Hasan Piker, a popular far-left influencer, has long withstood scrutiny for his antisemitic commentary and justification of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, continuing to boast millions of loyal followers while hosting prominent Democratic elected officials on his Twitch show.

But his recent remarks unequivocally siding with Hamas provide particularly clarifying insight into Piker’s extreme worldview, raising questions about the permission structure in the broader progressive movement that tolerates such views with little to no pushback.

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), who faced a heated primary battle in 2024, is facing the prospect of another primary challenge in 2026, this time from an outspoken anti-Israel activist.

In 2024, Menendez successfully fended off a bitter primary challenge in the 8th Congressional District from Ravi Bhallah, the then-mayor of Hoboken, 52%-38%. Now, Mussab Ali, also a former mayoral candidate, is reportedly considering a run.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation on Wednesday to condemn the Israeli government for allegedly withholding aid in Gaza and to potentially impose sanctions on Israeli government officials.

Under the Accountability for Withholding Aid and Relief Essentials (AWARE) Act, any foreign government officials or those acting on their behalf “found to be restricting, diminishing, undermining, or preventing the delivery and distribution of sufficient humanitarian assistance” would be subject to U.S. financial and visa-blocking sanctions.

The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel left children living near the Gaza border with significant emotional baggage — whether they themselves were kidnapped, had a loved one taken hostage or killed, or had to evacuate their home — and their parents and caregivers tasked with helping them regain hope and resilience.

Lishay Miran Lavi, whose husband, Omri Miran, was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 738 days, sought to help children deal with loss and uncertainty related to Oct. 7 and beyond, with her new book, Mojo’s Return: A Story of Resilience and Hope, which was published in Hebrew and English in November.

A senior Heritage Foundation staffer has been hired by Advancing American Freedom, joining more than 20 other former Heritage employees who have departed the conservative think tank for AAF over criticism of President Kevin Roberts’ refusal to disavow Tucker Carlson for platforming neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and Roberts’ handling of the broader fallout.

Andrew Hale, who joined Heritage in 2023, served as the Jay Van Andel senior policy analyst in trade policy at the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies. He began at AAF, former Vice President Mike Pence’s policy shop, on Tuesday as a fellow specializing in economics, trade policy and international relations. Prior to his time at Heritage, Hale, a dual U.S. and U.K. citizen, worked for both nations’ governments. 

Middle East policy experts argued on Wednesday that the United States should actively intervene in Iran’s unrest — including through cyber measures, economic pressure and potentially military strikes — amid the regime’s crackdown on nationwide protests. The comments were made during a program hosted by Iran International, one of the largest independent Persian-language news outlets in the world.

President Donald Trump has for days issued repeated warnings to the regime that the U.S. is “watching closely” and that Iran would “pay hell” for killing protesters. On Wednesday afternoon, however, the president said he had been notified that the “killing in Iran is stopping” and that Iran would not be conducting executions of protesters, as was expected, and downplayed the severity of protester deaths.

President Donald Trump indicated that his threats to Iran over its use of violence on protesters have had their desired effect, saying on Wednesday afternoon that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”

Speaking to reporters at a bill signing in the Oval Office, Trump said, “We have been notified and pretty strongly — but we’ll find out what that all means — but we were told that the killing in Iran is stopping, it’s stopped, and that there’s no plan for executions. … So I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it, I’m sure, if it happens, we’ll all be very upset.”

The unlikely but plausible path for the Democrats to win back the Senate opened up Monday with former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-AK) announcement that she’s running against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), giving Democrats an outside shot at flipping the red-state seat in the midterms.

Peltola isn’t your typical Democratic candidate. She won two separate statewide elections in Alaska in 2022 for the state’s at-large House seat, defeating the state’s former governor and onetime GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Despite compiling a moderate (and pro-Israel) voting record in the House, she narrowly lost her reelection bid to Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK), losing the 2024 general election by just two points.