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June 25, 2017 at 1:36 pm
The Supreme Court is expected to decide within days whether the Trump administration can enforce a ban on visitors to the U.S. from six mostly Muslim countries.
The high-stakes legal fight has been going on since President Donald Trump rolled out a travel ban just a week after his inauguration. He casts it as critical to deterring terror attacks in the United States.
Trump seeks to halt visits from residents of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days so his administration can review the screening procedures for visa applicants from those countries.
Opponents argue that the ban targets Muslims in violation of federal law and the Constitution, and that it stems from Trump’s campaign pledge to halt the entry of all Muslims into the U.S.
Lower federal courts have so ...
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June 25, 2017 at 1:36 pm
Drowning in a sea of lawsuits and recall costs, Japanese air bag maker Takata Corp. is expected to seek bankruptcy protection in Tokyo and the United States early Monday.
Takata was done in by defective air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, spewing out shrapnel. They’re responsible for at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries and have touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. So far 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide including 69 million in the U.S., affecting 42 million vehicles.
Rival Key Safety Systems, based in suburban Detroit, will buy most of Takata’s assets for $1.6 billion and take over its manufacturing operations to make seat belts, air bags and other automotive safety devices, according to two people briefed on the mat...
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June 25, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Officials at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital are probing to determine who took photos of former PM Ehud Olmert, who was admitted to the hospital last week. It does not appear that police or the Shin Bet are involved.
Olmert continues being monitored after being admitted for fear of suffering a cardiac incident last week, which doctors have reported he did not. Hospital officials suspect medical or other personnel involved in his care may have taken photos that leaked outside, but police have not confiscated cellphones towards determining the origin of the photos. It appears the matter will remain an internal hospital matter.
Doctors at the end of last week signaled if nothing is detected, the former prime minister is likely to be released at the beginning of ...
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June 25, 2017 at 9:53 am
Religious parties score win as plan to create mixed-gender prayer area at Western Wall for Reform Movement shelved.
A controversial plan to establish a designated mixed-gender prayer area for members of the Reform and Conservative movements at the Western Wall will not be implemented, the government decided at a coalition meeting on Sunday.
Leaders of the Reform Movement in the United States and members of the small but vocal “Women of the Wall” group in Israel had for years demanded Israel set aside space at the Western Wall for non-traditional religious groups wishing to hold mixed-gender prayer services.
Representatives of the Reform Movement in Israel have sued the government in a bid to secure a separate prayer space for their activities, resulting in a compromise...
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June 25, 2017 at 9:53 am
Mother 'shut car door' to teach children 'lesson'.
A 24-year-old Fort Worth mother has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of injury to a child after her two young children were found dead in a hot car, the Stinson Hunter reports.
Cynthia Randolph was arrested on Friday following an investigation into the deaths of her 16-month-old son and 2-year-old daughter found they had died from extreme heat exposure in a locked overheating vehicle.
Authorities report that both toddlers were trapped inside a hot car that was parked on the driveway of their home outside of Fort Worth after their mother "shut the car door" to teach them a lesson.
Court documents released Friday revealed the Parker County Sheriff's Department used Randolph's alleged ...
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June 25, 2017 at 9:48 am
First responders planned to converge at the Old Court Metro Station to train for emergencies in Baltimore County.
Baltimore County, MD — First responders planned to simulate a terrorist attack overnight on the metro in western Baltimore County, according to the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA).
MTA officials advised that flashing lights and emergency vehicles could be visible near the Old Court Metro Subway Station during the exercise. Participants included the Red Cross, MTA and Baltimore County Fire Department.
People were advised to avoid the area from 800 to 1100 Greenwood Road during the simulation.
Metro service was continuing uninterrupted, and the station was remaining open as usual.
The simulated terrorist attack was planned to take place from 11 p.m. on Saturday, ...
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June 25, 2017 at 9:45 am
Baltimore, MD – June 22, 2017 – It is with deep sadness that BJL informs the community of the petira of Rabbi Yehoshua Liebes, a’h, husband of Mrs. Esther Liebes, father of Fievel Liebes, Rabbi Gedalia Liebes, Chani Yudkowsky and Ephraim Liebes.
Shiva will be observed at 3224 Smith Ave, Baltimore, MD 21208
Shachris 7:30
Mincha/Maariv 8:20 / Mincha Erev Shabbos 2:00 PM
The family requests no visitors between 12:30 and 1:30 or after 10:30pm (Motzaei Shabbos Visiting until 11:30 PM)
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
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June 25, 2017 at 8:44 am
An Israeli government official denied on Friday a report that an agreement had been reached with the Trump administration to refrain from issuing any tenders for new construction projects in the West Bank until the end of this year.
“There is no restriction,” the Hebrew news site nrg quoted the official as saying. “The fact is 300 housing units were approved in Beit El (a settlement north of Ramallah)…and there will be more.”
Israeli rightists had reacted with anger to an earlier nrg report of the implementation of a settlement-building freeze. The chairmen of the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus — Likud MK Yoav Kisch and HaBayit HaYehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich — said in a statement that construction in the West Bank was Israe...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:43 am
Federal regulators said Friday they are launching an investigation into the improper shipment last week of nuclear material from Los Alamos National Laboratory to other federal labs around the country.
The National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed in a statement that it was informed by the New Mexico lab that procedures weren’t followed when shipping what was only described as small amounts of “special nuclear material” to facilities in California and South Carolina.
The material had been packaged for ground transport. But instead it was shipped via an air cargo service, which isn’t allowed by federal regulations.
It marks the latest gaffe by Los Alamos, the lab that created the atomic bomb. Criticism has been intensifying over the lab’s history of...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:39 am
Now in its eighth year, the Bnos One-on-One Big Sister Little Sister Program has positively impacted girls nationwide. The highly acclaimed program, operated by Agudath Israel of America is sponsored by The Center for Jewish Family Life. Founded in 2009, its mission is to build greater resiliency in young adolescents by providing them with a role model and mentor, by offering emotional support and encouragement. Eleventh and twelfth grade big sisters meet with their sixth- or seventh-grade little sisters once a week for fun activities.
During these eight years, the program has influenced girls in Atlanta, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Denver, Edison, Far Rockaway, Five Towns, Queens, Lakewood, Miami Monsey and Toronto.
The weekly meetings between the Big Sister and Little Sister...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:29 am
Bernie and Jane Sanders have lawyered up in connection to an ongoing FBI bank fraud investigation into the couple, CBS News reports. The investigation regards a 2010 loan application Jane Sanders submitted while president of the now-closed Burlington College. Sanders was seeking $10 million to purchase land to expand the college. According to Newsweek, she allegedly fudged college donor levels on the application: Two donors were listed as pledging more than they actually had and a third was listed as willing to donate in the near future despite specifying her donation wouldn’t be made until after she died. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is alleged to have used his office to pressure the bank into approving the loan, Politico reports.
Bernie Sanders says the investigation is a political m...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:28 am
President Donald Trump is faulting his predecessor’s handling of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump tells Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth in an interview set to air Sunday that he “just heard today for the first time” that former President Barack Obama “knew about Russia a long time before the election, and he did nothing about it.”
He says Obama “should have done something about it.”
Trump appeared to be referring to a Washington Post story about the Obama administration’s attempts to address Russia’s influence attempts.
Obama ordered a review of Russia’s actions and imposed new sanctions after the election.
Trump has acknowledged that Russia likely tried to interfere in the election, but has denounced inv...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:27 am
The new chairman of the House Oversight Committee said Friday he does not plan to investigate Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election or questions of whether President Donald Trump obstructed the federal investigation into it.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said he does not want the oversight panel to interfere with investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and other congressional committees.
Gowdy emphasized that he personally is investigating Russia as a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Mueller has met with members of that House panel, and Gowdy said he told Mueller he “would never do anything wittingly or unwittingly that veered over into his lane.”
He said that as oversight chairman, he is focused on issues within the committee’s jurisdiction.
Gow...
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June 25, 2017 at 8:20 am
Baltimore, MD - June 22, 2017 - If you are learning in Kollel and wondering if Rabbanus is for you, wonder no more—if you are a member of Kollel Avodas Levi, the Kollel of Yeshivas Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, Maryland, that is. The STAR-K Rabbinical Training Program now offers yungeleit in the kollel the opportunity of capturing a glimpse into the multifaceted life inside the Rabbinate. The inaugural lecture series, held between Tu B’Shevat and Shavuos, was a huge success.
“The STAR-K Rabbincal Training Program was borne from the strong interest of a group of twenty-five Kollel Avodas Levi yungeleit to have a series of Rabbonim, community leaders, and other presenters discuss what it takes to be a Rav, community leader, and mechanech,” explains Rabbi Nosson ‘Na...
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June 25, 2017 at 12:16 am
Hi!
My mother is the co-founder of an amazing organization here in Baltimore called Gevuras Yarden/The Jewish Caring Network. It was started when she and another special woman saw how hard it was for a mutual friend to cope when faced with a very serious illness. From that sparked an idea that no family that is facing serious illness should ever feel left alone again. This idea flowered and bloomed into a multi-faceted organization that provides the imperative help that a family needs when up against a life-threatening prognosis.
My siblings and I always understood the importance of the organization, and not only gave of our own time and energy to volunteer, but we also watched our mother do amazing things, attend tons of meetings and personally answer multitudes of phone calls of people...
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June 25, 2017 at 12:14 am
Google is going to stop reading your Gmail in search of opportunities to sell ads.
The change announced Friday will end a practice that Google has embraced since the company introduced Gmail in 2004, even though it raised concerns among privacy watchdogs and creeped out some users.
To help finance the free service, Google has been scanning through what Gmail users were discussing and then showing ads connected to some of the topics. Someone writing about running, for instance, might see ads for Nike or Asics shoes.
Google still plans to show ads within Gmail. But instead of scanning through email content, the company’s algorithms will rely on other signals to determine which ads are most likely to appeal to each of its 1.2 billion Gmail users.
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June 25, 2017 at 12:12 am
Chief lieutenants in the Koch brothers’ political network lashed out at the Senate Republican health care bill on Saturday as not conservative enough, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans.
Tim Phillips, who leads Americans For Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm, called the Senate’s plans for Medicaid “a slight nip and tuck” of President Barack Obama’s health care law, a modest change he described as “immoral.”
“This Senate bill needs to get better,” Phillips said. “It has to get better.”
Some Republican senators have raised concern about cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care coverage to millions of poor and middle-incom...
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June 25, 2017 at 12:12 am
British officials were investigating a cyberattack Saturday on the country’s Parliament after discovering “unauthorized attempts to access parliamentary user accounts.”
A statement from the House of Commons said that as a precaution, remote email access for members has been disabled in order to protect the network from hackers.
“As a result, some Members of Parliament (lawmakers) and staff cannot access their email accounts outside of Westminster,” it said, adding that IT services at Parliament itself are working normally.
It was not immediately clear how many people were affected or what the extent of the damage was.
An email sent all those affected described a “sustained and determined attack on all parliamentary user accounts in an attempt to iden...
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June 24, 2017 at 10:46 pm
The Supreme Court enters its final week of work before a long summer hiatus with action expected on the Trump administration’s travel ban and a decision due in a separation of church and state case that arises from a Missouri church playground.
The biggest news of all, though, would be if Justice Anthony Kennedy were to use the court’s last public session on Monday to announce his retirement.
To be sure, Kennedy has given no public sign that he will retire this year and give President Donald Trump his second high court pick in the first months of his administration. Kennedy’s departure would allow conservatives to take firm control of the court.
But Kennedy turns 81 next month and has been on the court for nearly 30 years. Several of his former law clerks have said the...
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June 24, 2017 at 10:39 pm
Israeli PM emphasizes that Israel 'will not tolerate' any missiles fired into its territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke about the IDF's attack on Syrian targets.
The Israel Air Force attacked three Syrian targets in response to ten missiles which were fired from Syria and landed in Israel's Golan Heights.
"With the IDF's actions today, we emphasize our policy once more: We will not tolerate sporadic missiles or any kind of spillover. We will respond with force to any missiles which land in our territory," Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Saturday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said, "We do not intend to allow our sovereignty or security to be compromised, even by a war between the Syrian government and rebel force...
