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May 26, 2017 at 10:44 am
Melvin J. Sykes, a Baltimore lawyer who left his mark not only on Maryland law but on generations of young lawyers, died Monday at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Pikesville resident of 93.
The cause of death has not been determined, family members said.
"I had the privilege of presiding over appellate cases that Mel presented, and he was such a master at it," said Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr., who retired from the Court of Appeals in 2011 and is now in private practice.
"He had a general law practice — he excelled at everything — but if he had one specific area of the law, it would be appellate litigation," said Judge Murphy, who earlier served as chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. "He was a Renaissance man in addition to being a great lawye...
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May 26, 2017 at 8:15 am
The suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through Germany and Turkey before the attack, authorities said Thursday.
Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airport’s transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.
“According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area,” police said in a statement. Police didn’t provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.
A Turkish official told The Associated Press that the 22-year-old suspect traveled through Istanbul and Duesseldorf ...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:40 am
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu following this week’s visit by US President Donald Trump announced that Israel will maintain its qualitative military advantage in the region as has been the case over the years.
Speaking from Mt. Herzl on Yom Yerushalayim, the prime minister stated, “…We have just finished the visit of US President Donald Trump, the president of our greatest ally. The US has promised to maintain Israel’s qualitative advantage in the Middle East. Three days ago, the US added another $75 million to the aid package for the missile defense program. While we very much appreciate the assistance and support, I would like to reiterate: History has proven that Israel’s security depends on our readiness and our ability to defend ourselves by ourselve...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:38 am
House Speaker Paul Ryan says the violence against peaceful protesters in Washington by Turkish security forces was “completely indefensible.”
He’s welcoming a House resolution condemning the attacks that took place earlier this month outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
Ryan says in a statement that Turkey is an important ally, but its leaders must “fully condemn and apologize for this brutal behavior against innocent civilians exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Video from the incident showed members of the security detail for Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan violently breaking up the peaceful protest.
The Wisconsin Republican issued the statement after a House panel approved a resolution condemning the violence.
Ryan say...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:38 am
The suspect in the deadly Manchester concert bombing was driven by what he saw as unjust treatment of Arabs in Britain, a relative said Thursday, confirming he made a final phone call in which he pleaded: “Forgive me.”
Salman Abedi was particularly upset by the killing last year of a Muslim friend whose death he believed went unnoticed by “infidels” in the U.K., said the relative, speaking on condition of anonymity over concerns for her own security.
“Why was there no outrage for the killing of an Arab and a Muslim in such a cruel way?” she asked. “Rage was the main reason,” for the blast that killed 22 at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday, she said, speaking by telephone from Libya.
The new insight into Abe...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:36 am
President Donald Trump’s push to get in front of the pack at a NATO summit generated indignation in the Balkans and garnered attention on social media — but the man he shoved aside took it in stride.
At Thursday’s gathering in Brussels, Trump put his right hand on the right arm of Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and pushed himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the alliance’s new headquarters and prepared for a group photo.
Trump then stood near Markovic and spoke to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
Video of the incident spread on social networks in multiple languages.
“It seems Donald Trump did not want that anyone overshadows his presence at the summit,” said the Montenegro newspaper Vijesti.
Other Balkan websites ran headl...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:36 am
The case of a Montana congressional candidate accused of body-slamming a reporter is being blamed by some media watchers on a wave of hostility toward journalists that President Donald Trump helped generate.
“It definitely started before Trump, but he definitely exacerbated it,” said Kelly McBride, a vice president at the Poynter Institute, a media think tank and training center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
For months, Trump, first as a candidate, now as president, has attacked the media, calling it dishonest, branding it the “enemy of the people” and accusing it of putting out “fake news.”
During the White House campaign, reporters at Trump rallies were often confined to a penned-in area, vilified by the candidate and subjected to such insults and thr...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:32 am
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest levels of the year. The benchmark 30-year rate dipped below the key 4 percent mark.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate home loans tumbled to 3.95 percent from 4.02 percent last week. The rate stood at 3.64 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.
The rate on 15-year mortgages slipped to 3.19 percent from 3.27 percent last week.
U.S. stock prices climbed for the sixth day in a row Thursday, following steep drops last week amid concern over political turmoil in Washington.
Absorbing the earlier market declines, bond prices rose this past week and pushed down yields on long-term Treasury bonds — which mortgage rates tend t...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:30 am
There’s a glimmer of hope for America’s ailing honeybees as winter losses were the lowest in more than a decade, according to a U.S. survey of beekeepers released Thursday.
Beekeepers lost 21 percent of their colonies over last winter, the annual Bee Informed Partnership survey found. That’s the lowest winter loss level since the survey started in 2006 and an improvement from nearly 27 percent the winter before.
The U.S. government has set a goal of keeping losses under 15 percent in the winter.
“It’s good news in that the numbers are down, but it’s certainly not a good picture,” said survey director Dennis vanEngelsdorp. “It’s gone from horrible to bad.”
Reduction in varroa mites, a lethal parasite, is likely the main cause o...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:29 am
A broad coalition of ministers from a variety of factions in the government will form a special caucus on the security and development of the historic Har Hazeisim. This important development came as part of an unprecedented mission by the International Committee for the Preservation of Har Hazeisim (ICPHH) that was headed by Avrohom Lubinsky, founding chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice President of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, a member of the ICPHH Executive Committee.
The delegation that included representatives from Israel, Europe and the US met with a number of Ministers and heads of Government. MK Rabbi Yoav Ben Zur, the head of the Shas faction, will spearhead the effort to create the multi-party lobby. The delegation was invited by...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:27 am
A growing number of Americans age 40 and older think Medicare should cover the costs of long-term care for older adults, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
That option is unlikely to gain much traction as President Donald Trump’s administration and Republicans in Congress look to cut the federal budget and repeal President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law. Most older Americans mistakenly believe they can rely on Medicare already, the poll shows, while few have done much planning for their own long-term care.
Things to know from the AP-NORC poll of older adults:
MOST WANT MEDICARE TO PAY
More than half of older Americans —56 percent — think the federal government should devote a great deal or a lot of...
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May 26, 2017 at 7:26 am
Republican Greg Gianforte has won Montana’s special House election, holding a longtime GOP seat a day after he was charged with assaulting a reporter covering his campaign.
Gianforte had 51 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Democrat Rob Quist when the Associated Press called the race. Libertarian Mark Wicks had 6 percent.
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May 26, 2017 at 7:24 am
Many people know what an AED is.
An AED, an automated external defibrillator, delivers 3000 volts of electricity to the heart in less than .001 of a second. It is a portable electronic device that uses a computer chip and paddles to automatically diagnose life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia in patients.
Through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy, the tachycardia or arrhythmia is stopped. The heart can now reestablish an effective rhythm.AEDs save lives.
The Vilna Gaon once said, “B’lo timun hamidos – lama li chaim? – Without the constant ever improvement of our midos, of ourselves, of what purpose is life?”In other words, we are missing out on the essence of life – i...
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May 25, 2017 at 10:38 pm
עמדות היו רגלינו בשעריך ירושלם, Our feet were standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
ירושלם הבנויה כעיר שחברה לה יחדו, The built-up Jerusalem is like a city that was joined together within itself.
Yerushalayim has always been the focal point of our lives that has united our hearts, inspired our hopes, and enthused us with the courage to overcome our many enemies.
The Jewish nation would make a pilgrimage three times a year to fuse into our very being this eternal connection to the center of the universe that the rest of creation branches out from.
Each Yom Tov represents a different strength that draws us together.
Pesach reminds us of the unshakable faith in G-d that gave us the wherewithal to overcome the ‘Iron Furnace&rsq...
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May 25, 2017 at 10:15 pm
Travelers at some U.S. airports are being asked to place electronic devices bigger than a cellphone in separate bins so that they can be examined more closely.
The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that it has been testing the procedure at 10 airports for more than a year, and it may be expanded nationwide.
The TSA says the approach is designed to “de-clutter” carry-on bags to make it easier for screeners to examine their contents.
A TSA spokesman says people enrolled in the Precheck program will still be able to leave their laptops in their bags during screening.
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May 25, 2017 at 10:14 pm
Officials at a West Texas zoo say a jaguar scaled a 12-foot-tall artificial rock wall and forced her way under netting that topped her enclosure to escape the exhibit last week.
Officials at the Abilene Zoo said Wednesday that the jaguar named Estrella then scaled an adjacent cinderblock wall and forced her way through an 8-inch gap to access the rest of the zoo.
Once free of her enclosure, Estrella climbed a nearby exhibit housing spider monkeys, fatally injuring one.
Zoo staff found her May 15 lounging atop the monkeys’ exhibit. The 120-lb. (54 kilograms) jaguar was shot with a sedation dart and taken to a holding pen.
Estrella was found before the zoo opened for the day and officials say she was never a threat to the public.
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May 25, 2017 at 10:12 pm
Yisrael Hanow, bureau chief for Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita, has announced he will be stepping down after two years in the post.
Rav Lau was notified this week, given up to three weeks to find a replacement before Hanow takes leave of the office.
Speaking with Ladaat, Hanow explained he does not have another post but is now looking into a number of offers.
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May 25, 2017 at 10:11 pm
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a warning Thursday to gang members in Tennessee and around the country, saying their criminal networks will be devastated as police and prosecutors take a stronger stance on fighting violent crime.
Sessions’ tough talk came as he spoke before more than 90 local, state and federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers in Memphis, a city beset by gang activity, drug crime and gun violence.
Promoting the Justice Department’s efforts to bring the most serious possible charges against most suspects, including drug traffickers and those who use guns to commit crimes, Sessions told the Tennessee officials that “we have your back.”
Sessions has contended that a spike in violence in some big cities and the nation’s opioi...
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May 25, 2017 at 8:21 pm
Many confuse the suit and tie and British accented English with being a moderate but in fact, King Abdullah II of Jordan is no more friend of Israel than his father, King Hussein. True, he may be a moderate compared to Iran, but the king is no friend of Israel.
In his latest provocation, Abdullah speaks of how Israel permits Jews to desecrate Har Habayis, referring to efforts by Jews to daven and recite Shema on Har Habayis on Yom Yerushalayim. The king views this as provocative but seems fine when Islamic youths urinate on the holy site R”L and play soccer, for as long as he keeps the Jews far away. Those who violated regulations and tried to prostrate themselves or daven were arrested by police
Jordanian spokesman Muhammad al-Mumini warned of the consequences if Israel continues ...
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May 25, 2017 at 8:20 pm
Israel’s parliament speaker says a proposal that Donald Trump would speak before the Knesset during his visit to Israel was scrapped over fears that the American president would be interrupted and heckled by some lawmakers.
Yuli Edelstein told Army Radio on Thursday that U.S. officials rejected the idea of a parliament tour and address to lawmakers because of the Knesset’s notoriously raucous debates.
Edelstein says “the possibility was explored as a first option, and it was dropped from the agenda because it was clear that the president wouldn’t be able to speak” without interjection.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush addressed the Knesset during visits; Barack Obama opted to speak at a university. Trump delivered a speech acr...
