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December 4, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Agudah’s New Jersey Director Rabbi Avi Schnall and attorney Mr. David Smith met with Philadelphia Rosh HaYeshiva and Chaver Moetezes Gedolei HaTorah Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky to discuss recent legislation passed by the State of New Jersey.
The “Medical Aid in Dying” Act allows terminally ill patients to end their own lives via lethal doses of medicine. The new law further provides that should a patient or his family request the deadly poison, the doctor must either prescribe it, or at the least transfer the patient’s medical files to a doctor who would.
Contrary to claims that the bill would allow patients to choose “death with dignity,” the bill is a morally repugnant one, allowing one to take his own life - and forcing doctors to help.
Just a few days b...
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December 4, 2019 at 1:30 pm
A man was arrested and charged on Monday for vandalizing the historic Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington, D.C., with anti-Semitic graffiti on Friday.
Police apprehended Luis Montsinos, 28, and charged him with defacing and the destruction of property, in addition to resisting arrest, reported radio station WTOP.
The vandalism included swastikas written in red ink on a staircase and the word “JEW” etched onto a door, reported The Washington Post.
“While the damage to the building is minimal and will be fixed quickly, events like this can throw even the toughest person into a tailspin,” said Sixth & I Rabbis Shira Stutman, Aaron Potek and Jesse Paikin in an email to community members on Monday. “Given the current climate, we unfortunately are not surpr...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:20 am
Jerusalem, Israel - Dec. 4, 2019 - A young woman was killed after she was hit by the lightrail in Yerushalayim near the Central Bus Station.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Yinon Dahan was one of the first responders at the scene and relayed the following: “When we arrived, firefighters were working to extricate the woman from the lightrail after she was stuck by the train. She suffered a multi-system trauma and is in critical condition. Due to the severity and suddenness of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit was dispatched to the scene in order to treat the friends of the injured woman for emotional and psychological shock.”
The woman was later declared dead after a lengthy a lengthy period to extricate her from unde...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:18 am
A naturalized U.S. citizen who was a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Tuesday for gathering intelligence on potential sites for terrorist attacks in New York City.
Ali Kourani, a 35-year-old native of Lebanon, was the first member of the Islamic Jihad Organization, an arm of Hezbollah, to be convicted and sentenced in the United States, prosecutors said at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Kourani was already under investigation when he sought out the FBI in 2017 and offered to work as an informant in support of the bureau’s counterterrorism efforts, but prosecutors said he misled investigators.
A jury convicted Kourani on several terrorism counts in May after an eight-day trial. The court was told he was part of the...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:17 am
Phone-call records disclosed in the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry report released Tuesday show extensive contact between President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and the White House during key moments of the Ukraine saga.
The call records provide powerful circumstantial evidence that Giuliani was coordinating with the White House on his Ukraine gambit, something Giuliani has previously acknowledged. The records also show contact between a Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, and one of Trump’s key defenders in Congress, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.
The willingness of phone companies to turn over the records in response to the congressional request also served as a reminder of the pow...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:14 am
The woman in 14A was settled into her window seat, buckled in for the flight home. Moments later, with a sudden burst of violence at 32,000 feet, the window was gone.
Fan blade No. 13 had broken off inside the left engine, hurling shrapnel against the side of the plane. Her window disappeared out over the eastern Pennsylvania countryside, and Jennifer Riordan’s upper body was sucked halfway through the opening left behind.
During the 17 wrenching minutes that followed on that April morning last year, pilots struggled to guide the hobbled plane to an emergency landing and passengers fought to save the mother of two from Albuquerque, New Mexico, leaving a legacy of heroism in an incident that travelers around the world may have taken as a nightmarish, if seemingly random, accident.
...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:14 am
A key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election has been indicted with seven others on charges of conspiring to funnel more than $3 million in illegal foreign campaign contributions for that year’s elections, the Justice Department announced.
George Nader, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates who acted as an intermediary for members of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign seeking to forge contacts in the Middle East, was charged with conspiring to make conduit campaign contributions and related offenses, prosecutors said. The charges were handed down in a 53-count indictment unsealed Tuesday in Washington.
U.S. prosecutors also charged Andy Khawaja, a Lebanese-American businessman, with 35 counts relate...
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December 4, 2019 at 8:14 am
Sen. Kamala Harris swiped back at President Trump on Tuesday after he sent a tweet remarking on her decision to drop out of the 2020 Democratic primary race.
“Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll see you at your trial,” Harris tweeted, referencing the House’s impeachment investigation into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
Her tweet came in response to Trump’s own message saying it was “too bad” the California Democrat was forced to withdraw from the 2020 White House race.
“Too bad. We will miss you Kamala!” Trump tweeted.
Read more at The Hill.
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December 4, 2019 at 8:13 am
State Sen. Bobby Zirkin will resign in January. The Baltimore County lawmaker confirmed he will leave after 20 years in the General Assembly.
Zirkin said he plans to focus on his law practice, helping professional athletes with charity work and spending more time with his family. His resignation will take effect in January before the 2020 legislative session.
Zirkin was elected to the House of Delegates in 1998 and then to the state Senate in 2006. The Democrat has chaired the Judicial Proceedings Committee since 2015. He served during the administrations of four governors--Democrats Parris Glendening and Martin O'Malley and Republicans Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Larry Hogan. He befriended all four.
"I'd like to think that at the end when people think about how I was as a leg...
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December 3, 2019 at 8:40 pm
More than two dozen Baltimore corrections officers were indicted Tuesday on at least 200 charges that they used excessive force on prisoners at state-operated jails in the city, authorities said.
The 25 indicted officers are accused of threatening and assaulting detainees at correctional facilities, as well as tampering with evidence and falsifying documents, said Maryland State Attorney Marlilyn Mosby, whose office secured the indictments.
The charges also include conspiracy to promote and maintain a criminal organization by unlawful means, participation and conspiracy to participate in a criminal gang, and other misconduct charges, according to Fox Baltimore.
Mosby during a news conference said the indictments were the result of a “long-term investi...
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December 3, 2019 at 8:32 pm
An Israel Defense Forces emergency humanitarian aid delegation has left for Albania following the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country on Nov. 26, the IDF announced on Tuesday.
“We just dispatched an IDF humanitarian aid delegation to Albania following the devastating earthquake that took 50+ lives and left thousands injured,” the military posted on the official IDF Twitter feed, adding the hashtag “#IDFinAlbania.”
The Israeli team will join disaster experts from the United States, France, Italy, Greece, Romania, Turkey and Serbia.
The 10-member IDF team will focus on determining the structural soundness of the buildings still standing after the natural disaster, and is led by Israel’s Home Front Command and supported by the Israeli Foreign ...
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December 3, 2019 at 8:17 pm
COLUMBUS, OH (JNS) — An Israeli flag was recently forcibly removed from an international flag display at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) in Columbus, Ohio, according to video footage shared on social media.
The clip, published on Twitter on Nov. 30, shows CSCC student Malek Mustafa, who has an anti-Israel history and has minimized Hamas terrorism, cut down the Israeli flag from the display, while another student laughs.
Out of 26,935 students, there are only five Jewish students, according to Hillel International.
“Columbus State has confirmed a recent incident in which a miniature Israeli flag was forcibly removed from an international flag display on college property. An investigation is underway,” tweeted the school on Nov. 30.
On Monday, CSCC further tweet...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:49 pm
This article is adapted from my upcoming sefer, “What Can I Say... Today?” All halachos mentioned herein are complex and part of a larger framework. The purpose of the article is to raise awareness of these essential halachos. Hence, one should not draw any practical conclusions without first consulting a Rav.
Student Infractions
It is permitted for a principal or teacher to listen to (and even to inquire after) negative information regarding students in the school when it is necessary so that the school can service that child or the other children properly.
Example: Rabbi Shapiro, the principal, has reason to suspect that Avigdor has brought inappropriate reading material to school. He is allowed to speak to Avigdor’s rebbe to see if he has any leads to confirm this ...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:47 pm
"Existential" is Dictionary.com's 2019 Word Of the Year, the organization announced Monday. The word won out over other crisis-themed words and phrases including "polar vortex," "stochastic terrorism" and "exonerate."
"It captures a sense of grappling with the survival — literally and figuratively — of our planet, our loved ones, our ways of life," Dictionary.com wrote in a post announcing the choice. "But, existential also inspires us to ask big questions about who we are and what our purpose is in the face of our various challenges — and it reminds us that we can make choices about our lives in how we answer those questions."
Existential has two meanings: "Of or relating to existence" and "concerned with the nature of human existence as determined...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:26 pm
In honor of Yaakov Avinu’s contractual dealings with his father-in-law, I present:
Paying Workers on Time – The Mitzvah of “bal talin”
In parshas Ki Seitzei, the Torah instructs, “Beyomo sitein secharo ve’lo sa’avor alav hashemesh – On that day [the day the work was completed] you should pay his wage, and the sun shall not set [without him receiving payment]” (Devarim 24:15). The Torah mentions two mitzvos; a positive mitzvah (mitzvas aseh) and a negative mitzvah (mitzvas lo sa’aseh) to guarantee that a worker is paid before sunset of the day that he performed his job. Thus, someone who pays his worker on time fulfills a positive mitzvah, whereas if he neglects to pay him on time and the worker demands payment, he has tran...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:17 pm
TOWSON, MD (WJZ) — Maryland-based Stanley Black & Decker is recalling wooden hammers that are exclusively sold at Walmart due to an injury hazard.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, STANLEY® brand 16 oz. wooden handle nailing hammer was recalled after a report that the molded grip of the hammer can come loose, posing an injury to consumers.
The recalled item’s model number is STHT51454. You can find it etched below the steel hammer head. The UPC code for the product is 076174514544 and is located on a label on the handle.
No one has been injured.
The product was sold at Walmart stores nationwide between July 2018 and August 2019 for about $6.
Consumers should stop using the hammers and return them to Walmart.
Stanley toll-free at 866-215-...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:12 pm
STRASBOURG, FRANCE (VINnews) – More than 100 tombstones buried inside a Jewish cemetery were found desecrated near the border-town of Strasbourg, France on Tuesday.
AFP is reporting that, Anti-Semitic symbols, including swastikas, were found on at least 107 Jewish graves inside a cemetery located in Westhoffen, not far from Strasbourg, town leaders said in a statement.
“This discovery comes as anti-Semitic graffiti was already found in the town of Schaffhouse-sur-Zorn”, about twenty kilometers from Westhoffen, the statement added.
Local authorities are currently conducting a preliminary investigation and collecting evidence inside desecrated cemetery.
“We strongly condemns these heinous anti-Semitic acts that once again strike the Lower Rhine and expresses his u...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:08 pm
FULL REPORT CAN BE READ HERE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House released a sweeping impeachment report Tuesday outlining evidence of what it calls President Donald Trump’s wrongdoing toward Ukraine, findings that will serve as the foundation for debate over whether the 45th president should be removed from office.
The 300 -page report from Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee makes the case that Trump misused the power of his office and, in the course of their investigation, obstructed Congress by stonewalling the proceedings. Based on two months of investigation, the report contains evidence and testimony from current and former U.S. officials.
“The President placed his personal political interests above the national interests of the United States, sought to undermi...
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December 3, 2019 at 5:00 pm
A company that President Donald Trump urged military officials to hire for border wall construction has been awarded a $400 million contract to build a span of new barrier across an Arizona wildlife refuge, according to a Department of Defense announcement Monday.
North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. won the contract to build in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Yuma County, Arizona, the Defense Department said, with a target completion date of Dec. 30, 2020.
Trump has repeatedly pushed for Fisher to get a wall-building contract, urging officials with the Army Corps of Engineers to pick the firm – only to be told Fisher’s bids did not meet standards. Trump’s entreaties on behalf of the company have concerned some officials who are unaccustomed to th...
