Mehmet Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru, is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the massive federal health care bureaucracy that covers more than a third of Americans. Here’s a look at a television doctor who became a politician and is now designated to lead an agency that touches nearly all Americans in some way. Who is Dr. Oz? Trained as a heart surgeon, Oz rose to prominence on Oprah Winfrey’s leading daytime television show before spinning off his own series, “The Dr. Oz Show,” in 2009. The program aired for 13 seasons and made Oz a household name.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Lutnick, a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, once appeared on Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice.” He has become a part of the president-elect’s inner circle.

Linda McMahon has been a constant presence in Donald Trump’s tumultuous orbit, serving in his first administration and supporting his presidential campaigns. Now he’s chosen her to serve as Education secretary. Here’s a look at McMahon’s background, from business to politics. McMahon went from wrestling to politics McMahon is married to Vince McMahon, whose father was a prominent professional wrestling promoter. They followed him into the business, founding their own company that’s now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. It became a juggernaut in the industry and American culture. When Trump was the star of the reality show “The Apprentice,” he made an appearance at Wrestlemania in 2007.

The IDF on Wednesday morning announced the death of an IDF reserve soldier in Gaza. He was identified as Sgt. First Class (res.) Roi Sasson, H’yd, 21, from Mevaseret Tzion, a town outside Jerusalem. He served in the Nachshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade in Gaza and was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. In the same incident, the commander of the Nachshon Battalion, Lt. Col. Yoel Glickman, was seriously injured. Sasson’s death increases the death toll of IDF soldiers since October 7, 2023, to 800. Hashem Yikom Damam. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

It was the perfect workspace. But what made it truly perfect – better than a cabin in the woods with perfect Wi-Fi and no mosquitoes? While the aroma of fresh coffee, elegant surroundings and an artsy collection of vintage Sheitel boxes might catch your attention, and a soundproof booth for screaming into the void between deadlines would be a nice bonus, Yehuda Biala knew these were just the beginning. He made sure OfficeOurs had all that – the restaurant-grade coffee machine, the energy-filled rooms with wall-to-wall windows, the posh café-style kitchen and a designated “lost sheitel-pin rescue squad” – but then he went further. Much further. Biala recognized a challenge unique to frum working mothers, one that no amount of premium coffee or emergency safety-pin stations could solve.

It can be minimal, it can be tremendous. It can be positive, it can be negative. It can disappear after mere moments, it can last for millennia. It can be felt across the world, it can create ripples that radiate outwards ad infinitum. What is this phenomenon? It’s IMPACT. The mark something leaves is a measure of its importance and its success; as we view the impact, we can begin to appreciate the reality of what created it. Enter Yeshiva Toras Chaim of Denver. Within the walls of the Yeshiva, young men study Torah, engage in prayer, build their character and lay the foundations for a productive life as committed and knowledgeable Jews. At first glance, not something one would regard as earth-shattering. Not an institution impacting the world. Take a second look.

The backlash about the frum Jewish magazine’s publishing of an article discussing Botox is understandable. The person who wrote into YWN on Monday labeled the topic as unbecoming of a Torah-true publication, arguing that it promoted superficiality and vanity. I get it. But as someone who teaches a class of Bais Yaakov-type girls, I feel compelled to address this reaction and offer a different perspective. The article wasn’t a frivolous endorsement of cosmetic procedures—it was a reflection of the pressures and realities faced by our daughters today, particularly in the shidduch world. For many young women in the shidduch system, their future feels like a high-stakes competition.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is opening a company conference in Chicago with remarks that could set the stage for where it’s taking its artificial intelligence business. AI developers are increasingly pitching the next wave of generative AI chatbots as AI “agents” that can do more useful things on people’s behalf. But the cost of building and running AI tools is so high that more investors are questioning whether the technology’s promise is overblown.

HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch occasionally recites Avinu Malkeinu on random days apart from Yamim Noraim and fast days. According to those close to him, since the start of the war, HaRav Shternbuch recites Avinu Malkeinu when there are reports of many people injured and/or killed. On Tuesday, HaRav Shternbuch decided to say Avinu Malkeinu in the small Shacharis minyan held in his home in Har Nof, Kikar H’Shabbat reported. “The Rav is mamash broken from the situation in which Jewish blood is spilling like water,” one person close to the Rav told Kikar. “Although it’s not a new thing for the Rav to recite the tefillah passuk by passuk, this time it’s a rare case and we apparently need a lot of Rachamei Shamayim.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels in defiance of international demands, according to a confidential report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen Tuesday by The Associated Press . The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Oct. 26, Iran has 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) since the last report in August. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The IAEA also estimated in its quarterly report that as of Oct.