Today I’m shepping nachas for (i.e. proud of) two of my good friends.

My college roommate Binyamin Appelbaum was recognized with his colleagues at the Charlotte Observer as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in the hallowed Public Service category (the prize was won by the Washington Post).

Binyamin was one of the first to investigate the phenomenon of sub-prime mortgages — and the ways builders facilitated financially disastrous situations for the less-fortunate among us.

Binyamin’s reporting led to an FBI investigation against Beazer Homes, a Fortune 500 company.

Across the Atlantic, in England, my friend Susan Barker’s second novel, The Orientalist and the Ghost, will be published tomorrow.

Mazal tov to my talented friends!