Canada’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by half a percentage point on Wednesday and called President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose sweeping new tariffs on Canada “a major source of new uncertainty.” The Bank of Canada’s decision marked the fifth consecutive reduction since June and brings the central bank’s key rate down to 3.25%. Forecasters were widely expecting a big rate cut after the November labor force survey showed the unemployment rate rose to 6.8%. Governor Tiff Macklem said in his prepared statement that the central bank opted for two large rate cuts in a row because inflation and economic growth don’t need to be restricted anymore. With inflation back at the 2% target, the central bank is now focused on keeping it there.

During an interview with Time Magazine for its 2024 Person of the Year feature, President-elect Donald Trump says he may consider altering childhood vaccination programs in the United States, raising questions about vaccine safety and efficacy. Trump’s comments, paired with his appointment of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have reignited debates around a theory linking vaccines to autism. In the interview, Trump stated he plans to have a “big discussion” with Kennedy about the future of vaccination programs. While Trump did not explicitly claim vaccines cause autism, he expressed concern. “The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible,” he said.

TikTok has challenged a Canadian government order to shut down the Chinese video-sharing app’s business operations in the country that was imposed over national security concerns. The company said Tuesday that it filed an application for a judicial review with the Federal Court in Vancouver on Dec. 5, which seeks to set aside the order for TikTok to wind-up and cease its business in Canada. The Canadian federal government last month announced it was ordering the dissolution of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. after a national security review of its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. The government is not blocking access to the TikTok app, which will continue to be available to Canadians. TikTok said it has 14 million users in Canada, which is about a third of the population.

Excitement is building as tens of thousands of Amud HaYomi learners prepare for a historic siyum on Masechta Shabbos, one of the most important masechtos in Shas. Adding to the anticipation, HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, has written a heartfelt letter urging Klal Yisrael to join the Amud HaYomi program for Masechta Eiruvin, which begins on Thursday, 25 Kislev/December 26. This handwritten letter by Rav Landau has inspired widespread enthusiasm, leading to the establishment of new night kollelim dedicated to the Amud HaYomi program. Dirshu has also reported a surge in enrollment, spurred by the upcoming siyumim celebrating this milestone.

Efforts to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages are gaining momentum as Hamas has reportedly agreed to two major Israeli conditions, Arab mediators revealed to the Wall Street Journal. The developments mark a potential breakthrough after months of stalled negotiations, raising the possibility of hostages being released within days. For the first time, Hamas has signaled it would accept a deal allowing Israeli forces to temporarily remain in Gaza during a ceasefire. Additionally, the group has provided a list of hostages it is willing to release, including U.S. citizens. This marks a big shift in Hamas’s position, which previously rejected these demands. The proposed plan, backed by the U.S.

Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter after earlier promising he would do no such thing, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That displeasure tracks with the bipartisan uproar in Washington that ignited over the president’s about-face. The survey found that a relatively small share of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of the pardon, which came after the younger Biden was convicted on gun and tax charges. About half said they “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove, and about 2 in 10 neither approve nor disapprove.

Mohammad Chaeeb spoke softly into his phone, telling a relative the grim news: He found his brother at the morgue. “I saw him and said my goodbyes,” he said. His gaze lingered on the blackened body of Sami Chaeeb, whose teeth were bared and whose eye sockets were empty. It looked as if he had died screaming. “He doesn’t look normal. He doesn’t even have eyes.” The dead man was jailed five months ago, disappearing into a dark prison system under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. His body is just one of many found in Syrian detention centers and prisons since Assad’s government fell last weekend. Some of the prisoners died just weeks ago. Others perished months earlier.

French president Emmanuel Macron is seeking a political deal that would allow him to both name a new prime minister and “guarantee the stability of the country,” following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a spokesperson for the outgoing government said Wednesday. Maud Bregeon, the spokesperson, said Macron insisted there was at the moment no “broader” political alliance than the current one between his centrist allies and conservatives from The Republicans party, which does not have a majority at parliament. She was relaying comments made by Macron during a weekly Cabinet meeting. Last week, the French president vowed to stay in office until the end of his term, due in 2027.

Taiwan demanded Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is unilaterally undermining peace and stability and disrupting international shipping and trade. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website that it was responding in part to the activities of a “large number” of Chinese ships in the first-island chain, the Pacific archipelago off the Asian continental mainland that includes Japan, Taiwan and part of the Philippines. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly demands that the Beijing authorities immediately stop military intimidation and all irrational activities that endanger regional peace and stability,” the statement said.

Fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and groceries, inflation in the United States moved slightly higher last month in the latest sign that some price pressures remain elevated. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier, up from a yearly figure of 2.6% in October. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices increased 3.3%, the same as in the previous month. Measured month to month, prices climbed 0.3% from October to November, the biggest such increase since April. Core prices also rose 0.3% for a fourth straight month. Wednesday’s inflation figures from the Labor Department are the final major piece of data that Federal Reserve officials will consider before they meet next week to decide on interest rates.