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March 15, 2018 at 8:32 pm
Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas widened an investigation Wednesday into a bomb explosion that targeted Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah as he made a rare visit to the strip a day earlier.
The interior ministry in Gaza said it had launched a “high-level investigative committee” into the bomb attack, which was a further blow to faltering reconciliation talks between Hamas and president Mahmud Abbas’s secular Fatah party.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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March 15, 2018 at 8:28 pm
Media sound convinced President Trump fired Tillerson for being too tough on Russia; Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz provides insight on ‘Fox News @ Night.’
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March 15, 2018 at 8:22 pm
The Israel Defense Forces carried out artillery strikes against five Hamas and Islamic Jihad outposts in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning after a number of improvised explosive devices planted along the border fence were detonated.
There were no injuries to Israeli forces as a result of the explosions on the security fence but the incident was described as “very serious,” the army said.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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March 15, 2018 at 8:20 pm
NATO’s chief says European members and Canada spent a total of almost 5 percent more on defense last year compared to 2016, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to boost military budgets.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that eight allies are likely to spend the target NATO benchmark of 2 percent of their GDP on defense this year. Five nations were doing so — the U.S., Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland — but new estimates show Poland has dipped under.
The benchmark concerns how much each country spends on its own defense, not what it pays into NATO.
NATO’s 29 allies invested more than $900 billion on defense in 2017, with U.S. spending accounting for two-thirds of that.
Germany increased spending by 6 percent last year.
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March 15, 2018 at 8:16 pm
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — American authorities are moving ahead with Poland's request to extradite a 99-year-old Minnesota man to be tried on allegations he was involved in a World War II massacre of civilians, Polish prosecutors said Thursday.
Polish authorities issued an arrest warrant last year after opening a case following a series of 2013 reports in which The Associated Press identified the man as Ukrainian-born Michael Karkoc, an ex-commander in an SS-led Nazi unit that burned Polish villages and killed civilians during the war.
Karkoc's family denies that he was involved in any war crimes. On Thursday, his son, Andriy Karkoc, issued a statement saying, "My father was, is and remains innocent. We look forward to his complete exoneration."
Last July, Poland asked U.S. ...
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March 15, 2018 at 5:37 pm
MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at a Florida university (all times local):
5 p.m.
Officials at the scene of a bridge collapse at a Florida university say they are drilling holes into the debris to look for survivors.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Paul Estopinan said at a Thursday news conference that rescuers are searching the rubble for people who may still be trapped underneath but they did not know how many that might be.
The pedestrian bridge was installed Saturday at Florida International University in the Miami area.
Estopinan said there had been reports of workers on the 174-foot span before it collapsed, and he confirmed that emergency workers did make some "surface rescues." He said two victims were cut out of the wreckage.
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March 15, 2018 at 5:32 pm
MIAMI (AP) — A pedestrian bridge being built across an eight-lane highway collapsed at a Miami-area college Thursday, crushing eight vehicles under massive slabs and killing multiple people, authorities said.
Search and rescue missions were underway. Eight people were taken to hospitals. The number of fatalities was not immediately known.
"The main focus is to rescue people." said Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez. "As soon as those efforts are over, our homicide bureau will take the lead."
The main companies behind the bridge's construction have faced questions about their work and one of the companies was fined in 2012 when a 90-ton section of a bridge collapsed in Virginia.
In Miami, the 950-ton, 174-foot span was assembled by the side of the highway and moved into pl...
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March 15, 2018 at 5:32 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has owned up to making things up.
For a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump was by his own admission unprepared — deficient in the fundamentals of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship that he'd been railing about since the campaign.
He insisted to Trudeau that the U.S. was running a trade deficit with Canada, a statement contradicted by U.S. government statistics. He was winging it, he confided to donors at a private Missouri political fundraiser Wednesday night.
"I didn't even know," he said. "I had no idea."
Others might be mortified at being caught short. Not this president.
For Trump the showman, the episode illustrated his skill at improvisation. Still, it was a rare admission that he will say thi...
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March 15, 2018 at 5:27 pm
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just days before he is scheduled to retire on Sunday, people briefed on the matter said. Mr. McCabe was a frequent target of attack from President Trump, who taunted him both publicly and privately.
Mr. McCabe is ensnared in an internal review that includes an examination of his decision in 2016 to allow F.B.I. officials to speak with reporters about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The Justice Department’s inspector general concluded that Mr. McCabe was not forthcoming during the review, according to the people briefed on the matter. That yet-to-be-released report triggered an F.B.I. disciplinary process that recommended his termi...
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March 15, 2018 at 5:13 pm
Baltimore, MD - March 15, 2018- As we head into the home stretch weeks before the cooking and baking marathon begins for Pesach, kashering your kitchen may be the next thing on tap—literally and figuratively! Hagolah (dipping items such as silverware, pots, and silver bechers in boiling water); Iruy (pouring boiling water on sinks and counters); as well as Oven Kashering, all pose potential safety hazards for those who are not mindful of--or are nervous about--what they are doing.
It was Hatzalah that approached STAR-K Kosher Certification about the high number of kashering-related injuries that Hatzalahs treat, globally, especially days before Pesach. Sharing these same safety concerns for kosher consumers, STAR-K and Hatzalah have partnered to present “Kashering Safety Tips&...
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March 15, 2018 at 5:11 pm
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 9, 2018 - As our community continues to grow, the number of banquets, fundraisers, lectures, and other community-wide events taking place throughout the year continues to grow as well.
25 years ago, the Agudah Community Calendar was created and has since functioned as a vital community resource providing our organizations with a central calendar so that conflicting events are avoided or limited to whatever extent possible. This calendar is benevolently coordinated by Mrs. Chaya Pollock and has directly contributed to the shalom between our many community organizations for which Baltimore is renowned. We would like to thank Mrs. Pollock for her hard work for the last 25 years and for agreeing to continue coordinating this calendar as it ...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:49 pm
At the onset of the laws governing the bringing of sacrifices it alludes to the very first קרבן, offering, that was presented to G-d.
אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לד' (ויקרא א ב), When a man among you brings an offering to G-d.
The Torah addresses man as 'אדם' rather than the more common usage of איש. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, tells us that this is coming to teach us a vital rule regarding offerings that is derived from the very first sacrifice that was offered by אדם, Adam, the first morning after his creation.
Just as Adam, the first man, never offered sacrifices from stolen property, since everything was his, so too, you must not offer sacrifices from stolen property.
The Holy Shelah poses the obvious question. How can we derive the l...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:31 pm
Pushing back harder on Russia, the Trump administration accused Moscow on Thursday of a concerted hacking operation targeting the U.S. energy grid, aviation systems and other infrastructure, and also imposed sanctions on Russians for alleged interference in the 2016 election.
It was the strongest action to date against Russia by the administration, which has long been accused of being too soft on the Kremlin, and the first punishments for election meddling since President Donald Trump took office. The sanctions list included the 13 Russians indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, whose Russia investigation the president has repeatedly sought to discredit.
U.S. national security officials said the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies had dete...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:25 pm
The Dow snapped a three-day losing streak Thursday, although the blue-chip index pared its gains after a report of new subpoenas in the Russia investigation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 115.54 points, or 0.47%, to 24,873.66. The S&P 500 slipped 2.15 points, or 0.08%, to 2,747.33. The Nasdaq Composite was down 15.07 points, or 0.2%, at 7,481.74.
The New York Times reported that Robert Mueller, special counsel in charge of the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents related to Russia. After initially falling sharply on the report, the Dow climbed back after the Trump Organization dismissed it as old news, saying the company has cooperated with the investigation.
Investor sentiment was buoye...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:20 pm
A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday off the coast of Key West, Florida, killing its two crew members.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet was on approach to land at the naval air station around 4:30 p.m. EDT, and crashed into the water about a mile east of the runway.
The pilot and weapons system officer ejected and were recovered, but U.S. Naval Air Forces reported late Wednesday night that both had died. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The cause of the crash is also under investigation.
The aircraft crew is based out of Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine fighter jet that is larger than the single-seat F/A-18 Hornet.
President Donald Trump has tweeted his condolences.
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March 15, 2018 at 4:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's company says it has been turning over documents for months in response to requests from federal investigators looking into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates.
An attorney for The Trump Organization says in a statement to The Associated Press that the company has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation since July 2017. The company has been in routine contact with the prosecutors, turning over documents and regularly discussing the scope of requests.
The company's cooperative posture mirrors that of the White House and the Trump campaign. Combined, they have provided more than a million pages of documents to investigators.
The Trump Organization is an umb...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:06 pm
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for the first time this year as the spring home buying season begins. The decline comes after nine straight weeks of increases that pushed borrowing costs higher.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 4.44 percent from 4.46 percent last week. The new average rate remains at a high level, however, raising concern that home sales could be dampened. The benchmark rate averaged 4.30 percent a year ago.
The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans declined to 3.90 percent from 3.94 percent last week.
Mortgage rates rose steadily in January, February and early March, as interest rates generally increased in response to higher levels of government debt and expectations of rising i...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:01 pm
The likely liquidation of Toys R Us, the nation’s largest independent toy seller, could add stress for the companies that make toys and games, and mean changes for the owners of the strip malls where most of its stores are.
Not to mention its impact on more than Toys R Us’s 30,000 U.S. workers
Here’s a look.
WHAT HAPPENS TO TOY MAKERS?
Toy companies, both big and small, will lose a place to test new toys. Toys R Us was a launchpad for emerging trends and toys, such as ZhuZhu Pets, which were the must-have holiday toy in 2008.
“Toys R Us was known as an incubator,” said Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of toy review site TTPM.com.
The toy makers will also have to find new places to sell their goods. The bigger toy makers — Hasbro and Mattel —...
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March 15, 2018 at 4:01 pm
MIAMI (AP) — A new pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a highway at a Miami-area college Thursday, crushing at least five vehicles under massive slabs and killing several people, authorities said.
Several people were seen being loaded into ambulances and authorities launched search and rescue missions. Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Alejandro Camacho told CBS News that there were "several fatalities."
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue tweeted that "multiple" people were injured when the Florida International University bridge collapsed. Authorities said they were working on confirming the numbers. The bridge was still under construction and expected to open to foot traffic next year.
"We are shocked and saddened about the tragic events unfolding at the FIU-Sweetwater pedestrian ...
