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February 27, 2017 at 9:29 pm
Attorneys for people suing air bag maker Takata and five automakers say the car companies knew that Takata’s products were dangerous yet continued to use them for years because they were inexpensive.
The allegations against Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford and BMW were made in a court filing Monday in Miami. The federal court there is handling pretrial evidence-gathering in dozens of lawsuits against Takata and the automakers. The filing says the allegations are partly based on auto company documents.
Earlier, the automakers had contended that Takata was the problem because it admitted to covering up the defective inflators, which can blow apart and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Takata is expected to enter a guilty plea to one criminal charge at a hearing in Detroit Monday....
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February 27, 2017 at 9:15 pm
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and Education Minister Naftali Bennet have been championing the battle to change school menus, to introduce healthier foods into the nation’s schools. However, frum schools have objected unless a special budget is being provided due to the additional costs involved.
The dispute inside Yahadut Hatorah has become significant, led by MK Yaakov Asher, who explains there is not enough money for the frum schools to being increasing the food budget.
Kikar News now reports that last week, Litzman attended a secret meeting in Yerushalayim attended by Rav Yitzchok Goldknoff and local Degel Hatorah-affiliated rabbonim including HaGaon HaRav Cohen Shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Chevron), HaGaon HaRav Solovechik Shlita and HaGaon HaRav Chevroni Shlita. it was decided the m...
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February 27, 2017 at 9:11 pm
The Senate on Monday confirmed billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary as President Donald Trump adds to his economic team.
The vote was 72-27.
Breaking with Republican orthodoxy, Ross said the Trump administration will work quickly to re-do the North American Free Trade Agreement. That’s the massive trade pact with Canada and Mexico that has boosted trade but still stings laid-off workers across the Midwest.
Senators from both political parties were deferential to Ross at his nearly four-hour confirmation hearing, which was much more subdued than the confirmation hearings of other Trump nominees. Former commerce secretaries have praised him, including one who served under former President Barack Obama.
“Mr. Ross will bring decades of business, entrepreneuria...
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February 27, 2017 at 9:00 pm
A Republican congressman has called for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and was in touch with President Donald Trump’s team during the campaign.
Rep. Darrell Issa of California says it would be improper for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to lead the investigation.
Issa made the comments Friday on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Issa said: “You’re right that you cannot have somebody — a friend of mine, Jeff Sessions — who was on the campaign and who is an appointee. You’re going to need to use the special prosecutor’s statute and office.”
It’s unclear whether Issa would have any influence on Sessions. Issa supported Trump during the election, but bar...
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February 27, 2017 at 8:57 pm
PHILADELPHIA -- More than 100 headstones have been vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, damage discovered less than a week after similar vandalism in Missouri, authorities said.
A man visiting the cemetery called police at 9:40 a.m. Sunday to report that three of his relatives’ headstones had been knocked over and damaged. “The cemetery was inspected and approximately 100 additional headstones were found to be knocked over,” apparently sometime after dark Saturday, a police spokeswoman said in a statement.
A criminal mischief-institutional vandalism investigation will be conducted by the police Northeast Detectives Division, she said.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia lists Mount Carmel as a Jewish cemetery.
I...
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February 27, 2017 at 8:45 pm
President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of the Navy, businessman Philip Bilden, said Sunday he was withdrawing from consideration for the post, citing concerns about privacy and separating himself from his business interests.
Bilden’s withdrawal raises similar issues to that of Vincent Viola, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary who stepped aside earlier this month. Just last week, the Pentagon sought to tamp down reports that Bilden might pull out.
Bilden was an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve from 1986-1996. He relocated to Hong Kong to set up an Asian presence for HarbourVest Partners LLC, a global private equity management firm. Bilden recently retired from HarbourVest Partners after 25 years.
In a statement released Sunday by the Pentagon, Bilden sa...
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February 27, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Traffic cameras are being installed on Aharonvitz Street in Bnei Brak and will also be added to Kahaneman Street between Rav Yitzchak Nafcha and Coca Cola Junction. This is to prevent illegal parking in the hope of improving the flow of traffic.
It is hoped the cameras will eliminate the need for the traffic directors enforcing the parking regulations. The cameras will issue summonses for vehicles in bus stops or other prohibited areas. There is a focus on buses, as they are too often blocked from pulling into stops due to stopped vehicles and this causes significant traffic delays.
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February 27, 2017 at 8:15 pm
Israel Tax Authority inspectors visited the Mosioff Shul in the Bucharim area of the capital following reports of person employed off the books. The shul is well known and serves thousands daily who daven and learn in the shul.
It appears that a harsh machlokes between a shul employee and an askan led to a phone call to tax authorities, reporting illegal activities in the shul. There are conflicting reports the shul employee has been fired as a result while others report he simply has stopped coming in.
Tax officials confirm inspections are carried out from time to time, unwilling to release additional information.
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February 27, 2017 at 8:00 pm
The fight over which cellphone carrier has the best unlimited data offering isn’t over. AT&T announced late Sunday that it is debuting two new unlimited plans this week – one, a no-frills option that tries to undercut its rivals on price; and the other, a more expensive plan with all the bells and whistles.
Both plans will become available Thursday.
The no-frills option, and how it stacks up
The cheaper plan, Unlimited Choice, costs $60 per month for a single line (or $40 a line for a family of four), as long as you have autopay and paperless billing enabled. While that reflects a price cut over AT&T’s current unlimited plan ($100 for a single line or $45 a line for four), it does come with limitations.
Most importantly, the Unlimited Choice plan tops out at a...
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February 27, 2017 at 7:45 pm
United Airlines, which lost the distinction of being the world’s biggest carrier after shrinking for several years, plans to regain lost ground by adding more flights from key airports this summer.
The airline wants to upgrade facilities at key airports and trim the use of smaller planes on important business routes.
If the expansion plans pan out, United could staunch slipping revenue numbers, which fell nearly 2 percent in the last five years, while revenue at industry leader Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 8 percent.
United has slipped in other ways, too. Only once in the last five years did United Continental Holdings Inc. top Delta’s operating income. And it consistently ranks worse in on-time flights and cancellations.
Delta and American Airlines Group Inc. have been addi...
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February 27, 2017 at 7:30 pm
A veteran Egged bus driver in Haifa performed a security check of the bus at the end of his route as required. He found a bag that was left by a passenger on a number 18 bus in the N’vei Sha’anan neighborhood containing money and documents worth $20,000.
The driver, Ataf Tatur, has been employed by Egged for forty years. After turning in the bag, they learned it belongs to a Russian-speaking couple. The driver recalled another Russian-speaker assisted them at the bus stop and through him, they were able to contact the couple which forgot the bag.
The couple came within an hour and provided ‘simanim’ for the bag, which was then turned over to them.
Egged officials add that there have been a number of cases in which drivers found large sums of money and they ...
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February 27, 2017 at 7:15 pm
The White House says President Donald Trump’s upcoming budget will propose a whopping $54 billion increase in defense spending and impose corresponding cuts to domestic programs and foreign aid. The result is that Trump’s initial budget wouldn’t dent budget deficits projected to run about $500 billion.
White House budget officials outlined the information during a telephone call with reporters Monday given on condition of anonymity. The budget officials on the call ignored requests to put the briefing on the record, though Trump on Friday decried the use of anonymous sources by the media.
Trump’s defense budget and spending levels for domestic agency operating budgets will be revealed in a partial submission to Congress next month, with proposals on taxes and othe...
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February 27, 2017 at 7:00 pm
It was horrific act in Mosh Migdal when Nadav Sela murdered his wife and children on a Shabbos weeks ago, along with murdering the 11-year-old son of a neighbor.
The accused, Mr. Nadav Sela, hoped to be tried as mentally incompetent, telling the court he is a cat. He got down on his knees and made the necessary sounds but the court was not quick to buy it. A psychiatric evaluation was ordered and it was announced on Sunday, 1 Rosh Chodesh Adar, that the defendant is indeed fit to stand trial and be held accountable for his actions; the murders of Mrs. Dor Sela (23), son Yosef (22 months), and Binyamin (8 months) as well as 11-year-old Natan Atiya, while leaving his brother Nachman serious injured.
The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court on Sunday heard the expert opinion, that Se...
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February 27, 2017 at 6:45 pm
MK (Yesh Atid) Aliza Lavie has turned to the IDF Chief Education Officer to prohibit certain rabbonim from addressing military personnel. She is referring to dati leumi torani rabbonim who are leading the battle to persuade religious girls to serve in Sheirut Leumi and not the IDF. One of the rabbonim targeted by Lavie is HaGaon HaRav Shlomo HaKohen Aviner Shlita, who responds to Lavie.
Rav Aviner told the Kippa dati leumi website that Lavie’s actions “are a good sign since obviously, she is incapable of responding to our message appropriately”, so instead she seeks to ban him and others. The rav also explains he believes if one tries to silence another, this is a sign that one’s view “is not worth much and silencing the opponent is attempted rather...
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February 27, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Former President George W. Bush says “we all need answers” on the extent of contact between President Donald Trump’s team and the Russian government, and he defended the media’s role in keeping world leaders in check.
In an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Bush says he would trust Senate Intelligence panel Chairman Richard Burr to decide if a special prosecutor is necessary. But, Bush says, “I think we all need answers … I’m not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that that question needs to be answered.”
Bush also defended the media’s role in keeping leaders in check, noting “power can be addictive.” He says: “It’s kind of hard to tell others to have an independent, free press ...
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February 27, 2017 at 6:15 pm
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, R, said Sunday that the Trump administration needs to be more mindful of “perception” and urged GOP lawmakers not to shy away from holding town hall events, though they might be confronted by protesters.
“I understand why members of Congress don’t like it,” he said of the town halls. “But you know what? You asked for the job. Go do it.”
Christie has long been a fan of the town hall format, having held more than 160 by his own count during his governorship. His confrontations with protesters, particularly those affiliated with public-sector unions, helped him burnish his image as a plain-talking, no-nonsense politician. For many other officeholders from both parties, however, town hall events have generated unflatte...
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February 27, 2017 at 6:00 pm
The nine homes slated for demolition in Yishuv Ofra are located in the Givat Tzvi neighborhood of the community. Military police were on site early Monday morning 2 Rosh Chodesh Adar, despite the fact the High Court deadline for the demolition is Thursday 4 Adar. Authorities have reportedly made a number of arrests of persons they fear would lead resistance to the demolitions as was done a number of weeks ago, when Amona was removed.
Most of the families in the nine homes have already packed their belongings and they have somewhere to live when they are expelled from their homes.
Ynet adds that residents of Ofra have decided there would not be physical resistance and certainly not attacks against security forces as were seen in Amona by youths who came to lead the resistance.
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February 27, 2017 at 5:45 pm
A White House spokeswoman said Sunday that it’s premature to say that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself and appoint a special prosecutor to look into apparent Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election aimed at helping elect Donald Trump.
The assessment by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal White House deputy press secretary, comes as a growing number of Democrats are calling for Sessions, who was a key figure in Trump’s campaign, to step aside as the FBI and the Justice Department probe what happened. On Friday, a leading Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, echoed that view, saying a special prosecutor would be appropriate.
Appearing Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” Sanders said congressional committees looking into Russian ac...
