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June 24, 2016 at 6:22 pm
Charleston, WV - A deluge of 9 inches of rain on parts of West Virginia destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes, knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses and killed 14 people, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Friday.
About 500 people were stranded overnight in a shopping center when a bridge washed out, and dozens of other people had to be plucked off rooftops or rescued as waters quickly rose during the storm.
“Our focus remains on search and rescue,” the governor said. He added: “It’s been a long 24 hours and the next 24 hours may not be much easier.”
The deaths included an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy who were swept away in different counties, authorities said. Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill described “complet...
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June 24, 2016 at 6:21 pm
London - An intense leadership battle is expected to unfold within Britain’s Conservative Party after its long-standing, passionate split over the country’s role in Europe reached a pinnacle Friday with a vote to exit the bloc and the resignation of the prime minister.
The still youthful-looking David Cameron announced he would step down after Brits rejected his plea to vote to keep Britain inside the European Union, setting in motion complex divorce proceedings expected to take two years or more to work out.
Speaking in a stoic tone, with his wife Samantha standing nearby, Cameron said Britain needs a new “captain” to manage torturous negotiations with EU officials about how to separate Britain from the 28-nation bloc.
Strong disagreements over Britain&...
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June 24, 2016 at 6:16 pm
Pyongyang, North Korea - The top North Korean official for U.S. relations told The Associated Press on Friday that his country is now a nuclear threat to be reckoned with, and Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches like the ones earlier this week as long as it attempts to force his government’s collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment.
“It’s the United States that caused this issue,” Han Song Ryol, director-general of the department of U.S. affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said in his first interview with an American news organization since assuming the post three years ago. “They have to stop their military threats, sanctions and economic pressure. Without doing so, it’s like they are telling...
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June 24, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Washington - Britain’s stunning vote to leave the European Union, buoyed by a frenzy of nationalism and populist anger, was a crushing rejection of the political elite. Republican Donald Trump hopes it is also a preview of November’s U.S. presidential election.
The referendum result reverberated immediately in a U.S. presidential campaign dominated by Trump’s rapid rise to capture the nomination, fueled by a similar brew of anti-establishment and anti-globalization sentiment.
The vote in Britain reinforced the notion that the insurgent campaign launched by the wealthy real estate developer had tapped into a global political movement that might be hard to stop.
“This is a protest vote against globalization and there is one presidential candidate who...
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June 24, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Dallas, TX - More than 30 people who attended an event with motivational speaker Tony Robbins have been treated for burns after Robbins encouraged them to walk on hot coals as a way of conquering their fears, Dallas fire officials said.
Five people were taken to a hospital Thursday night, while the rest were treated at the scene for burns to their feet and lower extremities, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.
The hot coals were spread outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as part of a four-day Robbins seminar called “Unleash the Power Within.” It’s a regular part of some of Robbins’ seminars; more than 20 people were treated for foot burns after an event in 2012 in San Jose, California.
Paul Gold of West Palm Beach, Florida...
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June 24, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Adamstown, PA - A 91-year-old Pennsylvania man who has for years lectured to school groups and others about what he said were his experiences at Auschwitz now says he was never a prisoner at the German death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Joseph Hirt, of Adamstown, made the admission in a letter to LNP newspaper (http://bit.ly/28XFmgJ ) Wednesday. He said he used poor judgment and faulty reasoning in trying to tell the story of those affected by the Nazis.
“I am writing today to apologize publicly for harm caused to anyone because of my inserting myself into the descriptions of life in Auschwitz,” Hirt wrote. “I was not a prisoner there. I did not intend to lessen or overshadow the events which truly happened there by falsely claiming to have been personally in...
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June 24, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Washington - Hillary Clinton’s campaign is calling Donald Trump’s reaction to Britain’s vote to leave the European Union “dangerous and frightening.”
Trump, say her aides, reacted with “pathological self-congratulations,” a lack of understanding about the situation and a focus on his own businesses rather than the economic impact on American families.
Trump “actively rooted” for the United Kingdom to leave the EU and is “rooting for the economic turmoil in its wake,” Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Trump, in a news conference in Scotland, praised the vote results and drew parallels to the populist anger driving his own presidential campaign.
Clinton’s team argues that the economic downturn li...
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June 24, 2016 at 4:33 pm
A day after flirting with record levels, U.S equity markets on Friday extended a global-market meltdown after the United Kingdom, in a stunning decision, voted to sever its more than 40-year membership in the European Union.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 610 points, or 3.39% to 17400. The S&P 500 dropped 76 points, or 3.60% to 2037, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 202 points, or 4.12% to 4707.
The major averages ended just off the lows of the session. During the final hour of trade, the Dow fell 647 points. To illustrate the rush on Wall Street, the Vix, which measures expected volatility over the next 30 days, jumped 44% during the session to 24.92.
“We expect the next several days to be as turbulent as other major market shocks of the...
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June 24, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Growing up in the Viznitz community in Montreal, Etty Sims had little exposure to life outside of her close-knit Hassidic sect.
In this world, the highest career aspiration for girls was to teach preschool. So even when she became captivated by the fast-paced rhythm of hospitals and the life-saving work of medical clinicians as a teenager, Sims simply didn’t allow herself to dream of becoming a doctor.
“Where I grew up, anything outside that community wasn’t even a discussion,” explained Sims, 29, who graduated from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University last month as part of the Camden-based school’s 43-member inaugural class. “I can’t even say college was discouraged. It just wasn’t a possibility.” With a f...
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June 24, 2016 at 3:37 pm
The Torah recounts that as B'nei Yisrael brought what would be their only Korban Pesach during their sojourn in the desert, there were individuals who were temei meis and thus unable to participate. There is a discussion in the gemara (Sukkah 25a) as to who in fact these individuals were. R' Yosei HaGelili suggests they were the ones in charge of transporting the body of Yoseif. Rabbi Akiva is of the opinion that it was Misha'eil and Eltzaphan who were instructed to remove Nadav and Avihu's bodies from the mishkan. Finally, Rabbi Yitzchak discounts the first two opinions and posits that these were individuals who had become tamei as a result of a meis mitzvah.
It is somewhat intriguing that the approach taken in the gemara is that there was something special and unique...
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June 24, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Hezbollah leader admits his group lost fighters in Syria, but vows to continue to be involved in the war there.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged on Friday that his group had lost fighters in Syria, but vowed to continue to be involved in the war there.
Speaking in remarks broadcast on the Shiite group's Al-Manar television and quoted by AFP, Nasrallah said that the offensive on the city of Aleppo was the "greatest battle" in Syria.
He stressed his group would "increase our presence in Aleppo... because the real, strategic, greatest battle is in Aleppo and the surrounding area."
Nasrallah also announced that 26 Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the offensive this month, a rare admission of casualties for the group.
He spoke at a commemoration event for Must...
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June 24, 2016 at 3:06 pm
Prime Minister Netanyahu reacts to British Prime Minister's resignation announcement, thanks him for his friendship with Israel.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday thanked British Prime Minister David Cameron for his friendship with Israel, following Cameron’s announcement that he would step down in the wake of Britain’s vote in favor of leaving the European Union.
“I have great appreciation for Prime Minister David Cameron, a respected leader and a true friend of Israel and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“Throughout his premiership the security, economic and technological cooperation between the United Kingdom and Israel has greatly expanded,” added Netanyahu.
“Together we laid a strong foundation for con...
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June 24, 2016 at 3:00 pm
The Rabbinical Council of America, the leading organization of orthodox rabbis in North America, appreciates and supports the efforts of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to reverse the decision of the local Bet Din of Petach Tikvah which refused to accept its recommendation to recognize the validity of the conversion to Judaism of an applicant for marriage arranged by our colleague Rabbi Haskel Lookstein.
Rabbi Shalom Baum, president of the RCA, said, "We regret the angst caused to this righteous convert, as well as the vulnerability felt by many righteous converts who feel that their legitimate status as Jews remains always subject to scrutiny. We call upon the Chief Rabbinate and the Israeli Religious Courts to ensure that in the future such applicants are treated with the dign...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:59 am
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him: "When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah (Vayikra 8:1-2)"
Nothing is random. As such, Rashi asks, “Why does the Torah juxtapose the section of the offerings of the Tribal Princes to the commandment to kindle the Menorah?” Rashi explains that Aharon was despondent that neither he nor his tribe was represented in the dedication offerings (at the end of last week’s Parsha). God tells Aharon, “Do not despair; your lot is greater than theirs for I have given you (and your descendants) the mitzvah to kindle the Menorah.” Aharon’s sadness was understandable. The entire nation, each and every tribe was participati...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:27 am
Banning Muslims isn’t an answer
What does the word “magazine” bring to mind? A glossy periodical or, perhaps, a news program? To many Americans, the word would more readily conjure a metal receptacle holding up to 30 or more bullets, inserted into a semi-automatic weapon. The sort favored by soldiers on battlefields. And people intent on killing as many civilians as possible at, say, a school, military base, office party, church or club.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides American citizens a right to own lethal weapons, was, in my opinion, a bad idea. Had I been a Founding Father (instead of a Fumbling Grandfather — though I much prefer my current role), I would have opposed it. And were there a current effort to repeal it, I&r...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:17 am
London - Britons have voted to leave the European Union, a decision which leaves the world’s fifth-biggest economy facing deep uncertainty about its growth prospects and its attractiveness to investors, and which could hurt other economies in Europe and beyond.
The vote is expected to deliver at least a short-term hit to growth in Britain and might push it into recession. It could prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates to zero and test the willingness of creditors to keep on funding Britain’s current account deficit.
Further ahead, the implications of the vote will depend on what kind of trading relationship Britain can strike with the EU, which accounts for nearly half the country’s exports.
Below is a summary of the economic implications of th...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:17 am
Washington - The United States respects the decision of the people of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, President Barack Obama said Friday, insisting that the special relationship between Washington and London will endure.
In his first public reaction to the vote, Obama said the people of the U.K. had spoken. Obama had strongly urged that the UK remain in the EU, and the decision is a significant blow to his efforts to counter the isolationist viewpoints taking hold in many parts of the world.
“The United Kingdom and the European Uniion will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the ...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:15 am
New York - Bernie Sanders told a roaring crowd of supporters Thursday that his campaign is “just getting started” fighting economic inequality, changing the Democratic Party and bolstering Democrats running for Congress.
Speaking to a packed hall in Manhattan, Sanders took something of a victory lap as he reviewed the states he won and the fact that many young people flocked to his campaign over presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s.
“Our goal from day one has been to transform this nation and that is the fight we are going to continue,” Sanders, his voice hoarse, told supporters who packed venue called The Town Hall near Times Square. “What started last year as a radical idea? Nobody thinks it’s radical anymore.&rdqu...
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June 24, 2016 at 10:09 am
Baltimore, MD Daily Dvar Halacha - June 24, 2016 / 18 Sivan 5776 - According to the Talmud Don't Drink This Way!
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June 24, 2016 at 10:03 am
Jerusalem - Israel’s army says troops have shot and killed a Palestinian woman after she purposely rammed her vehicle into an Israeli car, injuring two people in the West Bank.
The military says the woman “accelerated and crashed into a stationary vehicle” at the entrance to the settlement of Kiryat Arba. Forces opened fire and killed her. The two injured Israeli civilians were taken to hospital.
Friday’s incident is the latest in nine months of dozens of Palestinian attacks, including stabbings, shootings and assaults using cars.
The attacks have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most of them described by Israel as attackers. The rest died in clashes.
The assaults were once near-daily incide...
