Sunday, January 5, 2025
Johnson tells Republicans Trump wants one big policy bill as party charts course on agenda
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/04/politics/mike-johnson-donald-trump-gop-agenda/index.html
House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Republicans at a closed-door meeting Saturday that Donald Trump favored moving his agenda as one sweeping package, according to sources in attendance — a key announcement fraught with risk but one that sets the stage for advancing the president-elect’s ambitious plans.
Saturday, January 4, 2025
Into the Wrong Hands
https://mishpacha.com/into-the-wrong-hands/
Why is Ari Rosenfeld, the noncommissioned officer and cyber expert who bypassed military protocol in order to get a document outlining Hamas’s backroom plans directly onto the desk of the prime minister, still languishing in prison? His father, Rabbi Shmuel Rosenfeld, a veteran immigrant from New York and recognized expert in the world of safrus and Sta”m, is asking the same question
The indictment alleges that Rosenfeld gave a top-secret document to Feldstein, believing it to be imperative for the prime minister to receive directly and realizing that it would likely get stonewalled if sent through the official chain of command.
Feldstein did not immediately pass on the document, though. At the beginning of September, he attempted to leak its contents to Israeli media, in order to counter mass protests that broke out after six bodies of executed hostages were retrieved from Gaza, to alleviate criticism against Netanyahu and to reduce the public pressure from the left to railroad a very bad deal for Israel following the murders.
But the military censor prohibited its publication, assumedly because it might have derailed a certain political agenda. Yet Netanyahu himself didn’t seem to have a problem with the leak — he even referred to the Bild story in a September 8 cabinet meeting, saying it revealed that Hamas planned “to tear us apart from within” but that “the great majority of Israel’s citizens are not falling into this Hamas trap.”
State attorneys oppose review of decision to keep NCO in leaked docs case in confinement
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-835373
The State Attorney’s Office opposed in a filing to the Tel Aviv District Court on Monday a request by Ari Rosenfeld, the IDF Intelligence reserve NCO who was indicted for leaking top secret documents, to review a High Court of Justice decision to keep him in prison until the end of legal proceedings.
In the ruling, Stein permitted the release to house arrest of the other defendant in the case, Eliezer Feldstein, but remanded Rosenfeld’s custody due to him being considered a threat to divulge further secret information. Rosenfeld’s identity was only permitted for publication on December 23.
Ari Rosenfeld named as NCO involved in PMO documents leak case
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-834587
Ari (Aharon) Rosenfeld was named as the NCO involved in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) leaked document affair, court documents released on Monday showed.
An indictment filed last month alleges that Rosenfeld in April sent a picture via the Telegram messaging app of a top-secret document to Eliezer Feldstein – who was an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the main suspect in the leak scandal – believing it to be imperative for the prime minister to receive directly.
Feldstein did not immediately pass on the document. At the beginning of September, he attempted to leak its contents to Israeli media, to counter mass protests that broke out after six bodies of recently executed hostages were retrieved from Gaza. The military censor prohibited its publication.
A Squeaker for the House Speaker
Mr. Johnson won on the first ballot, 218-215, though only after turning two of three initial no votes to yes. The Speaker’s allies said he made no backroom deals to change the minds of the two Members, who also received phone calls from President-elect Trump.
Judge orders Trump sentenced on Jan. 10, signals no punishment for conviction
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5066344-trump-hush-money-sentence-jan-10/
A New York judge has ordered President-elect Trump’s criminal sentencing for Jan. 10, rejecting his demand that his hush money case be dismissed to accommodate his presidency following his election victory.
Judge Juan Merchan signaled he is inclined to impose no punishment for Trump’s 34-count felony conviction, given concerns about his immunity from criminal prosecution upon taking the oath of office.
Merchan said an unconditional discharge “appears to be the most viable solution” and he would allow Trump to appear virtually.
Every Second Yeshiva Bochur in Israel Smokes
https://collive.com/survey-every-second-yeshiva-bochur-in-israel-smokes/
Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the Public Health Division at the Ministry of Health, warned of the electronic cigarette epidemic, noting that a teenager who has tried an electronic cigarette is four times more likely to become addicted to regular cigarettes.
.She presented extensive survey data, revealing that one in five adults in Israel smokes, with nearly 40% smoking in the Arab sector. Among youth, 8.1% smoke at least once a week and 4.8% smoke at least once a day.
The situation is even worse in the haredi communities: 54% of students in small yeshivas, such as Mesivta and Yeshiva Ketana, smoke. Their ages range between 14 and 18.
In the older age group, between 18 and 22, the percentage of regular smokers in yeshivas (Yeshiva Gedola and Zal) is a staggering 56%.
Friday, January 3, 2025
New Orleans mass killing gets pulled into partisan political battle
Few people believe that it is possible to create a situation where the U.S. is somehow immune from acts of domestic terrorism, under Trump or any other president, however. In the event that some tragedy takes place under his watch, the promise of strength could seem exaggerated.
In the meantime, Democrats are jabbing back at GOP claims over the New Orleans atrocity. Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) told CNN on Thursday it was “unfortunate that both the president-elect and Speaker Johnson has chosen to make this a partisan issue.”
MAGA Impressed by Cybertruck Bomber After It Emerges That He’s a Trump Supporter
Some in MAGA nation seem impressed by the credentials of the suspected Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber after news broke that he was a supporter of Donald Trump.
The charge was led by none other than Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman who Trump picked to be his attorney general—before the bid flubbed amid allegations that Gaetz paid for sex with a minor.
IDF says it downed Yemen missile that triggered sirens in central Israel, Jerusalem
Eighth such attack in some two weeks sends millions to bomb shelters around 4:30 a.m.; fragment hits Modiin; Yemen drone also intercepted
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Trump blames ‘open borders’ for New Orleans, Las Vegas attacks
President-elect Trump blamed the situation at the southern border for the recent attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, railing against President Biden for his immigration policies as both cases are being investigated.
The man who plowed a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people, has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar — a U.S. citizen from Texas.
The Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was caused by firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, and the suspect was an Army veteran from Colorado, according to local news reports.
Still, Trump railed on Truth Social that the border under Biden has led to violent crime.
Terror Strikes New Orleans
The FBI says a flag associated with Islamic State was found with the vehicle. Islamic State, or ISIS, is the jihadist group that created a caliphate in Syria and Iraq during the Obama Administration until U.S. bombing eliminated its last sanctuary in the first Trump term.
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