WASHINGTON (AP) -- This is a record not to be coveted: Donald Trump is wrapping up a year in office with the lowest average approval rating of any elected president in his first term. That's according to polling by Gallup, which shows that Trump has averaged just a 39 percent approval rating since his inauguration. The previous low was held by Bill Clinton, whose first-year average stood 10 points higher than Trump's, at 49 percent. Recent surveys show most Americans view Trump as a divisive figure and even question his fitness for office. One relative bright spot for Trump is his handling of the economy, though even there his ratings are not as high as might be expected given a relatively strong economy. What the polls show about how Americans view their president a year into...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested at a U.S. airport on Monday night in connection with charges that he illegally retained highly classified information, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a U.S. citizen who now lives in Hong Kong, used to maintain a top secret clearance and began working for the CIA in 1994. The Justice Department said that in 2012, FBI agents searched his hotel rooms during trips to Virginia and Hawaii. They discovered he had two small books containing handwritten information on details such as the true names and numbers of spy recruits and covert CIA employees. He was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Offic...
Residents injured in apartment blaze in Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. United Hatzalah volunteer EMS responders treated nine people who were injured in an apartment fire on Bar Yochai Street in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. The nine, four women, four children and one man, were evacuated from the building by firefighters before receiving treatment for smoke inhalation. All other non-injured residents were evacuated as well. United Hatzalah Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit members and K-9 unit, were on the scene to treat people suffering from shock and psychological stress. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Menachem Leff said: "I, along with other United Hatzalah volunteers who live in close proximity to the area, provided first aid medical treatment to the injured people...
PARIS (AP) — Airbus said Monday it will stop making the costly A380 superjumbo if it can't strike a long-term deal with the airline Emirates for a steady supply of the planes. Abandoning the A380 would be a disappointing defeat for Airbus, which spent many years and many billions developing the double-decker behemoth, even as skeptics questioned the whether it could generate enough demand to justify its cost and the bigger runways it requires. Airbus chief salesman John Leahy told reporters Monday, when Airbus otherwise reported a record number of overall plane deliveries for 2017, that "if we can't work out a deal with Emirates, there is no choice but to shut down the program." He said the Dubai-based airline is "the only one who has the ability" to commit to a minimum ...
Baltimore, Md - Jan. 16, 2018 - Reposted upon request:Rabbinical Council of Greater Baltimore ועד הרבנים ד‘באלטימאר ב׳ אדר תשע״ז February 28, 2017 Dear Members of the Baltimore Jewish Community: The mitzvah of lending money is well known to all of us and is indeed a great act of Gemilas Chassadim. It has come to our attention that some individuals in our community have been borrowing large sums of money from members of our community but, unfortunately, in many instances, have not repaid the loans when due. We are therefore advising each member of our community to speak to his or her Rav before lending money. We also remind everyone of the halacha, that every loan be documented in a dated and signed promissory note or other clear document setting fo...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 16, 2018 - As the month of Shevat begins, we approach the new year for the trees. The entire month is also part of the period called Shovavim, the weeks from Parshas Shemos through Mishpatim. This is a time for teshuva and reflection, when we read about our transition from slaves in Mitzrayim to becoming free to serve Hashem. Just as the tree bears many different beautiful fruits, each one of us has unique spiritual abilities that need to be nurtured in order to blossom forth. Click here to listen
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 16, 2018 - The fifth annual Yeshiva Gedolah Ohr Hatorah Shabbos Chizuk and Weekend Retreat was held this past Shabbos, Parshas Va’eira, at Capital Camps Retreat Center in Waynesboro, Pa. Located about one hour from Baltimore, in the picturesque mountains of southern Pennsylvania, this sprawling campus has become home to a much anticipated event for every talmid. Close to one hundred and twenty people; talmidim, Hanhalah, Alumni, as well as friends of the Yeshiva and their families came together to be inspired, invigorated and reenergized in midst of winter. And inspired, invigorated and reenergized they were. The stirring tefillos and zemiros, coupled with the variety of divrei Torah and drashos, moved each person in his own way. More than once, the heartfel...
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There’s something funny about the money making its way around town, but it’s no laughing matter. Police say phony bills are finding their way into wallets and cash registers across the city. Inside Iggy’s on the Upper East Side, the word ‘FAKE’ is clearly written across a counterfeit 20 dollar bill, but the bar manager wishes it was always that easy to spot one. “The main thing we’re all finding is 20s,” Ryan O’Neill told CBS2’s John Dias. “It’s not large, but it adds up.” O’Neill says over the last two weeks, more counterfeit bills have been surfacing in the area. Customers have been using them at his bar, and many other businesses are complaining about the same scam. ...
For the first time, young people with disabilities will be qualified to serve in the Army working with dogs. At the end of their lengthy training, 20 young people with special needs concluded their training course with a presentation of the trained skills of the dogs up to performing a full independent exercise. The training is part of “Special in Uniform” (SIU), a signature program of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which integrates Israeli youths with disabilities—mental and / or physical—into the IDF to serve alongside their fellow countrymen and women. A proud partner of the Jewish National Fund, “Special in Uniform” is working toward its goal to “ensure that the army is a place for everyone.” A distinctive aspect of SIU is t...
Hosted by Congregation Zichron Eliezer, Cincinnati, OH, it will be an evening of Zimaron commemorating the 50th yartzeit of Harav Eliezer Silver, zt"l. The program will feature a keynote drasha by Harav Yissochor Frand, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, and an overview of Rabbi Silver's impact on the Agudah and worldwide Jewry.    The program is available by phone at 212.444.1323 option 9.
Cuomo Blasts Opioid Manufacturers for Drug Epidemic; Announces $26M Funding Increase for Alcohol/Substance Abuse Treatment Unveiling his state budget for the 2019 fiscal year Tuesday afternoon in Albany, Governor Andrew Cuomo took a strong stand against substance abuse, blaming drug manufacturers for the opioid epidemic and allocating millions in funding to the state’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Hoping to help ease New Yorkers’ financial burdens, Cuomo pledged to find ways to create additional opportunities to fund much needed state programs including those that address the ever-growing use of opioids. “Opioid manufacturers have created an epidemic,” said Cuomo as he announced an opioid surcharge of two cents per milligram to be ...
Temperatures predicted to fall into the low 20s with wind chill temperatures as low as 10 degrees BALTIMORE, MD (January 16, 2018) — Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen issued a Code Blue declaration for Baltimore City, beginning Wednesday evening, January 17, through the morning of Thursday, January 18. This is the second Code Blue Alert issued this week and the 18th Code Blue day this season. “As we continue to battle dangerously low temperatures, it is important for us to remember that hypothermia, or low body temperature, can be just as dangerous as extreme heat, and every year, there are Baltimoreans who die due to hypothermia,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “I encourage residents to stay indoors in heated areas during t...
President Trump possesses an almost unprecedented ability to get inside the heads of both fans and foes alike. Trump Derangement Syndrome will surely enter into the next diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association. Consider, for instance, last week's column, "Why I'm Still a Never Trumper," by Bret Stephens, a worthy Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist and a personal friend. Stephens begins by honestly listing all the things he is happy about in the first year of Trump's presidency: Dramatic cuts in the regulatory burden, lower tax rates, superb picks for the federal judiciary, yes to Keystone, no to Paris, spokes in the wheel Title IX kangaroo courts on university campuses. And on the foreign policy front, the area of Stephens's greatest expertise, it'...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 16, 2018 - Catching a red-eye flight back to JFK after a business meeting in L.A.? Landing in Newark at 5:50 a.m., after a 12-1/2 hour flight from visiting the grandkids in Israel? Leaving for LaGuardia too early to eat breakfast before going on that long-awaited Saint Martin Island vacation? Have no fear, Fresko Green Label is here! Now the estimated 1.5 million kosher travelers who fly domestically and internationally from JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, annually, can avail themselves of a large variety of kosher prepared food options packaged under the Fresko and Yummy Sandwich labels, under STAR-K Kosher supervision. No longer do you have to subsist on pretzels and candy that, thankfully, are marked with a reliable kosher symbol! The STAR-K certified Fresko/Y...
ALBANY — The nation's top court will not hear former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's corruption case, clearing the way for him to be retried on the charges. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Silver’s appeal for a review, which he filed over the summer after a mid-level federal court ordered a retrial. Silver was convicted on corruption charges in 2015 related to his job as one of the state’s most powerful elected officials. Prior to that Silver had resigned as speaker and had faded back into the Assembly’s rank and file. In July, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Silver’s conviction and sent the case back to a lower court for retrial. Appellate judges ruled that under a retooled definition of bribery, the jury i...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 15, 2018 - Tuesday is Erev Rosh Chodesh Shevat. Traditionally this is known as Yom Kippur Katan, where traditionally pious people fast and add special tefillos. This particular Tuesday, Jan. 16, we plan to hold a special Yom Kippur Katan Mincha minyan in our shul, in the auxiliary Bais HaMedrash, at 4:30 pm. We are doing this because our morning Gemara shiur is beginning Maseches Moed Katan, and there is a tradition to fast before studying that volume, as the last part of it deals with the Halachos of Aveilus (mourning), an area we approach with trepidation. Many of the participants in the morning shiur will be fasting and joining the minyan. We welcome one and all - shiur participants and others - to join us. ### Other Yom Kippr Katan Minyanim are held at the Ag...
The influenza virus that’s sickened millions of Americans this season is already the most widespread outbreak since public health authorities began keeping track more than a dozen years ago. Now, with the threat of more strains emerging, it might get even worse. “Flu is everywhere in the U.S. right now,” said Dan Jernigan, director of the influenza division at the national Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “This is the first year we have had the entire continental U.S. be the same color on the graph, meaning there is widespread activity in all of the continental U.S. at this point.” The most optimistic assumption among government experts is that the season peaked a few weeks ago, marking the apex of what was already an early and severe o...
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