Former President Trump’s return this weekend to Iowa, the state where caucuses for half a century have kicked off the presidential nominating calendar, sparked more speculation that the former president will launch a 2024 bid to try and return to the White House. While the former president for months has repeatedly teased another White House run, Trump avoided such language during a nearly two-hour speech in front of a large crowd of supporters at a Saturday evening rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. While Trump vowed to “take back America,” he didn’t make any specific flirtations about launching another presidential bid. Rather than directly discuss 2024, he spent much of his time re-litigating his 2020 election defeat to now-President Biden.

President Biden was all full of gaffes when he delivered a speech in Illinois on Thursday. He first misgendered Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a woman, by addressing her ‘Mr mayor’. “Mr Mayor, thanks for the passport into town.” The blunders did not stop there. During the same speech he struggled while recalling President of Illinois’ State Senate Don Harmon’s name. He then said the following: “And also, we’ve got state leadership here. Lieutenant Governor Juliana is here — Stratton. And the Ohio-Pennsyl- –the Ohio-Pennsylvania — I’m from Pennsylvania. The Illinois President, Don Harmon; State Senator Laura Murphy; State Rep. Martin Moylan. And we’ve got great labor leaders here, too. Tim — where’s Tim? There you go, Tim. Thank you. Thank you, pal. AFL-CIO State President.

President Joe Biden on Thursday championed COVID-19 vaccination requirements, determined that the roughly 67 million unvaccinated American adults must get the shot even as he acknowledged that mandates weren’t his “first instinct.” He had ruled out such mandates before taking office in January, but they now are a tactic he feels forced into using by a stubborn slice of the public that has refused to be inoculated and has jeopardized the lives of others and the nation’s economic recovery. “There is no other way to beat the pandemic than to get the vast majority of the American people vaccinated,” Biden said in suburban Chicago at an event promoting the requirements. “While I didn’t race to do it right away, that’s why I’ve had to move toward requirements.” Biden says the Labor Dept.

A powerful magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the Tokyo area on Thursday night, injuring at least 17 people and halting trains and subways. Officials said there was no major damage or danger of a tsunami. The Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of 80 kilometers (48 miles). It caused buildings to sway and hanging objects such as signs to swing violently. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there were no abnormalities at nuclear power facilities in the area. He said a total of 17 people were injured, including one who was seriously hurt.

A Gate City police officer’s quick action likely prevented anyone from being seriously hurt in a crash Sunday. Dashcam footage showed Officer Matthew Stewart pulling Officer Jessica McGraw out of the path of a patrol vehicle which was struck by a vehicle which lost control. The incident happened on Highway 23S at mile marker 6. Officer Stewart had responded to the scene of a crash investigation upon Officer McGraw’s request to assist with clarification of an issue regarding a driver’s license status. As the officers discussed the situation, a car traveling on the northbound side of Highway 23 lost control, crossed the median, and struck the left front of McGraw’s patrol vehicle.

Reform Rabbi MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) took cynical advantage of his parliamentary immunity to smuggle a Sefer Torah into the women’s section at the Kosel during Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan tefillos on Thursday morning. His act was part of the monthly provocation the Women of the Wall (WOW) group engages in every Rosh Chodesh. Kariv then read from the Torah amidst the women in the WOW group. Blue and White MK Alon Tal also participated in the provocation. ראש חודש חשון, זעזוע וביזיון בכותל: ח״כ גלעד קריב מנצל את החסינות שלו ומנסה להכניס ספר תורה לעזרת נשים בכותל המערבי .

Anti-Semite “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was caught on camera saying she was only wearing a mask because she was being tailed by a “Republican tracker.” The Michigan congresswoman made the admission while speaking to a maskless attendee at an event in Detroit featuring Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge. Tlaib told the attendee that she only had the mask on because of the tracker, who was filming the exchange, after the person mistakenly thought Tlaib was scolding him for going maskless. “Oh, no, oh, not you!” Tlaib said in the video. “No, no, no – I’m just wearing it because I’ve got a Republican tracker here.”

A moving scene took place earlier this week in the Chareidi community in Vienna, Austria, when for the first time in many years a Hachnasas Sefer Torah was celebrated for the Beis Medrash Kahal Chassidim. The event was headed by the city’s Rabbanim, including the shul’s Rav, Gaon Av Beis Din HaRav Avraham Yonah Schwartz. The procession left from the Rav’s home and danced through the city’s streets. During the procession, an extremely moving scene took place, when one of the chashuve members of the kehilla, HaRav Yissachar Dov Ber Keren, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor and Vienna native, stopped at the very spot he was almost murdered by Nazi youth 83 years ago and emotionally said the bracha b’shem u’malchus: “Baruch She’Asa Li Neis,’ with one hand on the new Sefer Torah.

In a moving display of unity, all the Jewish kehillos in Strasbourg, France participated last week in a lively hachnasas Sefer Torah, which was written in the zechus of critically ill coronavirus patients and dedicated to the Beis Hakenesses HaGadol in the city. The Jews joyfully danced with the Sefer Torah in the streets, with the highlight being recovered coronavirus patients, who once lay critically ill in the hospital, some in the ICU, dancing with the Torah. The writing of the magnificent Sefer Torah by the master sofer HaRav Dovid Lilati began during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when a fundraiser, attended by all members of the city’s kehillos, raised the entire sum required within a day.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said late Monday that he “parted amicably” with former President Trump at the end of their terms in January. During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Pence was asked about his relationship with the former president amid their disagreements about certifying the 2020 election on Jan. 6. “Look, you can’t spend almost five years in a political foxhole with somebody without developing a strong relationship,” Pence said. “The president and I sat down a few days later and talked through all of it,” he added. “I can tell you that we parted amicably at the end of the administration, and we have talked a number of times since we both left office.” (Source: The Hill)