Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., will return to the Senate on Tuesday, his office announced on Monday night. McCain, 80, has been home in Arizona following a brain tumor diagnosis. The announcement of McCain's return comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to call a vote Tuesday to begin debate on proposed health care legislation.  “Senator McCain looks forward to returning to the United States Senate tomorrow to continue working on important legislation, including health care reform, the National Defense Authorization Act, and new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea," his office said in a statement. With McCain's return - and barring any other absences - there will now be a full compliment of senators on hand for the health care test vote. Th...
President Donald Trump’s new communications chief says television cameras can start rolling again in the White House briefing room. Anthony Scaramucci — the Wall Street financier who joined the administration last week — tweeted on Monday that “the TV Cameras are back on.” Under Press Secretary Sean Spicer — who resigned over Scaramucci’s new role — the daily press briefings had become must-see TV. But in recent weeks, Spicer moved into a more behind the scenes role, putting the briefings largely in the hands of his deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who made them off-camera events. On Friday, Scaramucci accepted his new position at an on-camera briefing, and announced that Sanders will replace Spicer as press secretary. The last on-camera Wh...
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotevely made a shiva visit to the Solomon Family in N’vei Tzuf on Sunday, 29 Tammuz and she appeals to the international community: “It is a mistake to compare this bloody massacre in N’vei Tzuf, which was the direct result of rampant incitement, to the security measures taken by Israel on Har Habayis.” “Whereas the massacre of the Solomon family is a direct result of incitement by the Palestinian authority, Israel’s security measures on Har Habayis were taken to maintain the safety and security of visitors to the holy site. In this case, Israeli actions were made necessary due to the bloody terror attack that took the life of two Israeli policemen. We are witness to the pattern of vicious murder by the hands of Palestinia...
A 16-year-old boy was charged as an adult Monday in the gunpoint carjacking of a 64-year-old man in Northwest Baltimore — an arrest city police credited to the help of Shomrim, an Orthodox Jewish community watch group. Mikayal Hendris, of the 2600 block of Oswego Avenue in Greenspring, is charged with robbery and theft, police said. His charging documents were not posted to the state’s online court records database as of Monday afternoon, and no phone number was listed for him. A second juvenile suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was taken to Juvenile Booking and Intake Facility. He was not named because he is not being charged as an adult. The gun used in the carjacking was not recovered, police said. A resident in the Cheswold neighborhood called Shomrim about 11 p.m. Sunday to ...
Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump’s war of words against his attorney general and one-time ally Jeff Sessions escalated Monday, raising speculation the president may be preparing the ground to replace him. Trump took to Twitter to declare his top lawyer “beleaguered” as he wondered out loud why Sessions was not investigating 2016 presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. “So why aren’t the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?” Trump asked. US presidents normally avoid being seen as influential on ongoing or possible investigations at all costs.  But it is Trump’s comments about his erstwhile friend that have raised eyeb...
 The Roomba robotic vacuum has been whizzing across floors for years, but its future may lie more in collecting data than dirt. That data is of the spatial variety: the dimensions of a room as well as distances between sofas, tables, lamps and other home furnishings. To a tech industry eager to push "smart" homes controlled by a variety of Internet-enabled devices, that space is the next frontier. (Graphic: Rise of the robots - here) Smart home lighting, thermostats and security cameras are already on the market, but Colin Angle, chief executive of Roomba maker iRobot Corp (IRBT.O), says they are still dumb when it comes to understanding their physical environment. He thinks the mapping technology currently guiding top-end Roomba models could change that and is basing the compa...
Baltimore, MD - July 24, 2017 - Moshe, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu all prophesized with the term eicha, and all three are read around this time of year. Moshe said that he could not carry the argumentative Jewish people on his own. Yeshayahu bemoaned the sins that were rampant in Yerushalayim before it was destroyed, and Yirmiyahu mourned the complete destruction. These 3 are intertwined-if we focus on treating one another properly and work to follow the Torah together, we can come back as one people to Eretz Yisroel, with the geulah. Click here to listen
The Federal Reserve has already achieved one of its two mandates: With the unemployment rate at just 4.4 percent, the Fed has essentially maximized employment. It’s the Fed’s other goal — price stability — that’s stayed persistently out of reach. Inflation has been edging further below the Fed’s 2 percent target. Problem is, too-low inflation tends to slow consumer spending, the U.S. economy’s main fuel. Many consumers delay purchases if they think the same price — or a lower one — will be available later. Low inflation will likely be a key discussion point when the Fed holds its latest policy meeting this week. The central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate twice this year, but no one expects another hike when its meeting en...
President Donald Trump’s new communications adviser says it’s time to hit the “reset button.” Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci pledged to begin “an era of a new good feeling” and said he hopes to “create a more positive mojo.” He also promised to crack down on information leaks and pledged to better focus the message coming from the White House. To that end, Scaramucci suggested changes to come, noting: “I have in my pocket a radio studio, a television studio, and a movie studio. The entire world has changed; we need to rethink the way we’re delivering our information.” Trump announced Friday that Scaramucci — a polished television commentator and Harvard Law graduate — wo...
A diplomatic standoff between Israel and Jordan over a deadly shooting at Israel’s embassy in the kingdom once again tests the strategic, if turbulent ties forged in a 1994 peace treaty. In the past, Israel was willing to pay a high price to protect the relationship, including releasing an Islamic militant leader from prison in a deal with Jordan. Jordan and Israel share a long border, various water and natural gas projects, and cooperate to stem Iran’s growing influence and the spread of Islamic State militancy in the region. But the peace agreement remains deeply unpopular in the kingdom, where many citizens are of Palestinian origin and say normalization can only come after Israel reaches peace with the Palestinians. Here’s a look at the Israeli-Jordanian relations...
Ammon News reports that a reporter for Yediot Achronot was arrested this weekend in Amman, Jordan. Israeli TV stations and the Yediot Achronot newspaper sent a media crew to Jordan’s capital this week, amid heightened tensions over the Har Habayis in Yerushalayim. Jordan serves as custodian and mediator between Israel and the Palestinians over conflicts involving the Al-Aqsa mosque. Tensions were heightened Sunday, when a Jordanian stabbed an Israeli security guard at the Israeli Embassy in Amman, causing the guard to shoot and kill the terrorist. Jordan then denied Israeli attempts to bring the injured guard home for treatment, insisting he stay in Amman pending an investigation. Ammon News adds that the Israeli media had been using the studios of a Jordanian broad...
On Monday, July 17th, at Camp Agudah in Ferndale, New York, hundreds of people gathered in the Masmidim beis medrash for Agudah Israel of America’s official Daf Yomi siyum of Maseches Bava Basra. This gala celebration brought the lomdei haDaf worldwide one step closer to the 13th Siyum Hashas, which will take place iyH in January 2020. In addition to the many who flocked to the Catskills to take part, the more than 100 members of Camp Agudah’s Masmidim program joined in the simcha. Their participation was a living testament to the vibrancy of the Agudah’s Torah Projects, which have touched the lives of hundreds of thousands over the years. “This event was unique in the way it linked two of the crown jewels of Agudath Israel of America,” noted Rabbi Eliyahu S...
Personnel from the Israeli Embassy in Jordan, headed by Ambassador Einat Shlain crossed the Allenby Bridge into Israel earlier this evening (Monday, 24 July 2017). Among the staff was the security guard who was injured last night in a stabbing attack in Amman. All are well. The return of the Embassy personnel was made possible thanks to the close cooperation that took place over the past 24 hours between Israel and Jordan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke a short time ago with Ambassador Shlain and the security guard, inquired after their well-being and welcomed them.
As we begin the Nine Days, knowing the historical background of the churban help us mourn its destruction. Tisha B’Av is the culmination, of course, of two national tragedies: the loss of the first Beis HaMikdash as well as the Second. To understand the historical background that existed in the years before the destruction of the second Bais HaMikdash, it pays to note what historians write. As in all history, the viewpoints of those who record it are biased and may be unreliable. Josephus, for example, will often tweak various points of history to fit his agenda. Nonetheless, in many places, Josephus has proven to be relatively accurate. Much of the background here makes use of what Josephus has written, as well as the Roman historians Tacitus, and Cassius Dio. This helps us underst...
President Donald Trump told a reporter asking questions Monday to be "quiet." A White House reporter called out questions as Trump posed for photographs with interns in the East Room. Asked if Attorney General Jeff Sessions should resign, Trump rolled his eyes. When the reporter asked the president if he had a message on health care, Trump said "quiet." The president then told the interns that the reporter "was not supposed to do that" and was "breaking a code." Reporters typically call out questions to the president when covering photo ops or bill signings. The president frequently answers. Trump last week named Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as his new communications director. Scaramucci has said he'd like to hit the "reset button" with th...
The incident in which two Jordanian citizens were shot dead by an Israeli security guard is still being held at the Israeli embassy by the Jordanians who want to interrogate him, while the embassy staff wants to evacuate him to a hospital in Israel. An initial investigation into the incident revealed that the staff lived near the Israeli embassy in Amman. The owner of the apartment came and worked to install furniture in the bedroom. One of the workers, Muhammad Joada, 17, tried to stab a security guard with his back and reportedly also the owner of the apartment – a doctor by profession. The security guard immediately jumped up and shot and killed the worker. The owner of the apartment was transported to the hospital where he died of his wounds. It is still not clear whether the se...
Baltimore, MD  — Officers have arrested two teenagers who police said robbed a man at gunpoint and took his car and money. Baltimore police said a 64-year-old man was approached by the suspects around 11 p.m. Sunday in the 6200 block of Pearce Avenue. Police said one of the suspects was armed with a gun and demanded the victim's car keys. The suspects stole money from the victim before fleeing in his car, police said. Several witnesses saw the incident and followed the suspects, police said. They contacted police and provided a description of the boys and the vehicle. Officers found the car in the area of Patterson and Wabash avenues and arrested the suspects. Mikayal Hendris, 16, was charged as an adult with robbery and theft. A 15-year-old boy faces juvenile charges.33...
Over 1,000 sign petition seeking to prevent Orthodox Jews from moving into town of Mahwah in northern New Jersey. A town in New Jersey has ordered an Orthodox Jewish organization to take down its eruv, or religious boundary, by early next month. Mahwah, which is located across the New York state border, told the South Monsey Eruv Fund to remove the white plastic piping from utility poles that it uses for the symbolically enclosed area by Aug. 4. An eruv allows observant Jews to carry objects and push strollers outside of their homes on Shabbat. The Orthodox community told The Associated Press that it had been given permission to hang the piping by the utility company. But town officials said the piping is banned because it is considered signage. More than 1,200 people hav...
Faking an emergency phone call to get out of an unpleasant situation is so overused it has become a cliche. But apparently not even the family of the president is above doing it. In an 11-page document to the Associated Press, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, denied any collusion with Russia. Kushner was one of several people who during the campaign met with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information from the Russian government on Hillary Clinton, according to emails released by Donald Trump Jr. Kushner is supposed to give his statement in a closed-door meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday. Those involved said the meeting actually focused on the topic of Russian adoption and no information on Clinton was disclosed. Rob Goldst...
'“President Trump is prepared to impose new and serious consequences on Iran unless all unjustly imprisoned American citizens are released.' The Trump administration called on Iran to return a Jewish-American man who disappeared from Iran in 2007 while working on behalf of the CIA. The statement issued Friday by the White House said the United States is “redoubling efforts to bring home all Americans unjustly detained abroad,” naming specifically Robert Levinson, an American former law enforcement officer, as well as businessman Siamak Namazi, 48, and his father, Baquer, both jailed on espionage charges. Levinson, 68, of Coral Springs, Florida, was a private investigator and former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation who also was a part-time c...
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