President Putin declared that Russia would never yield to U.S. pressure, describing the sanctions as an “unfriendly” act and insisting they would “not significantly impact our economic well-being.”
FBI Director Kash Patel fired back at Stephen A. Smith’s claim that the NBA gambling bust was “revenge” from President Trump for the league’s left-wing activism, calling it “the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history—and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.”
Trump: “A friend of mine called the other day and said he wanted to cover any shortfall caused by the Democrats’ shutdown. Today, he sent us a check for $130 million—it’s going straight to the military.”
At a White House roundtable on cartel activity, President Trump denied reports that B-1B bombers were flying near Venezuela—despite radar evidence suggesting otherwise—stating, “No, it’s not accurate. No, it’s false. But we’re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons.”
U.S. home sales are finally showing signs of life. Existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September — the fastest pace since February — as mortgage rates dipped and more listings hit the market. The median home price climbed 2.1% from last year to $415,200, a record high for September. Inventory rose 14% from a year ago but remains below pre-pandemic levels. With 30-year mortgage rates falling to around 6.27%, more buyers are reentering the market — though affordability remains a major hurdle after years of soaring prices.
Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time. Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE’koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant’s Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality. Copilot’s cute new emoji-like exterior comes as AI developers face a crossroads in how they present their increasingly capable chatbots to consumers without causing harm or backlash. Some have opted for faceless symbols, others like Elon Musk’s xAI are selling flirtatious, human-like avatars and Microsoft is looking for a middle ground that’s friendly without being obsequious. “When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico’s face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you,” said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel.” In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in “study” mode. It’s also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft’s Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. “It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time,” said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we’re much more ready for things like that today.” Reimer, co-author of a new book called “How to Make AI Useful,” said AI developers are balancing how much personality to give AI assistants based on who their expected users are. Tech-savvy adopters of advanced AI coding tools may want it to “act much more like a machine because at the back end they know it’s a machine,” Reimer said. “But individuals who are not as trustful in a machine are going to be best supported — not replaced — by technology that feels a little more like a human.” Microsoft, a provider of work productivity tools that is far less reliant on digital advertising revenue than its Big Tech competitors, also has less incentive to make its AI companion overly engaging in a way that’s been tied to social isolation, harmful misinformation and, in some cases, suicides. Andreou said Microsoft has watched as some AI developers veered away from “giving AI any sort of embodiment,” while others are moving in the opposite direction in enabling AI girlfriends. “Those two paths don’t really resonate with us that much,” he said. Andreou said the companion’s design is meant to be “genuinely useful” and not so validating that it would “tell us exactly what we want to hear, confirm biases we already have, or even suck you in from a time-spent perspective and just kind of try to kind of monopolize and deepen the session and increase the time you’re spending with these systems.” “Being sycophantic — short-term, maybe — has a user respond […]
Israeli defense officials reportedly informed US Vice President JD Vance that Hamas is capable of returning the bodies of at least 10 of the 13 remaining deceased hostages still held in Gaza. According to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other top military officials briefed Vance on the situation in Gaza during a meeting today. The officials “stated unequivocally” that Hamas can return most of the remaining bodies — even before any international recovery teams enter the Strip.
Freed hostage Segev Kalfon spoke by phone from Sheba Hospital to HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Yehudah Beeri, known as the Yanuka [הינוקא] due to his incredible grasp of Kol Hatorah Kulo at a young age. What unfolded during the conversation shocked the participants. Segev’s father, Kobi, told him, “This tzaddik davened for you and gave me chizzuk. He was my anchor. He told me: ‘Your son will return.’ Segev thanked the Rav and said that he wants to meet him in person and thank him. The Yanuka responded, “I told your father to read the story of Yosef and Yaakov, and b’ezras Hashem, you’ll reunite with him.” Segev appeared visibly shocked by the Yanuka’s words, responding, “Do you want to hear something? I can’t even believe I’m saying this. Do you know that they (his captors) let me see the story of Yosef and Yaakov there? I didn’t know the story. They let me see it from the Arab perspective in a video series on the computer. They call the series Sayedna Yusouf (סעידנה יוסוף).” “I never heard of the story before,” Segev said. “I saw it there—that his brothers sold him, and they put him into prison for between 3 and 10 years, and he encountered many tribulations.” Segev’s father, who said he still recites Parshas Vayeishiv, turned to Segev with astonishment: “You’re only telling me this now?” Segev responded, “Because now the Rav mentioned it!” Later in the conversation, Segev said, “I felt your tefillos there. It wasn’t me. I don’t have the kochos to endure what I went through there. It was only the Borei Olam and your tefillos and your zechus.” Segev’s home city of Dimona is planning two days of celebrations next week in thanks to Hashem for the huge neis of Segev’s return, including divrei chizzuk by the Yanuka. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
President Donald Trump says he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after speaking to the mayor. Trump posted on social media Thursday that Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city was making progress in reducing crime. Trump said he agreed to let San Francisco keep trying on its own. Trump’s post came after Lurie said the two spoke Wednesday night and Trump said he planned to call off a federal deployment to the city. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Protesters gathered Thursday outside a U.S. Coast Guard base in the San Francisco Bay Area, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally. A few hundred people, many singing hymns and carrying signs saying “No ICE or troops in the Bay,” referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, gathered shortly after dawn outside Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Police used at least one flash-bang grenade to clear a handful of demonstrators from the entrance as CBP vehicles drove through. Organizers urged protesters to remain peaceful, as a line of Coast Guard officers in helmets watched from just outside the entrance. The San Francisco Chronicle, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the operation, reported Wednesday that more than 100 CBP and other federal agents would arrive this week. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, condemned the move, saying it is meant to provoke violent protests. CBP did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday from The Associated Press. A statement provided to media by the Coast Guard said that “through a whole of government approach, we are leveraging our unique authorities and capabilities to detect, deter, and interdict illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and individuals intent on terrorism or other hostile activity before they reach our border.” Newsom’s office said Thursday people should memorize contact information in case they’re detained. “Act intelligently, take care of yourself, and don’t give them the pretext they’re looking for to intensify their repression,” Newsom’s office said in a post on the social platform X. Soon after the deployment was first reported Wednesday, Lurie livestreamed a nine-minute statement from City Hall, flanked by other elected officials, and cautioned against giving federal officials working from “a playbook” any excuse to crack down. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he plans to deploy National Guard troops to the city to quell crime, but his administration hasn’t offered a timeline for doing so. “In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear so people don’t feel safe going about their daily lives,” Lurie said. “These tactics are designed to incite backlash, chaos and violence, which are then used as an excuse to deploy military personnel.” Trump has deployed the Guard to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, to help fight what he says is rampant crime. Los Angeles was the first city where Trump deployed the Guard, arguing it was necessary to protect federal buildings and agents as protesters fought back against mass immigration arrests. He has also said they are needed in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Lawsuits from Democratic officials in both cities have so far blocked troops […]
Charedi Jewry the world over has joined the Werdiger family in mourning Mrs. Libby Werdiger, a”h, a matriarch of a prominent Torah family and the mother of askan, philanthropist, chairman of the Agudath Israel’s Board of Directors and the Chairman of Ichud Mosdos Gur, Reb Shloime Werdiger. She was 97 years of age, and spent her life giving of herself to her family and to anyone fortunate to cross her path. The levaya on Tuesday afternoon drew thousands of attendees, including Rabbonim, askonim, community leaders, and masses of Gerer chassidim including the talmidim of the Gerer mosdos in Brooklyn, where the nifteres was eulogized by the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva Rav Yisroel Moshe Olewski, her son Reb Shloime, her son-in-law, Rav Noach Reindel, and her grandsons. Thousands have been streaming to the shivah home to comfort the aveilim, including prominent Rabbonim and Admorim, as well as Klal leaders and government officials who work together with Reb Shloime in the trenches of Klal Yisroel’s battles. Among these have been the Vinizter Rebbe of Monsey, and Rav Aharon Feldman, Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Israel and member of the Mo’etzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America, who made his way from Baltimore in order to comfort Reb Shloime. A special delegation which has been dispatched by the Gerer Rebbe, shlit”a—including his son Rav Nechemia—is currently en route to the United States, and Ichud Mosdos Gur’s executive director Reb Yonasan Burnstein traveled to America especially to comfort Reb Shloime. As is well-known, Reb Shloime is privileged to share an exceptionally close relationship with the Rebbe, shlit”a, and is one of the Gerer Chassidus’ most notable philanthropists.
NYPD: “Players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to make sure that those bets paid out.” “Terry Rozier, an NBA player now with the Miami Heat, but at the time playing for the Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave the game early with a supposed injury. Using that information, members of the group placed more than $200,000 in wagers on his under statistics.” “Rozier exited the game after just nine minutes, and those bets paid out.”
British counterterrorism police arrested three men in London on Thursday on suspicion of spying for Russia. The Metropolitan Police force said that the men, ages 44, 45 and 48, were detained at addresses in the city under the National Security Act “on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.” Police said that the country in question is Russia. The force said that officers were searching several London properties in connection with the investigation. British authorities allege that Russia is conducting an increasingly bold campaign of espionage, sabotage and cybermeddling against the U.K. “We’re seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence services and these arrests are directly related to our ongoing to efforts to disrupt this type of activity,” said Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, head of counterterrorism policing in London. Last week the head of the MI5 security service, Ken McCallum, alleged that Russia “is committed to causing havoc and destruction. “In the last year, we and the police have disrupted a steady stream of surveillance plots with hostile intent aimed at individuals Russian leaders perceive as their enemies,” he said. (AP)
WATCH: During a presser alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington feels “confident and positive” about the progress that has been made in implementing the Gaza peace plan
A guest on Channel 14’s popular The Patriots show asked Yinon Magal: “Do you know what the hottest trend among Israeli youth is Israel is today? Shemirat Shabbat.” “I have a friend whose 15-year-old son barely managed to read the Haftorah at his Bar Mitzvah. Now my friend told me that his son has been Shomer Shabbat for two months.” “I’m talking about tens of thousands of teens. What happened is that an entire generation of Israelis has grown up ignorant—the educational system failed to provide them with any knowledge of Judaism. And then the October 7 massacre happened. And they saw all the hostages returning and speaking about Hashem. It’s affecting everyone!” the guest said. The two then discussed former hostage Omer Shem-Tov, who was released from captivity on February 22, 2025. Since then, Shem Tov, who grew up in a secular home, often speaks publicly about how his emunah and tefillos sustained him in captivity and encourages his audience to connect to Hashem. Magal aired a clip of Shem Tov speaking, saying, “Say thank you and Baruch Hashem. When you say ‘Baruch Hashem’ for everything that happens to you, Hashem will be with you—no matter what.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
A documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement for voting in U.S. elections hasn’t been able to pass Congress and has been blocked by the courts, so allies of President Donald Trump’s administration are pursuing another avenue to try to impose the idea — asking a little-known federal agency to do it. By a deadline earlier this week, the independent U.S. Election Assistance Commission had received more than 380,000 public comments reacting to a petition to add the requirement. The proposal is being pushed by America First Legal, a conservative group co-founded by Stephen Miller, the Republican president’s deputy chief of staff. The group is asking the commission, composed of two Republicans and two Democrats, to add the mandate to the federal voter registration form. It says requiring people to produce documents proving their citizenship is “essential to enhance the integrity and reliability of voter registration processes, ensuring that only eligible U.S. citizens are permitted to register and vote in federal elections.” A group of Republican U.S. senators and representatives described it as “simple, common-sense reform,” little different from showing ID to board an airplane or open a bank account. Voting rights groups characterize such a requirement as unnecessary, cumbersome and a potential tool for voter disenfranchisement. Noncitizen voting is illegal and extremely rare The gambit before the Washington-based election commission is the latest attempt by conservatives to push a nationwide proof-of-citizenship requirement while raising the specter of noncitizen voting as a significant problem, when it fact it is extremely rare. Making claims about noncitizens voting was a major part of the Republican playbook during the 2024 presidential election, even though it is already illegal and punishable as a felony. The petition to the Election Assistance Commission comes after Trump sought to force the body to enact an identical provision through an executive order on elections he issued in March. That order has been temporarily blocked by two federal courts, which found the action unconstitutionally exceeded his presidential authority. The Constitution gives states and Congress the power to set election rules. In its petition, America First Legal dismissed those losses: “This premise remains contested in court, but it also leaves this Commission with the freedom to take commonsense election integrity measures on its own volition.” What does the federal voter form require? The federal voter form already requires registrants to affirm their U.S. citizenship under penalty of perjury. Violating it is a felony that can lead to imprisonment, fines and deportation. Congress deemed that approach adequate when it approved the Help America Vote Act, which established the commission in 2002. The commission has discretion to make changes to the form, but there’s disagreement over whether that includes being able to unilaterally impose such a significant new requirement on voters across the country. A spokesperson for the commission is on furlough during the federal government shutdown and did not respond to a request for comment. America First Legal told the commissioners they have sufficient authority to act under a provision of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. But Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships for the Campaign Legal Center, said the election commission first would need to determine that requiring documentation of citizenship is “necessary” to determine people’s eligibility. “In my view, asking for information is one thing. Asking for additional documents and evidence beyond the information the form collects is another thing,” he said. The consequences of noncitizen […]
China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday it will focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology, a long-running push that has become more pronounced as the U.S. has imposed increasingly tight controls on access to semiconductors and other high-tech items. The announcement by state media came in a communique after a four-day meeting that approved a draft of the party’s next five-year development plan. China faces “profound and complex” changes and rising uncertainty, it said. The communique did not directly mention the trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. China’s leader Xi Jinping is expected to meet Trump for talks in South Korea next week. Since returning to the White House, Trump has ramped up tariffs on imports in an effort to compel manufacturers to shift factories to the United States. That has added to pressure on the Chinese economy at a time when the leadership is struggling to resolve a prolonged downturn in the property market and stoke stronger domestic demand. But China has managed to keep exports growing by shifting to other markets, and the statement signaled the government is confident it can counter external threats with domestic policy tools, said Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis, a French investment bank. “It means China will likely demand more from the U.S. to reach a deal, if one is to be reached,” he said. The communique contained few surprises, largely echoing the policy direction set out by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who wants to build China into a tech leader and global power with a robust military able to command respect and exert international influence. It provided only a broad overview of the coming 2026-2030 five-year plan, indicating its scope without details. More information may be released in the coming days, but the full plan won’t be known until March, when the legislature gives a rubber-stamp approval to the plan at its annual meeting. “The general impression of the communique is that it highlights much more continuity than change,” said Xin Sun, a senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian Business at King’s College London. Ng said that compared to the previous plan five years ago, the government is deepening its push for technological self-sufficiency, income redistribution and a transition to clean energy. The country’s industrial policy has driven the rapid development of the electric car and wind and solar industries in recent years and has turned now to robotics and artificial intelligence. The party will “accelerate the all-out green transformation of economic and social development,” the statement said. It said that China would continue to boost domestic demand and spending, an objective that economists said is important for the country’s economic growth, though it didn’t signal any significant change to that approach. China has rolled out various policies to help increase consumption — such as subsidies for consumer loans and child care and trade-in programs for electric vehicles and appliances. Economists are watching for more measures to support consumption by the year’s end. Beijing said this week it is still on a “solid foundation” to achieve its full-year official growth target of around 5%, after China’s economy grew 4.8% in the July to September quarter. The meeting of the party’s Central Committee was notable for the low number of deputies, an indication of Xi’s deep purges […]
Shomrim representatives met today in Golders Green with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, alongside Councillor Dean Cohen and Councillor Peter Zinkin, to discuss the alarming rise in antisemitism and ways to strengthen community safety and support for the Jewish community. Photos by Avi Yodaiken
