Israel destroys Houthis' final aircraft in strike on Saana International Airport

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-855713

The IDF on Wednesday attacked Yemen's Sanaa international airport in response to several Houthi ballistic missile attacks fired against Israel over the last week.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the air force had destroyed the last airplane that the Houthis still had to use at the airport - this after Israel had attacked the airport already multiple times in the past several months.

Further, Katz said that Israel had or was in the process of instituting an aerial and naval blockade on the Houthis to try to deter them from future attacks on the Jewish state.

Trump pardoned man 1 month after mother attended $1M per person fundraiser

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5319932-trump-pardon-paul-walczak/?tbref=hp

President Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a man who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes, one month after his mother attended a major fundraiser for the president, according to a new report from The New York Times.

Fago later attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner with a $1 million cost per person, according to the Times, and Walczak was pardoned less than three weeks later.

Walczak had pleaded guilty back in November, shortly after Trump’s election, to not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual income tax returns, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). He’d withheld nearly $7.5 million in taxes from workers at his health care companies but did not pay those over to the IRS, the DOJ said, among other issues. 

Trump hopes George Floyd is "looking down" saying "this is a great thing happening for our country!"

Trump praised Walz in 2020 over handling of George Floyd protests

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/07/trump-praised-walz-2020-george-floyd-protests-00173152

 Donald Trump praised Tim Walz’s response as Minnesota governor to civil justice protests in 2020, undercutting a Republican line of attack against the newly minted vice presidential candidate, according to a recording that emerged Wednesday.

Trump — who wanted state authorities to take tough measures to address the civil unrest that erupted around the nation in response to the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis — told governors on a conference call that Walz responded well.

“I know Gov. Walz is on the phone, and we spoke, and I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days,” he said, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC News.

The remarks were reported at the time but they re-emerged after Kamala Harris announced Walz as her running mate and the Trump campaign launched attacks on the Minnesota governor’s response to the unrest.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Tuesday during a rally that Walz “allowed rioters to burn down the streets of Minneapolis” and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed in a post on X that Walz “did nothing while Minneapolis burned.”

Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt repeated the criticism in a statement to POLITICO, saying that Walz “allowed Minneapolis to burn for days.” She portrayed Trump’s comments on the call as grudging.

Trump’s response to police killing threatens to further deepen unrest in America, Democrats and Republicans say

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/trump-george-floyd-protests

 President Donald Trump pledged a crackdown on the protests that arose from the police killing of George Floyd, sparking concerns from some Democrats and Republicans that his response to the crisis further deepens the divide in a country already unnerved by a pandemic, distressed economy and racial unrest.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted his thanks to the National Guard and the job they did in Minneapolis Saturday night before calling for the National Guard to be used in “Other Democrat run Cities and States.”

Trump: Canada ‘considering’ free Golden Dome for its statehood

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5320801-trump-canada-considering-free-golden-dome-for-its-statehood/

President Trump said on Tuesday that Canada is “considering” his offer of joining the United States as the 51st state in exchange for no-cost protection by the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.

Canadian officials, as of Tuesday evening, had not addressed Trump’s latest remarks, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly said that his country would not join the U.S. under any circumstances.

Carney’s recent election victory is seen by many as fueled by his rejection of Trump’s musings about Canada becoming the 51st state.

Donald Trump to Pardon Reality Show Couple Todd and Julie Chrisley

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-pardons-todd-julie-chrisley-usa-reality-show-2077711

The couple rose to fame portraying a tight-knit, faith-centered Southern family enjoying an extravagant lifestyle.

In 2022, they were convicted of defrauding banks in the Atlanta out of more than $30 million and evading taxes. The pardons come amid Trump's broader pattern of granting clemency to high-profile allies and supporters, sparking renewed debate over the use of presidential pardon powers.

Study finds growing numbers leaving Haredi community, but many staying religious

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/study-finds-growing-numbers-leaving-haredi-community-but-many-staying-religious/

The study found that rather than marking a complete break, a stereotype enforced by pop culture portrayals, leaving the ultra-Orthodox world is a complicated process that can preserve some aspects of the former lives of ex-Haredim, from faith to their relationships with their parents.

Based on publicly available Central Bureau of Statistics data, Out for Change found that many former members of the Haredi community maintain some level of religious observance, albeit a less stringent one.

‘Stop the Steal’ in U.S. History Class

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/oklahoma-social-studies-2020-election-ryan-walters-donald-trump-e6ae3045?mod=hp_opin_pos_4 

President Trump will never recant his baloney about how the 2020 election was stolen, but given his decisive victory in 2024, the GOP could now at least let his falsehoods fade into obscurity. Oklahoma is keeping them alive by echoing Mr. Trump’s fantasy in its new standards for high-school social studies classes.

Starting with the next academic year, Oklahoma students in U.S. history classes will be asked to “identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information,” including on “sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s elected superintendent of public instruction, defended this language recently to the Associated Press. “The standards,” he argued, “do not instruct students on what to believe; rather, they encourage critical thinking by inviting students to examine real events, review publicly available information, and come to their own conclusions.”

IDF downs two missiles fired from Yemen in latest Houthi attacks

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-downs-missile-fired-from-yemen-after-4th-houthi-attack-in-5-days/

Two ballistic missiles launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen were successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military said Tuesday morning, in what has recently become an almost daily occurrence.

The first missile set off sirens shortly after 5 a.m. in several northern West Bank and Jordan Valley settlements, sending thousands to bomb shelters.

Preceding the sirens by about four minutes, an early warning was issued to residents, alerting them of the long-range missile attack via a push notification on their phones.

'An unusual precedent': Baby Sophia's genetic parents demand new Supreme Court hearing

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409045

After losing custody, genetic parents of Sophia, IVF mixup baby, petition Supreme Court for new hearing. 'This case will shape Israeli family law for generations.'

Israeli law sees the birth mother as the child's natural mother both in cases of gamete donation, in which all the donor's rights to the child are revoked, and in cases of surrogacy, when the birth mother retains the right to regret her decision to give up the baby for a period of seven days following the birth. In addition, the Surrogacy Law declares clearly that in cases of conflict, the birth mother becomes the child's legal parent and guardian.

Smoking cigarettes

Igros Moshe (CM II #18) Question: Is it possible to prohibit smoking in yeshiva and synagogue where there are people who are very bothered by the smoke and it causes painful headaches and other pains and physical problems and health issues and possibly shortens their lives.? Answer It is well known that cigarette smoking is harmful to many people. It is clear and obvious that even without concern for actual danger and illness, the mere fact that it is irritating and disturbimg to some people is enough reason to prohibit smoking in yeshiva and synagogue and all places where there are people who are bothered by the smoke even if it causes bitul Torah for the smoker. . 

Igros Moshe (C M II #76) Question: Is cigarette smoking prohibited? Answer Even though there is a principle that G-d (Shomer Pesaim) guards the fools from harm when they do something dangerous. Nevertheless it is normally prohibited to rely on it Furthermore it is obvious that concerning an issue in which there are many people that it doesn’t harm their health at all such as types of food that many people enjoy such as fatty meat or sharp spices while for certain people it is harmful. Nevertheless we don’t prohibit the food for everyone. Everyone should avoid food that is not healthy for him.  While you work in a hospital and therefore you see many more people who are sick from cigarette smoking than an average person sees in the normal population, nevertheless the amount harmed by cigaretts is still a minority. In this situation we do apply the principle of Shomer pessaim. Nevertheless it is definitely best that everyone, especially Torah students – not to smoke since there is a factor of danger and no genuine benefit to those who are not habitual smokers. It is best not to become used to smoking especially a father should not let his son smoke even if he himself smokes.  Aside from the problem of addiction to cigarettes they should be avoided since a person should not seek after extra pleasures

Igros Moshe (YD II #49) Question :Is smoking cigarettes permitted? Answer Since there is concern that this makes you sick it is best not to smoke. However to say this is prohibited as dangerous is not possible since the danger is widely ignored and thus we say shomer pessaim. In particular since many gedolim in previous times smoked and the present generation smoke. Therefore even those who are strict because of danger, there is no prohibition of lifnai ivair to offer a light or match to the cigarette smoker

Igros Moshe (OC V #34) Question: Is it permitted to smoke on Yom Tov? Answer Many Poskim have discussed this at length. In reality it is a widespread practice and most smokers are lenient. In practice while there are many who don’t smoke because it is viewed as a harmful practice.  And thus it loses the status of being the same for everyone but it is difficult to rule against what is an accepted practice, whether because of danger or some other reason, since even in previous generations not everyone smoked. In additiom since there are 100s of million people who smoke and that makes the practice considered equal for everyone. Therefore even though it is definitely best for a baal nefesh to be strict and not smoke on Yom Tov. It is difficult to say it is prohibited

Trump grants ‘FULL and Unconditional’ pardon to ex-Virginia sheriff convicted of taking $75K in bribes in ‘cash-for-badges’ scheme

 https://nypost.com/2025/05/26/us-news/trump-grants-full-and-unconditional-pardon-to-ex-virginia-sheriff-convicted-of-taking-75k-in-bribes-in-cash-for-badges-scheme/

Federal prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Jenkins accepted cash bribes and campaign contributions from three co-defendants –  Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner, and James Metcalf –  and at least five others, including two undercover FBI agents, in exchange for appointing them to a “sworn law-enforcement position.” 

Jenkins issued the bribe payors official Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and credentials – without training or vetting – as part of the scheme, and none rendered “legitimate services to the Sheriff’s Office or the citizens of Culpeper County” after being appointed auxiliary deputy sheriffs, according to the Justice Department.  

“In addition, Jenkins pressured other local officials to approve a petition filed in Culpeper County Circuit Court by Rahim, a convicted felon, to restore his right to possess a firearm and which falsely stated that Rahim resided in Culpeper County,” federal prosecutors noted. 

In March, acting US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Zachary Lee argued that Jenkins used his position of power “for unjust personal enrichment” and “violated his oath of office.”  

“Scott Jenkins violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges scheme,” Lee said after Jenkins was sentenced. “We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.”

Trump Pardons MAGA Sheriff Convicted of Cash-For-Badge Scheme MAGA supports are immune to law

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pardons-maga-sheriff-convicted-of-cash-for-badge-scheme/

President Donald Trump pardoned a MAGA sheriff from Virginia who was convicted of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes.

Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Monday that he was issuing a “full and unconditional” pardon of Scott Jenkins, who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison earlier this year following his December 2024 conviction of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and bribery.

“This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,” he wrote. “He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead.’”