One of the The Washington Post’s top political columnists resigned Monday and alleged management spiked a piece that was critical of its multi-billionaire owner.
Ruth Marcus, who worked at the Post for four decades, penned a resignation letter that claimed her nixed article, which criticized Jeff Bezos’ overhauling of the Post’s opinion pages, marked the first time she ever had a column rejected by the paper.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelabramwell/heres-what-trump-said-about-the-astronauts-stuck-in-space
President Trump has spoken about asking Elon Musk to do him a "favor" by bringing the astronauts home, blaming the Biden administration's incompetence. But, it's important to note that according to CNN, NASA already had a plan under the Biden administration for SpaceX to work on a new spacecraft to bring them home.
Igros Moshe (OC II #95) It is prohibited to enter an elevator on Shabbos that an evil person entered into first. However if a goy enters first for his own needs it is technically permitted but is prohibited because of maris haaiyen. In addition it is prohibited because additional people that enter increase the work done by the motor. Furthermore if he is known as a G-d fearing person and surely as a talmid chachom use of the elevator is also a chillul haShem
Igros Moshe (OC IV #64.1) It is prohibited to use electricity on Shabbos and Yom Tov even though it doesn’t make a fire . Similarly a refrigerator or freezer is prohibited and obviously it is prohibited to turn on electric lights.
Igros Moshe (OC V #18.27) It is prohibited to comb hair on Shabbos because it is impossible without pulling out hair. The Magen Avrahan says even according to the view that an inevitable action which is unwanted is permitted this is prohibited because you want to separate the hairs and it is impossible do do it without pulling out some hair. This Magen Avraham supports my view regarding the sparks produced when an electrical circuit is completed or disconnected with any electrical device. Similarly when increasing the load on an electric motor such as in an elevator. So even saying that the sparks serve no necessary purpose and you don’t want them however since it is impossible to obtain the use of electrical power for the elevator without them so the sparks are not considered an inevitable side product but rather are viewed as an integral part of the elevator and are prohibited
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-cdc-wants-to-do-its-own-research-on-vaccines-and-autism/
The CDC’s decision to commission the study appears to be driven by Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious vaccine skeptic who has long suggested, without much evidence, that vaccines may cause developmental disabilities in children.
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy refused to say that vaccines don’t cause autism—despite dozens of peer-reviewed, high-quality studies that have not found such a link. He even touted a statistic claiming that autism rates “have gone from 1 in 10,000” to “one in 34.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-845381
Schools in Kiryat Shmona reopened on Sunday morning, nearly 16 months after they were evacuated because of Israel's war against Hezbollah.
In spite of the celebrations, many residents and public workers accused Education Minister Yoav Kisch of rushing the return, claiming it was too quick and disorganized.
A Maryland resident with recent international travel has confirmed to be infected with a case of measles.
The Maryland Department of Health and Howard County health officials announced Sunday that a person who recently traveled internationally was confirmed to be infected.
The case was not associated with the current measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
https://www.newsweek.com/american-ceos-sour-trump-economy-2040722
Trump's campaign promises to roll back regulations and foster innovation garnered him support from many in the business world, including major industry leaders. The CEOs of Apple, Google and Amazon were front row at the president's inauguration, and a key part of his administration has been the heavy involvement of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
However, experts have raised concerns about the health of the American economy, warning that the outlook for U.S. businesses and consumers may be bleak, a sentiment shared by many industry executives.
CEO concerns are largely centered around the president's on-again, off-again tariff plans, some of which have been enacted but others subject to temporary pauses and last-minute sector-specific concessions.
https://time.com/7265290/is-the-us-heading-into-a-recession-under-trump-what-to-know/
The U.S. consumer market saw a sharp decline last month for the first time in over two years, which Jacquez says is starting “to indicate that the resilient consumer is no longer spending at the pace that they used to be.” Consumer inflation expectations also soared in February.
It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, says Jacquez. When people are feeling good about the economy, it pushes them to spend and stimulate buying beyond just the essentials, to make long-term plans, to renovate and buy a home. If people are fearful and unsure about things such as whether or not mortgage prices will rise, they will not spend as much. Thus, the expectations of a recession can potentially have a “spiraling effect.”
Trump’s tariffs—including proposed reciprocal tariffs worldwide and a more intense trade war against America’s three biggest trading partners in Mexico, Canada, and China—are also a pivotal factor. Businesses are uncertain, Jacquez says, about what the economy is going to look like after the fallout of these tariffs ripple down different industries and the stock market. This can be unsettling, as what businesses “crave most” is certainty.
US hostage envoy Adam Boehler defended his direct talks with officials in the Hamas terror group, pushing back against private but intense criticism from Jerusalem, in a spate of interviews to American and Israeli media on Sunday.
Boehler’s remarks ruffled the feathers of senior Israeli officials, who told The Times of Israel they were surprised to hear the envoy comment that the US is “not an agent of Israel.”
https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-grahams-warning-over-abandoning-ukraine-2041892
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, on Sunday issued a warning about abandoning Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia, stating that it would be "worse than Afghanistan."
David Axelrod, a political commentator and President Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: "The baffling thing about Trump's post today flaying Russia for its latest barrage of missile attacks on Ukraine is that it follows, by a few days, the [POTUS]'s decision to withhold from Ukraine the intelligence-sharing it needs to better repel such attacks. #confusing."
In its latest update, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported 198 cases of measles across West Texas.
The number of cases in neighboring New Mexico also tripled in a day to 30, local health officials said.
In Texas, the DSHS said 23 out of the nearly 200 patients were hospitalized as of Friday morning. Officials said most cases were among patients who were not vaccinated.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7eyz3yn5do
The dramatic change in the country's political landscape reflects how Trump's tariffs and his repeated calls to make Canada "the 51st state" have fundamentally altered Canadian voters' priorities.
Trump's rhetoric has "pushed away all of the other issues" that were top of mind for Canadians before his inauguration on 20 January, notes Luc Turgeon, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa.
It has even managed to revive the once deeply unpopular Trudeau, whose approval rate has climbed by 12 points since December. The prime minister, of course, will not be in power for much longer, having announced his resignation at the start of the year.
I’ve been managing money for 33 years now with some modest success. While there are some worthy competitors, it’s hard for me to remember a much worse idea than the U.S. launching a “strategic cryptocurrency reserve.” Nevertheless, on Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for just such a fund. David Sacks—Trump’s crypto czar—tweeted that the reserve would be “like a digital Fort Knox,” perhaps forgetting that the U.S. has been off the gold standard since 1933. In any case, his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle, as I will explain below.
