THE FOLLOWING IS VIA YWN In a dramatic turn of events, Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid said that his party will support the legislation for the Conscription Law that will soon be brought to the Knesset for its second reading. While the parties making up the government are having a difficult time building a consensus regarding the law, Lapid may have given Netanyahu the breathing room he needs to push the bill through the Knesset, without needing to get all government parties on board. Labor leader Avi Gabbay said that his party would vote against the proposed legislation. “I’m saying this now, clearly – we will vote against the draft law. Our principles are known – we want every young man and woman to either do military service, national service or civic ser...
BEIJING (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday at the start of a two-day visit at which he's expected to discuss his next steps after last week's nuclear summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim's visit to Beijing is his third since March, highlighting China's crucial role in efforts by the U.S. and others to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The U.S. has long looked to China to use its influence with North Korea to bring it to negotiations, but the visit comes as ties between Beijing and Washington are being tested by a major trade dispute. State broadcaster CCTV showed Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, being welcomed by Xi with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the le...
United Nations - There are over 1 billion firearms in the world today, including 857 million in civilian hands — with American men and women the dominant owners, according to a study released Monday. The Small Arms Survey says 393 million of the civilian-held firearms, 46 percent, are in the United States, which is “more than those held by civilians in the other top 25 countries combined.” “The key to the United States, of course, is its unique gun culture,” the report’s author, Aaron Karp, said at a news conference. “American civilians buy an average of 14 million new firearms every year, and that means the United States is an overwhelming presence on civilian markets.” The report said the numbers include legal and illegal firearms in c...
Paris - The Paris public transport company RATP says a baby boy born in a suburban train will get free rides in the French capital until he is 25. Live-tweeting the event Monday, the RATP said the baby was born in a train in the center of Paris, disrupting traffic on the RER A line. Rescue workers took care of the mother and child and brought them to the nearest hospital. News of the “unannounced birth” was displayed on Paris train traffic screens. The RER A line issued its “sincere congratulations” to the baby’s mother — and tweeted that traffic was back to normal. Lots of Parisians happily welcomed the birth on social media. Others, however, noted the RATP’s gift wasn’t all good news, saying that Paris train traffic is frequently disrupt...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports as the two nations move closer to a potential trade war. The tariffs, which Trump wants set at a 10 percent rate, would be the latest round of punitive measures in an escalating dispute over the large trade imbalance between the two countries. Trump recently ordered tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods in retaliation for intellectual property theft. The tariffs were quickly matched by China on U.S. exports, a move that drew the president's ire. "China apparently has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology," Trump said in a statement Monday announcing the...
Beijing - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday at the start of a two-day visit at which he’s expected to discuss his next steps after last week’s nuclear summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim’s visit to Beijing is his third since March, highlighting China’s crucial role in efforts by the U.S. and others to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The U.S. has long looked to China to use its influence with North Korea to bring it to negotiations, but the visit comes as ties between Beijing and Washington are being tested by a major trade dispute. State broadcaster CCTV showed Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, being welcomed by Xi with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the legislatu...
New York - Students in four New York City schools who adhere to kosher or halal diets will be the beneficiaries of a groundbreaking pilot program introduced by the City Council offering them free lunches during the upcoming school year.  As previously reported on VIN News, Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off the 2017 – 2018 school year with an announcement that all public school students would be eligible for free lunches, but no accommodations were made for students whose religion dictates to special dietary regions. The new initiative was announced tonight by Councilman Chaim Deutsch who has been advocating for the lunch program for more than three years. $1 million is being allocated for the pilot program which will be launched in September at two private schools, one Muslim a...
United Nations - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the escalation of violence in Gaza is a warning to all “how close to the brink of war the situation is,” and he’s urging Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to recommit to the cease-fire that ended their 2014 war. The U.N. chief says in a report to the Security Council obtained Monday by The Associated Press that he is “shocked” by the Israeli Defense Forces use of live fire since protests began in Gaza on March 30. Guterres also warned that rockets fired at Israel and attempts to breach the Gaza-Israel border fence by some members of Hamas and other militant groups not only risk Israeli and Palestinian lives but “efforts to restore dignity and the prospects of a livable future for Palestin...
Washington - The FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in a harshly critical watchdog report on the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Director Chris Wray said Monday at a congressional hearing at which he repeatedly sought to distance himself from his predecessor. Wray told lawmakers that the FBI accepted the findings of the Office of the Inspector General report and has begun making changes, including about how it handles especially sensitive investigations, like the Clinton one. The FBI is also reinforcing through employee training the need to avoid the appearance of political bias, a key point of criticism in last week’s report, and has referred employees singled out in the report to the agency’s investigative arm for possible dis...
New York - A well-worn joke in American Jewish culture goes like this. A Jewish immigrant landed at Ellis Island in New York. The procedures were confusing, and he was overwhelmed by the commotion. When one of the officials asked him “What is your name?” he replied, “Shayn fergessen,” which in Yiddish means “I’ve already forgotten.” The official then recorded his name as Sean Ferguson. Today, members of many white ethnic groups – including Jews, Italians and Poles – believe that insensitive or ignorant Ellis Island officials changed their families’ names when they arrived in the U.S. to make them sound more American. But there is actually much more evidence demonstrating that Jews and members of other white ethnic groups changed...
Salida, CO - We were warned. On June 23, 1988, a sultry day in Washington, James Hansen told Congress and the world that global warming wasn’t approaching — it had already arrived. The testimony of the top NASA scientist, said Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, was “the opening salvo of the age of climate change.” Thirty years later, it’s clear that Hansen and other doomsayers were right. But the change has been so sweeping that it is easy to lose sight of effects large and small — some obvious, others less conspicuous. Earth is noticeably hotter, the weather stormier and more extreme. Polar regions have lost billions of tons of ice; sea levels have been raised by trillions of gallons of water. Far more wildfires rage. Over 30 years — ...
McAllen, TX - A newly released audio recording that depicts screaming children being taken away from their parents has added to the outrage over the Trump administration policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The recording captures the cries of Spanish-speaking children being processed by U.S. officials. The recording, first reported by ProPublica, was later obtained by The Associated Press. Attorney Jennifer Hardury said she received the tape from a whistleblower and told ProPublica it was recorded in the last week. She did not provide details about where it was recorded. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says she hasn’t heard the audio but says the children are not being treated inhumanely.
New York - The family and attorneys of an Ecuadorean pizza shop worker who was arrested while trying to make a delivery submitted a formal request to immigration officials Monday demanding his immediate release. Attorneys from the Legal Aid Society, accompanied by Pablo Villavicencio’s wife and two small daughters, said at a news conference that they filed the petition Monday. The request argues that Villavicencio’s detention causes significant emotional and financial hardship to his U.S. citizen wife and daughters and that the immigrant has no criminal history and is not a threat to public safety. Jennifer Williams, deputy attorney in charge of the immigration law unit at the Legal Aid Society, also said that her client’s detention is “unwarranted” until t...
Baltimore, Md - June 18, 2018 Updated as of 5:43 PM -  Avoid the intersection of Park Heights and Old Court at all costs. The light is out and cars are driving the wrong way and/or stopped in the intersection. Also branches are blocking a lot of Old Court between Reisterstown and Park HeightsHooks Lane is an obstacle course as wellBaltimore, MD – June 18, 2018 – 5:08 PM – Chaverim of Baltimore has advised that a tree is down at the corner of Seven Mile Lane and Bonfield and has traffic blocked . Traffic is also blocked off on Old Court Road between Reisterstown Road and Sudbrook due to downed trees and their debris aftermath. A tree is also down on Northbrook Road between Lisburne and Labyrinth but traffic can get by very slowly
Jerusalem, Israel - June 18, 2018 - For the first time the American Jewish Committee (AJC) has held its Global Forum in Jerusalem, Israel. Over 2,400 participants were involved in touring, learning, discussion groups and participating in plenary sessions held at the International Conference Center Jerusalem.  Keynote speakers included Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Both leaders delivered positive and supportive messages which were well received and appreciated by the audience members.  The conference program schedule was filled with impressive personalities and guest speakers.  Ahmed Zoabi and Ahlam Alsana, both Israeli Bedouins, spoke representing the many faces of Israeli society.  AJC CEO ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in a harshly critical watchdog report on the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Director Chris Wray said Monday at a congressional hearing. Wray said the FBI accepts the findings of the Justice Department inspector general report and has begun making changes, including about how the FBI handles especially sensitive investigations. The bureau is also reinforcing for employees the need to avoid the appearance of political bias, a key point of criticism in last week's report. "We're going to learn from the report and be better as a result," Wray said. The report last week blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton had mishandled classified infor...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Vowing to reclaim U.S. leadership in space, President Donald Trump announced Monday he is directing the Pentagon to create a new "Space Force" as an independent service branch aimed at ensuring American supremacy in space. Trump envisioned a bright future for the U.S. space program, pledging to revive the country's flagging efforts, return to the moon and eventually send a manned mission that would reach Mars. The president framed space as a national security issue, saying he does not want "China and Russia and other countries leading us." "My administration is reclaiming America's heritage as the world's greatest spacefaring nation," Trump said in the East Room, joined by members of his space council. "The essence of the American characte...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing rising outrage from some Republicans as well as Democrats over the forced separation of migrant children and parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump dug in Monday, again falsely blaming Democrats and declaring he would keep the U.S. from becoming "a migrant camp." Democrats have turned up the pressure over the administration policy, and some Republicans have joined the chorus of criticism. Former first lady Laura Bush has called the separation policy "cruel" and "immoral" while GOP Sen. Susan Collins expressed concern about it and a former adviser to Trump questioned using the policy to pressure Democrats on immigration legislation. Trump continued to cast blame on Democrats Monday, as he detoured from planned remarks on U.S. space policy ...
A brief introduction is in order so as to explain why I chose this topic for this week. A few years ago, as a kohein, I had to change my travel plans, and instead of flying from Ben Gurion airport to Newark, I had to fly via Haifa to Larnaca, Cyprus, and then to London and Reykjavik to reach my destination. The trip whetted my appetite to find out more about Cyprus, and this article is a result. Those who want to read about that trip can access From Haifa to Reykjavik on the website RabbiKaganoff.com. Since this week’s parsha includes most of the laws of tumas meis, which was the reason why I needed to travel via Haifa, I decided to share this article. Question #1: When in Crete, do as the Cretans do? “I was told that when I am in Crete, I should separate terumos and maasr...
Baltimore, MD – June 18, 2018 – 3:21 PM -An accident at the corner of Cross Country & Strathmore resulted in debris remaining in the roadway which is causing an impasse at the current time.
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