(CNN) Members of an exclusive club are making a rare joint appearance Saturday. All five living former US presidents will take part in a benefit concert in Texas to raise money for hurricane relief efforts, while President Donald Trump will appear in a taped video message to the concertgoers, the White House announced Saturday. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter will attend Saturday night's event, named "Deep From the Heart: The One America Appeal," at Reed Arena at Texas A&M University in College Station. Trump will use his taped message to hail the resiliency of the American people following the devastation of this year's deadly hurricanes and wildfires. In it, he calls the eff...
Hurricane Harvey's floodwaters damaged many homes in the Texas city of Dickinson, and residents are applying for assistance and working to repair their properties. But Dickinson's application for repair grants is raising eyebrows. Alongside standard items such as project descriptions and grant amounts, the city application reads:
"By executing this Agreement below, the Applicant verifies that the Applicant: (1) does not boycott Israel; and (2) will not boycott Israel during the term of this agreement."
In doing so, the application appears to make eligibility for hurricane relief funds contingent on political beliefs regarding Israel, which the American Civil Liberties Union describes as unconstitutional. "The First Amen...
12-year-old Jewish child suffers head injury, temporarily loses consciousness after Arab hurls rocks at group of Jewish children. A 12-year-old boy from the Jewish community in Hevron was injured Saturday afternoon when an Arab hurled rocks at the victim and at two other Jewish children in Avraham's Spring. The large rock caused a cut to the boy's head, and he temporarily lost consciousness, falling into the spring. Miraculously, the boy survived the fall. According to local reports, the two other children quickly ran to ask a neighbor for medical help for the injured boy. The unconscious boy was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for treatment. Hospital staff stitched the cuts to the boy's head. The boy is currently suffering head pain, and has bee...
WASHINGTON — President Trump has decided to release a final batch of thousands of classified government documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Mr. Trump announced in a tweet on Saturday morning. “Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. The release of the information being held in secret at the National Archives — including several thousand never-before-seen documents — was mandated to occur by Oct. 26 under a 1992 law that sought to quell conspiracy theories about the assassination. Mr. Trump has the power to block the release of the documents, and intelligence agencies have pressured him to...
The U.S. military said Friday it carried out a drone strike this week against al-Shabab in Somalia, shortly after the extremist group was blamed for the country’s deadliest attack, while thousands of anguished Somalis gathered at the site of the truck bombing to pray. “This pain will last for years,” said a sheikh leading the prayers, with long lines of mourners standing in front of flattened or tangled buildings. More than 300 people were killed and nearly 400 wounded in Saturday’s attack, with scores missing. The U.S. drone strike occurred Monday about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, the U.S. Africa Command told The Associated Press. It said it was still assessing the results. Al-Shabab has not commented on the bombing, which...
This past Wednesday, 28th of Tishrei, was the yahrtzeit of my dear friend, Daniel Scarowsky, a"h. This week's shtikle is dedicated leiluy nishmaso, Daniel Moshe Eliyahu ben Yitzchak.   After HaShem instructs Noach on how to bring the animals into the ark, we are told (6:22) that "Noach did all that HaShem commanded him to do, so he did." Later, (7:5), we are told again that Noach did all that HaShem commanded him. Rashi, obviously bothered by the apparent redundancy, says that this pasuk refers to Noach's coming into the ark (whereas the previous one referred to his gathering of the animals).   R' Shimon Schwab in Ma'ayan Beis HaShoeiva points out that the first pasuk ends with the phrase kein asah whereas ...
“Beyond our wildest dreams and expectations.” – Rabbi Nissan Gewirtzman, President, Yeshiva Consulting Services “An event like this… we are amazed and impressed at what Agudah has done and continues to do.” – Rabbi Shmuel Kutten, Assistant to the Executive Director, Torah Vodaath “Professional, and more importantly, useful!” - Yeshiva Principal “The respect and courtesy showed to Agudah employees by the New York State Education Department was unbelievable. We were reminded, yet again, how crucial Agudas Yisroel is to all of Klal Yisroel, and especially our Yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs.” - Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Menahel, Bais Yaakov Academy - BYA “I certainly hope this will be the first of many such events.&rdq...
The number of U.S. adults without health insurance is up nearly 3.5 million this year, as rising premiums and political turmoil over “Obamacare” undermine coverage gains that drove the nation’s uninsured rate to a historic low. That finding is based on the latest installment of a major survey, released Friday. The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index asks a random sample of 500 people each day whether they have health insurance. The survey found that the uninsured rate among adults was 12.3 percent during the period from July 1-Sept. 30, an increase of 1.4 percentage points since the end of last year. The increase in the number of uninsured is more striking because it comes at a time of economic growth and low unemployment. The annual sign-up season for subsidized p...
President Donald Trump is misrepresenting a report on British crime statistics by blaming an uptick in police-reported incidents on “Radical Islamic terror.” Britain’s Office for National Statistics this week reported a 13 percent crime increase from the previous year in England and Wales. The report says the uptick “reflects a range of factors,” including an increase in incidents, improvements to how crimes are recorded and more victims coming forward. The report does not mention Islam. Early Friday morning, Trump tweeted: “Just out report: ‘United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.’” It was not clear what source Trump was quoting, as that line does not appear in
As the final approval was given for the establishment of Yishuv Amichai, the new home for the expellees of Amona, the first petition to block it has been filed with the High Court of Justice. The petitioners, residents of the PA (Palestinian Authority), tell the court they are the rightful owners of the land designated for the new yishuv. Apart from the claim of ownership of the land, the petitioners demanded that the court order an interim order that would immediately prevent the continuation of construction work in the new settlement. According to them, the area was given to them as a heirloom. The Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration approved the construction of Amichai, and Amona Mayor Avichai Boaron welcomed the decision. He also noted that “t...
An image of an American flag waves and the graphic promises “Real News Update.” The re-election campaign of President Donald Trump, already sprung to life two-and-a-half years before his name is back on the ballot, is pushing its own online news source to counteract what it believes is an oppositional media. And its face is a rising star in the president’s orbit: his daughter-in-law Lara Trump. Lara Trump, married to Eric Trump, was viewed by many on the last campaign as a secret weapon after helping deliver her home state of North Carolina for her father-in-law, and she has become a central figure in a nascent re-election bid that already is fundraising, staging rallies and helping the president challenge the credibility of the news media. “People who vote...
Baltimore, Md - Oct. 20, 2017 - Another exciting season (#15!) of TYA Flag Football kicked off today. TYA thanks its sponsors including DC Dental, Denture Doctor, Apex Reimbursement, AEG Remodeling, Tov Pizza and Vacancy Fillers! for their support.       :
The office of Israel’s president says it has received a plea for pardon from a soldier convicted of fatally shooting an already wounded Palestinian terrorist last year. Elor Azaria began serving his 18-month sentence in August after he was convicted of manslaughter in a case that sharply divided the country. President Reuven Rivlin’s office said on Thursday the plea would be considered by “relevant authorities,” in consultation with the Defense Ministry and the military. Israel’s military chief last month reduced Azaria’s sentence by four months but rejected a pardon request.
Former President George W. Bush on Thursday denounced bigotry in Trump-era American politics, warning that the rise of “nativism,” isolationism and conspiracy theories have clouded the nation’s true identity. The comments, delivered at a New York City conference hosted by the George W. Bush Institute, amounted to an indirect critique from a former Republican president who has remained largely silent during President Donald Trump’s unlikely rise to power. The 43rd president did not name Trump on Thursday, but he attacked some of the principles that define the 45th president’s political brand. “We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism, forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America,” Bush said. “We see...
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Russian interference in last year’s election did not affect the outcome, but that’s not correct. At a national security forum sponsored by a Washington think tank, Pompeo said: “The intelligence community’s assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election.” But the assessment, released in January, said the intelligence agencies “did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election.” The CIA said Pompeo was not trying to distort the formal assessment. “The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed, and the ...
Just this week, a chareidi family that entered PA (Palestinian Authority) controlled Shechem on their way to Har Bracha, were rescued Baruch Hashem by IDF soldiers. Following that incident, MK (Shas) Michael Michaeli pointed out the dangers and what could have occurred, he calls on the appropriate ministry to install “proper signs” that are easily visible and deliver a clear message to prevent any Israeli from entering a PA autonomous area. Michaeli is confident that the proper signs will prevent future occurrences and the matter is one of priority.
Incoming IDF Chief Education Officer Brigadier-General Tzvika Fairaizen had harsh words during Hoshana Rabba learning in Yishuv Karnei Shomron, blaming the weekly Shabbos Torah sheets in the dati leumi community for the reduction in motivation among youths to enter the IDF. In the transcript that was revealed in the weekly BaSheva newspaper, affiliated with the dati leumi tzibur, reported by Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), the new chief education officer was heard expressing criticism against elements in the right-wing and dati leumi communities. In his remarks, Brigadier-General Fairaizen did not spare criticism of religious and right-wing elements, as well as elements in the secular and left-wing public, who force the IDF into the political vortex instead of running the Knesset debate...
The U.S. government is urging that large, personal electronic devices like laptops be banned from airline checked luggage because of the potential for a catastrophic fire. The Federal Aviation Administration says in a paper filed recently with a U.N. agency that its tests show that when lithium-ion batteries used in laptops, cellphones and other devices overheat in close proximity to an aerosol spray, they can cause explosions capable of disabling an airliner’s fire suppression system. The U.N. agency sets global aviation safety standards. Tests of overheating batteries packed in luggage containing other consumer products like nail polish remover and hand sanitizer also resulted in large fires. The FAA says permitting passengers to carry larger personal electronic devices on...
MDA teams throughout Israel faced a busy swimming season. Over the past five months the organization remained on high alert and provided medical treatment to 234 individuals who drowned and were pulled out of bodies of water. Out of these 234 drowning victims 124 drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, 22 in the Dead Sea, eight in Eilat, eight in the Kinneret, 40 in public swimming pools, 22 in private swimming pools, three in the Sachne and five at the Jordan River. 39 of those victims were pronounced dead, 16 were evacuated to hospitals in critical condition following successful resuscitations, 11 were evacuated in severe condition, 23 were evacuated in moderate condition and 145 were evacuated in mild condition. This year there has been a decrease in the number of drowning cases as last year ...
Former President Barack Obama is stepping back into the political spotlight for the first time since leaving the White House, publicly stumping for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey in preparation for this fall’s elections. Unlike more low-key appearances earlier this year, Obama’s foray into two states Thursday won’t be a one-and-done. The former president is planning more public appearances as the year closes, and preparation for the all-important 2018 midterm elections begins. “Obama seems to be determined to be an engaged and active former president who’s playing a role in different issues and is involved in politics,” Rutgers University professor David Greenberg said. Obama is hoping to sway voters in New Jersey...
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