Hegseth Brought His Wife to Sensitive Meetings With Foreign Military Officials

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-brought-his-wife-to-sensitive-meetings-with-foreign-military-officials-c16db0ea?mod=trending_now_news_1

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.

One of the meetings, a high-level discussion at the Pentagon on March 6 between Hegseth and U.K. Secretary of Defense John Healey, took place at a sensitive moment for the trans-Atlantic alliance, one day after the U.S. said it had cut off military intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The group that met at the Pentagon, which included Adm. Tony Radakin, the head of the U.K.’s armed forces, discussed the U.S. rationale behind that decision, as well as future military collaboration between the two allies, according to people familiar with the meeting. 

Donald Trump's Greenland Takeover Idea Is Unpopular—What Polls Show

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-greenland-takeover-idea-unpopular-what-polls-show-2052581

President Donald Trump continues to double-down on his desire for the United States to take over control of Greenland, but polling shows the idea is deeply unpopular with Americans and Greenlanders.

CNN polling analyst Harry Enten in a Friday X, formerly Twitter, post: "Just 6% of Greenlanders want to join the United States. There are more people who think we faked the moon landing (~10%). 85% of Greenlanders are opposed. Meanwhile, less than 30% of Americans want Greenland to join the U.S. I've rarely seen anything so unpopular."

The Trump administration is expected to continue to push for control of Greenland, but with the current opposition from Denmark's and Greenland's leaders, it's unclear how such a plan would move forward.

Doctors Blast RFK Jr After Vaccine Chief Forced Out: 'Gutting of Expertise'

 https://www.newsweek.com/doctors-blast-rfk-jr-after-vaccine-chief-forced-out-2052514

Prominent doctors have spoken out in defense of Peter Marks, one of the top vaccine specialists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after he announced he was resigning on Friday with a letter highly critical of new Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

One health expert described the move as a "gutting of expertise inside the FDA," while another described Kennedy Jr.'s position on vaccines as a "misguided obsession."

Mesorah:Questioning that of Moshe?

The Rashi (Bereishis 38:22) cites a Yerushalmi in which Betzalel directly questions what Moshe Rabbeinu said about making the Mishkan after the vessels based entirely on common sense. This is also stated in the Bavli and Medrash Rabbah. 

Rashi (Bereishis 38:22) AND BEZALEEL THE SON OF URI etc. MADE ALL THAT THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES — It is not stated here: Bezaleel made all that he had been commanded), but “Bezaleel made all that the Lord commanded Moses” — even regarding such things which his teacher Moses did not tell him, his own opinion was in agreement with what had been told to Moses on Sinai (Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1; Bereishis Rabbah 1:14). For Moses bade Bezaleel to make the vessels first and the Tabernacle afterwards but Bezaleel said to him: “Surely, it is the way of the world  first to build a house and then to place the household utensils in it!” Moses replied to him: “So, indeed, did I hear from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He”. Moses further said to him: Bezaleel, you must have been sitting in the shadow of God, for certainly did thus God command me!” And consequently Bezaleel made the Tabernacle first and afterwards he made the vessels ..

Berachos (55a) Rabbi Yitzḥak said: One may only appoint a leader over a community if he consults with the community and they agree to the appointment, as it is stated: “And Moses said unto the children of Israel: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah” (Exodus 35:30). The Lord said to Moses: Moses, is Bezalel a suitable appointment in your eyes? Moses said to Him: Master of the universe, if he is a suitable appointment in Your eyes, then all the more so in my eyes. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Nevertheless, go and tell Israel and ask their opinion. Moses went and said to Israel: Is Bezalel suitable in your eyes? They said to him: If he is suitable in the eyes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and in your eyes, all the more so he is suitable in our eyes. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Bezalel was called by that name on account of his wisdom. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Go say to Bezalel, “Make a tabernacle, an ark, and vessels”, Moses went and reversed the order and told Bezalel: “Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle”. He said to Moses: Moses, our teacher, the standard practice throughout the world is that a person builds a house and only afterward places the vessels in the house, and you say to me: Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle. If I do so in the order you have commanded, the vessels that I make, where shall I put them? Perhaps God told you the following: “Make a tabernacle, ark, and vessels”. Moses said to Bezalel: Perhaps you were in God’s shadow, and you knew precisely what He said. You intuited God’s commands just as He stated them, as if you were there.

Bereishis Rabbah (1:14) Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of Rav Huna: “Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, did everything that the Moses commanded him” is not stated, but rather, “everything that the Lord commanded Moses”. Even matters that Betzalel did not hear from his teacher, his perception corresponded to what was stated to Moses at Sinai. Rabbi Ḥonya said in the name of Rabbi: “The Torah of truth was in his mouth” – these are matters that he heard directly from his teacher. The Rabbis say: “For the Lord will be your hope  – even matters that you are a fool in their regard, “He will protect your foot from being ensnared”. Rabbi Dosai said: From promulgating mistaken teachings. Rabbi Abahu said: From transgressing. Rabbi Levi said: From malevolent spirits. Rabbi Avdimus said: If you gave charity from your purse, the Holy One blessed be He will protect you from being charged unjust security taxes, fines, head taxes, and property taxes.

U.S. Officials Learned What Greenlanders Think of Usha Vance Visit in Most Humiliating Way Possible

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-officials-learn-what-greenlanders-think-of-usha-vance-visit-in-most-humiliating-way-possible/

American officials went door to door in Greenland’s capital looking for residents who would welcome a visit from Usha Vance during her upcoming trip—and every single one of them said no, according to a Danish TV report.

With President Donald Trump increasingly calling for Greenland to come under U.S. control, officials couldn’t find anybody in Nuuk who was interested in Vance’s visit, despite a week of canvassing, according to Danish reporter Jesper Steinmetz.

Donald Trump’s ‘very fine people on both sides’ remarks (transcript)

 https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/apr/26/context-trumps-very-fine-people-both-sides-remarks/

Trump: "Yes, I think there’s blame on both sides. If you look at both sides -- I think there’s blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don’t have any doubt about it either. And if you reported it accurately, you would say."

Reporter: "The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest --"

Trump: "Excuse me, excuse me. They didn’t put themselves -- and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group. Excuse me, excuse me. I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name."

Trump’s Giant New Car and Truck Tax

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-auto-tariffs-general-motors-usmca-e7d72e04?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

So much for the idea that President Trump views tariffs as a negotiating tool to reduce everyone else’s tariffs. That was always implausible, and the illusion went poof Wednesday with Mr. Trump’s executive order imposing 25% tariffs on all imported cars and trucks. He wants border taxes for their own sake, so get used to it.

Mr. Trump justifies his car tariffs as a “national security” threat under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. As we wrote in 2019 when he tried this gambit, he apparently fears the attack of the killer Toyotas.

A New Administration’s Signal Failure

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-new-administrations-signal-failure-war-discussion-group-chat-0589e4ef?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

The national-security communications snafu shows a government in the hands of immature bros.

The Signal mess is a real mess, not something that will fade away quickly, because it’s one of those scandals that give the world a picture of a new administration.

'YouTube evangelist': WH official who ‘sells miracles on the side’

Trump says US will 'go as far as we have to' to get control of Greenland Just like his hero Putin!

 https://abcnews.go.com/International/trump-us-control-greenland/story?id=120208823

"We need Greenland for national security and international security," Trump said, taking reporters' questions in the Oval Office.

"So we'll, I think, we'll go as far as we have to go," he continued. "We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland. And, you know, we'll see what happens. But if we don't have Greenland, we can't have great international security."

Trump added, "I view it from a security standpoint, we have to be there."

'Two perfect months?!': Trump's rationalization of insecure group chat scandal backfires

GOP lawmakers turn up the pressure on Hegseth

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5216365-hegseth-scrutiny-republican-lawmakers/ 

I think they should make sure it never happens again. I wish they’d tell us, ‘It will never happen again.’ It’s the first strike in the early stages of an administration,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Don’t let it ever happen again.”

“I don’t know how many strikes you get. In baseball, you get three. Maybe this is worth two,” he added. “If mistakes like this continue to happen, we’ll deal with them as it happens. My hope and my expectation is that it won’t.”

And they’re wondering about Hegseth’s response to reporters’ questions, specifically his adamant denial that “nobody’s texting war plans” after a National Security Council spokesperson had confirmed the chat group’s reported texts appeared to be “authentic.”

“The worst part of it is Hegseth saying himself, ‘This didn’t really happen.’ Why don’t you just admit it?” one Republican senator remarked

Trump officials attack journalist after Signal leak published in full

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedlqlj6186o

The White House reacted furiously on Wednesday after The Atlantic magazine published messages between national security officials in a Signal group chat in their entirety.

President Donald Trump called the reporting "all a witch hunt" and declared the publication a "failed magazine".

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Goldberg said the Trump administration had sought to place the blame on a reporter rather than "actually acknowledging that they have a massive national security breach, and that they should just go fix it".

But several military experts and veterans of the intelligence community said that the information was highly sensitive and should never have been shared in a commercial messaging app.

Timeline of how Trump’s pledge to end the war in Ukraine hit reality

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/26/europe/timeline-trumps-pledge-to-end-ukraine-war/index.html

Over the past two months, the United States has been talking with both Ukraine and Russia – separately – to try to fulfill one of President Donald Trump’s main campaign promises: ending the war in Ukraine. Trump repeatedly touted that he would end the war within 24 hours of taking office if elected president on the campaign trail, but nearly two months on there is no sign of a real breakthrough.

Trump has walked back from his pledge – first extending the self-imposed deadline to six months, then saying he was being “a little bit sarcastic” about the 24-hour timeframe.

More recently the president said in an interview with Newsmax that Moscow could be “dragging their feet” on a ceasefire deal.

Trump has made it clear that Ukraine will have to acquiesce with his hardline approach if it wants to continue to receive military support from the country.

And while Russia has said it agrees in principle to the US ceasefire proposals, it has consistently came up with “buts” and “only ifs” that undermine any deals.