Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 American Avigail Edan, 4, Among Hostages Freed Sunday; Hamas Seeks Truce Extension
Seventeen more captives including an American child were freed by militants Sunday in a third round of hostage releases amid a truce President Joe Biden, Hamas leaders and the Israeli government say they want to extend.The Israeli military said in a social media post that 14 Israeli and three foreign national hostages were transferred to the Red Cross. Among them was American Avigail Edan, 4, kidnapped from Kfar Aza kibbutz in the militant rampage into Israeli border communities Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people dead. Avigail's parents were killed, and her two older brothers hid in a closet and survived."What she endured is unthinkable," Biden said Sunday. "Today she is free, and Jill and I, together with so many Americans, are praying that she is going to be alright."
2 Black Friday Sales Up, Today's Cyber Monday Expected To Be Bigger
If you thought the stores and parking lots looked emptier than usual this weekend, that might not have been far off the truth. Adobe Digital Insights analyzed shopping over the Black Friday weekend, and while in-store sales did go up 1-percent according to MasterCard, it was online sales that drove the increase for this year. E-commerce spending on Black Friday this year jumped 7.5-percent from last year, with $5.3-billion in sales coming from mobile shopping. Adobe says the best-selling categories on Friday were electronics, toys, and gaming, which isn’t a surprise. The biggest driver of sales, according to the data? Whoever had the biggest discounts. Online shoppers spent a record $9.8-billion on Black Friday, another $10-billion over the weekend, and are expected to spend $12-billion today for Cyber Monday.
3 Rep. George Santos Says He Expects To Be Kicked Out Of Congress
Last week Rep. Michael Guest, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, introduced a resolution to expel New York Rep. George Santos from the House. The resolution came after a scathing report from the committee that found evidence of illegal activity by Santos. During an audio conversation on X that lasted around three hours Friday, Santos said “I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor.” Santos has survived two expulsion votes so far, but with the release of the report both Republicans and Democrats who voted against removing him from his seat now appear ready to kick him out of Congress. The expulsion resolution is expected to be brought up on the House floor this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Only five representatives have been expelled from the House in history, with the last happening in 2002 when James Traficant was removed from office after being convicted on 10 counts that included bribery, conspiracy, and tax evasion. A two-thirds majority vote is necessary to expel a member of the House.