The real reasons stores such as Walmart and Starbucks are closing in big cities

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/12/business/stores-closing-cities-downtown-retail/index.html

 Nordstrom. Walmart. Whole Foods. Starbucks. CVS.

These big chains and others have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some of the country’s most prominent downtowns and business districts.

Several forces are pushing chains out of some city centers: a glut of stores, people working from home, online shopping, exorbitant rents, crime and public safety concerns, and difficulty hiring workers.

GOP Oversight Chair Says He’s Lost Track of His Biden Corruption Informant

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/rep-james-comer-says-hes-lost-track-of-his-top-biden-informant?ref=home?ref=home

But on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, Comer offered up what appeared to be a partial excuse: The probe’s primary informant had flown the coop.

“Well, unfortunately, we can’t track down the informant,” the Kentucky representative told host Maria Bartiromo. “We’re hopeful that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very credible.”

A credulous Bartiromo interrupted. “Hold on a second, Congressman. Did you just say that the whistleblower or the informant is now missing?”

Daas Torah overrides heter for Shabbos Elevators

 
https://www.sefaria.org/Gray_Matter_IV%2C_Technology%2C_The_Prohibition_of_Turning_On_Electric_Lights_on_Shabbat_and_Yom_Tov.40?lang=en

Rav Unterman relates that he was present one Shabbat when the Chafetz Chaim was meeting with other rabbinic figures discussing community matters. When the Chafetz Chaim needed something to be brought to him, one of those present proceeded to ride the elevator along with a non-Jewish passenger to retrieve the item. None of the assembled, including the Chafetz Chaim, objected to his riding the elevator.

It should be noted that it appears that Rav Moshe Feinstein (see Teshuvot Igrot Moshe 2:80) agrees with Rav Henkin and Rav Unterman's ruling that if the elevator is not operated by a Jew and a non-Jew has not been instructed to operate the elevator, one may ride in it on Shabbat.

Mike Lindell Reveals He's Spent $40 Million Trying to Overturn Election

 https://www.newsweek.com/mike-lindell-huge-amount-hes-spent-trying-overturn-election-1800182

He added: "With the money that I used to save this country... I've spent over $40 million... and I need help. You know, we need help but we need help making the voice bigger and we need help."

Florida rejects Holocaust ed textbooks in clampdown on ‘woke’ instruction

 https://www.jpost.com/international/article-742839

One of this year’s rejected Holocaust textbooks was called “Modern Genocides,” and the other was an online learning course titled “History of the Holocaust.” Both were intended for high school students.

“Modern Genocides” was rejected in part for its discussion of “special topics” prohibited by the state. The list of such topics includes terms such as “social justice” and “critical race theory,”a phrase that traditionally concerns a method of legal analysis but that Republicans have used pejoratively to refer to discussion of systemic racism in the United States. The department did not clarify which prohibited “special topics” the book included.

For Israel, e-commerce tax challenges may lie ahead

 https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/banking-and-finance/article-742806

Action to consider: E-commerce companies should urgently consider actions A to F below, namely:

Automated reporting.

Business nexus review.

Comprehensive structural planning.

Double tax avoidance (an absolute must).

Evaluating it all.

Further implementation points.

Halachic Revolutions - Significance?

 The recent Angels's Boycott brought up an important issue - What is the true authority behind halacha - gedolim or widespread acceptance?

There have been a many of revolutions or attempted revolutions this is only a partial list

The question is Once the revised halacha is accepted is the original mesora no longer valid?

Acceptance of Talmud Bavli

Kiddushei Katana

Mishna Torah

Shulchan Aruch

Chassidus

Kitniyos

Girl's formal Torah education

Doublimg measures

Sheitel for hair cover

Mishna Berura as final halacha

Daas Torah as final arbiter of everything

Rav Moshe as the Posek Hador

Loshan Hara as halacha rather than ethical behaviour

Modesty by Rabbi Falk

Glatt kosher

Yoshan

Chalav Yisroel

Shemitta

Kabbalah/Zohar

Techeles

Shatnes

All bugs are treif

Science vs Chazal

Chalitz required

Conversion reqires full acceptance of mitzvos

Tefillin need to be hand made

Kollel

Troppper's attempt to convert intermarried spouse

Kiddushei Taus instead of Get

Reporting Sexual abuse to police

A Jewish journalist takes sides in America’s ‘slow civil war’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-jewish-journalist-takes-sides-in-americas-slow-civil-war/

It’s a familiar story of an America on the edge, but Sharlet adds the perspective of a journalist who has long covered religion. He was among the first to note that Trump rallies were less political events than religious revivals. And like many religions, he says, Trumpism is resistant to the kinds of “civil discourse” that many people propose as an antidote to polarization.

“We cannot fact-check a myth, right?” Sharlet told me in a video interview from his home in Vermont. “It’s not going to work to say, ‘That’s not true.’”

Why the Clarence Thomas Timeline of Gifts Isn’t Pretty

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-the-clarence-thomas-timeline-of-gifts-isnt-pretty?ref=home?ref=home

But Crow isn’t the only Republican giving generously to the Thomas household. Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo also funneled $80,000—in a small world way, through Kellyanne Conway—to Thomas’ wife, Ginni Thomas.

Both Crow and Leo have had considerable business before the Supreme Court. And a close examination of some of these decisions—all decided on 5-4 votes, where Thomas’ decision was critical—are now coming into sharper focus.

Kevin McCarthy Cuts Ties with George Santos Amid Indictment

 https://www.newsweek.com/kevin-mccarthy-cuts-ties-george-santos-amid-indictment-1799568#:~:text=House%20Speaker%20Kevin%20McCarthy%20told,revealed%20earlier%20in%20the%20day.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told congressional reporters Wednesday evening that he will not support Representative George Santos' reelection bid amid the New York congressman's 13-count federal indictment revealed earlier in the day.

Illusions help cure burst stomach

 Chullin (56b) A gentile once saw a man fall from the roof to the ground so that his belly burst open and his entrails protruded. The gentile thereupon brought the son of the victim and by an optical illusion made out as if he slaughtered him in the presence of the father. The father became faint, sighed deeply and drew in his entrails; whereupon his belly was immediately stitched up.

Biden Mocks Trump After CNN Town Hall

 https://www.newsweek.com/biden-mocks-trump-after-cnn-town-hall-1799578

Biden alluded to Trump's performance—which consisted of sidestepping many of Collins' questions—in a tweet published shortly after the town hall ended.

"It's simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that? If you don't, pitch in to our campaign," Biden tweeted, accompanied by a link to a donations page for his reelection campaign.

Trump narrowly trails Biden despite voter fears about president: poll

 https://nypost.com/2023/05/10/trump-narrowly-trails-biden-despite-voter-fears-about-president-poll/

Former President Donald Trump trails President Biden by two points in the 2024 popular vote despite the commander-in-chief’s lackluster approval rating and concerns about his advanced age, according to a new poll. 

The Yahoo News/YouGov survey released on Wednesday found that 45% of voters said they would vote for Biden, 80, compared to 43% who said they would support Trump, 76, “if the election were held today.” 

Trump digs in on election lies, insults sexual assault accuser during town hall

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-digs-in-on-election-lies-insults-sexual-assault-accuser-during-town-hall/

During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, former US president Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on January 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming.

Trump, returning to the network after years of acrimony, also refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russian aggression and said the US “might as well” default on its debt obligation, despite the potentially devastating economic consequences.