RFK Jr. breaks yet another promise

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/11/20/kennedy-rfk-jr-cdc-website-vaccines-autism

The Post reports that the change, which echoes the views of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump, was made without consulting career scientists at the agency responsible for vaccine safety. It also blatantly violates a pledge that Kennedy made to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who delivered the key vote for his confirmation, that the “CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.”

Kennedy and his allies might have the power to edit government websites, but they cannot erase the dozens of high-quality studies that have thoroughly shown that children who are vaccinated are no more likely to be diagnosed with autism than their unvaccinated peers. Nor can they deny the consequences of their anti-vaccine movement: This year, the United States recorded its highest number of measles cases in more than three decades thanks to epidemics in areas with low vaccination rates. This led to the deaths of two children and one adult, all unvaccinated

CDC website changed to contradict scientific conclusion that vaccines don’t cause autism

 https://apnews.com/article/cdc-autism-vaccines-7b1890f626dd5921fafd00fdd1e6425a

 A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to contradict the longtime scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism, spurring outrage among a number of public health and autism experts.

The CDC “vaccine safety” webpage was updated Wednesday, saying “the statement ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim.”

The change is the latest move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to revisit — and foster uncertainty about — long-held scientific consensus about the safety of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products.

“We are appalled to find that the content on the CDC webpage ‘Autism and Vaccines’ has been changed and distorted, and is now filled with anti-vaccine rhetoric and outright lies about vaccines and autism,” the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement Thursday.

Fugitive wanted in US for child sex crimes arrested in Jerusalem

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1ljop3xzl

Mordechai Yomtov, a former teacher wanted for extradition to the US on child sex abuse charges, nabbed in capital's Tel Arza neigborhood; convicted in 2001 for assaulting boys aged 8 to 10, he fled to Israel with a fake passport in 2002 after violating parole

Trump-Marjorie Taylor Greene breakup shakes MAGA: ‘Mom and Dad are separated’

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/20/marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-maga-georgia

In Greene’s Georgia congressional district, much of the MAGA base has her back against Trump, who has called her a “traitor.”

“We got Donald Trump trying to take care of the world,” said the chair, Jim Tully, pacing in front of the lectern. “Got Marjorie Taylor Greene trying to take care of the country.”

Greene’s recent tensions with Trump went far beyond the Epstein files. The congresswoman also suggested the Trump administration is too focused on foreign affairs, criticized aid to Argentina and assailed her party’s approach to health care in a slew of media appearances. Days after Trump drew MAGA backlash for saying that the U.S. needs foreign workers because it does not have enough “talented people” for specialized jobs, Greene said she would introduce a bill to end the H-1B visa program at the center of the controversy, saying, “I serve Americans only.”

But even some of Greene’s Republican critics say that her populist message has resonated in the district and that it will be difficult to oust her. Trump is also trying to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), another House Republican who has clashed with him.

Trump defense of Tucker Carlson interview with Nick Fuentes sparks chatter in GOP Jewish circles

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5613912-conservative-rift-tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes-trump

President Trump’s defense of conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes is sparking backlash among Jewish conservatives who backed the president’s pro-Israel policies, creating another rift with a key group of supporters.

Fuentes was quick to tout Trump’s comments, thanking the president in a post on the social platform X.

“I’m going to say it. The GOP has a Nazi problem. And the more we pretend like we don’t, the worse it’s going to get. We do. Don’t tell me we don’t,” far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is Jewish and has the president’s ear, said Wednesday in a post on X.

'Powerless' Trump loses Epstein vote, reels with 'Piggy' outburst: Ari & Alex on GOP REVOLT

‘My poll numbers just went down’: Trump defends skilled immigration, breaking with MAGA base

 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/19/they-just-dont-understand-trump-defends-his-position-on-legal-immigration-to-his-maga-base-00660769

Nearly one year since his return to the White House, Trump’s insistence that legal immigration is not only tolerable but an economic necessity continues to roil hardliners on the right, who are at odds with the business and tech interests that Trump has long aligned himself with.

Trump’s break with his base reflects his desire to increase investments in the tech and manufacturing sectors, which the president does not believe would be possible — in the short term — without foreign workers.

The president also has close ties to the tech industry, a top user of the H-1B program. During the last fiscal year, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google relied most on H-1B visas. Those companies have contributed handsomely to Trump efforts including his inaugural fund and the $300 million ballroom that will replace the White House East Wing.

“You saw the list … they’re all on there, and they all want their H-1B workers,” said a person close to the administration, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “So he’s hearing about this from all of those folks.”

Witkoff scraps planned meeting with senior Hamas official — diplomat

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/meeting-between-witkoff-and-hamas-official-said-canceled-due-to-israeli-pressure/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2025-11-19&utm_medium=email

There were no known meetings between the US and Hamas before Trump’s second term, when he dispatched an envoy to secretly meet with Hamas officials earlier this year to help secure the release of American-Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel at the time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoy Ron Dermer had fumed upon learning of the secret US-Hamas talks after the fact and leaked them to the press, contributing to their collapse in March. Witkoff and Kushner’s October 9 sit-down with the Hayya-led team was the next in-person meeting between the sides.

While Netanyahu publicly embraced the plan when it was unveiled in September at the White House, neither Israel nor Hamas has actually signed it. Instead, they agreed on October 9 to a different document that focused on the ceasefire, Israel’s initial pullback from Gaza, the hostage-prisoner swap and humanitarian aid provisions.

In a joint interview alongside Kushner last month, Witkoff said he had managed to connect with Hayya over their shared experience of losing sons.

Four children injured following roof collapse in Beit Shemesh

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-873987

Four children were injured following a roof collapse at a kindergarten in Beit Shemesh, Israel's Fire and Rescue Authority stated on Sunday.

Medical officials said several people received treatment at the site and were then evacuated to the hospital with minor injuries.

No life-threatening injuries were reported.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders give haredi factions green light to advance IDF draft bill

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-874434

The Degel HaTorah faction of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) gave a “green light” on Wednesday from its spiritual leaders to advance the controversial haredi conscription bill.

Advancements on the bill had previously been halted in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC), chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), since the opening of the winter session in October.

The green light was given after the Lithuanian-haredi Degel HaTorah’s two spiritual leaders, Rabbi Dov Lando and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, passed on the approval instructions to its MKs.

NY Jewish leaders asked governor to release Hasidic abuser, records show

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-jewish-leaders-asked-governor-to-release-hasidic-abuser-records-show/

As the case reemerged, court filings obtained by The Times of Israel showed that last December, an array of Jewish leaders signed a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul seeking a commutation for Weberman’s immediate release. The previously unreported letter was submitted to the court as a reference for resentencing in June, along with other letters of support from Weberman’s family and supporters.

The letter called Weberman’s sentence “absorbently excessive,” saying he had not incurred any infractions during his 12 years in prison and that his sentence was “much greater by comparison to others held guilty of a similar crime.”

The letter was signed by 13 prominent rabbis representing an array of Hasidic groups in New York City and a representative of Yeshiva University. The university did not reply to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia gained more than the U.S. from MBS’s D.C. visit

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/11/19/saudi-arabia-mbs-mohammed-bin-salman-trump

President Donald Trump’s lies about our murdered columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, overshadowed the more tangible deliverables handed to Mohammed bin Salman during the Saudi crown prince’s visit this week. On balance, Mohammed gained more from the trip than the United States, though the Trump family’s businesses stand to profit handsomely from private deals with the Saudis.

“MBS,” as Mohammed is called, returns home with permission to purchase 48 advanced F-35 fighter jets that many in the Pentagon, and Israel, do not trust him to have, as well as nearly 300 Abrams tanks. Trump also conferred “major non-NATO ally” status on Saudi Arabia and agreed to provide it with “world-leading” artificial intelligence technology, which hopefully won’t wind up transferred to China.

In exchange, the Saudis committed to invest nearly $1 trillion in the U.S., up from the $600 billion they announced in May. They offered no time horizon for this far-fetched figure, which is roughly the size of their annual economic output. Analysts say it will be even more difficult to achieve given lower oil prices and the kingdom’s growing budget deficit due to wasteful spending on white elephant infrastructure projects. But Trump loves to tout big topline numbers and the Saudis, like other countries, are happy to play along.

The Defense Intelligence Agency recently warned in a report that China might be able to access F-35 technology if the U.S. goes ahead with the sale because Riyadh has a security partnership with Beijing. Israeli defense leaders separately balked that the deal would jeopardize its air superiority in the Middle East. Trump acknowledged that, but concluded both countries deserve the “top of the line” planes. Fortunately, Trump and MBS did not reach a deal for the U.S. to share civil nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia, which is awash in cheap energy, though they agreed to keep talking about it.

US school pays 100K for expelling Jews who faced antisemitism

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/11/19/virginia-school-pays-jewish-students-antisemitism

The private Nysmith School in Northern Virginia will pay approximately $100,000 to a Jewish family whose three children were expelled. As previously reported, the school expelled three Jewish siblings last July who faced severe antisemitic harassment following the October 7 massacre, during a period when students at the school drew Hitler as a "strong leader."

Vindman demands release of Trump-Mohammed bin Salman call after Khashoggi murder: ‘You will be shocked’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5613961-vindman-trump-saudi-call-transcript-khashoggi

Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), who served on the National Security Council (NSC) in the first Trump administration, called on President Trump to release the transcript of a “shocking” phone call that took place with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the aftermath of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination.

Vindman — who played a key role in exposing details of Trump’s infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019 — said a second phone call exists with the Saudi crown prince that rivals the first as “the most problematic.”