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the end of the year.

He leaves behind an organization that has grown tremendously under his tenure, opened new research and educational arms, and positioned itself as a major international clearinghouse for Holocaust education and study.

Thirty-five percent of the museum’s budget comes from the government. The government has failed to pass a 2020 and a 2021 budget, leaving many key public institutions to fend for themselves without access to funds already allocated to them.

A Special Advocate

An Israeli woman with muscular dystrophy was elected this week to serve on a United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Odelia Fitoussi, 43, is the first Israeli to serve on the committee. She was elected to one of nine available spots, receiving support from 109 countries.

Israeli officials applauded her appointment.

“I am sure your important voice at the UN will be a positive influence for people with #disabilities around the world. We are so proud of you!” President Reuven Rivlin tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Fitoussi, who was born with a genetic neuromuscular disorder known as SMA2, telling her that he appreciates her “abilities and skills that led her to be elected to a significant and important position in the international arena.”

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or CRPD, is a body of independent experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was signed by nearly all countries in the world.

“I feel privileged to be a member of the CRPD, the place where Israel was a partner in creating a new lan-

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guage for people with disabilities, a language of rights, of pride in who you are, in our uniqueness as people with disabilities who enrich society with all the good we have built,” Fitoussi said in a statement.

An art therapist for children based in Bat Yam, Fitoussi has long advocated for the rights of people with disabilities, including by working toward greater inclusion of teachers with disabilities in the education system.

Trump Pardons Michael Flynn

President Donald Trump pardoned former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn last week nearly three years after Flynn pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon,” Trump tweeted. “Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family. I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!”

The pardon caps off a multi-year ordeal the decorated officer underwent to clear his name. A former three star general, Flynn had been Trump’s national security advisor for only 24 days after the president’s shock victory in 2016 before stepping down in January 2017.

Flynn’s sudden resignation came after he admitted to lying to FBI agents regarding a phone call he had with the Russian ambassador to Washington. A year later, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to a federal agent and awaited his sentencing.

However, Flynn then attempted to retract his guilty plea after retaining Sidney Powell, a high-profile Washington attorney, to fight his case. His legal battle soon uncovered egregious cases of prosecutorial misconduct, including handwritten notes in which the FBI agents who questioned him wrote down their intent to frame him for a crime he did not commit.

It later emerged that Flynn only agreed to plead guilty after prosecutors threatened to imprison his son, an illegal tactic that was hidden from the judge. The prosecutorial abuse and lack of an underlying crime led the Department of Justice to drop the charges against Flynn last year.

In a move many call unprecedented, Emmet Sullivan, the presiding judge, refused to dismiss the case and even appointed another judge to argue why Flynn should be prosecuted for perjury.

Sullivan’s irregular behavior led Powell to appeal to a higher appellate court, which ruled that the judge must dismiss the case. Sullivan dragged his feet, leading Trump to get frustrated and pardon Flynn despite the latter requesting that he be given a chance to prove his innocence.

“The President has pardoned General Flynn because he should never have been prosecuted,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “An independent review of General Flynn’s case by the Department of Justice – conducted by respected career professionals – supports this conclusion.

“In fact, the Department of Justice has firmly concluded that the charges against General Flynn should be dropped. This Full Pardon achieves that objective, finally bringing to an end the relentless, partisan pursuit of an innocent man.”

Trump’s pardon absolves Flynn of “any and all possible offenses” arising from Mueller’s investigation, as well as any related grand jury proceedings. The clemency grant uses sweeping language, immunizing Flynn from charges based on “facts and circumstances, known to, identified by, or in any manner related to the investigation of the Special Counsel.”

Biden Sprains Foot

While playing with his dog, Major, Joe Biden “sustained a sprain in his right foot,” according to his office. Biden saw a doctor for his injury.

A subsequent CT scan “confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden’s lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the mid-foot,” according to a statement from his doctor, Kevin O’Connor. “It is anticipated that he

will likely require a walking boot for several weeks.”

Joe and Jill Biden rescued Major in 2018. The German Shepherd is their second of two dogs. Their other dog, Champ, was adopted in 2008 when Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president. The Bidens have reportedly spoken about adding a cat to the mix. Cyber Month

America’s national shopping holiday was the latest casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic as a bad economy and the need for social distancing caused Black Friday sales to plummet last weekend.

According to data from Sensormatic Solutions, foot traffic at malls and shopping sales across America plunged by 52.1% from 2019. The dismal figures are only the beginning of what is likely to become the worst year in half a century for retail, as Sensormatic predicts that traffic during the holiday season will fall by 25% overall.

Shopping experts had estimated that retailers would take a hit, as Americans have less spare cash in their pockets amid double digit unemployment. The current coronavirus wave rocking the United States also contributed, as shoppers were loath to stand in lines in close prox-

imity to other people.

“We knew Black Friday [traffic] was going to be down, we just didn’t know how much it was going to be down,” said Brian Feld, a data scientist at Sensormatic Solutions. “Shoppers are spreading out their shopping throughout the holiday season because of concerns about social distancing and the pandemic.”

With the plunge in shopping at brick and mortar stores came a surge in online sales, as shoppers showed that they prefer to do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their own homes. Thanksgiving saw online sales hit a new all-time record, with data showing 21.5% growth in the U.S. to hit $5.1 billion.

That record was summarily shattered a day later, as online shopping skyrocketed to $9 billion.

“From the data we’re tracking, instead of just a Big Bang on Black Friday weekend, we’re seeing what’s becoming more of a Cyber Month,” Andy Mantis from 1010data.

“It kicked off with Prime Day in October and is continuing.”

Mink Farm Outbreak

An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of Covid-19 among animals and workers.

Outbreaks in farmed mink have been reported in several U.S. states and countries. Earlier this month, Denmark announced it would kill all 17 million of the mink raised there after confirmation that 12 people had been infected with a mutated strain of Covid-19 that had spread from mink to humans. That strain has not been found elsewhere.

Oregon has the nation’s fourth-largest farmed mink industry, after Wisconsin, Utah and Michigan. All three of those other states have had outbreaks on mink farms.

In Wisconsin, about 3,400 farmed mink have died over the past month after contracting the virus. And in Utah, about 10,000 mink have died since August.

In addition to Denmark and the United States, Covid-19 infections have been reported in farmed mink in the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Italy and Greece, according to the World Health Organization.

All of the mink in the Oregon outbreak appear to have recovered. It is suspected that the animals caught the virus from infected workers.

CITGO 6 Found Guilty

ment on corruption charges have been found guilty.

CITGO employees Tomeu Vadell, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Jose Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano and Jose Angel Pereira were sentenced to between 8 and 13 years behind bars.

The guilty verdicts punctuate a years-long saga that began in November 2017 when the men received a call from the head of Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA summoning them to Caracas for a last-minute budget meeting.

When they arrived, armed and masked security agents arrested them on embezzlement charges stemming from a never-executed proposal to refinance some $4 billion in CITGO bonds by offering a 50% stake in the company as collateral.

CITGO said it is “distressed to read about this outcome” this week and “hope for a resolution that will lead to their prompt release.”

Despite the sentencing, there are still efforts to get the men released.

The families of the “CITGO 6” – five of them American citizens and all with deep roots in Texas and Louisiana – say the men are being held in inhumane conditions, sharing overcrowded basement cells in a military counterintelligence prison, and are suffering severe weight loss in a country plagued by food shortages.

Their case has largely been out of the headlines, as Venezuela has descended further into turmoil, and relations between the South American country and the U.S. have been torn apart by the Trump administration’s strong backing for opposition leader Juan Guaidó in his battle to oust Nicolas Maduro.

Two of the men – Cárdenas and Toledo – were released on house arrest in July after a humanitarian visit to Caracas by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and a team of non-government negotiators.

In a statement earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the men’s “unconditional release” and return to the United States.

“These six Americans and their families have suffered long enough; it is time for Maduro to put politics

aside and let these families be reunited,” he said.

“No one should doubt the president’s commitment to bringing home all U.S. citizens held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas.”

GOP Win in CA

Former GOP Congressman David Valadao edged out incumbent Rep. T.J. Cox last week, winning California’s 21st district and reclaiming the seat he lost two years ago.

Valadao won on a razor-thin margin of only 862 votes in what is the 11th congressional seat the GOP picked up in this election cycle. Valadao had previously been elected three straight times before being ousted by Cox during the Democratic Party’s “Blue Wave” in 2018.

“This Thanksgiving, as the coronavirus continues to spread and our community and nation struggle, we desperately need relief,” said Valadao after declaring victory last Wednesday – even before the AP called the race. “The only way we will get through this is by sticking together as Americans, not divided by political parties.

“When I head back to Washington, every resident of the Central Valley has my word that I will continue to always put this community first.”

Born to a family of dairy farmers, Valadao frequently used his agricultural background to appeal to voters in California’s rural Central Valley. Throughout the race, Valadao lambasted Cox as a representative of what he said was the Democratic Party’s extremist agenda and vowed to support a Covid-19 relief bill that would help farmers.

Cox’s reelection campaign was also hurt by revelations that the lawmaker owed $145,000 in federal taxes and $58,000 to three former employees.

With 74% of Valley identifying as Hispanic, Valadao’s victory marks one of the few Latino districts won by the GOP. The victory joins other gains the GOP racked up across the

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Valadao’s victory is the latest in an unexpected wave of GOP victories all across the United States. The GOP had been expected to suffer an electoral wipeout in the November elections that would see the Democrats add to their lead in the House while regaining control of the Senate. But the Republican Party has already flipped at least 11 seats, won 27 races classified as a “toss up,” and now needs to emerge victorious in only one of Georgia’s two runoff races to hold the upper chamber.

Zappos CEO Dies at 46

Tony Hsieh, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker who catapulted Zappos into a global shoes giant, died at the age of 46 last week.

Hsieh’s death was the result of a house fire at his brother’s Connecticut home over Thanksgiving. Police and fire marshals have opened an investigation into the incident.

Fire Chief Thomas Curcio told reporters that rescue forces were summoned after receiving reports of smoke billowing from the residence at 3:30 a.m. He added that firefighters evacuated three people to the hospital after forcing their way inside.

Hsieh’s sudden death came only three months after the businessman retired after 20 years leading online shoe retailer Zappos.

“The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being,” said Zappos CEO Kedar Deshpande. “We recognize that not only have we lost our inspiring former leader, but many of you have also lost a mentor and a friend.”

Born in California, Hsieh showed an interest in business while still a child and sold the first company he founded to Microsoft at the age of 24 for $265 million. He then plunged the proceeds into a venture capital firm he started and invested large sums of money into ShoSite.com, a shoe distribution started in 1999.

ShoeSite.com soon changed its name to Zappos, and Hsieh took over as CEO, catapulting the unknown retailer into a multinational company that changed how people shop for footwear. Putting an emphasis on customer service and efficiency, Hsieh built up Zappos into a juggernaut that was sold to Amazon for $1 billion in 2009.

Hsieh stayed on as CEO after the sale, saying at the time that “we think of Amazon as a giant consulting company that we can hire if we want.” He retired from Zappos this past August, capping off two decades at the company.

Hsieh also became an internationally-recognized motivational speaker, with his 2010 book Delivering Happiness holding the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller List for 27 consecutive weeks. Apart from his business success, Hsieh worked to revitalize Las Vegas as part of his vision of turning the then-desolate and run-down desert city into the new Silicon Valley.

The visionary moved Zappos to Las Vegas in 2014 and founded the Downtown Project (DTP) that invested in startups that pledged to move their headquarters to the gambling capital of the world. Throughout the years, Hsieh invested as much as $350 million of his own money in various initiatives to turn Las Vegas into a global tech hub.

Carter Page Sues for $75M

Carter Page, a former senior Trump Administration advisor, filed a $75 million lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for engaging in “illegal surveillance” into him related to the Russia collusion probe.

The lawsuit accuses a slew of former high-ranking FBI officials, including former Director James Comey, former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Pete Strzok, of