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January 11, 2019 at 10:13 am
Beirut - Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says the country’s foreign minister has asked Beirut’s representative at the U.N. Security Council to file a complaint over Israel’s building of a wall along their shared border.
The agency quoted on Friday Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil as calling the Israeli move a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group.
The wall is being built on the edge of the Lebanese border village of Kfar Kela.
Tension has been rising recently on the border between the two countries that are technically at war.
Israel last month announced the discovery of border tunnels, which it says were part of a Hezbollah plot to sneak in Israel and carry out attacks.
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January 11, 2019 at 10:03 am
Miami - Miami International Airport is closing a terminal this weekend because security screeners have been calling in sick at twice the airport’s normal rate as the federal government shutdown stretches toward a fourth week.
Friday marks the first day screeners will miss a paycheck, and airport spokesman Greg Chin said there’s a concern there won’t be enough workers to handle all 11 checkpoints during normal hours over the weekend.
Chin said Terminal G will close at 1 p.m. Saturday, reopen for flights Sunday morning and close again at 1 p.m. that day. The terminal serves United Airlines along with smaller carriers. Its closure means restaurants and shops that depend on departing flights also will close.
“We felt we had to make a decision before the weekend,&rdqu...
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January 11, 2019 at 7:43 am
Washington - The U.S.-led military coalition in Syria has begun the process of withdrawing troops from Syria, a U.S. military official said Friday, declining to comment on specific timetables or movements.
Col. Sean Ryan, spokesman for the coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said the U.S. started “the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria.”
“Out of concern for operational security, we will not discuss specific timelines, locations or troops movements,” he said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the withdrawal began Thursday night. It said a convoy of about 10 armored vehicles, in addition to ...
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January 11, 2019 at 7:42 am
DAVIS, Calif. — A rookie California police officer was fatally shot Thursday night when a suspect at an accident scene opened fire, the Sacramento Beereported.
Davis police Officer Natalie Corona, 22, who graduated from a training academy and completed her field training just before Christmas, had responded to a three-car crash when she was shot, the newspaper reported.
Corona was sworn in as an officer two weeks ago, KOVR reported. Her father, Merced Corona, served 26 years as a Colusa County Sheriff’s deputy, the Beereported.
“She was a rising star in the department,” Davis police Chief Darren Pytel said in a news conference late Thursday. “She just worked like you can’t believe.”
Corona was the first Davis police officer ...
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January 11, 2019 at 7:24 am
These tips can help prevent frozen pipes this winter. Plus, ways to handle your insurance claim if your Maryland house is damaged.
BALTIMORE, MD — With wind chills that will feel like the teens at times this week in Maryland, and overnight lows remaining in the 20s, it's important to know how to prevent your home's water pipes from freezing. Frozen water pipes in unheated basements and crawl spaces can be messy and expensive to repair. But if you wake up to a frozen faucet, there are steps you can take to safely thaw out a frozen water line without burning down the house.
Fire officials say it's important during long cold spells to monitor automatic sprinkler systems, fire pumps, hoses and hydrants. Whether or not pipes in these systems actually burst, any freezing o...
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January 11, 2019 at 7:21 am
Maryland Senate President Mike Miller made his diagnosis clear Thursday, mostly through a written statement, that he has prostate cancer.
Miller issued a statement, saying, in part, "This past July, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer along with my osteopathic issues."
As Miller addressed the General Assembly in chambers, he declined questions from the media, saying, "I'm not going to take any questions from the press. This is the story. It's what happened, where we are."
In December, after reporting a sharp pain in his leg, his doctor told him the cancer can no longer be treated with just drugs.
"As a result, I will be undergoing chemotherapy during this legislative session," Miller said in the statement.
In typical Miller style, he broke the news with humor.
"It affects ...
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January 11, 2019 at 7:19 am
There is a chance of accumulating snow to Maryland over the weekend.
Meteorologist Ava Marie predicts the snow will arrive Shabbos afternoon in Maryland and last into Sunday afternoon. Marie says that the heaviest snow will fall through Motzaei Shabbos. She says she is expecting 2-4” falling in the Baltimore metro, with the bulk of that coming before 9 am Sunday.
Marie says the roads will turn slick quickly Motzaei Shabbos due to below-freezing temperatures.
The second piece of the storm will likely be south, so heavier accumulation should just miss the Baltimore area, Marie says.
The storm will not have much moisture as a storm would if it moved up the coast.
But very early accumulation forecasts indicate as much as 2 to 4 inches of snow possible in the Baltimore area and the E...
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January 11, 2019 at 5:51 am
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 5, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Mathilde Hain, a’h, (nee Berlowitz); beloved wife of the late Philipp Hain, z’l; devoted mother of Rabbi Yaakov (Dina) Hain, Naomi (Dov) Katz, Susan (Ervin) Klein and Irving (Rifka) HainShiva will be observed at 3011 Romaric Court, Apt E, Baltimore, MD 21209.Shacharis: 7:00 AM Mincha/Maariv: 4:45 PM (Erev Shabbos 1:00 PM)
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
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January 10, 2019 at 9:35 pm
President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Thursday 10 January / 4 Shevat, visited the logistics center of United Hatzalah at Beit Shemesh. The president met volunteers from all sectors of Israeli society and heard about their activities. The president was escorted by CEO Moshe Teitelbaum.
United Hatzalah is an independent, voluntary Emergency Medical Service organization that gives life-saving first aid and reports directly to the Ministry of Health. The organization has more than 5000 volunteers and dealt with some 300,000 medical emergencies in 2018. United Hatzalah also has voluntary branches in the USA, Brazil, Uman and India.
“The Talmud teaches us that saving a single life is like saving the whole world. You save the lives of men, women and children, 24 hours a day,...
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January 10, 2019 at 9:29 pm
Parshas Bo has four distinct sections. The beginning of the parsha is the description of the final makkos building up to makkas bechoros. The Rambam writes that the story of Moshe confronting Pharaoh is a historical fact and simultaneously, it illustrates the struggles all human beings have between their yetzer horo and yetzer tov.
Pharaoh sees everything in Egypt has crumbled. All ancient societies built their economy on agriculture and animal power to produce wealth. Makkas borod and arbeh destroyed all the crops. In borod, all the animals were killed (besides those who feared Hashem and hid their animals inside shelters). So the economy, the food supply, has totally collapsed.
Pharaoh says he is letting the Jews go, but be careful—there are evil p...
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January 10, 2019 at 9:26 pm
This week’s Parshah discusses the very first mitzvah given to the Jewish nation: Kiddush HaChodesh, the Sanctification of the New Month (12:2). This mitzvah entails the Jewish court identifying the new moon via witnesses and consequently declaring exactly when the new month will commence.
What lesson is Hashem conveying to us by making this the very first mitzvah given to us as a nation? It must be to convey a very powerful message! What is it? Additionally, why was it given now, while the Jews were still in Egypt, and not at Har Sinai with the rest of the 613 mitzvos?
Mike was a world famous mountain climber. He had climbed the tallest mountains in the world, including the world's tallest mountain - Mount Everest. Mike’s close friend once asked him “Mike, what is ...
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January 10, 2019 at 9:08 pm
Jews the world over are asked to say Tehillim for the Skulener Rebbe, who is suffering from immense weakness and bouts of pneumonia but has been released from the hospital after being admitted to Cornell Medical Center yesterday.
The Rebbe, Rav Yisroel Avrohom Portugal, is one of the oldest admorim in the world. He is a son of Rav Eliezer Zusia Portugal zt”l, who founded the Sklulener chassidus, and resides in Boro Park, Brooklyn, where he leads his bais medrash on 54th street, near 13th avenue.
As is well known, in 1959 the Communists arrested the previous Rebbe and his son, the present Rebbe, for teaching Torah and for supporting and educating orphans. An international effort to free the previous Rebbe and his son was undertaken, and eventu...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:57 pm
From the inception of Moshe’s mission to extract the Children of Israel from the clutches of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, it seems that all he ever requested was a three-day reprieve.
When Moshe and the Elders first confront Pharaoh they merely report how The G-d of the Hebrews happened upon us. Let us now go for a three day journey in the Wilderness and we shall bring offerings to Hashem...(שמות ה ג)
Never once does Moshe assert the desire to remove them completely from the land of Egypt.
Throughout the entire story of the plagues the negotiations between Pharaoh and Moshe revolve around the issue of their leaving merely to serve offerings to Hashem in the desert.
Although initially refusing outright any notion of their taking a ‘break’, after the plague of frogs...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:29 pm
Every word, every letter in the Torah is used for a specific reason and purpose. We are reminded of this concept often through the teachings of Chazal where they will derive significant meanings from a word missing a letter, which it would customarily have (chaser), or a word having an “extra” letter - one which it normally would not have (maleh). The Gemarah goes even further and teaches us that Hashem told Moshe Rabeinu that not only were nekudos important but that one day, a great man named Rebbi Akiva will learn halachos out of the “crowns” written on top of the letters in the Torah (Menachos 29b). This idea is driven home quite clearly in Parshas Bo.
In this Parsha, we are deep into the maccos brought upon Pharoh for his stubborn ...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:16 pm
The new tax law, and in particular a new deduction aimed at small business owners, is making this income tax filing season more complicated than usual.
The deduction aimed at giving tax breaks to sole proprietors, partners and owners of S corporations allows many of them to deduct 20 percent of what’s called qualified business income. But which business owners can claim the deduction, and how much they can claim, involves a lot of interpretation and complex calculations, tax professional say.
Some tips for making this filing season a little easier:
— Get on your CPA’s calendar soon. Tax pros always advise clients to see them early in tax season, but it’s even more important to do so this year. CPA Steven Wolpow advises business owners to have those meetings by ...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:14 pm
Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed legislation on Wednesday that would require employers to provide paid vacation, making New York the first city in the nation to mandate this type of leave.
The bill would help the more than 500,000 full- and part-time workers who don’t get paid time off, and would guarantee such leave for 3.4 million employees citywide, the mayor’s office said.
“New Yorkers need a break,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference announcing the bill at City Hall. “If you work hard and you don’t get a break, that’s not fair. That’s not fair for the people who do the work, and that’s not fair for the families who never get to see them,” the mayor said.
Under the proposed legislation, companies and businesses with more ...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:11 pm
New York - One day after announcing a new initiative intended to provide city residents with additional paid days off so that they can spend more time with their loved ones, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s State of the City address opened with a narrative delivered by a Chasidic man from Borough Park and footage of him learning Talmud with his 12 year old son.
The nearly six minute long video was shown at the start of the annual speech, delivered this morning at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Highlighting the city’s diversity, the video showed several New York City families, including that of Alexander Rapaport, executive director of the Masbia soup kitchen.
Rapaport appears several times in the video, first with his son Nochum...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:11 pm
Washington - Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is looking at basing a potential 2020 presidential campaign in Troy, New York, a small upstate city on the banks of the Hudson River, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.
The search for a headquarters is the strongest signal yet that the New York senator will soon enter a presidential race that could ultimately draw dozens of candidates. The selection of Troy, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Manhattan, could allow Gillibrand to highlight her roots in upstate New York, where she was born and later represented in Congress before being appointed to the Senate.
The sources spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. They cautioned that a ...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:10 pm
Las Vegas - Robots that walk, talk, pour beer and play pingpong have taken over the CES gadget show in Las Vegas again. Just don’t expect to find one in your home any time soon.
Most home robot ventures have failed, in part because they’re so difficult and expensive to design to a level of intelligence that consumers will find useful, says Bilal Zuberi, a robotics-oriented venture capitalist at Lux Capital. But that doesn’t keep companies from trying.
“Roboticists, I guess, will never give up their dream to build Rosie,” says Zuberi, referring to the humanoid maid from “The Jetsons.”
But there’s some hope for others. Frank Gillett, a tech analyst at Forrester, says robots with more focused missions such as mowing the lawn or delivering che...
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January 10, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Seattle - Amazon.com Inc shares see-sawed on Thursday as investors questioned how the impending divorce of company founder Jeff Bezos would affect his control of the most valuable company on Wall Street and its ambitious expansion plans.
Bezos, whom Forbes lists at the world’s richest person with an estimated $136.2 billion, said via Twitter on Wednesday that he and his wife of 25 years, Mackenzie, will divorce. Amazon shares were flat in midday trading on Thursday after spending most of the morning down slightly.
The split throws into question how the couple will split their fortune, which includes an approximately 16 percent ownership stake in Amazon’s roughly $811.4 billion market capitalization. Divorce laws in Washington state, where they live, hold that property acquire...
