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July 10, 2019 at 3:46 pm
Baltimore, MD - July 2019 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM <https://achim.org/> created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.
What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?
TableTalk features
weekly halachic dilemma c...
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July 10, 2019 at 1:41 pm
Washington - Chairman Jerome Powell signaled Wednesday that the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates late this month for the first time in a decade in light of a weakening global economy and rising trade tensions.
Delivering the central bank’s semiannual report to Congress, Powell said that since Fed officials met last month, “uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the U.S. economic outlook.” In addition, annual inflation has dipped further below the Fed’s annual target level.
Powell’s remarks triggered a stock market rally, with the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 100 points in late-morning trading.
Economists suggested that Powell’s message made a quarter-point...
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July 10, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Virginia Beach, VA - The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Norfolk area Jewish teacher who disappeared yesterday after attempting to rescue a student in distress in rough waters off the shores of Virginia Beach.
Petty Officer Stephen Lehman told VIN News that the search and rescue operation for the teacher, identified as Rabbi Reuven Bauman, had been called off as of 11:25 this afternoon.
The decision to end the search, which was initiated at approximately 1 PM on Tuesday, was based on numerous factors determining the potential for survival, including water temperature and conditions and Rabbi Bauman’s age and physical condition. Lehman said that the Coast Guard will resume its efforts should there be any indication that Rabbi Bauman is still alive.
The rescue and r...
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July 10, 2019 at 1:37 pm
The Ramat Gan city council on Tuesday evening decided to offer Shabbos busing to entertainment centers, after a previous council meeting had ended inconclusively and was met by a sharp response from religious Knesset members.
MK Ofir Sofer tweeted, “I have a lot of love for the city of Ramat Gan. As a paratrooper, I remember the city as being very connecting, it’s the paratroopers’ adopted hometown. And I ask, where on earth are you taking this, [mayor] Carmel Shama? And for what – the love of the media? What about the love of your residents?”
MK Uri Maklev also criticized the move, saying, “Throughout the years, Ramat Gan has known how to respect every part of the community. Every mayor throughout history has respected sensitivity to religion. Harming...
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July 10, 2019 at 1:36 pm
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday revealed that the special forces officer who was killed in an operation in the Gaza Strip that went awry in November was hit by friendly fire from another member of his team.
The information was released following the presentation of the military’s investigation into the affair, which sparked a heavy but short-lived round of fighting, to IDF chief Aviv Kohavi last week, the army said.
The probe’s findings were a mixed bag, identifying a number of tactical errors and improper planning that led to the operation’s failure, alongside courageous actions by members of the special forces unit who took part in the raid that prevented a greater disaster, including by the officer who accidentally killed his comrade — who for security reas...
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July 10, 2019 at 12:04 pm
Update on our missing Rebbe:Good morning. This is Rabbi Haber with an update. There has been no further news overnight. The coast guard and other agencies have searched through the night and continue to search now. Achiezer is working closely with the command center and is poised both to assist them and to coordinate resources to take over the search if necessary. Please continue to daven for Hashem’s help and that he give koach to everyone involved.
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UPDATE: The Coast Guard is continuing its search Wednesday morning for 35-year-old Reuven Tzvi ben Esther Baila who disappeared into the ocean Tuesday while helping a teen at False Cape State Park.
Crews searched overnight and are still in active search and rescue posture, said Petty Officer Steve Lehmann.
Ur...
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July 10, 2019 at 11:29 am
The S&P 500 broke 3,000 for the first time Wednesday morning ahead of an anticipated interest rate cut, before dropping back below the benchmark.
In prepared testimony before a House panel on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell seemed to suggest that the central bank would cut interest rates in the face of slowing global growth and increasing trade tensions.
“Economic momentum appears to have slowed in some major foreign economies, and that weakness could affect the U.S. economy,” Powell said.
The outlook comes despite strong economic growth and low unemployment. In June, the economy saw the addition of an unexpectedly robust 224,000 new jobs. Read more at The Hill
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July 10, 2019 at 10:13 am
Secret meetings between US government officials and Iranian officials took place last week at a hotel in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq, sources informed i24NEWS, as the Iranian regime shows signs of a nascent upheaval.
The Iranian delegation, which has at times been at odds with government policy, was headed by the grandson of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, Hassan Khomeini, and also included two officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s special envoy to Iraq.
Iran has reportedly been contacting Kurdish opposition parties based in Iraq, but the talks remained “useless,” according to internal Iranian sources.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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July 10, 2019 at 10:11 am
Paris - France will introduce a new charge on plane tickets from next year, with revenue used to fund environment-friendly alternatives, the country’s transport minister said Tuesday.
The “ecotax” costing between 1.50 euros ($1.7) and 18 euros ($20) will apply to most flights departing in France, Elisabeth Borne said.
The only exceptions will be for domestic flights to Corsica and France’s overseas territories, and connecting flights that pass through France. It will not apply to flights arriving in France.
Shares in Air France/KLM and budget airlines EasyJet and Ryanair dropped following the announcement.
The move received a cautious welcome from environmental campaigners, who argue that the airline industry needs to curb its greenhouse gas emissions as part of...
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July 10, 2019 at 10:08 am
New York - Uber passengers can now get a more spacious ride and a less talkative driver — if they’re willing to shell out a few extra dollars.
The ride-hailing giant launched “comfort” rides in dozens of cities Tuesday. Riders are guaranteed 36 inches of legroom in “newer” cars — meaning those that are under five years old — and they can request a preferred air temperature. Riders can also use the app to tell drivers they don’t want to chat, avoiding what some consider an awkward exchange.
Uber is responding to requests from business travelers and others who say they just want to work or rest quietly when they’re on their way to the airport.
“It’s a way to set up an expectation up front…it takes some guess wo...
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July 10, 2019 at 10:04 am
Protesters were out in force in a Minnesota city this week, upset over the city council's decision to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of their meetings.
The decision was announced by the St. Louis Park City Council after a unanimous vote on June 17. The amendment to the council's rules was characterized as an effort to serve a more “diverse community."
“We concluded that in order to create a more welcoming environment to a diverse community we’re going to forgo saying the Pledge of Allegiance before every meeting,” Council Member Tim Brausen said ahead of the vote.
Council member Anne Mavity, who sponsored the rules change, told KARE 11 that she didn’t feel saying the pledge was nece...
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July 10, 2019 at 10:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is directing the government to revamp the nation’s care for kidney disease, so that more people whose kidneys fail have a chance at early transplants and home dialysis — along with better prevention so patients don’t get that sick to begin with.
Senior administration officials told The Associated Press that Trump is set to sign an executive order Wednesday calling for strategies that have the potential to save lives and millions of Medicare dollars.
That won’t happen overnight — some of the initiatives will require new government regulations.
And because a severe organ shortage complicates the call for more transplants, the administration also aims to ease financial hardships for living donors, said the officia...
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July 10, 2019 at 9:55 am
The Israeli city of Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, has approved a pilot program that will see limited public transportation operate on Shabbbos.
Beginning July 19, commuters will be able to take two bus lines across the city to popular leisure and entertainment sites, including the beach, after a bill approving the initiative was passed by Ramat Gan’s city council in a 15-6 vote.
The move has been met with harsh criticism and the staunch opposition of charedi Jews.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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July 10, 2019 at 9:52 am
Jerusalem - A military court in Judea on Wednesday sentenced two Arab terrorists to 35 years and 32 years imprisonment respectively, as well as a total of NIS 2.5 million in compensation after they were convicted of the murder of IDF Staff Sgt. Tuvia Yanai Weismann, Z'l, H'yd, and the injuring of an Israeli civilian in the Rami Levy market at Sha’ar Binyamin in February 2016.
The terrorists’ names and details were not publicized because they are minors.
The military prosecution requested that they be sent to prison for life, but the court refrained from doing so due to their young age. The prosecution intends to appeal the verdict.
A third terrorist was also sentenced to 35 years in prison, and the prosecution is expected to appeal this verdict as well.
The verdic...
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July 10, 2019 at 9:51 am
Kansas City, MO - Police say a woman upset about the line at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Kansas City went outside and fired a gun after being asked to leave.
Officer Darin Snapp says no one was injured. He says around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday the woman announced that the “wait time is ridiculous.”
Snapp says staff asked her to leave because she was being “loud and obnoxious.” He says the woman then said she was going to get a gun.
Snapp says an off-duty officer who heard a gunshot approached the woman and ordered her to put the gun down.
The woman was jailed but no charges were immediately filed. Her name hasn’t been released.
Snapp says: “She just wasn’t very happy about the wait at the DMV.”
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July 10, 2019 at 9:51 am
The Mossad and IDF Military Intelligence have foiled some 50 terror attacks around the world over the course of three years, Israeli media outlets reported on Tuesday.
According to a report by the Mako news site, the thwarted attacks were mostly the work of ISIS and Iran.
Twelve of the planned attacks targeted Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of Israel’s most vicious critics in the region.
After IDF soldiers were attacked by Turkish anti-Israel activists on the Mavi Marmara vessel that attempted to run the Gaza blockade in May 2010 and the soldiers responded with lethal force, Turkey broke off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
For some of this time, however, Israel was apparently still passing information to Turkey on terrorist threats.
In resp...
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July 10, 2019 at 9:50 am
Washington - The District of Columbia sued Marriott International Inc on Tuesday, claiming that mandatory resort fees at its hotels are illegal and deceptive, the attorney general’s office said.
“Marriott reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profit by deceiving consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms,” said District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine. “Bait-and-switch advertising and deceptive pricing practices are illegal.”
Marriott declined to comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit said that 189 Marriott properties worldwide impose fees ranging from $9 to $95 a day.
Resort fees, sometimes called destination or amenity fees, are displayed separately from hotel room prices. The charges are often lumped with taxes, giving the impress...
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July 10, 2019 at 9:45 am
Nashville - A Tennessee family can press its lawsuit against online retailer Amazon over a hoverboard fire that destroyed their home, an appeals court has ruled, saying the company was aware of complaints about the devices catching fire and exploding.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Friday ruling also noted that the Seattle-based company had even launched an investigation that led to its ceasing all hoverboard sales worldwide.
But Amazon’s notice to consumers consisted of an email saying there had been “reports of safety issues,” with no mention of fires and explosions.
In the complaint, Megan and Charles Fox say their son had left his hoverboard downstairs in their home when it caught fire in January 2016. The fire trapped two of the children upstairs and...
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July 10, 2019 at 9:40 am
U.S. stocks . traded higher on Wednesday ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's appearance on Capitol Hill.
Stocks jumped after Powell signaled a rate cut is possible, noting “crosscurrents have reemerged, creating greater uncertainty” in the U.S. economy.
Powell's comment came in prepared remarks.
His testimony begins at 10 a.m. ET, with full coverage on FOXBusiness.com.
Shares of Levi Strauss & Co fell after the company reported that sales growth would slow in the second half of the year due to weakness in its wholesale business.
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July 10, 2019 at 9:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that “many” Fed officials believe a weakening global economy and rising trade tensions have strengthened the case for looser interest-rate policies.
Delivering the Fed’s semi-annual monetary report to Congress, Powell sent the strongest signal yet that the central bank is ready to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade, possibly as soon as the July meeting.
Powell said that since Fed officials met last month, “uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the U.S. economic outlook.” Meanwhile, inflation has fallen farther from the Fed’s target.
Many investors have put the odds of a rate cut this mont...
