The Justice Department unit that ensures compliance with voting rights laws will switch its focus to investigating voter fraud and ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The new mission statement for the voting section makes a passing reference to the historic Voting Rights Act, but no mention of typical enforcement of the provision through protecting people’s right to cast ballots or ensuring that lines for legislative maps do not divide voters by race. Instead, it redefines the unit’s mission around conspiracy theories pushed by Republican President Donald Trump to explain away his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

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Former Labor Minister and staunch conservative Kim Moon Soo won the presidential nomination of South Korea’s main conservative party, facing an uphill battle against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung for the June 3 election. Observers say Kim will likely try to align with other conservative forces, such as former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, to prevent a split in conservative votes and boost prospects for a conservative win against Lee. In a party primary that ended Saturday, Kim won 56.5% of the votes cast, beating his sole competitor, Han Dong-hun, the party said in a televised announcement. Other contenders have been eliminated in earlier rounds. “I’ll form a strong alliance with anyone to prevent a rule by Lee Jae-myung and his Democratic Party forces.

Tens of thousands of cyclists will bike through New York City tomorrow for the 47th Annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour. The first wave of riders will start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 4, with subsequent waves departing at 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 9:50 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The tour takes participants on a 40-mile ride from Lower Manhattan, through the Bronx, over to Queens and down through Brooklyn to Staten Island. Five Boro Bike Tour street closures The route closes to vehicular traffic at 7:15 a.m. Sixth Avenue will reopen to cars at noon. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge will be open with significant road closures to accommodate the bike tour. Motorists should expect delays. The Staten Island-bound lower level of the bridge will be closed to vehicles from 12:01 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

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The IDF overnight Friday carried out airstrikes on dozens of military targets in Syria, including anti-aircraft guns and a surface-to-air missile launcher. IDF Chief Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar and Northern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin commanded the operation from the Air Force headquarters. In addition, five Syrian-Druze citizens were evacuated to receive medical treatment in Israel after being injured in clashes in Syria. “IDF forces are deployed in the southern Syria area and are prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into Druze villages,” the IDF spokesperson stated. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu postponed his scheduled visit to Azerbaijan due to security developments in Gaza and Syria and a packed political-security agenda, his office announced on Motzei Shabbos. “In light of the developments in Gaza and Syria and due to his intense diplomatic and security schedule, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone his visit to Azerbaijan to a later date,” the statement said. “The Prime Minister thanks President Aliyev for his invitation and appreciates the warm ties between the two countries.” Netanyahu was slated to travel to Baku on Wednesday for a five-day visit. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

Missile alert sirens blared in several locations in Israel at about 6:30 a.m. on Shabbos morning, including Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Modi’in, the Negev, and the Dead Sea area. The missile, launched by the Houthis in Yemen, was successfully intercepted by Israel’s missile defense forces. A 26-year-old man was lightly injured while rushing to a protected area. The Houthis launched two missiles at northern Israel on Friday. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized Israel on Friday for conducting an airstrike the night before near Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus.
Stephan Dujarric, the UN spokesperson, released a statement saying that Guterres denounced the attack as a breach of Syrian sovereignty. He urged Israel to respect “its unity, its territorial integrity and its independence.”
In a coordinated statement, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz defended the operation, stating that the strike was meant to deliver “a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not permit Syrian troops to move south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”