Kichol Lavan leader Benny Gantz, the main challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, conceded defeat Wednesday in the country’s election as results showed the premier was on track for victory.
“We respect the decision of the people,” Gantz told journalists, acknowledging his Kichol Lavan alliance had failed to unseat Netanyahu in Tuesday’s poll.
Gantz’s party won 35 Knesset seats in yesterday’s election, the same as the ruling Likud party. Both parties received over one million votes. However, the right-wing bloc received significantly more votes than the left-wing bloc and is currently projected to win 65 Knesset seats, giving Netanyahu the victory.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.

Washington – The head of the IRS, overseeing the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades, says the average refund in this year’s tax-filing season, $2,833, worked out to be close to last year’s. Taxes and returns for 2018 are due on Monday. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig told Congress [...]

Washington – In a White House where no secret is safe for long, one development has remained stubbornly confidential – the contents of a Middle East peace plan authored by President Donald Trump’s advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt. With Trump having delighted Israelis and angered Palestinians by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 [...]

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania lawmakers solemnly remembered Wednesday the 11 worshippers killed in an anti-Semitic attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue last fall, expressing horror at what one speaker called “unimaginable evil,” and two rabbis recited prayers in English and Hebrew. The rare joint session in the chambers of the state’s House of Representatives was attended [...]

Dallas – An American Airlines flight attendant says she was mortified when a passenger accidentally bumped her and she dropped a tray of drinks on her boss — CEO Doug Parker. Maddie Peters says she’d never spilled a drink on a passenger during her four years with Fort Worth-based American. That changed on a recent [...]

New York – Amazon, facing backlash from critics who say cashless stores discriminate against the poor, will soon accept cash at all its stores. The online shopping giant has more than 30 stores that don’t accept cash, including its book shops and Amazon Go convenience stores. Amazon confirmed it is working to accept cash, but [...]

New York – A man who strangled his estranged wife before she could cut him out of her multi-million dollar will was sentenced Wednesday. Roderick Covlin, 46, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life after the victim’s loved ones delivered very emotional impact statements in court. He murdered Shele Covlin and then tried to make it look [...]

Jerusalem – Israel’s Blue and White party leaders are conceding defeat in Israel’s election, saying they will work against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the opposition. Yair Lapid, the party’s No. 2 figure, told a press conference Wednesday that though his party “did not win in this round, I respect the voters.” He said [...]

Washington – President Donald Trump says there’s only one person in charge of his immigration policy: Him. Asked by reporters Wednesday whether he had considered tapping his influential aide, Stephen Miller, to lead the Department of Homeland Security given Miller’s focus on the issue, Trump was ready with praise — but not a promotion. “Stephen [...]