|
April 7, 2020 at 12:06 pm
U.S. equity markets soared for a second straight day Tuesday as COVID-19 continued to show signs of moderating in some of the so-called hot spots, putting the S&P 500 on track to exit its bear market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 382 points, or 1.7 percent, in the opening minutes of trading while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were higher by 1.1 percent and 0.43 percent, respectively.
While all three major averages pared initial gains, the increases are still lifting the S&P 500 out of the bear market that began on March 12. The index needs to close above 2684.88 to officially exit.
The COVID-19 pandemic showed further signs of slowing with the number of new cases and deaths in New York and New Jersey declining for a second day.
The major averages all gain...
|
April 7, 2020 at 11:04 am
The first in a convoy of 11 El Al planes carrying tons of critical medical equipment to Israel from China touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport, as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
Israel’s Defense Ministry that planes carrying 20 tons of vital medical supplies, including 900,000 surgical masks, 500,000 protective suits, several ventilators and other equipment would touch down one after another over the course of the next several days, in a coordinated effort with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, El Al Airlines and Israel Chemicals.
Due to an international run on coronavirus testing reagents, Israel has not been able to perform the 30,000 tests per day that Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu called for last week, but has still managed to contin...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:56 am
Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman said that residents of charedi-dominated localities are being treated in a “discriminatory and degrading” manner as the coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread quickly in chareidi communities.
Litzman, who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 himself, made his remarks after the city of Ramat Gan put up barricades along its border with the charedi city of Bnei Brak, which has a high infection rate and is under a government lockdown.
“I urge the mayor of Ramat Gan to avoid meddling and creating friction between the populations [of the two neighboring cities]. The residents of Bnei Brak and the entire ultra-Orthodox population should not be discriminated against,” said Litzman.
Bnei Brak city workers have begun taking down the fence....
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:47 am
BALTIMORE — Some Maryland lawmakers think the public isn't getting enough detailed demographic data when it comes to how the coronavirus pandemic.
The lack of racial data about coronavirus patients is an issue gaining traction around the country. A couple of states have begun reporting the data; Maryland is not one of them.
Since the coronavirus pandemic came to Maryland, state health officials have been releasing information about the cases, like the number of confirmed and negative tests, hospitalizations, age and gender.
But for state Del. Nick Mosby and 79 other lawmakers, that's not enough.
“I think the key is targeted resources, so maybe it will help us develop a plan to ensure that if we know that certain folks in this sector of Maryland are getting sick ...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:44 am
[Ed. Note] Out of the respect and recognition of the impact made by longtime BJL friend and contributor, Reb Shaya Gross, z’l, we will maintain a living memoriam to Shaya through the sweet words and thoughtful insights of his Divrei Torah. BJL readers will remember his weekly column on the Parsha and on various Torah ideas and concepts. These meaningful words will help us remember this special young man who will be sorely missed and for those who did not merit to know him, this will be the most appropriate way for them to become familiar with who he was.
There is a passuk we say in davening that bothered me for a long time. The following is the translation of that passuk: “For forty years I was angry with the generation and I said they are an errant-hearted people...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:43 am
Stephanie Grisham is stepping down as White House press secretary and rejoining the first lady’s office as chief of staff and spokeswoman.
“I am excited to welcome Stephanie back to the team in this new role,” first lady Melania Trump said in a statement Tuesday. “She has been a mainstay and true leader in the Administration from even before day one, and I know she will excel as Chief of Staff.”
The abrupt move comes less than a year after she took the job. Grisham previously worked as the communications director for Melania Trump before replacing Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary last summer.
Her departure, coming amid the coronavirus pandemic, creates an opening for what would be President Trump’s fourth press secretary before the en...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:17 am
The worst possible outcome would be for us to remain unchanged by this crisis
I've been more concerned for my physical safety and that of my loved ones in the past than I am now. My childhood idyll growing up in the United States was shattered by the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis, which seemed to hold the potential for incinerating the world in a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.
I can remember watching our neighbors across the ravine building a bomb shelter in their backyard. And they made sure to let us know they had guns to protect their safe haven.
In Israel, fear of war has been a constant companion. During the 1991 Gulf War, the radio stayed on Shabbos to alert us instantly to any missiles headed our way, and we spent at least a few nights huddled with our kids in our seale...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:08 am
Baltimore, MD – Apr. 2020 - 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 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 creating l...
|
April 7, 2020 at 10:00 am
We are devastated and broken-hearted to report the petirah of the Novominsker Rebbe Horav Yaakov Perlow, זצוק'ל. The Rebbe was a longstanding member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America, and served as Rosh Agudas Yisroel for the past 22 years. The loss to Klal Yisroel, and Agudas Yisroel, is incalculable. Because of the current situation, the Rebbe's family is respectfully requesting that nobody other than immediate family participate in the levaya or kevura, which will be'H take place later today. Clearly, as the tremendous baal achrayus that he was, those would have been the Rebbe's wishes as well.People are encouraged to participate by telephone in the saying of Tehillim. This will take place at 10:00 this morning. The call-in number is 646-558-8656, code 1...
|
April 7, 2020 at 9:48 am
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2020:
Dear Baltimore Community Members,
We would like you to know that many procedures have been put in place to make your shopping experience safer. Please adhere to all of them. Please follow the guidance of the personnel at the door and at the registers.
With much appreciation and wishes of health,
The Seven Mile Market Family
|
April 7, 2020 at 8:38 am
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 6, 2020 - The Online Mechiras Chometz page at www.star-k.org/shtar to appoint Rav Heinemann, Shlit”a, as your agent to sell chometz this year will no longer be available after 10 AM Tuesday April 7th. Anyone still needing to sell chometz after that time should contact their Rav.
|
April 7, 2020 at 6:25 am
Klal Yisrael was plunged into mourning upon learning of the petirah early Tuesday, 13 Nisan, of the Novominsker Rebbe, Harav Yaakov Perlow, zy”a.
The Rebbe was a towering figure in the leadership of American Jewry, and served as Rosh Agudath Yisrael of America since 1998. He was 89 at his petirah.
The Rebbe was born in New York in 5691/1931. He was the son of the previous Rebbe, Harav Nachum Mordechai Perlow, zt”l, and Rebbetzin Beila Ruchama, a”h. He was named for his great-grandfather, Harav Yaakov Perlow, zt”l, the first Novominsker Rebbe. His maternal grandfather was Harav Yitzchak Zelig Morgenstern, zt”l, the Sokolover Rebbe, a descendant of the Kotzker Rebbe, zy”a.
When he came of age, ...
|
April 6, 2020 at 9:34 pm
The state of Maryland has leased two ice skating rinks to use as possible makeshift morgues during the COVID-19 crisis.
Maryland Health Secretary Robert R. Neall shared the grim detail with the University System of Maryland Board of Regents on a teleconference Monday evening.
Neall, a member of the board, said officials are working overtime to create a temporary hospital system that is three-quarters the size of the state’s permanent hospital system.
“Masks, gowns, ventilators … All in very short supply,” Neall said. “This is the world’s largest scavenger hunt.”
According to a U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee report released last week, Maryland has received a fraction of the medical supplies requested from the Federal Emergency Manage...
|
April 6, 2020 at 9:02 pm
A looming egg crisis was averted in Israel on Sunday, when a ship carrying millions of eggs arrived in Ashdod Port, Hebrew news website N12 reported.
The egg shortage hit the news after the government ministries of finance and agriculture both warned that Israel was running short of the staple due to effects of the coronavirus pandemic on international imports.
There was a fear that there would be an egg shortage just before the Passover holiday and fighting over eggs at supermarkets led to minor incidents of violence, as well as a reported “black market” in the foodstuff.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon stepped in and announced that the government would subsidize the importation of eggs from Europe.
The ship carrying the eggs was diverte...
|
April 6, 2020 at 8:53 pm
For reasons that elude most MD leaders, many drivers refuse to get an E-ZPass transponder, opting instead to pay cash. But that will end.
For reasons that elude most policymakers and transportation analysts, many drivers refuse to get an E-ZPass transponder, opting instead to queue at every toll plaza to hand cash to a human toll-taker.
That option is likely to disappear in the not-too-distant future.
Even before the COVID-19 crisis struck, Maryland was already chipping away at the cash option:
The Key Bridge, on the eastern edge of the Baltimore Beltway, and the Hatem Bridge, which carries U.S. 40 traffic between Harford and Cecil counties, no longer have human toll-takers;
The Bay Bridge went cashless temporarily as part of the Department of Transportation's push to finish ...
|
April 6, 2020 at 8:44 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday night ruled that Wisconsin cannot accept absentee ballots postmarked after its voting day Tuesday.
In a 5-4 vote along ideological lines, the conservative justices sided with Republican state lawmakers by halting a lower court order to extend absentee voting to April 13, a measure that would have expanded options for avoiding in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Extending the date by which ballots may be cast by voters — not just received by the municipal clerks but cast by voters — for an additional six days after the scheduled election day fundamentally alters the nature of the election,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority, saying the lower district court erred by providing such relief.
The deci...
|
April 6, 2020 at 8:41 pm
Researchers at Yale say that we may get some respite from the coronavirus pandemic as we move into spring, although this depends on how indoor environments adapt.
While the effectiveness of social distancing measures obviously plays a crucial role in battling the spread of COVID-19, the scientists are also eyeing changes in relative humidity indoors from winter to spring to summer.
Relative humidity measures water vapor relative to the temperature of the air.
“In other words, it is a measure of the actual amount of water vapor in the air compared to the total amount of vapor that can exist in the air at its current temperature,” explains the National Weather Service on its website. This differs from absolute humidity, which is a measure of the actual...
|
April 6, 2020 at 8:07 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 6, 2020 - More coronavirus testing sites are opening in Maryland, and health officials are watching the stock of testing supplies closely.
Maryland is opening more coronavirus testing sites Tuesday at Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program locations -- one in Howard County and another in Montgomery County. The Maryland Department of Health said test kit supplies are limited.
Testing is done by appointment only and only while supplies last.
"We do have tests. Tests are being made available to us on a daily basis. Of course, there is a limited availability of these tests. It is something we are monitoring in real time, but as we have tests available, we are opening up slots through the VEIP testing sites," Maryland Department of Health spokesman Andy Owen said...
|
April 6, 2020 at 8:02 pm
One of Israel’s largest hospitals has begun to allow close family members to be at the bedside of dying coronavirus patients and is hoping others around the world will begin to follow suit.
“Stories of patients who died alone shocked me as a human and as a [hospital] director,” said Ronni Gamzu, CEO of Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital). “We at Ichilov have formulated guidelines, effective immediately, which will allow family members, wearing full protective gear supplied by the hospital, to say farewell to their loved ones. This is our moral duty as medical staff and as human beings. I believe that the rest of the world will follow our example, as it should.”
Ichilov is the first hospital in the world to allow families of dying COVID-19 patients to ...
