All 31 construction workers who were far inside a huge industrial tunnel in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they initially feared much worse. The cave-in apparently happened between the tunnel boring machine, 5 miles (8 kilometers) in from the only entrance, and the construction crew working 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) in, said Michael Chee, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which is in charge of the nearly $700 million project. The workers were about 400 feet (121 meters) underground. The tunnel is being constructed almost entirely underneath public right-of-way.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart met Thursday in Malaysia as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and whether Russia’s leader is serious about a peace deal. Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, European nations and the U.S. The meeting lasted around 50 minutes. Rubio was seen winking at Lavrov afterward as reporters shouted questions, which they both ignored. The meeting was their second encounter since Rubio took office, although they have spoken by phone several times.

A hiking tour company based in Puerto Rico denied service to a Jewish tourist, sending a blunt email with the subject line “No thanks” and the message “Free Palestine!” — and later doubling down in a WhatsApp exchange that confirmed they refuse to serve “so called israelis.” Paradise Tours PR, which offers guided hikes and eco-tours throughout Puerto Rico, appears to have engaged in blatant antisemitism after a Jewish American woman reached out to inquire about a hike during her upcoming vacation. The only information provided on the contact form was her name, travel dates, and email address — no political content, no mention of Israel.

Russia pounded Ukraine’s capital with another major missile and drone attack overnight into Thursday, killing at least two people and causing fires across Kyiv a day after the heaviest drone attack so far in the more than three-year war, Ukrainian officials said. In another tense and sleepless night for Kyiv residents, with many of them dashing in the dark with children and blankets to the protection of subway stations, at least 19 people were wounded, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration. The night was punctuated with the chilling whine of approaching drones that slammed into residential areas, exploded and sent balls of orange flames into the dark during the 10-hour barrage.

Americans overwhelmingly view the cost of child care as a significant issue, and most support initiatives to offer free or low-cost day care and to require employers to provide paid family leave for parents of babies, according to a new poll. But they’re divided over how to solve the problem and what role the government should have in that solution. About three-quarters of U.S. adults see child care costs as a “major problem,” but only about half say helping working families pay for child care should be a “high priority” for the federal government, according to the June poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The coronavirus pandemic was a tipping point, revealing the child care industry’s vulnerabilities.

A man in his twenties was critically injured on Thursday afternoon in a stabbing attack at the Rami Levy complex at the Gush Etzion junction. His death was determined shortly later, at the scene. The two terrorists who carried out the attack were neutralized at the scene by security forces. An initial investigation reveals that the two terrorists arrived at the shopping area armed with knives and attacked an Israeli security guard. They stabbed him severely and managed to take his gun. MDA teams tried to save his life without success. Large forces from the Yehuda and Shomron district, together with IDF forces and emergency forces, are at the scene and are working to treat the wounded and search for additional suspects. This is a developing story. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday, as an overwhelming number of European Union lawmakers rejected a censure motion against her. The motion contained a mix of allegations against von der Leyen, including text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference in elections in Germany and Romania. The motion was defeated in a 360-175 vote against it, with 18 lawmakers choosing to abstain during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

When HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau, shlita, wrote a historic letter this past Rosh Chodesh Kislev encouraging Klal Yisrael to begin learning Masechta Eruvin with the Amud HaYomi Program, the idea of completing the long, difficult masechta seemed like a pipe dream for many.  Eruvin is considered one of the three most difficult masechtos, thus, many of those who started did not know if they would be able to persevere and complete the masechta. Now, some eight months later, thousands upon thousands of Amud HaYomi learners are gearing up to successfully complete the masechta! Not only that, but they haven’t completed it in a superficial way, in a “just trying to keep up” way.

The Israel Police officially inaugurated the YITAR (Initial Response Unit) of the Yehudah and Shomron District during a moving ceremony held Wednesday evening at the Mearas Hamachpeilah. This new and innovative unit is made up entirely of volunteers who are residents of yishuvim in Yehudah and Shomron. Formed in response to critical lessons learned from the security events of October 7, the YITAR unit was created to deliver a fast, professional, and effective first response to terrorist threats and criminal incidents and increase the sense of personal security among residents.

A senior Israeli official has revealed that, according to intelligence information, the enriched uranium in the Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan was not removed before the US strikes last month, Reuters reported on Thursday. He added that intelligence information also shows that the uranium has not been moved since the end of the war. “It’s possible to reach the enriched uranium in Isfahan, but moving it from its place would be a difficult task,” he said. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)