A North Korean soldier races for the border in a jeep and then on foot before his former comrades shoot him at least five times as he limps into South Korea, where he collapses and is dragged to safety by southern soldiers on a dramatic video released by the U.S.-led U.N. command Wednesday. The defection, subsequent surgeries and slow recovery of the soldier have riveted South Korea, but it will be a huge embarrassment for the North, which claims all defections are the result of rival Seoul kidnapping or enticing North Koreans to defect. Pyongyang has said nothing about the defection so far. North Korea’s actions during the defector’s Nov. 13 escape at Panmunjom violated the armistice agreement ending the 1950-53 Korean War because North Korean soldiers fired across and...
The wife of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says her husband hasn’t taken a single breath without pain since what she calls “a deliberate, blindside attack” by a Kentucky neighbor earlier this month. Authorities say the Republican was attacked Nov. 3 by Rene Boucher while mowing his lawn. Kelley Paul writes in an essay published by CNN that her husband suffered six broken ribs and fluid in his lungs. Paul says he was diagnosed with pneumonia after returning from Washington last week. Boucher is charged with misdemeanor assault. His attorney blames the attack on a “trivial” dispute and says it wasn’t politically motivated. Kelly Paul says neither she, nor her husband, have spoken to Boucher in 10 years. She writes that “the only ‘dispute’ e...
“Don’t you dare go out with her! She has the same name as your mother!” “If you left and forgot something – Don’t go back for it!” “Doing construction? Don’t close off that window!” We have all heard many of these exhortations before. They are found in the Ethical Will (Tzava’ah) of Rabbi Yehuda HaChassid, written by Rav Yehudah ben Shmuel of Regensburg. The Tzava’ah is followed in many circles among religious Jews. There are 78 clauses in it or Tzava’as – each one with numerous reasons brought down and with many exceptions. The ambiguity is not just in terms of scholarship – there is much debate as to the correct text of it as well. There are six different manuscripts of the work, located i...
Eight people were rescued and three remained missing after a U.S. Navy plane crashed into the western Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, the Navy said. The C-2 “Greyhound” transport aircraft came down about 500 nautical miles (925 kilometers) southeast of Okinawa as it was bringing passengers and cargo from Japan to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Navy said in a statement. The Reagan was operating in the Philippine Sea during a joint exercise with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force when the twin-propeller plane crashed at 2:45 p.m. Japan time. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear and the incident will be investigated, the Navy said. Eight people were rescued about 40 minutes later. They were taken to the Reagan for medical evaluation and are in ...
Insurers for American Airlines, United Airlines and other aviation defendants have agreed to pay $95 million to settle claims that security lapses led planes to be hijacked in the Sept. 11 attacks. The settlement was described in papers filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Developers of the new World Trade Center buildings had once demanded $3.5 billion from aviation-related companies after hijacked planes destroyed three skyscrapers among five demolished buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. Lawyers said the agreement signed last week resulted from “extensive, arms-length negotiations” by lawyers “who worked diligently for months.” The agreement also said the parties make no admissions or concessions with respect to liability for the attacks. “The court&...
Uber is coming clean about its cover-up of a year-old hacking attack that stole personal information about more than 57 million of the beleaguered ride-hailing service’s customers and drivers. So far, there’s no evidence that the data taken has been misused, according to a Tuesday blog post by Uber’s recently hired CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. Part of the reason nothing malicious has happened is because Uber acknowledges paying the hackers $100,000 to destroy the stolen information. The revelation marks the latest stain on Uber’s reputation. The San Francisco company ousted Travis Kalanick as CEO in June after an internal investigation concluded he had built a culture that allowed female workers to be sexually harassed and encouraged employees to push legal limi...
A full day of programs was held in the Israeli Knesset to remember forty years since the historic visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem. Speaker of the Knesset MK Yuli Edelstein opened the Tuesday events with Ambassador of Egypt to Israel Hazem Khairat, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mk Tzipi Hotovely, in the Knesset auditorium. Large photos from those historic moments were on display outside the hall, including photos of First Ladies Aliza Begin and Jihan Sadat. Israeli and Egyptian flags were displayed on the stage during the panel discussions. The first panel included Former Minister Moshe Arens and Aide to then-Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and former Deputy to the President of the Supreme Court, Justice (ret.) Elyakim Rubinste...
Baltimore, MD - Nov. 22, 2017 - Last evening, a member of our community was attacked by 3 African American teenagers as he was getting out of his car. The incident took place on the 6000 block of Berkley. The attackers tried stealing his car keys but were unsuccessful and fled the scene. Shomrim units responded and canvassed the area however the suspects got away. Always be aware of your surroundings.
5:40pm IL: Chief of ICU Medicine Prof. Eliyahu Sorkin of Mayanei Yeshua Hospital briefed the media Wednesday, 4 Kislev, on Maran HaGaon HaRav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita. When we refer to Rav Shteinman and rabbonim like him, we cannot simply refer to their bodies. Their age is not relevant for they are in a different world. Their bodies are a means and not an entity as is the case with us and they have control, something we cannot understand. There is an issue with a kidney and we are searching for a solution. His heart, cardiac and main life functions are fine. I do not view his situation as life-threatening, but I do not know what tomorrow will bring. This morning, his condition was significantly worse than now. There were issues with his heart and blood pressure. I do no...
A new look at cancer in the U.S. finds that nearly half of cancer deaths are caused by smoking, poor diet and other unhealthy behaviors. That’s less than commonly-cited estimates from more than 35 years ago, a result of new research methods and changes in American society. Smoking rates have plummeted, for example, while obesity rates have risen dramatically. The study found that 45 percent of cancer deaths and 42 percent of diagnosed cancer cases could be attributed to what the authors call “modifiable” risk factors. These are risks that are not inherited, and mostly the result of behavior that can be changed, like exposure to sun, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, drinking alcohol and, most importantly, smoking. A British study conducted in 1981 attribut...
On a surprise trip to Russia, Syria’s Bashar Assad discussed potential new peace initiatives for post-war Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin who declared that Russia’s two-year military campaign in Syria is wrapping up, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Moscow released footage of Assad warmly embracing Putin, who hosted him in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, ahead of a summit between Russia, Turkey and Iran and a new round of Syria peace talks in Geneva later this month. The meeting was unannounced and the Kremlin did not make it public until Tuesday morning. “I passed on to (Putin) and all Russian people our greetings and gratitude for all of the efforts that Russia made to save our country,” Assad told Russia’s top brass in televised remar...
President Donald Trump started off his first day of Thanksgiving vacation Wednesday by resuming his taunts of the father of a UCLA basketball player detained for shoplifting in China, calling him an “ungrateful fool.” In a series of tweets fired off before dawn, the president complained yet again that LaVar Ball, father of LiAngelo Ball, hasn’t given him credit for the release of his son and two other UCLA basketball players after they were accused of shoplifting while in China for a basketball game. Tweeting from his Florida vacation home, Trump said: “It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS...
The FBI says it has reason to believe U.S. Rep. Bob Brady unlawfully concealed a $90,000 payment made by the Philadelphia Democrat’s campaign to get an opponent to quit a 2012 primary race. According to federal court documents unsealed Monday, the FBI requested a search warrant and has obtained one CD of data from an email account belonging to Brady. Brady has not been charged with a crime, but the filings confirm the powerful congressman is under investigation for the payment. His attorney says they’ve already provided the emails to authorities and that Brady has done nothing wrong. The primary opponent and a former aide have pleaded guilty to concealing the payment. Two political consultants also have been charged in the case.
Four of six oil executives arrested in Caracas for alleged corruption are U.S. citizens, a Citgo Petroleum official said. On Tuesday, Venezuela's military intelligence agency arrested six top executives of the U.S. subsidiary of state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, as part of what authorities are calling an anticorruption purge. Four of the six executives are naturalized U.S. citizens, said a company official, who asked to remain anonymous because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press. See More Coverage »
Please be Mispallel for the Vishnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, who was placed back on a respirator on earlier this week and is undergoing a serious procedure on Wednesday afternoon. Thousands of Vishnitzer Chassidim will be gathering in Batei Midrashim around the globe to recite Tehillim all day. The Rebbe, Hagaon HaRav Mordechai Hager Shlita, is the elder of the admorim today. The Rebbe, who is around 95-years-old, is known for his devotion to learning Torah: He learns around 18 hours a day and asks his Chasidim to study at least two hours every day. He has thousands of Chassidim around the globe. Please be Mispallel for Mordechai ben Margulia.
President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin discussed efforts to bring peace to war-torn Syria during an hour-plus phone call on Tuesday. Iran, North Korea and Ukraine also were on the agenda, the White House said. Trump called it a “great call” Tuesday afternoon as he left the White House to spend Thanksgiving in Florida. Noting the length, he said he and Putin spoke “very strongly about bringing peace to Syria” and “very strongly about North Korea.” Trump’s phone call with the Russian president came a day after Putin met with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Putin hosted Assad at a Black Sea resort ahead of a summit later this week with Russia, Turkey and Iran. Assad was called to Russia to get him to agree to potential peace i...
There were a pair of anti-semitic incidents in London this week, which sadly is an all-to-common occurrence. Three Orthodox Jewish children, aged 11, 12 and 14, were threatened and verbally abused while returning home from school. Campaign Against Anti-Semitism reports the perps were three people traveling in a white mini-delivery van at approximately 12:55 on Friday afternoon, at the junction of Spring Hill and Clapton Common in Stamford Hill. The driver was described as an adult male, and also visible in the van were two passengers, an adult female and a boy aged approximately 10 years old. All three were described as white. The female passenger shouted: “If you cross the road, I’ll drive over you” and then added: “I’m going to kidnap you”...
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