NEW YORK (AP) — A parked SUV containing gas cylinders and other flammable materials exploded on a residential street in New York City on Friday, damaging

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch

The total amount spent on political ads during the 2024 election reached nearly $11 billion, setting a new record and reflecting a significant rise from the $9 billion allocated in 2020.
This information comes from AdImpact, a company that monitors political ad expenditures. The figure aligns with the firm’s prediction for 2023, which forecasted a record-breaking spending year in 2024.
As expected, the largest portion of the total spending was directed toward the presidential election. Despite their loss, Democrats spent more than Republicans on campaign ads.

According to internal polling conducted by the White House, President-elect Trump was poised to secure up to 400 electoral votes in a direct matchup against President Biden.
This revelation came from Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Obama and current host of the Pod Save America podcast.
“Then we find out when the Biden campaign becomes the Harris campaign, that the Biden campaign’s own internal polling at the time when they were telling us he was the strongest candidate, showed that Donald Trump was going to win 400 electoral votes,” Favreau shared.

President-elect Trump is scheduled to meet President Biden in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as announced today by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. This meeting is part of the ongoing transition of power, which will culminate with Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. “At President Biden’s invitation, President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Additional details to follow,” Jean-Pierre stated in her brief announcement.

Hamas has not received any notification that it is unwelcome in Doha, according to a report by the Qatari news source Al-Araby, which cited sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Al-Araby claims that media reports, including those from The Times of Israel, have inaccurately portrayed the situation.
However, an Arab official informed The Times of Israel that the Al-Araby report is misleading, calling it a “smokescreen” set up by sources who oppose removing Hamas.
Senior Biden administration officials revealed to The Times of Israel that Qatar conveyed to Hamas over a week ago that it must close its diplomatic office in Doha.

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican known for her strong pro-Israel stance, as a potential nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik, a staunch supporter of Trump’s agenda, has consistently backed his policies and has taken a strong stand against antisemitism on college campuses.
Whether Stefanik would be interested in the role is unclear. She has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations due to its stance on Israel and has urged reductions in U.S. financial contributions to the organization as a result.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof spoke out on Friday against the violent assault on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam that took place the previous evening, labeling it a “terrible antisemitic attack.”
“It’s a terrible antisemitic attack. We will not tolerate (it). We will prosecute the perpetrators. And I’m deeply ashamed that this could happen in the Netherlands in 2024,” Schoof said during a press briefing at an EU summit in Budapest, according to AFP.
Amsterdam’s Mayor Femke Halsema also denounced the incident, calling it “an eruption of antisemitism that we had hoped never again to see in Amsterdam.”

The government in Amsterdam launched an inquiry into whether alerts from Yerushalayim were overlooked prior to the mob attacks carried out on Thursday night against Israeli soccer fans, Justice Minister David van Weel said in a letter to the Dutch Parliament, Reuters reported on Saturday.
“An investigation is still being conducted on possible warning signs from Israel,” Van Weel said in the letter, delivered on Friday.
He added that “the Public Prosecution Service has stated that it aims to apply fast-track justice as much as possible.” He went on to state that the investigation would also examine whether the assaults had been organized in advance and if their motive was antisemitic.