Health Ministry: Hostages suffering severe malnutrition; Herzog: Crime against humanity

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/herzog-emaciated-hostages-a-crime-against-humanity-victims-group-evokes-holocaust/

The three hostages who were freed from Gaza on Saturday morning are suffering from “severe malnutrition” and lost significant body weight during their 491 days in captivity, the Health Ministry said on Saturday evening, after initial medical checks in the hours following their release.

“These are difficult scenes,” Health Ministry representative Dr. Hagar Mizrahi said at a press conference from Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where two of the released hostages were beginning their recovery.

The three hostages freed by Hamas — Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 — looked emaciated and unsteady on their feet as they were released by the terror group, 16 months after they were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and the Nova music festival.

Foreign Minister: 'The only ones starving in Gaza are the hostages'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/403603

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar posted a video accusing Hamas of starving the hostages released today, claiming they looked dangerously emaciated while the Hamas forces appeared well-fed.

''For over a year, the international community has danced to the tune of the false propaganda of so-called starvation in Gaza but the images we saw today don't lie - Hamas terrorists and other Gaza residents look perfectly fine

Israel Shows 'Shocking' Images as Three Hostages Released by Hamas

 https://www.newsweek.com/israel-shows-shocking-images-three-hostages-released-hamas-2028237

They were also made to pose holding certificates and speak in an apparently staged interview by Hamas militants, where they reportedly called for Israel to stop the war and stick to the ceasefire.

Photos of the event were released later in which all three men are visibly thin and frail.

Responding to the images, Netanyahu said: "We will not gloss over the shocking scenes that we saw today."

Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington

 https://time.com/7213409/elon-musk-us-government-trump/

The standoff at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue was not much of a spectacle. On the first day of February, a handful of men working for Elon Musk had come to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a few blocks from the White House, demanding full access to its headquarters. The agency’s staff refused. No guns were drawn. No punches thrown. Nobody involved the police. But in these early days of the Trump Administration, perhaps no other scene revealed more clearly the forces reshaping America’s government.

On one side stood an institution with a 64-year history, a $35 billion budget, and a mission enshrined in federal law. On the other stood Musk’s political wrecking crew. They identified themselves as members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a collection of temporary staffers with no charter, no website, and no clear legal authority. Its power derives from Musk, the wealthiest person on the planet, who has been deputized to dismantle vast swaths of the federal bureaucracy—slashing budgets, gutting the civil service, and stripping independent agencies of the ability to impede the President’s objectives.

Powerless! Trump stopped by judge’s nationwide ban, as ‘Pres. Musk’ hype breaks ‘law of power

Federal Workers Sue Trump Over USAID: 'Unconstitutional and Illegal'

 https://www.newsweek.com/federal-workers-sue-trump-usaid-2027654

The lawsuit on Thursday marked the latest in a series of legal actions that federal workers have filed against the Trump administration over a host of issues, including President Donald Trump's executive orders, the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE's) access to sensitive payment and employee systems, and the White House's offer of deferred resignations to more than 2 million government employees.

The suit was filed shortly after the Trump administration proposed a plan to drastically cut USAID staff across the globe, which would leave the agency with less than 300 workers, compared to the thousands it had before Trump took office. USAID is responsible for distributing billions of dollars in foreign assistance to war-torn countries and populations facing poverty and disease.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit described Trump and his administration's actions as "unconstitutional and illegal," adding that they have "systematically dismantled" USAID.

The Early Verdict on Tariffs: Bad Economics, Better Politics

 https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/the-early-verdict-on-tariffs-bad-economics-better-politics-2d0bebb7?mod=hp_lead_pos5

With Donald Trump’s return to power has come an upswell of enthusiasm for tariffs and arguments in their favor: They’ll usher in an economic “golden age,” don’t cause inflation, are paid by foreigners instead of Americans, and are an effective cudgel in political disputes.

Most economists disagree, but who listens to economists these days? To test these claims we need “natural experiments”: events where the effect of tariffs isn’t confounded by other stuff like promised cuts to taxes and regulations. The 72 hours in which Trump was on track to hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs is one such experiment.  

‘Sovereign Wealth’ for Politicians

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/sovereign-wealth-fund-donald-trump-executive-order-scott-bessent-a3bcf648?mod=hp_opin_pos_0

All the reasons Trump’s government investment fund is a very bad idea.

Now here’s an idea: Leverage federal assets to create a new investment fund for the political class to invest in whatever it pleases, including private companies. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer is plenty, which is why President Trump’s proposal Monday to create a new sovereign wealth fund deserves to die in Congress. His executive order included scant details. But it said the fund would “promote fiscal sustainability,” “establish economic security for future generations, and promote United States economic and strategic leadership internationally.” More likely, it would take resources from the private economy, fund political boondoggles, and mess with the business decisions of private companies.

Trump support can't replace focus on Israel's internal security - editorial

 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-841053

If US President Donald Trump’s grand statements of a plan to transfer 1.8 million Palestinians from the uninhabitable Gaza Strip hadn’t been said this week, public discourse would have focused much more than it had on a terrifying number: Seven. 

Six Arab Israelis were killed in criminal violence incidents in the span of 24 hours between Sunday and Monday this week, with one more on Tuesday in what police suspect was a revenge hit.

Israel Police said last week that it was launching what it called a “large-scale” operation to combat crime in the sector; these seven deaths came one week later. 

Haredim hold prayer meeting in Stamford Hill in protest of bill threatening Yeshivas

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-840911

In response to the UK's proposal of a bill that they claim may threaten Jewish yeshivas and Torah education, thousands of Haredi Jews gathered for an Atzeres Tefillah (prayer gathering) in Stamford Hill, London, the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC) said in a statement.

The bill in question, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, has passed its second reading in the House of Commons and has progressed to the Committee Stage. It seeks to ensure that all children who are home-schooled or taught outside a school setting are registered by local authorities. 

Haredi campaigners have expressed fear that this would lead to state interference in yeshivas and force them to teach secular subjects or subscribe to the national curriculum, according to the Jewish Chronicle

Trump's triple loss: Trade 'war' surrender, court defeat, Mideast occupation debacle

The tariff wars have begun - buckle up

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8975dx1pe3o

Don't mess with Canada - that's the private message to the US from the very top of Ottawa's political system. Just like nearly a century ago with the infamous American Smoot-Hawley tariffs, Canada got its retaliation in to Donald Trump's import taxes very quickly.

While the White House is claiming Canada's pledge to spend $1.3bn (£1bn) on a border protection plan has given it diplomatic victory in its battle over fentanyl traffic, there was very little conceded that was not already planned by America's northern neighbour.

Crucially, both Mexico and Canada were undeterred by a clear threat in Trump's executive orders that any retaliation would lead to higher tariffs on imports into the US.

After consulting each other, Canada and Mexico instead both negotiated a month's pause with Trump.

Canadian lawmaker on Trump tariff delay: ‘He choked’

 https://thehill.com/policy/international/5127802-canada-trump-tariffs-delay/?tbref=hp

Canadian Member of Parliament Charlie Angus said President Trump “choked” as his tariff plan for Canada was ultimately delayed before going into action.

“He blinked,” Angus told MeidasTouch, highlighted by HuffPost. “He choked.”

Just days after Trump signed an executive order that imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canada, he reached an agreement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold the tariffs for a month.

Angus noted the Canadian people are much more united than American citizens currently, and the country is ready to go “pound for pound” with the U.S. if Trump plunges the countries into a trade war.

DOGE to Make 'Rapid Safety Upgrades' to Air Traffic Control: Elon Musk

 https://www.newsweek.com/doge-rapid-safety-upgrades-air-traffic-control-elon-musk-2026875

In a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report obtained by the Associated Press, officials say one air traffic controller was overseeing both helicopter traffic and planes arriving and departing Reagan National at the time of the collision. The FAA report said the personnel configuration was "not normal" but that overall staffing was typical.