Do you remember your Rebbe from 1st grade?
Harav Naftoli Berenstein z”l was the beloved Kitta Alef Rebbe of Talmud Torah Beis Eliyohu in Ramat Bet Shemesh Alef for the past 11 years.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday mocked a reporter who asked when workers on the canceled Keystone XL pipeline would get “green jobs” promised by President Biden.
It’s expected that up to 11,000 jobs will be lost following Biden’s day-one decision to immediately shut down construction of the pipeline that was supposed to carry oil from Canada to Texas — leaving South Dakotans reeling and 1,000 people immediately out of work.
“Where is it that they can go for their green job?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Psaki at her Monday afternoon press briefing, referring to Biden’s promise to create good-paying union jobs in the green energy sector as his administration attempts to end the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels.

In an interview with CBS News due to air Sunday, US President Joe Biden said America will not lift sanctions against Iran.
Iran must first stop its uranium enrichment program before the US makes any consequential commitments, Biden explained in the interview.
Asked whether he would halt sanctions to convince Iran to return to the bargaining table, Biden offered a clear reply in the CBS interview: “No.”
The journalist then asked if the Iranians would first have to stop enriching uranium, which drew an affirmative nod from Biden.
Read more at i24NEWS. 
{Matzav.com}

A U.S. billionaire who made a fortune in tech and fighter jets is buying an entire SpaceX flight and plans to take three “everyday” people with him to circle the globe this year.
Besides fulfilling his dream of flying in space, Jared Isaacman announced Monday that he aims to use the private trip to raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, half coming from his own pockets.
A female health care worker for St. Jude already has been selected for the mission. Anyone donating to St. Jude in February will be entered into a random drawing for seat No. 3. The fourth seat will go to a business owner who uses Shift4 Payments, Isaacman’s credit card processing company in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Smartmatic is suing Fox News and pro-Trump attorneys over 2020 election fraud allegations directed at the voting technology company.
The firm filed the lawsuit in New York State Court in Manhattan on Thursday, seeking $2.7 billion for defamation and disparagement. Smartmatic accused Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, as well as Fox hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro, of waging a widespread “disinformation campaign” against the company.

BDE: HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Scheiner, z’tl, Rosh Yeshivas Kaminetz and member of Degel HaTorah’s Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah, was niftar of the coronavirus on Sunday. Rav Scheiner was 98 and had battled Covid-19, among other medical challenges. Rav Scheiner had contracted the virus after he received his first dose of the vaccination. After his condition deteriorated this morning, he was taken to the hospital, where he was niftar.
Harav Scheiner Zatza’l strongly endorsed the Gomlei Chesed Emergency Food Drive, which helps families in Israel who are suffering due to Covid-19 ( as seen in the video above). Let’s continue his legacy and keep this food drive going and feed as many families as possible! May this be a zechus for Leilu Nishmas Harav Yitzchok Arye Ben R’

Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with the head of the United States military’s Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie in Tel Aviv on Friday for the first time since the Pentagon announced that Israel was moving under CENTCOM’s purview.
Gantz lauded the shift saying it would “afford Israel opportunity to deepen cooperation with new regional partners and broaden operative horizons,” according to a statement from his office.
Read more at Times of Israel.
{Matzav.com}

President Biden on Thursday signed two executive actions focused on health care, describing the directives as a necessary effort to “undo the damage” done by former President Trump.
Biden signed an order directing federal agencies to open a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges from Feb. 15 to May 15 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and to review existing policies put in place under the Trump administration that limited access to health care.
Biden also signed a presidential memorandum rescinding the Mexico City policy preventing federal funds from flowing to foreign aid groups that provide abortion-related services.

A bill that would increase the fines issued to Israelis caught violating the country’s COVID-19 public-health laws is slated to be presented to the Knesset for a first reading on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin to promote the bill. Netanyahu intends to expedite the legislation, apparently in response to public criticism over lax enforcement of coronavirus restrictions in the charedi sector.