There must be an answer. Whatever is harming U.S. diplomats in Havana, it’s eluded the doctors, scientists and intelligence analysts scouring for answers. Investigators have chased many theories, including a sonic attack, electromagnetic weapon or flawed spying device. Each explanation seems to fit parts of what’s happened, conflicting with others. The United States doesn’t even know what to call it. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used the phrase “health attacks.” The State Department prefers “incidents.” Either way, suspicion has fallen on Cuba. But investigators also are examining whether a rogue faction of its security services, another country such as Russia, or some combination is to blame, more than a dozen U.S. officials familiar...
“Utter weakness and incompetence.” ”Not a friend of democracy.” ”Just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” As President Donald Trump visits the United Nations, a look at some of his past tough comments about the world body: — “Why is the UN condemning @Israel and doing nothing about Syria? What a disgrace,” he tweeted in October 2011, one of a series of tweets about the organization that year. Trump said that September he was “increasingly concerned” with what he called “the UN’s ploy against @Israel this coming week.” “We must stand firm against the UN’s ploy to sabotage Israel — -if the UN grants the PA statehood then we must immediately defund it,&rdqu...
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending military maneuvers that have worried his country’s neighbors. Putin, accompanied by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, attended the Zapad (West) 2017 drills on Monday at the Luzhsky range in western Russia, just over 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) east of Estonia’s border. Russian and Belarusian troops are participating in the exercises that started last week. Some nervous NATO members, including the Baltic states and Poland, have criticized an alleged lack of transparency about the war games and questioned Moscow’s intentions. Russia and Belarus say the exercises, which run until Wednesday, involve 5,500 Russian and 7,200 Belarusian troops. Some NATO countries have estimated that up to 100,000 troops could be ...
The U.S. Navy has fired two senior commanders in the Pacific region in connection with recent deadly collisions of Navy ships, as part of a sweeping purge of leadership in the Japan-based fleet. The announcement comes a day before the top U.S. Navy officer and the Navy secretary are scheduled to go to Capitol Hill for a hearing on the ship crashes. The USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided in Southeast Asia last month, leaving 10 U.S. sailors dead and five injured. And seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided in waters off Japan. The latest dismissals bring the number of fired senior commanders to six, including the top three officers of the Fitzgerald.
The Director-General of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is threatening Rabbi David Stav with dismissal from his post as Chief Rabbi of Shoham if Rabbi Stav and his Tzohar Rabbonim organization move forward to launch a new alternative kashrus agency as planned. In the letter sent to Rabbi Stav it states, “Last weekend there were adverts in the media stating Tzohar Rabbonim is weighing the possibility of launching an alternative kashrus, a service independent of the Chief Rabbinate”. The letter continues explaining the recent High Court ruling regarding kashrus; which prohibits a business from labeling itself kosher, while permitting a store to state it adheres to the halachos of kashrus. “A store cannot represent itself as kosher or supervised” the ru...
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that Washington will walk away from a nuclear deal it agreed to with Iran and five other nations if it deems that the International Atomic Energy Agency is not tough enough in monitoring it. Iran, however, said the greatest threat to the nuclear agreement is U.S. hostility. The warning from Trump came in a message to the U.N. agency’s annual meeting, being held in Vienna, that was read by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The United States asserts that Iran is obligated to open its military sites to IAEA inspection on demand if the agency suspects unreported nuclear activities at any of them. That’s something Tehran stridently rejects, and Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi urged the agency and its head, Yukiya Amano, to &l...
Rising sea levels and fierce storms have failed to stop relentless population growth along U.S. coasts in recent years, a new Associated Press analysis shows. The latest punishing hurricanes scored bull’s-eyes on two of the country’s fastest growing regions: coastal Texas around Houston and resort areas of southwest Florida. Nothing seems to curb America’s appetite for life near the sea, especially in the warmer climates of the South. Coastal development destroys natural barriers such as islands and wetlands, promotes erosion and flooding, and positions more buildings and people in the path of future destruction, according to researchers and policy advisers who study hurricanes. “History gives us a lesson, but we don’t always learn from it,” said...
A comprehensive clean-up is taking place around Yerushalayim ahead of the Tishrei Yomim Tovim. This includes tourist sites, residential neighborhoods, central locales and much more ahead of many events that will take place during Tishrei, events that will bring both residents and tourists. During the operation, the sanitation division increases its activity, adding shifts and increasing the frequency of garbage collection that will be carried out daily with the addition of garbage collection vehicles, compacting cranes for collecting scrap and requests, cleaning tools of various types and special means. Towards the eve of the Rosh Hashanah, the sanitation department will reinforce all the sieves in garbage containers and storage facilities, as well as in educational institutions an...
Earth just sweated through the third hottest August and summer on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday the globe last month averaged 61.5 degrees (16.43 Celsius), which was a degree-and-a-half higher than the 20th century average, but behind 2016 and 2015. The average temperature for June through August was 61.47 degrees (16.41 Celsius). So far the year to date has edged out 2015 and is the second hottest January through August, averaging 58.88 degrees (14.88 Celsius), behind 2016. Records go back to 1880. NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch says even though records weren’t broken, it’s been warmer than 99 percent of the other months and a sign of long-term climate change.
Question #1: Proper posture “The Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh Hashanah is very long. Is it sufficient that I stand with my heels touching, or must my feet be side-by-side touching their entire length?”   Question #2: Standing straight “Why do we keep our feet together during kedushah but not when responding to kaddish?”   Question #3: Kaddish together “Is it required to have one’s feet together when reciting kaddish?”   Answer: Fulfilling the mitzvah of davening requires that we observe many halachic details. The Rambam organizes these laws under two headings: essential and non-essential components. In Chapter 4 of Hilchos Tefillah, he lists five essential components of prayer, meaning the Shemoneh Esrei. These are:   1) C...
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), as Rosh Hashanah approaches the population of Israel is 8,743,000. Since Rosh Hashanah 5777, the population increased by about 156,000 and the CBS predicts the population will reach 10 million by 2024. The total population includes 6.523 million Jews (74.6%), 1.824 million Arabs (20.9%) followed by “others” numbering 396,000 (4.5%). There are 2,470,2000 households, with the average household numbering 3.31 persons. 172,000 babies were born in the closing year as compared to 43,000 deaths. In addition, 62,821 couples were wed and there were 26,000 new immigrants with 57% from the FSU, 17% from France and 11% from the USA. 2.2 million students are part of the education system, including 517,000 in nurseries, 1 million i...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 18, 2017 - The Baltimore City Department of Public Works has become aware of water bills that were recently sent out with a shortened reading period. The shortened reads were caused by a glitch when a security patch was installed on the billing computer.  Going forward, customers will remain on a regular billing schedule. The next bills may show greater water and sewer consumption as a result of an extended reading period that is needed to keep this billing schedule. But fixed charges and fees will not increase, and customers will not end up paying more than they would have otherwise. 
Schleifer wants uniformed police arresting violent gang members,not directing Ravens game traffic Noting the historic low (30% decline) in patrol officers currently on the street, Councilman Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer called on the Mayor and Baltimore City to make the city's streets safer with a resolution presented today, co-sponsored by Councilman Brandon Scott, that calls for an expanded auxiliary police program, as well as expanded use of telephone and online crime reporting. These efforts would free up availability of sworn officers for more serious or violent criminal matters. Schleifer, a member of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, campaigned on fighting crime as a priority, and said, "While we're examining crime fighting initiatives in other major cities and...
President Donald Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says they “are giving it an absolute go’” in Middle East peace talks. Trump on Monday said that “we’re working very hard” to reach a deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu said that Israel’s alliance with the United States has been “never stronger” than now under the Trump administration. He also blasted the Iran nuclear agreement. Asked if the U.S. would stay in that deal, Trumped answered only “you’ll see very soon.” Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu was the first of the many world leader confabs he is scheduled to have on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. He is slated to me...
During the Mussaf service on Rosh Hashana we recite three sections consisting of verses from the Torah that commemorate respectively, G-d’s Kingship; Remembrance; and Shofar Blasts. The very second verse extolling G-d’s kingship is a sentiment expressed by one of the greatest all time enemies of our people, Bilaam the Wicked. לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל ד' אלהיו עמו ותרועת מלך בו (במדבר כג כא) He gazes at no iniquity among Yaakov and sees no evil schemes in Israel, G-d the Lord is with him, and the affection of the King is in him Surprisingly not only does G-d never refer to Himself as King, this verse is one of only three verses in the entirety of the Five Books of Moshe that G-d is actually termed מ�...
Baltimore, MD  - Sept. 18, 2017 - An overflow crowd of more than 200 men and women from all around the local area flocked to the Agudath Israel of Baltimore on September 17th. They enjoyed a community-wide pre-Rosh Hashanah evening of inspiration an enrichment sponsored by Agudath Israel of America's Commission on Torah Projects.     Rabbi Avrohom Nisan Perl, national director, Commission on Torah Projects The event, held on the first day of selichos, was the 28th annual nationwide Yom Iyun, with listeners worldwide tuning in to the live broadcast to hear HaRav Moshe Heinemann, rov of Agudath Israel of Baltimore, and HaRav Aharon Feldman, Rosh HaYeshiva at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, discussing the concept of "Cherishing Our Yiddishkeit," appreciating the beauty of ever...
The Latest on tropical weather (all times local): 10:30 a.m. The ocean is washing over parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks as Hurricane Jose passes well to the east. The state Transportation Department said in a Facebook post Monday that the affected areas encompass Pea Island, Rodanthe, Avon and Hatteras village on Hatteras Island. Jose was about 270 miles (440 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras on Monday morning and moving north at 9 mph (15 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). DOT is urging drivers to drive slowly through the water. All roads are passable. The National Weather Service warns of dangerous rip currents along the coast. ——— 9:10 a.m. Five people were knocked off a coastal jetty in the U.S. Northeast by high sur...
The Senate is poised to pass a defense policy bill that pumps $700 billion into the Pentagon budget, expands U.S. missile defenses in response to North Korea’s growing hostility and refuses to allow excess military bases to be closed. The legislation is expected to be approved on Monday by a wide margin in another burst of bipartisanship amid President Donald Trump’s push for cooperation with congressional Democrats. The 1,215-page measure defies a number of White House objections, but Trump hasn’t threatened to veto the measure. The bill helps him honor a pledge to boost military spending by tens of billions of dollars. Sen. John McCain, the Armed Services Committee chairman battling an aggressive type of brain cancer, has guided the bill toward passage over the ...
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