After her Army son died in an armored vehicle rollover in Syria in May, Sheila Murphy says, she got no call or letter from President Donald Trump, even as she waited months for his condolences and wrote him that “some days I don’t want to live.” In contrast, Trump called to comfort Eddie and Aldene Lee about 10 days after their Army son was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Iraq in April. “Lovely young man,” Trump said, according to Aldene. She thought that was a beautiful word to hear about her boy, “lovely.” Like presidents before him, Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen, not all. What’s different is that Trump, alone among them, has picked a political fight over who’s done better to honor ...
President Donald Trump’s ranking in the Forbes list of wealthiest Americans has dropped, as the magazine said the value of some of his Manhattan real estate holdings has declined recently. Forbes ranked the first billionaire president as the 248th-wealthiest person in America and put his wealth at $3.1 billion . The year before, he was ranked 156th and Forbes said he was worth $3.7 billion. As a candidate, Trump said his net worth was more than $10 billion, but Forbes pegged that figure at $4.5 billion in September 2015. By Forbes’ estimates, Trump’s wealth has fallen 31 percent in two years. According to Forbes, half of Trump’s wealth comes from New York City real estate. It says the value of luxury real estate is down, especially around Fifth Avenue. That...
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to revive his long-standing complaint about the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, alleging that then-Director James Comey had protected the Democratic presidential nominee by prematurely “exonerating” her before the 2016 election. “Comey stated under oath that he didn’t do this — obviously a fix?” Trump wrote. “Where is Justice Dept?” Trump’s latest online burst came in response to the FBI’s release of heavily blacked out draft statements from May 2016 by Comey in preparation for closing the Clinton investigation without criminal charges. Trump tweeted that the draft statements, whose existence was previously known, show the FBI had ...
In the first 48 hours since the end of Yom Tov, Misaskim trucks, vans, and SUVs, manned by volunteers and staff, fanned out across the tri-state area, delivering shiva-related materials to over 86 homes, encompassing more than 434 new aveilim, r’l. Although it was not totally unexpected, as this post-Yom Tov demand occurs every 6 months, it nevertheless pushed Misaskim over the limit, both in terms of materials and Sifrei Torah, as well as manpower. For the very first time, Misaskim’s warehouses were bare to the walls. In addition, there were several unexpected deaths that required Misaskim interaction with the Medical Examiner’s office, to ensure their burials in record-breaking time. And all of this while “recuperating” from a massive Chol Hamoed o...
Agudath Israel of America has commended U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for issuing a Memorandum clarifying and enhancing religious liberty protections in federal law. The Attorney General issued the Memorandum on October 6, 2017 in response to an Executive Order from President Trump. As October 6 coincided with Succos, Agudath Israel was not able to respond to it immediately, but wanted to take the first opportunity to thank the Attorney General for this important contribution. In a letter, authored by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel, the Orthodox organization thanked the Attorney General for producing “a legal document that staunchly defends the rights of individuals and organizations to receive accommodation for their religious beliefs a...
Jerusalem city officials were in Meah Shearim posting a number of new signs resulting in changes in traffic patterns. The turn from Meah Shearim Street to Salant Street is now a do not enter and one will only be able to leave Meah Shearim via the Shivtei Yisrael -Meah Shearim interchange. One is advised to be extremely cautious. Many, if not most motorists, are unaware of the change and are likely to act as they did in the past, which could lead to collisions.
About four years ago, the chareidi city of Elad was in turmoil. A city with a mostly Sephardi population went to the polls and in the run-up to the mayoralty, Yisrael Porush fought against Tzuriel Krisfel. Shas was sure that the elections were in their hands, the main activists who led the campaign promised. The city underwent an unprecedented jolt and controversy – even in Elad. Finally, on the 19th of Cheshvan, Porush was declared the mayor, albeit by a small margin, but nonetheless a majority and entered the mayor’s office. A few days later, Porush succeeded – very slowly – in calming the mood in the city, bringing Shas into the coalition and appointing Krisfel as Deputy Mayor, and the city calmed down until new opponents, who usually complain against the...
Egypt’s antiquities agency says archaeologists have unearthed remains of a temple belonging to King Ramses II southwest of Cairo, which may shed light on the life of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh, over 3,200 years ago. Mustafa Waziri, the head of agency, told The Associated Press on Monday that the discovery was made by an Egyptian-Czech mission in the village of Abusir near the step pyramid of Saqqara. In a statement on Sunday, Miroslav Barta, the head of the Czech team, said the temple is the only evidence of the presence of Ramses II in the Badrashin area in Giza, part of Greater Cairo. He said the discovery confirms the continued worship of the sun god “Ra” in Abusir, which started in the 5th Dynasty, over 4,500 years ago.
Ismaeal Azbarga, 46 -year-old resident of Lod was shot on Tuesday evening just after 8:30 p.m. The shooting took place on Ben Yehuda Street in Lod. EMS personnel from MDA and United Hatzalah responded to the incident. Shortly thereafter three of his relatives, having heard about the shooting, took a commercial vehicle and drove to the location of the incident. On the way they drove through a closed train crossing and were hit by a passing locomotive. Azbarga was unconscious and in critical condition. Two of his relatives was seriously injured in the train crash, while the other person was  lightly to moderately injured. No one on the train was injured. Mendy Shapiro, an ambucycle volunteer with United Hatzalah said following the incident: “I arrived at the scene of the a...
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital spokesperson Hadar Elboim reports that the terrorist who was shot and wounded as he ran towards soldiers at Gush Etzion Junction with a knife was injured in his abdomen. He is described as a 20-year-old male and listed in moderate-to-serious condition. B’chasdei Hashem he was shot and neutralized as he ran towards the soldiers, before he could injure anyone.
A Yeshiva bochur was seriously injured when a large rock fell on his head while he was hiking in Ein Gedi on Tuesday afternoon. The hike, which took place in the David Stream of the popular tourist attraction, ended on a very serious note as the bochur was evacuated by an Air Force Helicopter to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The bochur was hiking with his friends when a large boulder rolled from on top of the mountainside and struck him in the head. According to eyewitness reports from his friends, the boulder was knocked off the face of the mountainside by a Ibex who had kicked the stone with its legs. Members of the Ein Gedi Search and Rescue Team together with park officials and rangers extricated the injured 19-year-old bochur out of the stream. A United Hatzalah vo...
The race for the position of Mayor of Jerusalem just heated up. This evening attorney Avi Salmon announced his candidacy for the position running against incumbent Mayor Nir Barkat who will be running for his third term. Salmon said: “Today, the first shot was fired for the candidacy that will define Jerusalem’s future.” Over the past decade Salmon has filled a number of roles in the Jerusalem municipality. He began as a field advisor for Barkat, then became the legal advisor for the opposition in the city council, for the mayor’s office and for the municipal elections.Later on, Salmon acted as the City Advisor of Business Development and finished off as a City Attorney In his commencement speech, Salmon claimed that Barkat was more interested in trying to g...
The Chicago Department of Aviation has fired two security officers involved in an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a United Airlines flight after refusing to give up his seat, the city’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released Tuesday. One of the fired officers, a sergeant, also was part of an attempt to cover up some details of the incident that happened in April at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, according to the report. Four officers were involved in the confrontation with passenger David Dao, who was aboard a flight to Louisville, Kentucky. The Aviation Department suspended the two other officers – one for five days and the other for two. The officer who received the five-day suspension resigned. The Office of Inspecto...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Sen. John McCain that “I fight back” after McCain questioned “half-baked, spurious nationalism” in America’s foreign policy. McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent 5? years in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp and is battling brain cancer, offered a simple response to Trump: “I have faced tougher adversaries.” Trump said in a radio interview with WMAL in Washington, “I’m being very, very nice but at some point I fight back and it won’t be pretty.” He bemoaned McCain’s decisive vote this past summer in opposition to a GOP bill to dismantle Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, a move that caused the failure of GOP efforts to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” In...
The topic was bipartisanship. The speakers: former Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich. And as their conversation got going at the University of Delaware on Tuesday, both men lamented the Trump administration and the current culture in Washington. Biden said 14 heads of state from around the world have contacted him for advice, including one European leader he wouldn’t identify, who said President Donald Trump reminds him of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Biden called Trump’s behavior “absolutely bizarre.” “Violating the norms of personal conduct generates more anxiety and fear than any policy prescription that this president has annunciated,” Biden said. “This breaking down of international and national norm...
Israel’s Security Cabinet held a special session in order to discuss policy in the wake of the recent agreement of peace between Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there would be no talks with the Palestinians unless Hamas agrees to a series of conditions it is unlikely to accept, including recognizing Israel and agreeing to disarm. The reason for this stipulation is that the current Palestinian agreement between the warring factions does not include the disbanding or disarmament of Hamas’ military terror wing. A statement made by the Prime Minister’s office read: “In keeping with previous decisions, the Israeli government will not hold any political negotiations with a Palestinian government that i...
Doctors at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa removed a metallic chain from the stomach of a 4-year-old boy who ingested it. Children are at times curious, and in this case, it led to a visit to an emergency room and invasive treatment. The boy’s sister saw him playing with it and when it suddenly vanished, she understood that he swallowed it. This was confirmed by hospital personnel who ordered an x-ray. The child was asymptomatic, not complaining of pain or discomfort. It was decided to hold off with an invasive procedure and admit the boy for observation while following the passage of the chain through the stomach and digestive tract, permitting it to pass through the body on its own, which often occurs in such cases. After two days x-rays saw the chain in his stomach and the ...
President Donald Trump says he’s “more than close” to naming a new health and human services secretary. But Trump tells Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade in an interview Tuesday that he’s not ready to reveal a name because the individual’s background needs to be looked into a little bit more. Trump says that if the Senate approves his eventual choice “it will be a fantastic, a fantastic nomination.” Tom Price, Trump’s first HHS secretary, resigned under pressure in late September after his costly travel aboard chartered aircraft triggered investigations and angered Trump. Price was the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to be forced out.
The Senate is moving ahead on a Republican budget plan, a critical step in President Donald Trump and the party’s politically imperative drive to cut taxes and simplify the IRS code. The nonbinding budget plan would permit Republicans to pass follow-up tax cuts later this year that would cost up to $1.5 trillion over the coming decade. The plan cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on a party-line vote of 50-47. The plan breaks with longstanding promises by top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan that the upcoming tax drive won’t add to the nation’s $20 trillion debt. Once the budget plan passes through the GOP-controlled Congress, the House and Senate can then advance a follow-up tax overhaul measure without fear of a...
A lawsuit seeking disclosure of FBI files that may detail a U.S.-based support network for the 9/11 hijackers has reached a federal appeals court, which is being asked by a Florida online publication to order a Freedom of Information Act trial on the dispute. The case centers around reporting published by the Broward Bulldog on the FBI’s investigation into a Saudi family that abruptly left its home in a gated Sarasota community two weeks before the 2001 terror attacks. One FBI document written in 2002 that was disclosed in court said agents had found “many connections” between the family and some of the hijackers who took flying lessons at a nearby airport, including ringleader Mohamed Atta. Later, however, the FBI disputed its own document, telling a 9/11 review ...
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