The IDF on Sunday morning announced that an IDF soldier was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. He was named as Sgt. First Class (res) Idan Kenan, H’yd, 21 from Ramat Gan. He fought in the Kfir Brigade’s 90th Battalion. He was killed by a Hamas sniper on the outskirts of Jabaliya, near Beit Lahiya. His death increases the death toll of IDF soldiers since the start of the war to 796. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Dovid Pitterman Z”L. He was approximately 74. The Niftar was one of the original first 5 members of Flatbush Hatzolah (known by his unit number “F-8”),  when it was founded in the Mirrer Yeshiva. He was an active member for around 50 years, responding to emergency calls until just a few years ago. He saved thousands of lives over the decades. Reb Dovid was the son of Reb Moshe, who was an “Alter Mirrer”, and grew up in Boro Park, where his father was a fixture of the famed “Mirrer Minyan”. He learned in Bais Medrash in the Mirrer Yeshiva, under Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Brudny ZT”L and other Gedolim in the Mir.

The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York. While it isn’t likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs — the government’s term for UFOs.

Headlines from the satirical website the Onion on Thursday: “New Dating Site Suggests People You Already Know But Thought You Were Too Good For.” “Trump Boys Have Slap Fight Over Who Gets to Run Foreign Policy Meetings.” “Here’s Why I Decided to Buy Infowars.” Only one has the ring of truth. Sort of. The bylined author of the Infowars article, Bryce P. Tetraeder, doesn’t actually exist. And the Onion doesn’t plan to invest in business school scholarships for promising cult leaders. But the Onion’s purchase of Alex Jones’ conspiracy-theory-saturated media empire at a bankruptcy auction tied to lawsuits by the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims is very real — an effort to fight falsehoods with funny and a who’d-have-thunk-it development in an already somewhat unbelievable year.

As President-elect Donald Trump moves to set up a more forceful presidency than in his first term, he is choosing loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to skip over Senate confirmations for even some of the most powerful positions in U.S. government. Trump over the weekend demanded that Republican leaders in the Senate, who will hold a majority in the chamber next year, agree to allow recess appointments. It would be a significant shift in power away from the Senate, but Trump is returning to Washington with almost total support from his party, including the more traditional Republicans who still hold sway in the chamber.

The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.” But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists, were skeptical about the value of the arrangement, citing ongoing controversies in many cities over the role of short-term rental platforms in fueling overtourism and limiting affordable housing for residents and students. Under the deal announced by Airbnb and the Colosseum on Wednesday, the sponsorship by the short-term rental giant will cover the renewal of an educational program inside the ancient Roman amphitheater covering the history of the structure and gladiators.

It is with deep regret that YWN informs you of the petirah of Harav Refoel Yehoshua Halevi Kalish zt”l, a mammoth talmid chochom, beloved rav of the Harborview Bais Medrash in Lawrence, NY, and longtime R”M at Yeshiva Derech Ayson in Far Rockaway. He was around 80 years old. A musmach of Bais Medrash Govoha, Rav Yehoshua zt”l, inspired countless others simply by his example. An extraordinary masmid – known for finishing Shas yearly and a gemara being with him at every waking moment – he exuded the air of a true ben torah, thereby influencing those around him to increase their limud hatorah and maximize every moment they had. He also delivered many shiurim every week, including daf yomi at Shaarei Tefillah of Lawrence. Levaya details will be published when they become available.

How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult. The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The opposition party says it would have done the same after winning elections due within months if the government hadn’t moved first. The leaders of all eight Australian states and mainland territories have unanimously backed the plan, although Tasmania, the smallest state, would have preferred the threshold was set at 14. But a vocal assortment of experts in the fields of technology and child welfare have responded with alarm.

A series of rocket strikes from Lebanon targeted northern Israel, with at least ten rockets identified as crossing into Israeli territory. According to an IDF Spokesperson, “Some were intercepted, while others resulted in impacts.” One of the affected sites included an empty shul in the Carmel neighborhood, and another saw a vehicle catch fire, causing damage to nearby structures. Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics transported six individuals to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. Five sustained minor injuries while seeking shelter, and a 16-year-old girl suffered from anxiety. The Fire and Rescue Authority reported no known casualties or individuals trapped at the sites.

On Thursday morning, Boro Park Shomrim responded to a report of a burglary at the Viznitzer Shul on 53rd Street. The call to the Shomrim hotline launched a swift response from volunteers, who immediately began collecting video evidence and tracking the suspects. Footage revealed a surprising scene: three perpetrators, including one in a wheelchair, another pushing the wheelchair, and a third walking nearby. The trio was seen breaking into the Shul and stealing a significant amount of money and checks before fleeing the scene. Their plan included a getaway car stationed approximately a mile away, which they reached on foot. Shomrim volunteers meticulously tracked the vehicle’s movements, leveraging high-tech surveillance cameras installed throughout Boro Park.