Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has reportedly announced that the upcoming term, starting next month, will likely be his last in the U.S. Senate. The 83-year-old, who previously ran for president, was reelected last month for a fourth term in the Senate.
“I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here,” Sanders told Politico. “You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes.”
For many years, Sanders has been a prominent figure in progressive politics on Capitol Hill. Just this Wednesday, he led an effort in the Senate to block a sale of offensive weapons to Israel amid growing concerns over civilian casualties in Gaza. However, his proposal was defeated with an 18-79 vote.

On Wednesday morning, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of being behind the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. This marked the first time Khamenei had spoken about the regime’s collapse, and he stated, “A neighboring government of Syria has played an obvious role in this regard and is still playing it now, everyone can see this.”
He went on to blame the United States and the “Zionist regime,” suggesting that they had planned the downfall of Assad’s government in advance, “in dark rooms.” Iran had invested billions in supporting Assad’s regime throughout the Syrian civil war, seeing his rule as central to its regional “axis of resistance”—a network established by Khamenei and the late Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the IRGC Quds Force.

The strange drones that have been disrupting residents in New Jersey for weeks might be linked to a classified government initiative, experts told The Post on Tuesday. As state legislators demand clarity over these troubling sightings, there has been little communication from federal authorities about the frequent drone activity in areas such as Morris, Passaic, Bergen, and Hunterdon counties since the first reports on November 18. Some security professionals believe these mysterious flights could be connected to a covert military project designed to test advanced technology before deploying it in combat.

As the mysterious drones flying above New Jersey continue to scare residents, NJ Congressman Chris Smith (R-4) has suggested the U.S. military shoot a drone down.
Smith’s comments came during the House Homeland Security Committee’s hearing on Tuesday.  In the hearing, Smith and other members of the committee were stunned to learn that the FBI does not yet know who is behind these mysterious drones.
FBI Assistant Director of the Critical Incident Response Group Robert Wheeler testified to the committee that there is no evidence of any risk to the public.  However when pressed on the topic, Wheeler admitted: “But we just don’t know. And that’s the concerning part.”

The immigration influx under President Biden has reached unprecedented levels, marking the largest surge in U.S. history, as reported by The New York Times on Wednesday.
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the United States has experienced an average net migration of 2.4 million people annually from 2021 to 2023. This figure is calculated by subtracting the number of people who leave the country from those who enter. According to the Times, the total number of people migrating under Biden’s administration is likely to exceed 8 million.
The Times noted that the rate of arrivals between 2021 and 2023 stands as the highest recorded in U.S. history, representing the largest increase in nearly 175 years.

A terrorist attack in Israel this evening has left a 12-year-old boy in critical condition and four others injured when gunfire was directed at a bus close to the Al-Khader Junction in Gush Etzion.
The attacker managed to escape, prompting a manhunt by the IDF. Military forces have cordoned off Bais Lechem and the nearby village of Husan.
The bus, which was traveling from Gush Etzion to Yerushalayim, proceeded to the Tunnels Checkpoint, where emergency responders treated the wounded. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stated, “Following the initial report, a terrorist opened fire at an Israeli civilian bus in the area of the Al-Khader Junction. As a result of the attack, a number of civilians were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment.”

Former hostage Judith Raanan met with President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Monday at his golf course in West Palm Beach. She was the first female hostage to be released from Hamas in the Gaza Strip after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Raanan, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen based in the Chicago area, gave Trump a drawing she had made and described the trauma of her captivity. She expressed her trust in the incoming president and urged him to work towards a deal to free the remaining 96 hostages who have been held captive for the past 14 months.
“Please do everything possible to bring the 100 hostages home,” she said to Trump.

A man was arrested Tuesday night and accused of assaulting U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) in a Capitol Hill office building, according to Mace and the Capitol Police.
“I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women,” Mace said in a post on X.
The Capitol Police said an arrest was made but according to policy did not identify the victim.
The office of “a member of Congress” reported the incident in the Rayburn House Office Building just before 6 p.m., the Capitol Police said. James McIntyre, 33, of Illinois was arrested and faces a charge of assaulting a government official, the police said.
In another posting on X, Mace described her injuries.

Israel’s Value Added (VAT) tax is set to increase from 17% to 18% starting Jan. 1, 2025. The tax applies to most products and services, excluding fruits and vegetables, and purchases in the resort city of Eilat, a duty-free zone.
It is part of the government’s effort to rein in a budget deficit that mushroomed to 8.1% of GDP due to the war.
The 1% increase will cost Israeli families an additional 1,000 to 2,000 shekels per year, according to estimates.
Israel’s Calcalist, a business news site, reported that the VAT will have a “significant impact” on housing prices, especially for those planning to purchase new apartments.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed Tehran possesses evidence that the United States and Israel orchestrated the collapse of Syria’s Assad regime, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The comments come just days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow following the rapid capture of Damascus by opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, marking a dramatic end to the Assad family’s decades-long rule.