Gantz has received a mandate to form a government after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition. Former military chief of staff Benny Gantz said Wednesday that he could not form Israel’s next government, prolonging the country’s political uncertainty after deadlocked elections in September. There are now 21 days in which any member of Parliament can become prime minister if they muster the 61 signatures needed to achieve a majority in the Knesset. Prime Minister Benj

Federal Reserve officials generally agreed that they likely won’t need to cut interest rates again unless economic conditions change significantly, according to minutes released Wednesday from their most recent meeting. Central bankers in late October cut their benchmark overnight lending rate a quarter-point to a range of 1.5%-1.75%, the third such move in 2019. The stance of policy “likely would remain” where it is “as long as incoming information about the economy did not result in a material

Five Democratic senators called on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to explain how his home security company Ring retains and secures customers’ data and videos. “Personal data can be exploited by foreign intelligence services to amplify the impact of espionage and influence operations,” the senators wrote. “Ring users place their trust in us to help protect their homes and communities, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Ring does not own or otherwise co

President Donald Trump responded Wednesday to a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry who claimed that Rudy Giuliani had been directed by the president to pursue a “quid pro quo.” Ambassador Gordon Sondland told the panel leading the proceedings that Giuliani was expressing Trump’s desires when he “demanded” Ukraine announce investigations involving Trump’s personal political rivals. Trump, reading off a pad of paper with notes jotted in black marker, said he told Sondland on the call: “I

The retailer said the apparel category reaped the most “dramatic” market share gains in the latest quarter, when it reported earnings on Wednesday. It said apparel sales were up more than 10%, which also helped strengthen Target’s profit margins. It has launched dozens of in-house apparel brands over the past three years, such as “A New Day” for women, “Auden” for lingerie and Goodfellow & Co. for men. Teen apparel retailer Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy. And Kohl’s, when it reported earnin

HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York on July 11, 2019 in Harrogate, England. Ian Forsyth | Getty ImagesPrince Andrew announced Wednesday that he will “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future” because of the continuing controversy over the British royal’s past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislain Maxwell. “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein,” Andrew said Wednesday in his s

It’s likely to face a tougher battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes marijuana legalization. The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday that legalizes marijuana on the federal level, removing it from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. “The criminalization of marijuana has been a mistake,” Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said during the markup of the bill. In response, Nadler said that House Democrats can “negotiate”

The Toyota Supra — a street-racing icon that returned this July after a 17-year hiatus — comes to Forza Horizon 4 next month in a free title update. The model has been missing from several big-name racing video games since 2017’s Gran Turismo Sport launched. Turn10’s official Forza Motorsport account yesterday tweeted out the news, saying the 1998 Toyota Supra RZ will be included in Forza Horizon 4’s series 17 update on Dec. 12. Since Gran Turismo Sport launched on PlayStation 4 in 2017, Toyota

Magikarp appears to be a favored pick for NPC combatants entering raids. (@polaroidclear) November 20, 2019When you get into the raid and one of your team members is a Magikarp. The NPC who brings Magikarp into raids tends to be a young schoolgirl. Did this little girl really bring a Magikarp to a Max Raid Battle! Reports indicate that one favored tactic involves bringing Magikarp with a Focus Sash into raids, which ensures that it can’t die in a single hit.

Legends of Runeterra, the in-development collectible card game from the folks at Riot, is good. And I say this as someone who knows painfully little about the lore behind League of Legends. After spending a long weekend with the game, all I know so far is that it’s a very good CCG, and that’s enough for me. The result is a game that’s fun to watch, and that’s made putting in the time to learn the high-level game even more appealing. Compared to Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering Arena, Runeterr

“Housewives fans are like sports fans,” remarked Kyle Richards, a Beverly Hills housewife, during the WWHL taping. Yes, the stereotype of the Real Housewives being about a bunch of wealthy middle-aged women screaming at each other has some basis in truth. These issues are also what give the Real Housewives themselves a degree of relatability despite their fabulous wealth. Though Bravo shows include a breadth of racial and sexual diversity, Housewives has always been mostly segregated. As much as

Oh, and Appletun — the evolved form of Applin that children “used to” eat as a snack, according to the Pokédex description. Once you’ve got an Applin, you need to find an item to evolve it into Appletun or Flapple — a Sweet Apple or a Tart Apple, respectively. He’ll thank you for giving him the Applin by giving you either a Sweet Apple or a Tart Apple, depending on your game version. But sometimes, you’ll find your respective apple, Sweet Apple or Tart Apple. To do that, open your Bag, scroll ov

David: You know what I’m going to say here. I’m going to say that this makes no sense. And we don’t know who Extra Robin is. And we still don’t know why Batman pretended to blow up a dog. Laura: You know what I’m going to say, David.

Since its release in October, Joker has proven itself a box office juggernaut, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. Though the critical response was divisive, Todd Phillips’ reimagining of the infamous Batman villain’s origins won the top prize at this year’s Berlinale, as well as generating serious awards chatter for next year’s Oscars. It should come as no surprise, then, that a sequel is in the works. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Joker director Todd Phillips (who ha

After two years of work, developers at Sony’s SCE London Studio had to say goodbye to Eight Days, an ambitious narrative action game Sony had just canceled. At the time, the Eight Days team didn’t have a name, story, or gameplay to show. SCE London Studio also revealed The Getaway 3 at the event, which was in development on the floor above the Eight Days team around the same time. The next year, in March 2006, at the annual Game Developers Conference, SCE London Studio gave attendees their secon

The Happy Helper plan is $2.99 per month and lets you pick one of your favorite villagers as a campsite helper. While you’re not playing the game, the helper will collect event items and help complete tasks, effectively playing the game while you’re away. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s new subscription plans follow a similar monthly subscription plan for Mario Kart Tour. The Happy Helper plan seems to have to purpose of aiding that. At least Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch drop

The Game Awards is taking place next month, December 12th, and public voting is now live. So, if there are games you particularly enjoyed this year, make sure to head on over to the TGA voting website and let your voice be heard. But there are also more modern categories reflecting the social landscape of gaming, like Mobile Game, Esports and Content Creator. Who do you think should win at The Game Awards on December 12? Apart from the awards themselves, The Game Awards has established itself as

The first season of Fortnite Chapter 2 will be extended into 2020, developer Epic Games announced today. Last year we celebrated 14 Days of Fortnite over the holidays. To prepare for all the new holiday-themed updates, we will be extending Chapter 2’s first season into early February. Related Fortnite gets a Star Wars skinLast year with 14 Days of Fortnite, the game’s map got a winter makeover, with each of the 14 days bringing “new and returning LTMs.” Chapter 2’s first season is expected to en

If you got a weird email from Electronic Arts this morning about an activation on your Origin account, congratulations. Last month EA announced that those who opted into its two-factor security system, called EA Login Verification, would receive a free month of Origin Access Basic. “You’ve redeemed an Origin Access Membership Code,” the email states, as received by at least one Polygon editor. EA out here scaring everyone half to death with an Origin Access purchase confirmation, totally thought

After a month of waiting, players traveled into the seasonal Vex Offensive activity to face an old foe from the original Destiny: the Undying Mind. The Vex Offensive is Season of the Undying’s main seasonal activity. But since what Bungie’s calling the Final Assault started, the boss is now the Undying Mind. The Vex Offensive Final Assault is the last thing on Destiny 2’s roadmap for the Season of the Undying. And while it’s possible the studio could be hiding something for the final days, Desti