The first ‘across the bridge’: Man who received experimental pig kidney transplant now has a human organ

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/16/health/pig-kidney-human-organ-transplant

Xenotransplantation – the transplant of different species’ organs - has been touted as a possible solution to the current shortage of organ donors. The transplanted pig organs are genetically modified to control for rejection and size.

“Dialysis is not able to reproduce what the body needs in terms of clearing the waste,” said Dr. Leonardo Riella, medical director of kidney transplantation at Mass General Brigham hospital and Andrews’ doctor. “It has a huge burden on the patient, both in their quality of life but most importantly on their health.”

“Even if it is a bridge,” Riella said, “it would be better than [Tim] just staying on dialysis.”

Physician Aliyah accelerates as more than 1,000 doctors join Israel’s healthcare system in two years

 https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/syy2c9dsbe#:~:text=Hundreds%20of%20physicians%20immigrated%20to,The%20Jewish%20Agency%20for%20Israel.

Hundreds of physicians immigrated to Israel in 2025 through the International Medical Aliyah Program, a national initiative led by Nefesh B’Nefesh in partnership with the ministries of Aliyah and Integration, Health, and the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience, in cooperation with The Jewish Agency for Israel. Physicians arrived from North America, France, the United Kingdom, South America and other countries. According to current trends, hundreds of additional doctors are expected to make Aliyah in 2026, further strengthening the public healthcare system nationwide.

Data from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration shows that 541 physicians made Aliyah in 2025, including 346 from the former Soviet Union, 93 from North America, 53 from France, 23 from South America and the remainder from other countries.

Carville predicts GOP ‘wipeout’ in 2026 midterms

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5694291-democrats-midterm-elections-james-carville/

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville predicted Saturday that the 2026 midterm elections will be a “wipeout” for Republicans, with Democrats picking up 25 seats “at a minimum.” 

“Frankly, it’s going to be a wipeout,” Carville told host Kayleigh McEnany on Fox News’s “Saturday in America.” 

“Your viewers need to know that the Democrats are going to pick up at a minimum 25 seats, maybe as high as 45. In all likelihood, the Democrats will carry the Senate,” he added. 

In a sign of momentum for Democrats, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted 18 House races in the party’s favor this week, citing Trump’s unpopularity in polling and a recent streak of Democrat wins in special elections nationwide.

Trump administration demands countries pay $1B for permananent spot on BoP - Bloomberg

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-883656

The Trump administration has told countries that want a permanent spot on the new Gaza Board of Peace (BoP), which will be responsible for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and ensuring Hamas's disarmament, that they must contribute "at least one billion dollars," Bloomberg News reported on Saturday night. 

The White House announced on Friday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Tony Blair will be among the founding members of the new BoP.

"It appears that Trump is building an organization here that will deal not only with Gaza, perhaps 'a kind of Mini-UN'," Western diplomats told The Jerusalem Post.

Reports by Canadian media claimed that Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney was invited to join the board and accepted the invitation.

"Gaza is our show": U.S. pushes its plan over Netanyahu's objections

 https://www.axios.com/2026/01/17/gaza-phase-two-netanyahu-trump-board

President Trump's advisers have little patience for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's objections as they push ahead with "phase two" of the Gaza peace plan.

"This is our show, not his show. We managed to do things in Gaza in recent months nobody thought was possible, and we are going to continue moving," a senior U.S. official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu.

US official: Gaza is our way or the highway

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/421049

US President Donald Trump's advisers have rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements regarding the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, Axios reported.

A senior US official told Axios, "This is our show, not his show," referring to Netanyahu. The official added, "We managed to do things in Gaza in recent months nobody thought was possible, and we are going to continue moving."

The official said stressed, "If he wants us to deal with Gaza, it will have to be our way. We worked over him. Let him focus on Iran and let us deal with Gaza. We are not going to argue with him. He will do his politics and we will keep moving forward with our plan. He can't really go against us."

The official also said that the alternative to accepting the US dictations is sending IDF troops back into fighting in Gaza, and the US stepping out.

Trump did not notify Netanyahu about Qatari, Turkish participation in Gaza's BoP - N12

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-883650

Israel was not notified in advance about the presence of Qatari and Turkish officials among the Gaza Board of Peace (BoP) announced by US President Donald Trump, US officials told N12 on Saturday.

"We did not tell Netanyahu in advance about the composition of the executive committee. He did not expect there to be representatives from Turkey and Qatar, but Gaza is now our show, not his show," the officials told N12.

"If he [Netanyahu] wants the Trump administration to deal with Gaza - we will do it our way," they added.

‘Gaslighting of Americans’: Nicolle Wallace reacts to Trump and Noem’s lies about ICE shooting

Trump accidentally confesses why he is antagonizing Minneapolis

Judge Hands Trump Admin New Legal Loss Over Minnesota Protesters

 https://www.newsweek.com/judge-hands-trump-admin-new-legal-loss-over-minnesota-protesters-11375714

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, granted a preliminary injunction that restricts federal immigration agents—specifically those participating in Operation Metro Surge—from taking retaliatory action against people "engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity."

ICE places ankle monitor on Md. woman who provided U.S. birth certificate

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/01/16/maryland-woman-ice-detained-25-days/

A Maryland woman arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month and held for 25 days despite providing a birth certificate, immunization records and what her lawyers describe as overwhelming evidence that she is a U.S. citizen said the experience was shocking and she hopes the case against her will soon end.

Diaz Morales, who has a 5-year-old son, was arrested in Baltimore on Dec. 14 while leaving a Taco Bell with her younger sister. She said Friday that she told the officers who detained her that she was born in the U.S. and gave them the date and place of her birth. She said she gave them her father’s phone number and he confirmed details about her birth date and the name of the Maryland hospital where she was born.

But, she said, the officers did not believe the information was true. Instead of being released, Diaz Morales began her almost four-week stay in federal custody and was told she could be deported.

‘He Doesn’t Care About Us’: Iranian Protesters Say They Were Betrayed By Trump

 https://time.com/7347090/iran-protesters-trump-help/

When President Donald Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on its way,” they took heart. Their hopes rose further on Wednesday, with news that the Pentagon had ordered some non-essential personnel from its largest Middle East air base, a move seen as preparation for battle. But on Thursday, when Trump reversed course, announcing that Iran’s regime had agreed to stop killing its people in the streets, protestors felt betrayed, they told TIME.

“After he said the Iranian authorities had told him there won’t be any more killings and executions, everyone was just stunned,” said an Iranian interviewed Friday, after traveling out of the country. “Everyone was enraged; they just kept saying this bastard used us as cannon fodder. Iranians feel that they were played, that he fooled them, deceived them.”

“Trump is worse than Obama,” said a 40-year-old businessman in Tehran, who said he called friends and relatives to give them the good news after Trump’s  “help is on its way” post.  “He screwed up. He pulled the rug from under our feet.”

His comments may not be enough to bring protesters back out onto the streets, however. Trump, who ordered the U.S. military to join Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear program in June, had urged on the latest protests nearly from the start. The demonstrations began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Dec. 28, in response to the abrupt, catastrophic devaluation of Iran’s currency, then grew steadily across the country. In the past—2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022—Iran’s authoritarian regime had crushed mass protests. But five days into this outbreak, on Jan. 2, Trump made an explicit promise on Truth Social: “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protestors, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Faith and Need for constant Inspiration

 Rav Yakov asks why didn't the Jews accept Moshe's  Message from G-d that they would be freed from Egtpt? He notes that initially they had believed in Moshe but now they ignored him?

Shemos (6:9) But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃

He answers that the Jews maintained their faith by reading the book of Job and other works on Shabbos

However after the first meeting with Moshe, Pharoh made them work on Shabbos so they no longer had the inspiration they had before and this is what is meant by short spirited

It’s Trump’s Economy, and Voters Are Unhappy With It, WSJ Poll Finds

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-approval-rating-economy-poll-b3a62e57?mod=hp_lead_pos7

By 15 percentage points, more voters rate the economy as weak rather than strong, a deterioration from July, when negative views predominated by 4 points. About half of voters say the economy has gotten worse in the past year, compared with 35% who see improvement. That finding continues a yearslong disconnect between traditional measures of inflation and economic growth, which are relatively positive, and a negative public outlook