In the newest installment of her podcast, Michelle Obama reflected on her childhood, saying she was raised with a deep sense of appreciation — something she believes is missing in many of today’s youth.
Discussing the topic alongside her brother Craig Robinson on their podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, she noted, “When I think about what our parents did or didn’t do, and maybe it’s a little bit different because we’re brother-sister, because that same gender dynamic may make it a little bit hard.”

U.S. intelligence efforts into the roots of the COVID-19 pandemic are moving forward through a special unit known as the Directors Initiative Group, which has been tasked with digging into a number of President Donald Trump’s high-priority national security concerns, according to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
During an appearance on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM Wednesday, Gabbard revealed that this task force is working closely with NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Their investigation includes scrutiny of gain-of-function experiments, particularly those tied to China and other nations. She noted that findings from the inquiry may be disclosed shortly.

Iran’s once-grand plan to transform post-war Syria into a loyal regional satellite has collapsed in dramatic fashion, according to a trove of confidential documents obtained by Reuters from the Iranian embassy in Damascus. The blueprint, drawn up in 2022, envisioned Tehran embedding itself deep into Syria’s economy, politics, and security apparatus. But the sudden fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 has left those ambitions in ruins. The newly installed Syrian government, composed largely of rebel factions hostile to Tehran, has moved to dismantle Iran’s presence. Iranian military officers, diplomats, and economic envoys have withdrawn from Damascus. Cultural centers funded by Tehran have shuttered.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman A young kollel wife in Yerushalayim, the daughter of a close talmid chacham friend, recently experienced a harrowing medical ordeal that nearly cost her life rachmana litzlan.

Various Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies were held across Israel on Thursday as Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service continued to battle the fires that began in the Jerusalem hills on Wednesday. Photos taken of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the President’s Medal of Excellence ceremony in Jerusalem aroused curiosity due to a sight not seen since COVID days—the prime minister’s bodyguards with masks on their faces. The masks were not worn to protect against a new COVID variant but against the ancient and deadly antisemitism variant. The bodyguards, who are part of the Shin Bet’s personal security unit, were instructed to wear masks at public events to protect themselves from possible arrest warrants issued abroad, Walla reports.

JERUSALEM,

An Israeli soldier was accidentally left behind in the Gaza Strip earlier this week, wandering alone through hostile territory for 40 harrowing minutes before finding safety. The incident occurred on Tuesday following an IDF operation by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit in the volatile Morag Corridor, nestled between Rafah and Khan Younis — a region known for fierce fighting and terrorist infrastructure. As the unit concluded its mission and withdrew back into Israeli territory, one soldier was inexplicably left behind. According to a statement by the IDF, the soldier—realizing he had been abandoned—began making his way through the danger zone on foot, calling out “IDF! IDF!” repeatedly in an effort to avoid being mistaken for a terrorist and shot by his own forces.

The animal sedative medetomidine is increasingly showing up in the U.S. illegal drug supply, according to three reports released Thursday. Medetomidine, which is used to sedate pets and is somewhat similar to xylazine, was first detected in illegally manufactured opioids in North America in 2022. Investigators say the drug is being mixed in with other illicit drugs, mainly fentanyl, the synthetic opioid behind most overdose deaths. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published three reports about recent clusters of medetomidine cases in Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In Chicago, health officials last May were puzzled by a surge in overdoses. The patients had taken fentanyl, but the overdose-reversing drug naloxone didn’t seem to work.

Steve Witkoff, a former real estate mogul turned makeshift diplomat, has become a growing liability for the Trump administration, drawing scorn from foreign policy experts, career diplomats, and even members of Trump’s own orbit, the NY Post reported in a scathing article. Once hailed for brokering a brief cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Witkoff’s erratic solo diplomacy is now being widely ridiculed as amateurish, naive, and dangerously out of step with international norms. Witkoff, now serving as President Trump’s special envoy to both the Middle East and Russia, has taken on a role that would overwhelm even seasoned statesmen. But rather than surrounding himself with veteran negotiators and intelligence experts, Witkoff has taken to flying solo — literally.