10 in the U.S. and Canada. It will be sold in regular and zero sugar varieties. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. said Monday that it developed the soda, which mixes cola with orange and vanilla flavors, in response to growing consumer demand for the comforting, nostalgic flavor. Orange cream — first introduced with the Creamsicle ice cream bar in 1937 – has enjoyed a recent renaissance. Olipop, a probiotic soda, introduced an orange cream flavor in 2021. Carvel reintroduced its Orange Dreamy Creamy ice cream last year for the first time since 1972. Wendy’s also debuted an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty last spring. Coca-Cola has been experimenting with new flavors to help keep customers engaged with its signature product. In 2022, it launched Coca-Cola Creations, a series of limited-edition Coke flavors in colorful cans and bottles. Coke added hints of coconut, strawberry and even Oreos to the drinks. The company introduced raspberry-flavored Coca-Cola Spiced last February, saying the offering would be a permanent addition to its lineup. But the company abruptly pulled Coca-Cola Spiced off the market in September, saying it would be replaced with a new flavor this year. Coke said Coca-Cola Orange Cream won’t be a permanent flavor but would remain on sale at least through the first quarter of 2026. In an interview last year, Coca-Cola’s North American marketing chief, Shakir Moin, said it used to take the company at least a year to develop a new product. But it’s trying to move more quickly. “Consumers are moving faster. The market is moving forward faster. We’ve got to be faster than the speed of the market,” he said. (AP)

Wall Street’s superstars are tumbling Monday as a competitor from China threatens to upend the artificial-intelligence frenzy they’ve been feasting on. The S&P 500 was down 1.7% in afternoon trading and heading for its worst day in more than a month. Big Tech stocks took some of the heaviest losses, with Nvidia down 16%, and they dragged the Nasdaq composite down 3.2%. Stocks outside of AI-related industries held up much better, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 137 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:42 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow has much less of an emphasis on tech than the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The shock to financial markets came from China, where a company called DeepSeek said it had developed a large language model that can compete with U.S. giants but at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek had already hit the top of the chart for free apps on Apple’s App Store by Monday morning, and analysts said such a feat would be particularly impressive given how the U.S. government has restricted Chinese access to top AI chips. Skepticism, though, remains about how much DeepSeek’s announcement will ultimately shake the AI supply chain, from the chip makers making semiconductors to the utilities hoping to electrify vast data centers gobbling up computing power. “It remains to be seen if DeepSeek found a way to work around these chip restrictions rules and what chips they ultimately used as there will be many skeptics around this issue given the information is coming from China,” according to Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. DeepSeek’s disruption nevertheless rocked AI-related stocks worldwide. In Amsterdam, Dutch chipmaking equipment company ASML slid 7%. In Tokyo, Japan’s Softbank Group Corp. lost 8.3% to pull closer to where it was before leaping on an announcement trumpeted by the White House that it was joining a partnership to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure. And on Wall Street, shares of Constellation Energy lost nearly a fifth of its value, 19.3%. The company has said it would restart the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to supply power for data centers for Microsoft. All the worries sent investors toward bonds, which can be safer investments than any stock. The rush pushed the yield of the 10-year Treasury down to 4.54% from 4.62% late Friday. It’s a sharp turnaround for the AI winners, which had soared in recent years on hopes that all the investment pouring in would remake the global economy and deliver gargantuan profits along the way. Such stellar performances also raised criticism that their stock prices had gone too far, too fast. Before Monday’s drop, Nvidia’s stock had soared from less than $20 to more than $140 in less than two years, for example. Other Big Tech companies had also joined in the frenzy, and their stock prices had benefited too. It was just on Friday that Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg was saying he expects his company to invest up to $65 billion this year and grow its AI teams significantly, while talking up a datacenter in Louisiana that will be so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan. A small group of such companies has become so dominant that they’ve come to be known as the “Magnificent Seven.” […]

President Donald Trump’s first week in office included a flurry of executive orders with implications for Earth’s climate and environment. While former President Joe Biden made climate change a hallmark of his administration and some of his policies remain, at least for now, Trump is quickly unraveling that, even as many of his moves are likely to be challenged in court. Experts say Trump’s moves to step away from global climate action, ramp up domestic oil and gas production and remove incentives for electric vehicles are worrisome as the planet continues to heat up. 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, and climate scientists say the rising heat is contributing to extreme weather affecting millions. “These orders will make our air dirtier, make people sicker, make energy more expensive, and make our communities less prepared for extreme weather,” wrote Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert and author who co-founded the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab. Here are some of Trump’s most notable moves affecting climate and environmental issues in his first week: Pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement Trump signed an executive order Monday directing the United States to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement aimed at global cooperation on climate change. The agreement requires participating countries to come up with nationally determined contributions to the effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet. Trump’s move means the federal government won’t be trying to meet emissions reductions goals, nor any financial commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “Walking away from the Paris Agreement won’t protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will hand China and the European Union a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and lead to fewer opportunities for American workers,” said Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute. Declaring a “national energy emergency,” doubling down on oil and gas Trump declared an energy emergency via executive order amid a promise to “drill, baby, drill.” The order urges oil and gas expansion including through federal use of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, which allow the government to use private land and resources to produce goods deemed to be a national necessity. Experts dispute his description of an “inadequate energy supply” as part of the basis for the order. “The reality is that the United States is well-supplied with energy in all of its forms,” said Gary Dirks, senior director of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Dirks said he thinks the move is actually more targeted at bringing down prices at the pump. “It’s important to note that the United States right now is the largest producer of oil of any nation in history. And we got to that point under the Biden administration, not because of the Biden administration’s policies necessarily, but because of policies that have been ongoing for four decades,” he said. Faster permitting for energy; harsh words for Endangered Species Act and Arctic protections One section of the order declaring an energy emergency states that the Endangered Species Act cannot be an obstacle to energy development. The Endangered Species Act has been a hurdle for the development of fossil fuels in the U.S. for decades, and weakening it would accelerate the […]

Rwanda-backed rebels said on Monday they captured Goma in eastern Congo, the government’s last stronghold in the mineral-rich region. It marks a sharp escalation in the one of Africa’s longest wars, threating to dramatically worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis and spill into a wider regional conflict. The rebels’ offensive has sent thousands fleeing their homes, in addition to one million displaced who are already in Goma, and stretched local hospitals to the limit, with hundreds of wounded coming in every day as civilians get caught in the crossfire. Here is what to know about the conflict: Who are the rebels and what do they want? The M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in a decades-long conflict in eastern Congo. The group, made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi, led a defeated insurgency against the Congolese government in 2012. It was then dormant for a decade, until its resurgence in 2022. In recent weeks, the rebels have made significant territorial gains, seizing towns and villages and encircling Goma. The group traces its origins to the failed integration of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army. In 1994, Hutu militias in neighboring Rwanda killed between 500,000 and one million ethnic Tutsi, as well as moderate Hutus and Twa, an indigenous people. Following the genocide, many Hutus fled to eastern Congo. M23 claims to defend ethnic Tutsi and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination. Critics say it’s a pretext for Rwanda to obtain economic and political influence over eastern Congo. In territories under its control, M23 implements its own tax system, controls natural resources and implements a parallel governance system, replacing traditional chiefs with their people. M23 refers to the March 23, 2009, agreement that ended a previous uprising in the region. What’s the role of neighboring Rwanda? Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, which had only hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the United Nations, the group has around 6,500 fighters. While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo. Analysts say that Rwandan troops present in eastern Congo have been increasingly active in recent weeks. Congo’s foreign minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, told a session of the U.N. Security Council on Sunday that Rwanda was committing “a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic maneuvers.” Rwanda’s ambassador to the U.N., Ernest Rwamucyo, did not confirm or deny Congo’s claims. He blamed Congo’s government, saying the crisis could have been been averted if it had “demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.” What are the reasons behind the fighting? Eastern Congo, abundant in metals and rare earth minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and gold, has been a theater of violence for decade. Most of the country’s mineral resources remain untapped and are estimated to be worth $24 trillion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce last year, which called Congo the world’s leading producer of cobalt, key to making batteries. Little of the region’s wealth has trickled down to Congolese citizens, with 60% out of its 100 million […]

Eli Albag, the father of Liri, who returned from Gaza on Shabbos, exposed further details of her captivity in an interview on Monday morning. Albag held a press conference on Sunday evening during which he slammed anyone who opposed the hostage deal, threatening: “The people will hold you accountable.” Albag was criticized for his statement in turn by Israelis who opposed the deal, especially since many bereaved families who lost their children in battle in Gaza or whose sons are even in captivity in Gaza are included among them. In an interview with Radio 103FM, Albag clarified his position, saying that his criticism was intended only for the politicians who opposed the deal and he doesn’t, chalilah, judge bereaved families. He then explained his position by repeating something that Liri told him. “Do you know what Liri told me? ‘Dad, there are two million terrorists there, don’t be mistaken.’ So if they release 6,000 or 2,000 or 200 into the two million [terrorists in Gaza], we should celebrate that because tomorrow, if someone shoots a bullet, they’ll wipe out Gaza, but let them wipe out Gaza when the hostages aren’t there.” “Liri told me, ‘Abba, there are two million terrorists there. I sat with small children, four-year-olds, who would make spitting gestures at Jews.’ Do you understand what that means? Does anyone understand what that means? So they talk to me about what? About Sinwar who was released? They could have eliminated him a thousand times, no, two thousand times, and all of Hamas that went wild and did whatever it wanted even before October 7—they could have destroyed them like they destroyed Hezbollah.” Regarding how Liri was treated in captivity, he said: “Terrorists, shocking things. It’s difficult to tell everything. We’re afraid because there are still hostages there; we need to be careful with our words. But let’s just say they’re not our friends, they’re our enemies who want to kill us. We need to bring everyone back and stay vigilant.” About Liri’s condition, he said: “Liri is strong. We’re not surprised. She saved lives there in Gaza. There are many things but not everything can be talked about – she said she indirectly saved Amit Soussana’s life. On Tuesday, Channel 12 is publishing a report about it. Liri didn’t want to talk about it but Amit will tell the story.” [Amit Soussana, 40, was released from captivity in November 2023 and later told the press that she was assaulted by her Hamas guard.] Regarding Liri’s physical condition, and whether she was beaten, Eli said that Liri “is still not ready to talk about it.” When asked about Hamas’s exploitation of the girls, parading them on a stage in Palestine Square in front of hundreds of terrorists before releasing them, Albag said: “Hamas terrorists demanded that the girls speak, so Liri and the girls said, not only will we not speak – we will make a victory gesture and disrupt their entire show – so the moment they made the victory gesture, they took the girls down. When Liri spoke to me, she told me, ‘Dad, I would have said one sentence in Arabic: ‘My name is Liri Albag, and I am number one.'” According to the other girls, Liri was the leader of the group and communicated with […]

Adi Levin from Moshav Kanaf in Ramat HaGolan flew to the United States after serving three rounds of duty in the reserves and joining the fighting in Gaza as a tank soldier, shortly after completing his regular service. As soon as he received the call, he put on his uniform, and after finishing his reserve duty, he decided to fulfill a dream and fly for the big trip he had been waiting for. He and a friend arrived in New Orleans only to find themselves in a nightmare scenario of a combined ramming and shooting attack inspired by ISIS. Fifteen people were murdered, and Adi and his friend were injured. Adi was critically injured, is still hospitalized in the United States, and is now facing a very complex rehabilitation process after sustaining a head injury. Adi’s parents flew to the US and have been at their son’s hospital bed ever since, not leaving him for a moment. “For three hours he was considered missing,” his father, Chagai, told Channel 12. “The father of a friend who was traveling with him and was also injured called us on the afternoon of January 1. It was still 3 AM their time. He told us they were injured in the attack, that he was in the hospital, and that he didn’t know where Adi was. From that point, we began to unravel the situation.” At this stage, Adi’s father began frantic searches to locate him. The Chabad House in New Orleans joined the effort and went from hospital to hospital in search of him. Chagai was already on his way to the airport when he received the news: Adi had been located in a hospital. “I understood that he was badly injured, sedated, and on a ventilator. It was hard, but I switched to mission mode and the goal was to reach him as quickly as possible.” “He was in critical condition from life-threatening injuries. The complex part beyond his injuries was that it took several hours to understand that he had a vascular injury in his neck and had also suffered a stroke. This happened while I was in the air. My brother was in Florida and drove eight hours to New Orleans and took responsibility for Adi while I was on the plane.” Adi had to undergo open brain surgery and a piece of his skull was removed – a procedure that saved his life. Although there were several days of uncertainty, his condition eventually stabilized. Only then did the medical team “find the time” to treat his limb injuries: “He will need rods in his legs and arms and a very long rehabilitation. The injuries will accompany him for the rest of his life.” Adi’s new struggle is not just to survive but to continue living with the injuries. “He is now doing physical therapy,” Chagai said. “They need to reattach the missing part of his skull. Adi is strong. We are moving to rehabilitation today and hopefully, in a few months, we can continue treatment in Israel.” “The family back home is helping us, supporting us. The Israeli consul is in constant contact with us. The Israeli community in New Orleans has simply amazed us with all their help and generosity from the moment we arrived here. We want […]

Belarus’ opposition activists and Western officials on Monday denounced an orchestrated election that extends the more than three-decade rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The country’s exiled opposition leader called the result “sheer nonsense.” The Central Election Commission declared that Lukashenko won Sunday’s election with nearly 87% of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers on the ballot all praised his rule. Members of the political opposition, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by Lukashenko’s unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, said the election was a sham — much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people. Since then, more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten, with the crackdown bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West. The European Union rejected the outcome as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the election offered no choice to voters, marking “a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy.” “Instead of free and fair elections and a life without fear and arbitrariness, they experience daily oppression, repression and human rights violations,” she said in a post on X. The EU, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement condemning “the sham presidential elections in Belarus” and the Lukashenko government’s human rights violations. “No election can be considered free, fair or in line with international standards when it is held in a climate of ongoing repression, marked by a clampdown on civil society, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on genuine political participation,” the statement said, urging authorities to release political prisoners. The countries said they were imposing coordinated sanctions on Lukashenko’s government. Britain and Canada jointly imposed sanctions on six individuals, including prison chiefs, a senior Interior Ministry official and the head of the Central Election Commission, as well as three Belarusian defense companies. Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist. He has relied on subsidies and political support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself in office for a quarter-century, a relationship that helped him survive the 2020 protests. Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use the country’s territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons. Putin called Lukashenko on Monday to congratulate him on his “convincing victory.” Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent congratulations. Some observers believe Lukashenko feared a repeat of those mass demonstrations amid economic troubles and the fighting in Ukraine, and so scheduled the vote in January, when few would want to fill the streets again, rather than hold it in August. Leading opponents have fled abroad or were thrown in prison. Activists say the country holds nearly 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center. Since July, Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people. At the same time, authorities have sought to uproot dissent by arresting hundreds more in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners. Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus under government pressure after challenging Lukashenko in 2020, had denounced the election in advance and had urged voters to cross off every candidate on the ballot. On Monday, she […]

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The Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary with a vote of 68-29.

(By Yossi Zweig, Photos by Chaim Tuito) This past Sunday night, history was made yet again as Camp HASC celebrated their 38th annual A T.I.M.E. For Music Concert at NJPAC. Thousands gathered to see the best in Jewish music in a show produced by Shloime Steinmetz of Pivot Marketing. Shloime actually had a daughter born literally hours before the famed concert began. Like the previous shows, Steinmetz produced, there was a creative opening number that started with an amazing lights show. With an array, they separated and broke apart into several pieces. After introductions by HASC Chairman Miles Berger welcoming us to this year’s show, he introduced the MC of the evening, Nachum Segal. After discussing the importance of the day, mainly the three hostages released and how we hope to see all of them returned to their families, Nachum mentioned the glow in the dark wristbands by each seat. These wristbands would be synced to a wider system making them light up and blink at the same time. It would be an interactive part of the evening’s performances. The overture began with the Freilach Orchestra playing, along with a young boy featured on the monitor amidst the noise and hustle and bustle of NY. Each of these “noises” combined to make the world famous HASC theme intro, composed by Yisroel Lamm 38 years ago. The visual finished with the young man on stage holding a conductor’s wand, conducting the Freilach Orchestra. Now it was time for the show to properly begin. Opening the performances was… Eli Schwebel. Eli is a mega talented star and humble person. Three years ago, he produced a video for HASC titled This Is We. The song was a cover of the popular track “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman. It was a great start, with a song all about HASC and how each camper is special. It was a truly emotional performance. Eli then invited his father, Rivie Schwebel, to join him for the next medley. The set was classic HASC songs from throughout the years, including; In A Vinkele, Habeit, Uvnei and Lomer Take Zoche Zein. Father and son’s voice blended beautifully in perfect harmony. We were off to a good start. The video voiced by Nachum Segal himself, let us know who the next performer was. Benny Friedman came out performing his latest hit and the first song off his upcoming new album, titled “Thinking About Thanking. Benny was joined by dancers in construction uniforms with hard hats. The audience was eating it and Benny’s vocals were stellar like always. Benny then invited Eli Schwebel back to the stage to perform a HASC English Medley including Who Am I, Candles, and Small Piece of Heaven. Amazing classics penned by Abie Rotenberg, performed masterfully by Friedman and Schwebel. With Eli leaving the stage, Benny looked at the monitor when this wheel of musical styles appeared. Benny was telling us that music is a universal language, and this next song is a perfect example of that. It became a global phenomenon with a message who relates to all the people of the world. So tonight, Benny thought we would have a little fun. Instead of performing it as is, let us leave it to the luck on the draw and let the wheel […]

Rain eased on Monday after Southern California’s first significant storm of the season brought weekend downpours that aided firefighters but caused ash, mud and debris to flow across streets in wildfire-burned areas, while heavy mountain snow forced the shutdown of a major interstate north of Los Angeles. Less than an inch of rain fell in most areas, but it was enough to loosen Los Angeles hillsides burned bare by the recent blaze near the Pacific Palisades, where crews working before dawn cleared inundated roadways including the famed Pacific Coast Highway. In neighboring Malibu, four schools were closed Monday “due to dangerous road conditions and challenges with access,” the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said in a statement. In southern Kern County, snowy conditions late Sunday shut down the mountainous Tejon Pass section of Interstate 5, a key north-south artery. The California Department of Transportation said there was no estimated reopening time. A winter storm warning remained in place until 4 p.m. Monday for mountains across San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where more than a foot (0.30 meters) of snow was predicted. Flood watches also were in effect for the Palisades, Altadena and Castaic Lake areas, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s office for Los Angeles. “All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff,” Sirard said Sunday. Los Angeles International Airport reported just under an inch of rain (2.5 centimeters) in 24 hours ending at 3 a.m. Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. Surrounding areas experienced lesser amounts. The rain began Saturday after months of dry and often gusty weather that created dangerous fire conditions. The downpours were a boon for firefighters but created the risk of toxic ash runoff. Los Angeles County crews spent much of last week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds on Jan. 7. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 11 people, reached 94% containment Monday. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena and has killed at least 16 people, was 98% contained. The Hughes Fire, which ignited north of Los Angeles last week and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was nearly contained. Downpours in San Diego County, helped firefighters make significant progress against the smaller Border 2 Fire churning through a remote area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness near the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the region was forecast to get about an inch of precipitation over several days and the weather service warned of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills. “So the problem would be if one of those showers happens to park itself over a burn area,” weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said on social media. “That could be enough to create debris flows.” City and county officials last week expedited cleanup efforts and other measures aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants. Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to […]

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’ve also deployed troops to the border, and for the first time in history, we’re locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places in which they came.

Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots. Many see a political opportunity to rewrite policies in their states after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘s nomination as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency oversees virtually every aspect of vaccination efforts in the U.S., from funding their development to establishing recommendations for medical providers to distributing vaccines and covering them through federal programs. Childhood vaccination rates against dangerous infections like measles and polio continue to fall nationwide, and the number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions so their kids don’t get required shots is rising. In 2024, whooping cough cases reached a decade-high and 16 measles outbreaks, the largest among them in Chicago and Minnesota, put health officials on edge. Most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks. About half of Americans are “very” or “extremely” concerned that those declining childhood vaccination rates will lead to more outbreaks, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Yet only about 4 in 10 Americans oppose reconsidering the government’s recommendations for widely used vaccines, while roughly 3 in 10 are in favor. The rest — about 3 in 10 — are neutral. Scott Burris, director of Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research, has tracked public health legislation for years, and watched backlash against COVID-19 vaccines grow to include more routine vaccines as anti-vaccine activists take hold of powerful political pulpits. “I think COVID and the politics gave standard vaccine denialists a lot of wind in their sails,” he said. It’s hard to predict what will pass into law in the states, Burris said, considering the vast majority of proposed bills in any state go nowhere. But the proposed legislation offers a glimpse into lawmakers’ thoughts, and what else might follow. Religious exemptions lead the pack Religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements are among the most popular proposals so far. Lawmakers in New York, Virginia, Connecticut and Mississippi have introduced bills that would allow more people to waive routine shots. Indiana lawmakers will weigh religious exemptions for medical students. Earlier this month, West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order on his first day in office that enabled families to receive religious exemptions from required school vaccinations. “That’s a huge step,” said Brian Festa, co-founder of the law firm We The Patriots USA, which works on vaccination-related cases throughout the country. “That’s a state that never had a religious exemption.” Now, only four states allow just a medical exemption from childcare and K-12 immunization requirements: Connecticut, California, New York and Maine. Festa credited West Virginia’s new religious exemption to Trump’s nomination of Kennedy, as well as a 2023 federal court ruling that required Mississippi to allow residents to cite religious beliefs when seeking exemptions from state-mandated vaccinations for children. “I think the writing’s on the wall and they did feel the pressure,” Festa said of West Virginia. In Connecticut, at least four Republican bills […]

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We’re going to have a lot of people bidding (for TikTok)”. “We don’t want China involved.”