Murdoch’s Paper Pleads With RFK Jr. to Change His Tune on the Measles Vaccine

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdochs-paper-pleads-with-rfk-jr-to-change-his-tune-on-the-measles-vaccine/

The New York Post challenged the anti-vax crusader to back measles vaccines as Texas grapples with outbreak.

Trump’s favorite hometown paper just demanded Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convince them he’s not a “crank” and go to measles-hit Texas to “preach the truth” about vaccines.

The New York Post’s Trump-endorsing editorial board called on the secretary of health and human services to “prove” that he really did believe in the safety and efficacy of vaccines in Thursday’s edition.

“Go to Texas, Mr. Secretary, and preach the truth as only a convert can: This vaccine is safe, and getting children jabbed is an act of love," the board challenged the nation’s top health official.

Lost and found: Early commentary on Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah on display in Jerusalem

 https://www.timesofisrael.com

A unique manuscript featuring a previously lost 15th-century commentary of Maimonides’s monumental work Mishneh Torah is on display for the first time at the National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jerusalem and available online, the library announced on Monday.

The work, described in Hebrew as Mezukak Shivatayim (Distilled Sevenfold), extensively quotes Jewish sages whose names and works are unknown to modern rabbis and scholars, opening the way to recover thinkers’ lost wisdom. The commentary also offers a unique glimpse into the life of one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in the late Middle Ages: the Jews of Provence, part of modern-day France.

'No more tunnels, no more fears': Trump shares 'Trump Gaza' vision in AI video

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-843779

A song can be heard featuring the lyrics, "Donald Trump will set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump's Gaza is finally here."

Trump on calling Zelensky a dictator: ‘Did I say that?’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5167646-trump-zelensky-dictator/

When asked by a reporter whether he still believed Zelensky was a dictator, Trump responded: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed European aid for Ukraine was in the form of a loan, while the U.S. provided aid that it would not recoup. Starmer, like French President Emmanuel Macron did alongside Trump on Monday, interjected to note that much of Europe’s assistance for Ukraine was a “gift.”

Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding - Drain the Swamp?!

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/

Elon Musk and his cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service team have been on a mission to trim government largesse. Yet Musk is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers’ coffers.

Over the years, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made him the world’s richest person.

The payments stretch back more than 20 years. Shortly after becoming CEO of a cash-strapped Tesla in 2008, Musk fought hard to secure a low-interest loan from the Energy Department, according to two people directly involved with the process, holding daily briefings with company executives about the paperwork and spending hours with a government loan officer.

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies

 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewish-refugees-fearing-they-were-nazi-spies-180957324/

In a long tradition of “persecuting the refugee,” the State Department and FDR claimed that Jewish immigrants could threaten national security

Trump’s Threats Lift Canada’s Liberals From Almost-Certain Defeat

 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trumps-threats-lift-canadas-liberals-from-almost-certain-defeat-d5837806?mod=hp_lista_pos2

Canada was set to hold an election this year that was going to be a referendum on the unpopular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Now it’s all about President Trump.

Trump to pull nearly 1,660 Afghan refugees from flights, say US official, advocate

 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-canceling-flights-nearly-1660-afghan-refugees-say-us-2025-01-20/

Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S., including family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, are having their flights canceled under President Donald Trump's order suspending U.S. refugee programs, a U.S. official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate said on Monday.

The group includes unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their families in the U.S. as well as Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution because they fought for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government, said Shawn VanDiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy groups and the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. decision also leaves in limbo thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the U.S. but have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighboring Pakistan, they said.

What political scientists see as worrisome, Republicans see as welcome

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/26/trump-threats-democracy-experts-polling/

Many Trump supporters welcome a strongman government, with 55 percent viewing it positively.

Hey, RFK: Go to Texas and prove you mean it on vaccines

 https://nypost.com/2025/02/26/opinion/hey-rfk-go-to-texas-and-prove-you-mean-it-on-vaccines/

In seeking Senate approval to take his new job, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy insisted he’d come around on the safety and efficacy of (most) vaccines.

Now he has a chance to prove he really meant it.

The measles outbreak in Texas (and now New Mexico) just claimed its first life, an unvaccinated school-age child who’d been hospitalized in Lubbock last week.

It was the first US measles death since 2015.

More may be ahead: Most of the Texas cases are among the Mennonite faith community, where resistance to vaccinations is strong.

BBC Gaza documentary translates ‘Jihad’ to ‘resistance,’ ‘Jews’ to ‘Israeli army’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-gaza-documentary-translates-jihad-to-resistance-jews-to-israeli-army/

The controversial BBC documentary on life in Gaza has again come under scrutiny, as a report Monday accused the film of “whitewashing” references to terrorism, Jihad, Hamas and prejudice against Jews in the English translation of the original Arabic dialogue.

The film, “Gaza: How To Survive a War Zone”, was pulled from BBC‘s online streaming service last week after a Telegraph report found that the documentary’s narrator was the son of a major Hamas governmental figure.

On Monday, a new report in the Telegraph found that the English translation of the film repeatedly mistranslated certain words in an attempt to “whitewash” the statements of the ordinary Gazans who were interviewed in the documentary.

RFK Dismisses Measles Outbreak That Killed Kid as No Biggie

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-claims-measles-outbreak-that-killed-first-us-kid-in-decades-is-totally-normal/

Donald Trump’s health secretary waved off the active Texas outbreak—where pediatricians on the ground have reported children being accepted into care unable to properly breathe—as a normal thing that happens every year.

“There have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country, last year there were 16,” he told a reporter from Trump’s cabinet meeting. “It is not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year.”

His presence as a prominent figure in the anti-vax community has been credited with leading to an increase in the number of parents who now refuse to vaccinate their children—a movement that may now be causing a spike in measles cases.

Texas Measles Surge 'Inevitable' Due to Vaccine Exemptions, Experts Warn

 https://www.newsweek.com/texas-measles-surge-inevitable-vaccine-exemptions-2035228

Texas is facing its largest measles outbreak in nearly 30 years, with 124 confirmed cases as of February 25, 2025.

The outbreak coincides with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointment as U.S. Health Secretary. While Kennedy has promised not to change vaccination schedules, his role has reignited debates on vaccine policies. In Texas, more vaccine exemptions has led to lower vaccination rates, meaning communities could be more vulnerable and the disease spreading more easily.

Looking at the data for Texas, it appears to pretty much fit the profile one would expect: high vaccine exemption rate in schools—one in five kids, apparently—85 of 90 cases unvaccinated, most cases—80 to 90—under the age of 18.

Masses of Israelis pay respects to Bibas family; funeral procession reaches cemetery

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-february-26-2025/

The funeral procession for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas has arrived at the Tsoher Cemetery near Kibbutz Nir Oz.

The burial will take place in private. The eulogies will be broadcast.