President Donald Trump delighted supporters gathered near the White House on Saturday with a slow motorcade drive-by through downtown Washington on the way to his Virginia golf club. A week after the presidential race was called for Democrat Joe Biden, thousands of Trump loyalists converged on the nation’s capital to protest the election results and falsely assert the vote was stolen. Trump persists with his claims and complaints even though a broad coalition of top government and industry officials has declared that the Nov. 3 voting and the following count unfolded smoothly with no more than the usual minor hiccups — “the most secure in American history,” they said, repudiating his efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that parents should “be prepared” for the possibility of schools shutting down “as early as Monday” as the city’s rolling positivity rate continued to climb towards the key benchmark of 3%. The mayor said the city will “immediately alert parents” if public schools plan to close, and he’s urging families to plan for that potential announcement as soon as this weekend. “People should get ready,” de Blasio said in a radio interview. “This is not something any parent wants to deal with. But we should get ready. And parents should have a plan for the rest of the month of November. I think that’s the safe way to think about it.

President-elect Joe Biden may never forget Ramat Shlomo. On a visit to Israel in 2010, Biden was caught off guard when authorities announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, which is situated across the “Green Line.” As he held friendly meetings with Israeli officials, Israel’s Interior Ministry approved the construction of 1,600 new apartments in the neighborhood. Netanyahu said at the time that he had been blindsided by the announcement by low-level technocrats and tried to contain the damage at a late-night dinner with Biden.

China has become one of the last major countries to congratulate U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to make few changes to U.S. policy toward Beijing on trade, technology and other conflicts that have soured relations. China, along with Russia, avoided joining the throng that congratulated Biden last weekend after he and running mate Kamala Harris secured enough Electoral College votes in the Nov. 3 election to win the White House. “We respect the choice of the American people. We congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. (AP)

Get your E-Z Pass ready. The New York State Thruway is going completely cashless this weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday. The highway’s 450-mile, ticketed toll system will be converted to electronic collection during the overnight hours Friday into Saturday, Cuomo said. The switch will happen simultaneously at 58 tolling locations, he said. The rest of the Thruway system already stopped accepting cash payments. Cuomo said the Thruway is moving to full cashless tolling more than a month ahead of schedule. He made the conversion a goal in his 2018 State of the State address. Motorists who have E-ZPass device will have tolls charged to them automatically. If they don’t, they will get a bill in the mail.

A delegation of Israeli representatives of the Shomron visited Dubai this week and are meeting with Emirati business people to discuss commercial opportunities following the United Arab Emirates’ establishment of formal ties with Israel earlier this year. The delegation is headed by Yossi Dagan, the head of the Shomron Regional Council. They arrived on Sunday and are remaining in the Emirates until Thursday. A council statement released Tuesday said the delegation held “marathon business meetings” with around 20 individuals and companies working in agriculture, pest control and plastics. “The business people heard from them about the unique needs of the region and discussed with them cooperation, particularly in the fields of agronomy and water desalination,” it said.

Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of terror organization Hezbollah, said on Wednesday that he was happy to hear about U.S. President Donald Trump’s “humiliating downfall.” However, Nasrallah isn’t relaxing his guard yet and warned regional allies to watch out for U.S. or Israeli “folly” during Trump’s remaining term, in a speech broadcast on television. Nasrallah added that Trump’s administration was “among the worst, if not the worst” in U.S. history but lamented the fact that he doesn’t expect the pro-Israel policy in the U.S. to be changed under a new president. Nasrallah is not the only regional leader to be elated by Trump’s “downfall,” joining Iran,  the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Federal health officials have reached an agreement with pharmacies across the U.S. to distribute free coronavirus vaccines after they are approved and become available to the public. The goal eventually is to make getting a COVID-19 vaccine like getting a flu shot. Thursday’s agreement with major chain drug stores, grocery market pharmacies and other chains and networks covers about 3 in 5 pharmacies in all 50 states and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico. It looks ahead to a time next spring when yet-to-be-approved vaccines will start to become available beyond priority groups such as health care workers and nursing home residents.

The Jerusalem Municipality approved the construction of 108 new housing units in the “east Jerusalem” neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, Kan News reported on Thursday. The Kan report said that the construction plans will be swiftly advanced “hopefully before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.” The announcement is fraught with symbolism as during a visit of then vice-president Joe Biden to Israel in 2010, an announcement of 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo caused a major crisis in relations between Israel and the Obama administration.

President Trump reportedly wants to start a digital media company to “wreck” Fox News. The president has been speaking with friends about starting a digital media channel to rival the network, which he has had a falling out with, sources told Axios in a report Thursday. “He plans to wreck Fox. No doubt about it,” one source told the outlet. Trump was enraged after Fox News called President-elect Joe Biden’s win in Arizona before other networks. While there’s been speculation Trump might start a cable channel, that would be a pricey and drawn-out endeavor, so instead Trump is thinking about a channel that would stream online. The channel could compete against the Fox Nation streaming service. Like that service, Trump’s channel could charge a monthly fee to users. READ MORE: AXIOS