Zika in Halachah

 https://jewishaction.com/religion/jewish-law/zika-in-halacha/

To give us a sense of the magnitude of the epidemic, according to an account from the rabbinic court of Rav Shmuel Vozner (1913-2015), over 1,000 cases were presented to the court requesting abortion. The court prohibited abortion in every single case (consistent with the general approach of Rabbi Feinstein). As a postscript, it is further reported that in all the cases, save one, no harm befell the subsequent children. As this is an anecdotal account, absent any details of the cases, we cannot know whether the women had confirmed cases of rubella, and if so, during which trimester. In any case it is a remarkable number.

Not everyone can be successful

 Chullin (24a) If a student does not see progress in his studies after five years, he never will. R. Jose says, After three years

Wisdom and Sickness

 Tosefta (Berachos 3:5) Anyone whose body was stricken with some desease, because of his wisdom it is a good sign for him. And anyone whose wisdom was stricken with some desease, because of his body it is a bad sign for him.” He used to say, “Anyone who lost his mind, because of his wisdom it is a good sign for him. And anyone who lost his wisdom because of his mind it is a bad sign for him.”

Prestigious Jewish school principal in New York convicted of embezzlement

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syn3nmmrt

Suffolk County District Attorney says David Ostrove diverted approximately $8.4 million of Schechter School of Long Island funds into accounts controlled by him

Trump Agonistes, ‘Bloodbath’ and ‘Hostages’ Edition

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-agonistes-blood-bath-and-hostages-chapter-auto-industry-ohio-401bb780?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

The real news is that Mr. Trump promised to impose tariffs on foreign-made cars, apparently no matter where they’re from. This would hurt U.S. working-class consumers by raising car prices, much as his steel tariffs enhanced the profits of U.S. steel companies while hurting other companies that use steel.

In Vandalia, Ohio, Mr. Trump also repeated his frequent line that those convicted of crimes for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol are “hostages” and “unbelievable patriots.” He vowed to help them if he wins in November, which implies mass pardons.

While some rioters have arguably been treated too harshly, they broke one or more laws by breaching police barriers and besieging the Capitol. Police were injured. The rioters also disrupted Congress’s session ratifying the votes of the Electoral College.

“I think it’s unfortunate at a time that there are American hostages being held in Gaza, that the President or any other leaders would refer to people that are moving through our justice system as hostages,” former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “It’s just unacceptable.”

First-time Parent at 88: Has Israel's Fertility Craze Gone Too Far?

 https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/2024-03-13/ty-article/57-year-old-mom-88-year-old-dad-welcome-newborn-has-israels-ivf-craze-gone-too-far/0000018e-3746-df5e-a5fe-f7feb5f70000

Outside of Haredi society the report was received with far more criticism, and with quite a few ethical questions about the future of the infant born to such elderly parents, and the significant medical risks involved in pregnancy and birth at such an age.

Trump’s Bizarre Clinton Conspiracy Is a Total Acid Trip

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-latest-clinton-conspiracy-about-bleachbit-and-hillarys-emails-is-a-total-trip?ref=home

Donald Trump’s unfounded new claim that Hillary Clinton used acid to delete her emails shows the former president doesn’t quite grasp how the BleachBit software program works.

“They released Hillary Clinton. She hammered her phones, she used all sorts of acid testing and everything else. They call it BleachBit, but it’s essentially acid that will destroy everything within 10 miles,” he told Newsmax. “I mean, what she did was unbelievable. Nothing happens to her.”

Jared Kushner's New Foreign Deals Spark 'Corruption' Accusation

 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushners-new-foreign-deals-spark-corruption-accusation-1879998

Garcia wrote on X on Friday: "Jared Kushner is back to brokering major deals with foreign governments per new reports today. We've already exposed his $2 billion investment fund with the Saudis, and we are pushing hard to ensure this grift gets the attention it demands. This is real corruption."

Schumer saves Bibi

 https://www.foxnews.com/world/schumers-anti-netanyahu-speech-strengthens-bibi-israels-war-defeat-hamas

 Having seen his lowest levels of support in months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity has gotten a bounce in the polls, which some say is partly due to the Biden administration and Democrats' growing criticism against the Jewish state.  

How Trump advanced Arab-Israeli peace but fueled Palestinian rage

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/10/trump-israel-gaza-war/

“I think the Abraham Accords were incredibly important, but this disaster that we’re living through is a reminder that you cannot secure Israel simply through diplomatic work with Sunni nation-states,” said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Trump’s turn against Israel offers stark reminder of what his diplomacy looks like

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/donald-trump-israel-netanyahu-diplomacy/index.html

Trump’s original grievance-based analysis reflects a transactional, unorthodox approach to foreign policy that often prioritizes his own personal goals over a standard understanding of the national interest. It also highlighted a contrast with his potential 2024 election opponent. Biden reacted to the attack by using all of the tools of traditional statesmanship, including rhetoric, personal behind-the-scenes contacts with key foreign leaders and by mobilizing allies. Like Trump, Biden has had a personal and political beef with Netanyahu – but shelved his differences with him weeks before the attack and has been in constant contact with the prime minister since it occurred.

Biden is seeking to strike a balance. He has shown the most ardent support for Israel of any recent US president and acknowledged its desire to retaliate and reestablish its sense of security after the most shocking penetration of its borders and national psyche in 50 years. But Biden is also sending private and public signals to Netanyahu that Israel’s response should not infringe the laws of war and that he should consider the humanitarian consequences of an invasion of Gaza, as he seeks to prevent the war escalating into a dangerous regional conflict that could draw in the US.

Trump breaks silence on Israel's military campaign in Gaza: 'Finish the problem'

 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-israel-gaza-finish-problem-rcna141905

Trump did lay out a few markers in the three weeks that followed the Hamas attack. He said on Oct. 11 that a future Trump administration would “fully support Israel defeating, dismantling, and permanently destroying the terrorist group Hamas,” while telling the Republican Jewish Coalition later that month that Hamas fighters “will burn forever in the eternal pit of hell." That month, his campaign also said that, if elected again, he would bar Gaza residents from entering the U.S. as part of an expanded travel ban.

In the four-plus months since, however, the former president’s once-ardent public backing of Israel has gone mostly quiet.

Doctors question science behind blood sugar diet trend

 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-68452019

Prof Kar thinks using CGMs - which are used by people with diabetes - when there's no health reason to do so can drive an obsessive focus on numbers which, in the most extreme cases, "can translate into eating disorders".

According to eating disorder charity Beat, "people with eating disorders often fixate on numbers... as part of their illness, so we'd never recommend that anybody affected uses glucose monitors".

The Judge’s Ruling on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Is a Mess

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/judges-ruling-on-fulton-county-district-attorney-fani-willis-is-a-mess?ref=home

Judge McAfee, at age 35, is even younger than Ito was during the O.J. trial and has only been on the bench a year. His inexperience, and perhaps his mindset as a white male Republican member of the Federalist Society, have begun to show.

Worse, at the end of all that, McAfee produced a poorly written, poorly reasoned ruling. McAfee had promised the prosecution and defense that he would have his decision out today and that “no ruling of mine is ever going to be based on politics. I’m going to be following the law as best I understand it.”