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BREAKING: Trump administration officials hold talks with Ukraine delegation in Florida on Ukraine-Russia peace efforts

The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex blaze rose to 146 on Sunday as investigators discovered more bodies in the burned-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history. The Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification […]

Sen Klobuchar: What the president has done here is taken a horrific crime that occurred in DC and went 2,400 miles away to Somali and somehow indicted an entire group of people, 80,000 of them in my state, as well as all naturalized citizens.

NBC: What vetting did the Trump administration do before giving this suspect asylum? Noem: That’s the Biden administration’s responsibility. NBC: Asylum was approved in April of this year on the Trump administration’s watch. So just to be very clear, was there a vetting process in place to approve that asylum request?

Nachal Brigade Commander Col. Arik Moyal today presented the rifle of Nachal soldier Or Mizrahi hy”d, who fell heroically on October 7th during the battle in Kerem Shalom. The weapon was recovered from the Hamas Eastern Rafah Brigade Commander, who was eliminated earlier today together with his deputy, a company commander, and the son of […]

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that as many as 100,000 Afghans admitted during Biden’s administration are now being reassessed.

TRUMP: Crooked Joe Biden, Mayorkas, and so-called “Border Czar” Kamala Harris really screwed our country by letting anyone at everyone come in totally unchecked and un vetted!

The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel used a major Motzei Shabbos dinner in Boro Park — held in support of the community’s local mosdos — to share strong and pointed reflections from his historic visit to Eretz Yisroel. According to a video taken at the event, the Rebbe expressed serious concern about the spiritual state […]

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Dr. Abba Spero z”l, a kind, generous, and devoted person whose warmth and dedication touched so many.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sara Spero; his brother, Rabbi Ephraim Spero; and his children, Mr. Chaim and Rebecca Spero, Rabbi Yechiel and Chumi Spero, Mr. Moshe and Gila Spero, Mrs. Chavi and Reb Chezky Schneider, and Mr. Yehuda and Tova Spero; and his grandchildren.

The levayah will take place today at 1:30 p.m. at Sol Levinson, located at 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, MD. Kevurah will follow at the Aguda Cemetery in Rosedale.

Shivah will be observed through Friday afternoon at 5901 Key Avenue in Baltimore, MD. Shacharis will be held Monday–Friday at 8:00 a.m., and Mincha/Maariv Sunday–Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu submitted a formal request for a pardon to President Isaac Herzog, the head of state said Sunday.

“The Office of the President is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” Herzog’s office stated.

“After receiving all of the relevant opinions, the president will responsibly and sincerely consider the request,” it added.

In the request submitted through his attorney, Netanyahu explained to Herzog that a pardon would “enable the prime minister to devote all of his time, abilities and energies to advancing the State of Israel in these critical times, and to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

Halting the legal process will also allow for “mending the rifts between different parts of the nation and open the door to lowering the flames, all for the purpose of strengthening the national resilience,” he wrote.

Israel’s longest-sitting prime minister faces corruption charges in three separate cases—Cases 1000 and 2000 (the charge is “breach of trust” in both instances), and Case 4000 (bribery, fraud and breach of trust).

In a video statement released shortly after Herzog’s announcement, Netanyahu said that his “personal interest has been, and remains, to continue the process until the end, until full acquittal on all charges.

“However, the security and diplomatic reality, the national interest, demand otherwise,” the premier continued. “The State of Israel faces enormous challenges, and alongside them, tremendous opportunities.

“To repel the threats and to seize those opportunities, national unity is required,” Netanyahu stated. He added, “The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, fuels this division and deepens the rifts.”

According to the prime minister, putting an immediate end to the thrice-weekly court sessions “will greatly help lower the flames and advance the broad reconciliation our country so desperately needs.

“I expect that all those who place the good of the country above all will support this step,” the two-and-a-half-minute statement concluded.

Defense Minister Israel Katz called on the president to “support a decision that will allow the State of Israel to move forward united.

“Israel is facing a security reality more complex than ever: Old enemies are trying to rebuild their strength, while new forces in the region are emerging with the aim of threatening the security of Israel’s citizens,” said Katz. “At this time, we need united leadership focused on the strategic threat before us.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid Party) in response called on Herzog not to grant the pardon unless Netanyahu admits guilt, expresses remorse and immediately retires from political life.

Netanyahu told Australian journalist Erin Molan of “The Erin Molan Show” podcast on Nov. 13 that he was “thinking about” requesting a pardon, but said he would not admit guilt as part of the procedure.

“Nobody suggests that that’s what I’ll do, and I certainly won’t do that. That’s not going to happen,” he said, responding to Lapid’s assertion that Israeli law requires an admission of guilt and expression of remorse to receive a pardon.

On Nov. 12, Herzog announced he had received a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump requesting a full pardon for Netanyahu.

Trump said that, while he respects the independence and requirements of the Israeli judicial system, he believes the case against Netanyahu is a “political, unjustified prosecution.” He added that “it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending lawfare once and for all.”

Herzog responded to the missive, stressing to his American counterpart that “anyone seeking a presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Swiss voters on Sunday decisively rejected a call to require women to do national service in the military, civil protection teams or other forms, as men must do already. In a referendum, over 84% of voters rejected the “citizen service initiative” and none of the country’s 26 cantons, or states, came anywhere near voting in […]

    HURRY! IT’S TUESDAY! The tzaddik REB MEILICH BIDERMAN shlit”a is well known throughout the world – and has spoken many times of the power of the holy tzaddik THE BAS AYIN  – Rav Avraham Dov Ber Auerbach of Ovritch zt”l In a special opportunity,  a gift to you by Yad L’Achim, you can […]

Mark Kelly: We have a president who doesn’t understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified secretary of defense. I cannot think of a secretary of defense in the history of our country that is less qualified than Pete Hegseth.

A Staten Island skincare entrepreneur is facing a wave of outrage after posting a TikTok video in which she bragged about humiliating a Jewish couple who asked her for help paying a parking meter, refusing to assist unless they repeated the political slogan “Free Palestine.” Eman Masoud, a Palestinian-American esthetician and founder of the organic […]

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to overhaul how it evaluates vaccines, signaling a far stricter approach after senior officials publicly questioned the safety of COVID immunizations for children. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary laid out the agency’s new posture during a Fox News appearance, declaring that the FDA would no longer “rubber-stamp new products that don’t work,” adding that doing so made a “mockery of science.”

His remarks followed the leak of an internal message from Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, who told his staff the agency would tighten its annual influenza vaccine system, revise product labels to be “honest,” and impose tougher standards across multiple vaccine categories. The email, reviewed by NPR and initially reported by PBS News Hour, outlined substantial changes to the agency’s internal framework.

In that message, Prasad informed regulators that authorization for vaccines marketed to pregnant women would now require additional layers of evidence. He also said that companies producing pneumococcal vaccines would have to demonstrate actual reductions in illness rather than rely on antibody data. He raised concerns as well about the long-standing practice of administering several vaccines simultaneously.

Such revisions could greatly extend the time, cost, and difficulty of bringing vaccines to market, potentially shrinking the pool of available products. Public health leaders have long argued that the existing FDA model—requiring extensive pre-approval testing and continuous safety monitoring through mechanisms like the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System—has proven that vaccines overwhelmingly protect far more than they harm.

On Fox News, Makary asserted that 10 children died from the COVID vaccine during the Biden administration, though he did not provide evidence supporting how that determination was reached. The vast majority of U.S. children have received the COVID shot without any confirmed fatal complications. Federal health agencies did not immediately comment on Makary’s claim or on the email laying out the FDA’s prospective changes.

According to Prasad’s email, FDA analysts reviewed 96 deaths reported between 2021 and 2024 and concluded that 10 children died “after and because of” the COVID vaccine—a number Prasad wrote was likely an undercount. The message did not include the underlying data or methodology.

The lack of documentation drew sharp criticism from experts. Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said via text that Prasad has not supplied the evidence behind the alleged 10 vaccine-linked deaths. “Because he doesn’t provide any evidence, he is asking us to trust him on an important issue,” Offit said. “All this will do is scare people unnecessarily. At the very least, he should provide all the evidence he has so that experts in the field can review it and decide whether he has enough data to prove his point.”

Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, who previously led the FDA’s vaccine office, also pushed back on Prasad’s assertions. He emphasized that the FDA’s biologics division has long been seen as a worldwide regulatory benchmark and defended the use of “immunologic endpoints like antibody levels” to expedite approvals for pneumonia and flu vaccines. These standards, he said, have reliably delivered safe, effective shots while still being validated by post-approval research: “These approaches have helped provide children and adults with timely access to safe and effective vaccines, saving many lives.”

Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, reviewed the internal email and flatly disputed Prasad’s claim that “COVID-19 was never highly lethal for children,” pointing to CDC figures showing 1,597 pediatric deaths from 2020 to 2022. He also questioned the FDA’s conclusion regarding the 10 reported cases. “Prasad’s email is filled with factual mistakes and misrepresents both the severity of COVID in children…,” Osterholm wrote to NPR. He added that none of the cases have ever been published or presented to medical experts and argued, “until these cases have been reviewed by an expert third party, like the National Academy of Science[s], we can not accept the fact they are vaccine-associated deaths.”

The FDA continues to make VAERS data public while consistently warning that the system cannot determine causation. As the agency notes, “it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause and effect relationship has been established.” Prasad acknowledged in his email that assessing causality with case reports often involves subjective judgment.

Makary told Fox News that while the COVID shot proved “amazing” for individuals at high risk early in the pandemic, the scientific landscape has shifted. “Back in 2020, we saw a reduction in the severity of illness and lives saved, but now recommending that a 6-year-old girl get another 70 million COVID shots – one each year for the rest of her life – is not based on science. And so we’re not going to just rubber stamp approvals without seeing some scientific evidence.”

This stance marks the latest chapter in a broader movement by officials in the Trump administration questioning aspects of vaccine safety and regulation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly expressed skepticism about vaccines for years. The FDA already moved in August to narrow eligibility for the updated COVID vaccine and announced it would require stronger evidence before future approvals.

The email outlining revised vaccine standards surfaces just as the CDC prepares for a pivotal December 4–5 meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The panel is reevaluating how children receive critical protections against measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, polio, and other diseases. Many in the medical community fear the committee may consider delaying doses, spacing out the schedule, or recommending changes to formulations—steps that could reduce childhood vaccination coverage and open the door to outbreaks of previously contained illnesses.

Moderna, whose pediatric COVID vaccine is authorized for children as young as six months, responded to Makary and Prasad’s allegations by pointing to a statement the company issued in September. Moderna said extensive peer-reviewed research from numerous sources confirms the shot’s safety and that it is “not aware of any deaths in the last year or pertinent new information from prior years.” The company said it works with regulators in more than 90 countries and that “with more than one billion doses distributed globally… these systems… have not reported any new or undisclosed safety concerns in children or in pregnant women.”

{Matzav.com}

Thousands of Afghans brought to the United States under former President Biden’s 2021 evacuation program triggered security alarms in federal databases, and hundreds remain flagged as potential national security risks years later, internal Department of Homeland Security records show. According to DHS data provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and reported by […]

Crowds in Kiryat Malachi gathered to welcome Yosef-Chaim Ohana, who finally returned home from the hospital after his release from Hamas captivity. Ohana was among the final group of 20 living hostages freed on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in Gaza. He has now completed his medical recovery and reunited with his family.

A NY Post report reveals that more than 5,000 Afghans given asylum by former President Biden in 2021 are considered potential national security threats by the Department of Homeland Security

Two months ago, in an interview on Galei Tzahal, Herzog did not rule out the idea of pardoning Prime Minister Netanyahu. When asked whether he would require Netanyahu to step aside in exchange for such a pardon, Herzog said he “won’t run away from anything” and would share the process with the public.

CHASDEI HASHEM: Yamam counterterrorism officers and Menashe Brigade forces arrested five members of a terror cell in the northern Shomron planning an imminent terror attack against Israeli targets. The arrests were carried out with intelligence information from the Shin Bet. A joint statement from the IDF, Israel Police and Shin Bet on Sunday said that […]