In a blistering segment on CNN News Central, anchor Brianna Keilar left no stone unturned as she confronted Rep. Dan Goldman about his prior assurances that President Joe Biden would never pardon his son, Hunter Biden. The exchange followed Sunday’s bombshell news of the president granting a sweeping pardon to his son, convicted of tax evasion and lying on a federal firearms form. Keilar opened by airing a 2023 clip of Goldman on ABC News’s This Week, where he had unequivocally stated that a pardon was off the table. At the time, Goldman confidently dismissed the possibility, emphasizing Biden’s commitment to justice and contrasting it with former President Donald Trump’s pardons of allies. Keilar didn’t hold back.

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman Today, the Torah world grieves deeply at the devastating loss of an extraordinary tzaddik, brilliant talmid chochom, beloved father, devoted husband, and selfless philanthropist – Rabbi Howard Balter zt”l. He was a towering scholar whose masterful shiurim at Agudas Yisroel of Long Island captivated all who heard them. His electrifying lessons were marked by penetrating analysis and an unwavering pursuit of truth. With boundless energy and intellectual fire, he would delve into the most complex aspects of a Minchas Chinuch, skillfully presenting multiple perspectives while illuminating the path to deeper understanding. Even as illness ravaged his body, his brilliant mind and passionate dedication to Torah learning never dimmed.

Hamas and Fatah have reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint committee to administer postwar Gaza, negotiators from both sides announced Tuesday. The proposed plan, which requires the approval of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, envisions a nonpartisan committee to oversee key sectors such as economy, education, health, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction. According to a draft of the agreement reviewed by AFP, the committee would comprise 10-15 neutral members and manage the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only Gaza crossing not shared with Israel. This development follows Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo aimed at resolving Gaza’s governance after the ongoing war.

Kash Patel has been well-known for years within Donald Trump’s orbit as a loyal supporter who shares the president-elect’s skepticism of the FBI and intelligence community. But he’s receiving fresh attention, from the public and from Congress, now that Trump has picked him to lead the FBI. As he braces for a bruising and likely protracted Senate confirmation fight, Patel can expect scrutiny not only over his professed fealty to Trump but also for his belief — revealed over the last year in interviews and his own book — that the century-old FBI should be radically overhauled. Here’s a look at some of what he’s proposed for the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency. How much of it he’d actually follow through on is a separate question.

The U.S. Postal Service said Monday nearly 100% of completed mail ballots were returned to election offices within a week for this year’s presidential contest, despite hurricanes, some misdirected election mail and delivery concerns raised by state officials. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said postal workers processed more than 99 million general election ballots — making extra deliveries and collections and working to identify problems that could lead to incorrect deliveries. They also ensured ballots were delivered even after hurricanes brought devastation to parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina just weeks before Election Day, he said.

The IDF spokesperson on Tuesday reported that the 990th Reserve Artillery Regiment recently carried out a series of strikes in the central Gaza Strip that eliminated numerous Hamas terrorists, including at least seven who took part in the October 7 massacre. Meanwhile, the “Ram” (179) and “Fire Arrows” (551) Reserve Brigades carried out several focused raids in the Netzarim Corridor, destroying Hamas infrastructure, including military structures and observation and sniper posts. In addition, many weapons were located and destroyed, including grenades, firearms, vests, explosives, and mortars. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of rocket launchers, and Hezbollah sites across Lebanon on Monday evening in response to Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon earlier on Monday. Most of the strikes were carried out against sites in southern Lebanon. Additionally, fighter jets struck the launcher used to launch the two mortars at Har Dov shortly after they were fired. Israeli sources said on Tuesday morning that the IDF had also planned to strike the Beirut area in response to the mortars but were heavily pressured by the Biden administration to refrain from doing so in order not to escalate the tense situation.

The search for five people believed to be aboard a fishing vessel that capsized in rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska has been suspended, the Coast Guard said Monday. The search lasted nearly a day and covered more than 108 square nautical miles. “We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were not able to find over the past 24 hours,” Chief Warrant Officer James Koon, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska, said in a statement. The Coast Guard began the search after the Wind Walker’s crew sent a Mayday call at 12:10 a.m. Sunday that the 50-foot (15-meter) boat was overturning off Point Couverden, southwest of Juneau.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Sefas Tamim Foundation QUESTION: Company X owns a competitive website to Company Y.  Can company X purchase on GoDaddy (or any other domain platform) an alternative but very similar name to Company Y and redirect it to their own website?  For example, if Company Y owned CompanyY.org can Company X buy CompanyY.com? ANSWER: The prohibition of Gneivas Da’as – deceptive behavior – strikes at the very heart of the Torah’s mandate for ethical conduct, and its implications are both profound and far-reaching. The great sage Shmuel’s declaration in Chullin 94a is unequivocal: this prohibition knows no boundaries between Jew and Gentile, establishing a universal ethical standard that speaks to the very essence of human interaction.

Antitrust enforcers with the Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft’s business practices, starting a big legal project that an incoming Trump administration must take up or abandon. The FTC is investigating Microsoft’s cloud computing business and related product lines such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, according to a person who was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It’s the latest action of more than three years of aggressive antitrust enforcement shepherded by FTC Chair Lina Khan, who was elevated to lead the agency by President Joe Biden after he came into office pledging tougher scrutiny of monopolistic behavior by Big Tech companies.