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“This is what you get when you scandalously prosecute troops who kill terrorists,” wrote Bennett. “Only by changing the stranglehold IDF lawyers have on the military will things change.”

PLO Paying $15M to Terrorists

A senior Palestinian official admitted that the Palestinian Authority earmarks as much as $15 million every month to pay terrorists imprisoned in Israeli jails.

“We pay around NIS 50 million ($15 million) per month in salaries,” PLO Commissioner for Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr told the Times of Israel. He said that the money goes to an estimated 7,500 Palestinian prisoners, the majority behind bars for terror-related offenses.

Abu Bakr added that the PA was also paying another 4,500 Palestinians currently in temporary detention. During the interview, Abu Bakr also denied that the PA had decided to phase out the controversial policy of monthly stipends to terrorists.

“We’re still studying the matter, but we have not yet come to any conclusions about it,” he said.

Known widely in Israel as “Pay to Slay,” the longtime Palestinian Authority policy lavishes monthly stipends on convicted terrorists, with the amounts rising according to the number of Israelis killed. According to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority had dished out upwards of 512 million shekel ($159 million) alone in 2020 despite suffering from a severe financial crisis caused by COVID-19.

Not only did the cash crunch not lead the PA to reduce the monthly stipends, the sums rose by NIS 161 million ($50 million) from 2019. The aforementioned payments have long bothered both Israel and the U.S., causing Congress to condition annual aid on the PA scrapping the program.

In November, the PA said that it would begin phasing out the policy in what observers said was an attempt to win over the incoming Biden administration. Instead of granting the monthly payments based on the number of dead Israelis, the PA would instead calculate it based on each prisoner’s socio-economic status.

Masks Off?

Amid rising vaccination rates and falling infections, a slew of states has begun to roll back their COVID-19 restrictions.

Leading the trend is Texas, with Governor Greg Abbott announcing last week that the Lone Star State will allow businesses to reopen at full capacity. Abbott’s Executive Order, which took effect on March 10, removes all curbs on commerce along with the state’s mask mandate in public places.

Upon announcing the rollback, Abbott touted Texas’s low positivity rate, which he said was “under 9%,” and spoke of the harsh economic fallout the lockdowns caused. Highlighting the fact that Texas is second nationwide in COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, the governor said that the time had come to put Texans back to work.

“It is now time to open Texas 100 percent,” Abbott said, stressing that “too many Texans were sidelined from employment opportunities” due to the restrictions on businesses.

“The vaccine supply is increasing so rapidly, Texas will soon expand the categories of people who are able to get them, and some medical professionals say within a few months every Texan who wants a vaccine shot will be able to get a vaccine shot,” Abbott said.

“Hospitalizations are the lowest they’ve been in four months. The number of active COVID cases is the lowest since November, and is less than half of what it was just a month ago,” the governor said.

Following Texas is Connecticut, which dramatically loosened COVID-19 restrictions and will allow the resumption of sports games, cultural events, and outdoor dining. The state’s travel ban will also be lifted for the first time since early 2020, and incoming travelers will not need to quarantine.

However, social distancing rules will still apply in all of the aforementioned venues, along with rules mandating masks and a curfew on all restaurants and bars. Outdoor seating at restaurants will be capped at 50% capacity and indoor venues permitted up to 10%.

“We wanted to emphasize that which works and that which is enforceable,” said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont last Thursday. “And we know what works is the mask, and we know what works is social distancing, and we know the curfew is something we can enforce.”

In West Virginia, Governor Jim Justice rolled out a new policy allowing restaurants and bars to operate at “100% of their seating capacity,” along with gyms, cultural centers, and movie theaters. Large gatherings will now be limited to 100 people, up from the previous 75, and the state’s fairs and festivals will resume.

The decision came as the number of daily COVID-19 infections continues to decline across West Virginia, with only 326 new cases this past Friday.

“We have no red counties in West Virginia – I just want you to look at this map. It just jumps out at you every way. Green, green, more green. The whole Northern Panhandle is green… Absolutely it is amazing,” Justice said.

$1.9T Stimulus Bill

The Senate passed a mammoth $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill in a narrow vote that illustrated the Democratic Party’s fragile legislative majority.

Following tense last-minute negotiations, the stimulus package was approved by the razor-thin margin of 50-49, with every Republican Senator opposing. The Senate vote was

a key hurdle for the bill, which was summarily approved by the House on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden hailed the bill’s passage, saying in a Saturday afternoon press conference that senators had chosen to better the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans.

“By passing this plan, we’ll have proved that this government, this democracy, can still work. It has to be done. It will improve people’s lives,” Biden said.

Democrats had been under pressure to pass the bill before the weekly $300 unemployment benefits lapsed on March 14. On Friday, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would oppose the bill over his objection to a benefit proposal for the jobless.

With the Senate evenly split 5050 between the two parties, Manchin’s last-minute refusal led to frantic negotiations until the Democratic senator finally agreed to accept a GOP proposal to lower unemployment benefits. Democrats forced the Senate roll call vote to remain open for 11 hours and 50 minutes, the longest in over a century, as negotiations between party leaders and Manchin dragged on.

“We have reached a compromise that enables the economy to rebound quickly while also protecting those receiving unemployment benefits from being hit with [an] unexpected tax bill next year,” Manchin said.

The stimulus package aims at providing relief to an economy devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and will give Americans another round of $1,400 checks, the third since the pandemic began. It also earmarks $350 billion to state governments along with a separate $130 billion to reopen schools.

Another $49 billion will go to expanding research and testing for COVID-19, while $14 billion is budgeted for the vaccine effort. The COVID-19 stimulus bill also extended $300-per-week unemployment benefits until the summer and expanded food stamps by 15%.

The stimulus package passed without any GOP support despite Biden’s vow that the legislation would earn bipartisan approval. Decrying the high price tag, Senate Republicans warned that the $1.9 trillion package would lead to skyrocketing inflation and proposed a scaleddown $600 billion bill instead.

“The Senate has never spent $2 trillion in a more haphazard or less rigorous way,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrats inherited a tide that is already turning.”

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Bomber Flyover

For the second time since taking office, President Joe Biden ordered a pair of B-52 bombers to fly over the Middle East in a warning to Iran.

The two B-52H “Stratofortress” bombers took off from Minot Air Base in North Dakota on Saturday, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and circling Iran before beginning the long journey home. The long-range strategic bombers were escorted during various parts of the journey by Israeli, Qatari, and Saudi fighter jets.

“Today, Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets escorted two American B-52 bombers through Israeli airspace,” confirmed the IDF in a statement on Sunday. “This flight is part of the joint strategic cooperation with U.S. forces, which is pivotal in maintaining the security of Israeli and Middle Eastern skies.”

Sunday’s sortie was the seventh of its kind since November, which are said to be a warning to Iran ahead of the expected negotiations over its nuclear program. First ordered by former President Donald Trump during a bout of saber-rattling between the two countries, the mock bombing mission has now occurred twice since Biden’s inauguration.

The Pentagon refrained from mentioning Iran upon announcing the sortie, saying simply that the B-52s had flown to the Middle East to “deter aggression and reassure partners and allies of the U.S. military’s commitment to security in the region.”

Biden has repeatedly expressed his willingness to return to the Iran nuclear deal should the Islamic Republic commit to fulfilling its obligations. Signed in 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) capped Tehran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief but has been on shaky ground since Trump backed out of the agreement in 2018.

Israel has vociferously opposed returning to the Iran deal, highlighting its insufficient safeguards and

warning that it would pave the way for Tehran obtaining nuclear capability. In an interview last week with Fox News, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed that Israel had updated its operational plans to attack Iranian nuclear facilities should the need arise.

“We are on very high alert all the time,” Gantz said. “The issue with Iran must be solved.”

SpaceX Rocket Crash

A SpaceX rocket crashed during a test flight, exploding on the ground in South Texas only minutes after its successful takeoff.

Known as the SN10, the futuristic spacecraft climbed six miles into the South Texas air after liftoff last Wednesday. The “perfect” takeoff led engineers to declare the test a success, embracing and sharing congratulatory messages on social media.

“We’ve had a successful soft touchdown on the landing pad,” announced SpaceX engineer John Insprucker. “That’s capping a beautiful test flight of Starship 10.”

But three minutes later, the rocket suddenly swooped downwards, hurtling over the Gulf of Mexico and landing perfectly on the launch pad before exploding in a fiery conflagration. It remains unclear what led to the crash and why the rocket suddenly malfunctioned.

The launch was the third such attempt after two previous efforts were aborted. The initial liftoff on Wednesday was called off less than a second before the rocket would have left the launchpad due to problems with the rocket’s thrust.

Overseen by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the Starship aims to revolutionize space travel by being the first to carry a manned flight to Mars. According to SpaceX’s website, the craft will change spaceflight by “shuttling paying customers between cities at breakneck speeds, potentially aiding NASA’s Moon landing efforts, and, eventually, launching cargo and human missions to Mars.”

Two previous prototypes both went up in flames during a series of tests in December.

Accidental Explosion

Five students and a teacher were injured at a Michigan high school on Monday after a 16-year-old student accidentally detonated a homemade explosive device in class.

Officers with the Newaygo Police Department were dispatched to Newaygo High School just before 9 a.m. for a report of an “explosion.”

“A 16-year-old student brought a homemade explosive device into the classroom,” a press release from Newaygo Public Schools said. “The device detonated in the classroom, injuring the 16-year-old and four additional classmates.”

It was deemed to be accidental.

The 16-year-old was hospitalized with moderate to severe injuries, while the others were transported to the hospital by their parents with minor injuries. The teacher present in the classroom at the time of the explosion also sought treatment at the hospital, the release said.

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Fungus the Answer to Invasive Tree?

Scientists are hoping that a new fungus may be the long-awaited solution to an invasive tree that has the ability to destroy entire forests.

Commonly known as the “Tree of Heaven” for his red leaves, Ailanthus altissima is a tree from the deciduous family and is native to China and Taiwan. Since being introduced to the U.S., Ailanthus has become a major threat to local ecosystems and is considered by many to be the worst invasive species in North American forests.

With the ability to grow by eight feet within a year of taking root, Ailanthus often soars 70 feet in the air and is almost impossible to uproot. The tree gobbles nutrition from local greenery, pushing out native plants such as the red oak, and shredding infrastructure including sidewalks, highways, and office buildings.

The tree also has the ability to clone itself indefinitely, thwarting pesticides, and can live up to a century. Its lack of natural predators and long lifespan leaves farmers with little recourse other than chopping the tree down entirely.

Yet scientists now say that a new fungus may provide a solution to the invasive Ailanthus. Recent studies have shown that a fungus known as Verticillium nonalfalfae is lethal to the problematic tree, infecting it with vascular wilt disease and drying out its water sources.

Upon being infected with V. nonalfalfae, Ailanthus trees rapidly begin to wilt, turning brown and dying within months.

“It doesn’t just kill the single tree, it kills the root system, and it kills the neighboring [Ailanthus] trees, and you could really see these disease pockets spread out,” said Rachel Brooks, a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Science.

In a study led by Brooks, trees in 12 forests in the northeastern U.S. were inoculated with the fungus. The results were encouraging; while Ailanthus was decimated by the spores, local plants remained unaffected.

Now, horticulturists hope to control Ailanthus by injecting fungal spores into its trunk, causing it to decay while leaving surrounding greenery untouched. Should the effort succeed, forests across North America could finally be saved from the plague that has wreaked havoc for over a century.

“Up until we discovered this fungus, it really didn’t have an Achilles heel,” said former USDA Forest Service official Joanne Rebbeck.

Cross Carefully

There has been a marked increase in pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. over the past ten years, according to a report by Smart Growth America.

In the report release this week, it was noted that 53,435 people were killed in the United States while walking between 2010 and 2019. Divided per day, that amounts to around 14 people killed while walking each day. More alarming, 2018 and 2019 saw the highest number of pedestrian deaths since 1990.

Every state except for one has grown more dangerous for pedestrians. Still, some states are more dangerous than others.

Florida nabbed the dubious distinction of the most dangerous state for walkers. The Sunshine State saw 5,893 fatalities from 2019 to 2019. Alabama came in second, with 936 deaths, followed by New Mexico, Mississippi, and Delaware. Louisiana, Arizona, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas rounded out the ten most dangerous states for pedestrians over the past ten years.

Interestingly, a decrease in traffic may not mean that there is a decrease in pedestrian deaths.

Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America at Smart Growth America, notes, “When they