Trump omits dinner with white nationalist in speech to Jews
Speaking at a conference of Orthodox Jews on Friday, Donald Trump did not address a widely criticized private meal he shared last month with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and a rapper who has spewed antisemitic conspiracies.
The former president told the audience he was “the best ally you’ve ever had.”
Over and over, Mr. Trump heaped praise on the Jewish people and highlighted his support for Israel as he addressed the annual President’s Conference of Torah Umesorah at his National Doral club in Miami. He alleged Congress was “almost anti-Israel” and said without evidence that some Democrats in Washington “hate Israel with a passion.”
Mr. Trump is struggling for political momentum a month after becoming the first official candidate to enter the 2024 presidential contest. He hoped the early announcement might scare off potential challengers, but a series of political setbacks have instead left him deeply vulnerable as he ramps up his third presidential campaign.
The 76-year-old Republican faced pointed criticism from within his own party late last month after dining with Holocaust-denying white supremacist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Shortly after the meeting, Mr. West, who is now known as Ye, said, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Mr. Trump to apologize for the meeting and said the former president had “demonstrated profoundly poor judgment.”
Mr. Trump at the time said he was not aware of his dinner guests’ views.
On Friday, Mr. Trump ignored the episode altogether. He also quoted his own 2019 State of the Union address in which he highlighted the importance of speaking out against antisemitism.
Suspect’s dad charged in parade shooting
The father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct, prosecutors announced Friday.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Robert Crimo Jr. surrendered to police on Friday and will have a bond hearing Saturday. Mr. Rinehart said the charges are based on Mr. Crimo sponsoring his then 19-year-old son’s application for a gun license in 2019.
“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Mr. Rinehart said. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”
Mr. Rinehart wouldn’t further discuss what led his office to file the charges this week. Authorities have previously said the accused shooter, Robert Crimo III, attempted suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a family member of making threats to “kill everyone.”
Both those reports came months before Mr. Crimo Jr. sponsored his son’s application in December 2019.
A grand jury in July indicted Robert Crimo III on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack on a beloved holiday event in Highland Park.
Satellite will measure most of planet’s water
A U.S.-French satellite that will map almost all of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers rocketed into orbit Friday.
The predawn launch aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California capped a highly successful year for NASA.
Nicknamed SWOT — short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography — the satellite is needed more than ever as climate change worsens droughts, flooding and coastal erosion, according to scientists. Cheers erupted at control centers in California and France as the spacecraft started its mission.
“It is a pivotal moment, and I’m very excited about it,“said NASA program manager Nadya Vinogradova-Shiffer. ”We’re going to see Earth’s water like we’ve never before.”
About the size of a SUV, the satellite will measure the height of water on more than 90% of Earth’s surface, allowing scientists to track the flow and identify potential high-risk areas. It will also survey millions of lakes as well as 1.3 million miles of rivers, from headwater to mouth.
The satellite will shoot radar pulses at Earth, with the signals bouncing back to be received by a pair of antennas, one on each end of a 33-foot boom.
It should be able to make out currents and eddies less than 13 miles across, as well as areas of the ocean where water masses of varying temperatures merge.