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final day will be centered around defending Israel’s airspace.”

In an unusual move, the drill included all of the IAF’s operational arms and saw heavy fighter jet and helicopter traffic above the skies in northern Israel. The military commonly refrains from conducting force-wide drills due to monetary constraints.

The surprise drill came on the same day in which Israeli warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes in southern Syria. According to Arab media reports, the targets included an Iranian weapons warehouse in Damascus International Airport along with arms depots in the suburb of AlKisweh.

While refraining from taking responsibility for the air assault, IDF officers told the media that the exercise proved that the air force is capable of operating in multiple fronts simultaneously.

“One of the main aspects that differentiate between war and training is unpredictability,” said Lieutenant Colonel “O.” “The element of surprise is expressed in the ability to adapt plans to a changing reality. It also reflects the way in which we deal with the mental-psychological challenges of uncertainty.”

PA Destroys Jewish Site

Israelis on both sides of the political spectrum were outraged after the Palestinian Authority destroyed part of Joshua’s Altar in Samaria.

Located on Mount Ebal in Samaria, the archaeological site is believed to be the altar built by the Yehoshua after conquering the Land of Israel. Discovered in 1980 by archaeologist Dr. Adam Zertal, it is considered one of the most significant finds ever unearthed in modern-day Israel.

Last week, the Palestinian Authority destroyed part of the altar’s retaining wall to make way for an illegal road it constructed to link Nablus with the village of Asira-A-Ashamaliya. The 3,500-yearold relic was used as gravel to pave the road, causing significant and irreversible damage to the site.

Media reports exposing the extent of the damage caused an uproar in Israel, with politicians and government ministers calling on the IDF to safeguard Jewish historical sites. In a letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz, President Reuven Rivlin called it a “moral imperative” for the IDF to investigate how Palestinian laborers were able to destroy such a significant archaeological find.

“The reports of damage to the altar site...concern me deeply, and I am writing to you to thoroughly investigate the case in order to ensure no further such damage is done to heritage sites,” Rivlin wrote. “Our land has a bounty of holy sites of immense religious, historic, and archaeological value. These sites, including the altar of Joshua...are heritage sites of incalculable national and universal value.”

Former Defense Minister and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett compared the damage to the effort by ISIS to deliberately destroy cultural artifacts in areas under its control.

“Imagine if ISIS would try to take apart the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower, what an uproar across the world we’d hear,” Bennett said in a video he shot at the ruined altar.

Bennett went on to call the destruction “a barbaric act that we have heard only from ISIS or from radical Islamists that want to take away ancient sites of other people.”

Studies have dated the altar as far back as the 13th century BCE and have found that its dimensions correspond to the measurements described in the Talmud. The altar is located in PA-controlled Area B West Bank, making it difficult for Israeli authorities to excavate the site.

While Israelis are allowed to visit the site, visits must be coordinated with the IDF and remain infrequent.

Biden to Shutter Gitmo

President Joe Biden will launch a review that aims to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba by the time he leaves office.

The prison is home to some of the most dangerous prisoners captured during the War on Terror, including senior al-Qaeda and ISIS commanders. There are currently only 40 people behind bars in the prison, down from a high of 680 in 2003, but the detention center remains a hot button issue.

In a statement, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said that the process of closing the facility will likely take years. Shuttering the site needs to overcome significant legal and political obstacles and would require a mixture of legislation and Executive Orders.

“We are undertaking an NSC process to assess the current state of play that the Biden administration has inherited from the previous administration, in line with our broader goal of closing Guantanamo,” she said. “There will be a robust interagency process to move forward on this, but we need to have the right people seated to do this important work.”

Horne added that the NSC has already begun preparatory work with the Departments of Defense, State and Justice.

Nicknamed “Gitmo,” the facility has been controversial for years and became a divisive partisan issue between Republicans and Democrats. While conservatives see the prison as necessary to combatting terrorism throughout the world, liberals argue that it is a stain on America’s human rights record.

In 2008, then-President Obama issued an Executive Order mandating Gitmo’s immediate closure. The Order was never carried out due to bureaucratic infighting amongst the national security apparatus and was rescinded by Donald Trump in 2018.

“I am asking Congress to ensure that, in the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them. And in many cases for them, it will now be Guantánamo Bay,” Trump said at the time.

Storm Knocks Out Power in Texas

At least 24 people died as an icy winter storm hit the South, leaving millions of people without power and shutting down air travel and lo-

cal businesses.

Two men were found dead along a Houston-area highway. It seems as if the men froze to death in the icy temperatures.

More than 4 million people were without power in Texas on Tuesday morning, as utilities in the state had been knocked out or frozen by the bitter cold that swept through the state this week.

The Houston Chronicle related that it was able to print newspapers through Hurricane Harvey but with freezing temperatures expected to linger for days, they were unsure if they would be able to print subsequent editions, as power is unlikely to be restored.

“Cell towers in Fort Bend County southwest of Houston had generators freezing, running out of fuel or both, interrupting service in parts of the county,” County Judge K.P. George tweeted. “Conditions are deteriorating on all roadways. Roads are impassable. Do not travel. Stay at your location.”

In Abilene, around 150 miles from Fort Worth, the loss of power at the city’s water treatment plants had forced the city to shut off water.

“Texans with electricity are asked to conserve as much as possible in an effort to relieve the demand on the state’s power grid and help restore service,” according to the city’s statement.

Several school districts cancelled classes because of the weather.

Texas is one of several states across the southern United States battling a raging winter storm, prompting President Biden on Sunday to approve an emergency declaration for Texas as multiple governors have declared their own states of emergency.

Biden Press Aide Resigns

Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo stepped down on Saturday after threatening a female reporter in January.

Ducklo said in a statement that he was resigning for the “derogatory and misogynistic” comments he made to Politico correspondent Tara Palmeri. Ducklo, 32, apologized in a statement he posted on Twitter for berating Palmeri, writing that “no words can express my regret, my embarrassment and my disgust for my behavior.”

“I used language that no woman should ever have to hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job,” Ducklo added. “It was language that was abhorrent, disrespectful and unacceptable.

“I am devastated to have embarrassed and disappointed my White

Rush Limbaugh Passes Away

On Wednesday, conservative media icon Rush Limbaugh passed away after battling cancer. He was 70 years old.

His wife, Kathryn, announced his passing on his radio show.

“As so many of you know, losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life,” she said. “Rush will forever be the greatest of all time.”

Limbaugh announced in February 2020 that he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Despite the diagnosis, Limbaugh continued to host his popular radio show while undergoing treatment and consistently told listeners that he remained hopeful he would defeat the disease.

For 32 years, Limbaugh hosted “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” a nationally-syndicated program with millions of loyal listeners. “The Rush Limbaugh Show” helped popularize the political talk-radio format and usher in a generation of conservative infotainment. In a way, his radio show kept AM radio from demise.

Limbaugh was not shy – he was vocal and bombastic in his views. During the course of his career, he waded into controversial waters but also championed many causes and political ideas that he felt were right.

In an interview with the New York Times in 2008, Limbaugh acknowledged, “I take the responsibility that comes with my show very seriously. “I want to persuade people with ideas. I don’t walk around thinking about my power. But in my heart and soul, I know I have become the intellectual engine of the conservative movement.”

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Rush Hudson Limbaugh Jr. and Mildred Carolyn Limbaugh. His father, Limbaugh Jr., was a prominent Republican activist. Limbaugh’s younger brother, David Limbaugh, is a lawyer and conservative commentator.

When Rush was 16 years old, he enrolled in a summer course on radio engineering and earned a broadcaster’s license. He soon landed a job in local radio, although his father required him to attend college.

“My father expected me to be a professional man,” Limbaugh told The Times. “The problem was, I hated school. I hated being told what to do. In the Boy Scouts, I never got a single merit badge. In school, my grades were terrible. I just didn’t want to be there. I just wanted to be on the radio.”

He dropped out of university after one year and worked at various radio stations. After moving to California, Rush developed “The Rush Limbaugh Show.” In 1988, it became nationally syndicated.

Despite his on-the-air success, Limbaugh suffered some personal setbacks. In 2001, he developed hearing loss due to an autoimmune inner ear disease and later received a cochlear implant. In 2003, Limbaugh announced that he was addicted to pain medication after back surgery and would seek treatment. In 2006, he was charged with “doctor shopping” and completed 18 months of drug treatment.

Throughout it all, Limbaugh remained the king of conservative talk-radio, earning a fortune along the way. Limbaugh, though, was generous with his wealth. He once ranked fourth on Forbes’ list of most generous celebrities, having donated $4.2 million to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, about 13% of his earnings, the publication said. He also used his show to rally listeners to donate to various charities throughout the years, helping to raise millions of dollars for those in need. In recent years, he and his wife started the Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh Family Foundation.

Over the past few years, Limbaugh went to bat for President Trump on the radio. After his announcement about his battle with cancer in February 2020, Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a President can bestow on a civilian.

On Wednesday, upon hearing of Limbaugh’s passing, Trump said, “He was a fantastic man, a fantastic talent, and people – whether they loved him or not – they respected him, they really did.”

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House colleagues and President Biden, and after a discussion with White House communications leadership tonight, I resigned my position.”

Ducklo had already been suspended for a week without pay for his remarks to Palmeri prior to his decision to step down on Saturday. The Biden aide’s resignation came a day after Vanity Fair published an article detailing his conversation with Palmeri, including the comments many called misogynist and demeaning.

During the incident in question, Ducklo threatened to “destroy” the Politico journalist if she moved forward with a story she was pursuing. During the profanity-laced tirade, Ducklo attempted to pressure Palmeri by promising to destroy her career if she ran the piece.

President Biden has promised to respect the media following the deep hostility that characterized the Trump administration’s relationship with the press. In a conversation with the White House press corps on Inauguration Day last month, Biden said that “if you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot.

“No ifs, ands or buts,” Biden reiterated.

Trump Acquittal Round II

The U.S. Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump of a single charge of “incitement to insurrection” relating to January’s violent riot at the Capitol.

Fifty-seven senators voted to impeach, while 43 opposed, far short of the minimum 67 required by the U.S. Constitution. Among those supporting the measure were seven Republican senators, following ten GOP representatives who had joined the Democrats in the House vote to remove Trump.

The seven GOP senators who joined their colleagues in voting in favor of impeachment were Richard Burr of North Carolina; Bill Cassidy of Louisiana; Susan Collins of Maine; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Mitt Romney of Utah; Ben Sasse of Nebraska; and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

The trial marked the second time Trump was acquitted by the Senate following last year’s impeachment surrounding allegations that he pressured Ukraine to help his reelection bid. In his first statement after the vote, Trump thanked his supporters, his legal team, and the senators who voted to acquit him for standing “proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,” the statement continued. “In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people.”