A special election will be held to fill the seat held by U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died early Thursday from complications of a series of recent health issues. However, the seat will remain empty until at least February. State law gives Gov. Larry Hogan 10 days to issue a proclamation declaring that a special primary election and a special general election will be held to fill the vacancy. The special primary election shall be held on a Tuesday that is at least 65 days after the date of the proclamation, with the special general election to be held on a Tuesday at least 65 days after the primary. Under federal law and House rules, Cummings' staffers will continue to work under the supervision of the clerk of the House of Representatives. Constituents may express views...
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) - A former Maryland state lawmaker has pleaded guilty to illegally using campaign funds for her personal benefit. Tawanna Gaines faces a sentence of up to 20 years, following her plea Thursday to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang is scheduled to sentence her Jan. 3. Chuang says guidelines call for eight to 33 months in prison, depending on the court's calculation of her criminal history. Gaines was charged earlier this month in a criminal information. The Oct. 7 court filing accused Gaines of defrauding her campaign and its contributors out of more than $22,000. Gaines, a 67-year-old Democrat from Prince George's County, served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2001. She resigned less than week before she was charged.
undreds of Israelis entered the Temple Mount complex on Thursday, according to the Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Omar Kiswani, reported the Palestinian WAFA news agency.WAFA’s English-language website claimed that about 432 Israelis entered the complex, however the news agency’s Arabic-language website put the number at 814 Israelis. WAFA claimed that the Israelis performed "Talmudic rituals and prayers" on the Temple Mount. Jews are prohibited from praying or bringing religious items onto the mount – and are removed and sometimes detained if caught doing so. According to the movement, over 650 Jews also entered the Temple Mount complex on Wednesday.  A video posted by the "Students for the Temple Mount" movement on Twitter showed attorney Aviad Visoli prayi...
BRUSSELS—European Union and U.K. negotiators overcame a major hurdle to Britain’s exit from the bloc Thursday, announcing an agreement on the draft of a new Brexit deal and paving the way for a knife-edge vote in the British Parliament. The accord was approved by the leaders of the other 27 EU countries at a summit in Brussels later Thursday. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s next formidable challenge will be gathering enough support from the U.K. Parliament. In a setback for the deal’s prospects, a political party allied to his government said it wouldn’t back the deal. Following days of intense talks more than three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, the two sides struck a compromise intended to ensure a border doesn’t appear on ...
President Trump, Democrats butt heads over decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
Music, singng and dancing begins at the 26:00 mark on the video below:
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago teachers went on strike Thursday, marching on picket lines after failing to reach a contract deal with the nation’s third-largest school district in a dispute that canceled classes for more than 300,000 students. The strike came after the Chicago Teachers Union confirmed Wednesday night that its 25,000 members would not return to their classrooms. It follows months of negotiations between the union and Chicago Public Schools that failed to resolve disputes over pay and benefits, class size and teacher preparation time. Full Coverage: Chicago teachers strike Picketing teachers said Thursday the walkout was about getting more resources and smaller class sizes for students in the cash-strapped district, not about putting...
IDF troops spot and down drone near southern Gaza Strip security fence. The IDF downed a drone launched from Gaza on Thursday. "A short while ago, IDF troops spotted and downed a drone near the southern Gaza Strip security fence," according to the IDF. Last month, the IDF said it had attacked Hamas targets in Gaza after a drone violated Israeli airspace and dropped an explosive on an army vehicle. "Earlier today, a drone infiltrated into Israeli airspace from the Gaza Strip and dropped an explosive device on a military vehicle," an IDF spokesman said at the time. "In response, IDF fighter jets and an IDF aircraft recently struck a number of Hamas military targets, including offensive naval equipment and two military compounds belonging to Hamas' aerial array ...
The American Jewish conservative political commentator and author Ben Shapiro came for a visit to Israel, visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Wednesday. “Went to Hebron yesterday and visited the Cave of the Patriarchs, Ma’arat Hamachpeila - the first plot of land purchased by Abraham in Israel and the gravesite of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah,” Shapiro tweeted. “It was closed to Jews for 700 years under Muslim rule. Since 1967 it is open to everyone. Thank God for Israel.” Thousands of Israelis converged on the city of Hebron south of Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the Sukkot festival. The city's Jewish community kicked off the two-day "Hebron Sukkot Festival" Wednesday, featuring a concert next to...
Baltimore, MD -  Oct. 17, 2019 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Yaakov Moshe Goldenberg and Sora Cohen (Chicago) on their engagement Mazel Tov Mr. & Mrs. Zev Goldenberg יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן
Jerusalem, Israel - Oct. 17, 2019 - Each year on one day of Chol Hamoed Sukkot the grounds of Beit HaNasi are opened to the public. President Reuven Rivlin came out and greeted his guests multiple times on Thursday, October 17, as thousands attended including MK Zeev Elkin. The theme of this year’s Open Sukkah at Beit HaNasi was ‘Finding Treasures in the President’s Sukkah.’ In cooperation with the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage, people were able to enjoy a range of family-friendly activities. The event was open to all and free of charge. Overseas visitors with a valid passport were welcome. All had to pass security to enter the grounds. Among the activities was a meeting with Theodor Herzl on the famous balcony in Basel, which included a pho...
As a pair of identical twin girls entered the world, they were greeted in the delivery room by two people who had been there before: Tara and Tori, the identical twin nurses working in their delivery room. After a serendipitous turn of events, the twin nurses at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Georgia were able to deliver Addison and Emma Williams on Sept. 25. Brannan Williams, the father of the newborns, said he was happy to hear there would be twins in the delivery room (in addition, of course, to his own). "I was really nervous about the walk into the C-section room," he told CNN. "And then learning that, I was like, oh, that's pretty cool! It kind of relaxed me a little bit." His wife, Rebecca Williams, delivered the babies three minutes apart. Sisters Tori...
Blue and White Party Chairman MK Benny Gantz rejected the plan to establish a unity government proposed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. "I received an offer today that I can't help but refuse. We will wait for the President's mandate and begin serious negotiations for the establishment of a liberal unity government that will lead to change and restore hope to the citizens of Israel," said Gantz. The Blue and White party stated that "the conduct of the outgoing prime minister even during the last period indicates that his path is not to unity but to immunity." "Even today he is not ready to enter into direct negotiations, and today he is also unwilling to acknowledge that most Israeli citizens have elected a liberal unity government, without the extremists. That...
European and British negotiators struck a deal Thursday to split Britain from the European Union, raising the prospect that the country could be out of the bloc by the end of October. Negotiators working through the night in Brussels struck a deal Thursday morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed on despite lingering questions about warring Brexit factions in London. The agreement would still need approval by European leaders and the British Parliament. “We’ve got a great new deal that takes back control – now Parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS, violent crime and our environment,” Johnson tweeted. British lawmakers passed a law requiring Johnson to ask to delay the Oct. 31 ...
A terrorist who allegedly tried to carry out a ramming attack against undercover Border Police officers and hit an armored vehicle was neutralized and evacuated in serious condition to the hospital. Border Police said that heavy damage was caused to the armored vehicle in which the fighters had been, but there were no casualties among our forces. The fighters, who belong to the Border Police undercover unit, participated in a raid on the Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah last night and arrested wanted persons for belonging to a terrorist organization and involvement in terror activities. Read more at Arutz Sheva.
Despite the current impasse in the Israeli coalition talks, signs emerged on Wednesday that a path to a unity government might be opening, with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz reportedly expressing a positive attitude toward such an arrangement. The Sept. 17 Knesset elections ended in a stalemate, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party nor Gantz’s centrist Blue and White able to form a majority coalition. Despite pressure to form a unity government, negotiations have thus far failed. Th Israeli news Mako reported on Wednesday, however, that sources close to Gantz were saying the former IDF chief of staff was leaning toward a unity government along lines recommended by President Reuven Rivlin. “We will hold our noses,” Gantz was ...
BRUSSELS (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his 27 counterparts from across the European Union were converging on Brussels on Thursday for a summit they hope will finally lay to rest the acrimony and frustration of a three-year divorce fight. Yet even before dawn, Johnson already had to deal with a serious setback when his Northern Irish government allies said they would not back his compromise proposals. The prime minister needs all the support he can get to push any deal past a deeply divided parliament. It only added to the high anxiety that reigned on Thursday morning, with the last outstanding issues of the divorce papers still unclear. Technical negotiators again went into the night Wednesday to fine tune customs and sales tax regulations that will have to regul...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The grieving parents of a British teenager who was killed in a car crash involving an American diplomat’s wife felt ambushed when President Donald Trump tried to get them to meet with the woman in front of the press, attorneys for the couple said Wednesday. Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn traveled to Washington on Tuesday seeking to have the woman’s diplomatic immunity lifted. Instead, Trump and national security adviser Robert O’Brien surprised the family by inviting Anne Sacoolas to the White House and suggesting Dunn’s parents meet with her in front of the White House press corps. Attorney Mark Stephens told The Associated Press the couple had no idea Sacoolas would be in the building when they were there Tuesday and were stunned by the p...
WASHINGTON (AP) — He said she’s a “third-grade” politician. She said he’s having a meltdown. And with that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chalked up the latest explosive meeting that ended abruptly with a walkout at the White House. It’s a familiar ritual, with Trump and congressional leaders meeting on official business, only to see the session devolve into colorful, name-calling commentary that’s a new kind of addition to the history books. But this time, against the backdrop of the fast-moving impeachment inquiry, Pelosi arrived not just as the leader of the opposing party, but as the speaker who could determine Trump’s political future. The administration called in congressional leadership to discuss the situatio...
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