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May 26, 2020 at 10:37 pm
The Minneapolis cops involved in the arrest of George Floyd before he died have all been fired, Mayor Jacob Frey said on Twitter.
“Four responding MPD officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been terminated,” Frey wrote. “This is the right call.”
Floyd, who is black, was seen on viral video being pinned down by Minneapolis police, yelling, “I cannot breathe” before he died.
A white police officer seen with his knee on Floyd’s neck was identified Tuesday as Derek Chauvin, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The FBI and Minnesota state authorities are investigating the incident.
“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Frey said in an earlier tweet. “For five minutes, ...
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May 26, 2020 at 10:37 pm
Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau said his government is working toward ramping up the national sick leave program as the country anticipates a second wave of coronavirus infections.
“Nobody should have to choose between taking a day off work due to illness or being able to pay their bills. Just like nobody should have to choose between staying home with COVID-19 symptoms or being able to afford rent or groceries,” Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa Monday.
Though sick leave policies are typical decisions of provinces, Trudeau is proposing guaranteeing workers across Canada at least 10 days of sick leave amid the pandemic.
Read more at The Hill.
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May 26, 2020 at 10:36 pm
More genius from Comrade de Blasio.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said President Donald Trump’s announcement that all houses of worship provide “essential services” and should be reopened immediately was a “dangerous” directive and not one that should be followed in the Big Apple.
“With all due respect to the president, the president left the impression on Friday that any and all religious services should start again,” de Blasio said Tuesday during his first press briefing since Trump’s announcement. “I’m saying very clearly that is dangerous. It is not time to restart large gatherings of any kind even though we deeply, deeply value faith,” de Blasio said. “The key faith leaders of this city are saying it’s not time...
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May 26, 2020 at 10:36 pm
Israel’s right-wing Yamina Party announced on Monday that it had submitted a bill aimed at preventing the criminal prosecution of a sitting prime minister.
In a statement released to the press, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, along with party members Ayelet Shaked and Bezalel Smotrich, explained the impetus for the bill, which is based on the “French law”—an Israeli nickname for legislation in France that grants leaders immunity from investigation, indictment and prosecution until they are out of office.
Referring to criminal trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which began with his arraignment on Sunday, the statement reads:
“As we see these days, investigations and a criminal trial against a sitting prime minister seriously impair his abilit...
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May 26, 2020 at 9:53 pm
One can look in the Torah and find the exact dates on which Rosh Hashana (Vayikra 23:24), Yom Kippur (23:27), Succos (23:34), Shmini Atzeres (23:36) and Pesach (23:5) are to be observed. For Shavuos however, no such Pasuk exists. Rather we are told that starting from the second day of Pesach we are to count 7 weeks and the following day bring the Karban Omer. The next day, after the counting is complete, is the Yom Tov of Shavuos (23:16,21). Most Mepharshim learn that this was deliberately set up to mirror the fact that Bnei Yisroel were told at the time of Yitzias Mitzrayim that fifty days after their departure, they would receive the Torah. Thus, the Yom Tov of Shavuos has come to commemorate Matan Torah, even though the Torah’s reference revolves arou...
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May 26, 2020 at 9:09 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 27, 2020 - The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah issued the following statement today.
Click here or on the graphic below for a larger, printable copy
English Translation:
An Urgent Call from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah:
The Hand of Hashem has struck us twice, with a terrible pandemic and a difficult decree, incomparable to anything in recent memory: a plague in which thousands ofour brethren fell, among whom were great Torah scholars and community leaders; and by being removed from Hashem's Presence by having shuls and batei medrash closed around the world. It is incumbent on us to better our ways and to repent to Hashem, every person and his community, as they recognize their own shortcomings. Specifically, we have to be mindful that the world operat...
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May 26, 2020 at 5:27 pm
Register for our next Telekosher Conference Series
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 4 pm ET
COVID-19 KASHRUS
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
SHOPPING FROM HOME? WHAT NEEDS CERTIFICATION AND WHAT DOESN'T
HOW ARE KASHRUS AGENCIES HANDLING FACTORY VISITS?
TAKE AN ONSITE TOUR WITH A MASHGIACH AT A RESTAURANT - WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING
ALSO TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS
WITH RABBI SHOLOM TENDLER
HOSTED BY
RABBI ZVI GOLDBERG
Questions are encouraged from the listening audience. You can ask questions via chat during the show. You can also email us questions prior to the show at webinar@star-k.org.
Also join by phone call 1-218-895-1203 and enter conference 2020
Mark your calendars! STAR-K's ongoing TeleKosher Conference Series is gen...
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May 26, 2020 at 4:30 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 26, 2020 - Sunday morning, Shomrim/MVSAR leadership took part in a Missing Persons search and rescue training in the woods at Lake Roland. It was an extremely valuable learning experience and we would like to thank DMAC Security LLC for coordinating.
Attached are freeze frames from an upcoming video.
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May 26, 2020 at 3:26 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 26, 2020 — Baltimore City will allow for curbside retail pickup starting Wednesday, Mayor Jack Young announced Tuesday.
Businesses can request temporary pickup zones from the Department of Transportation.
While gyms and fitness centers must remain closed, outdoor fitness classes with up to 10 people can start Wednesday.
Restaurants must remain closed except for carryout and delivery. A restaurant task force has been convened, the mayor said.
Last week, the mayor said the city would maintain its stay-home order.
The coronavirus positivity rate in Baltimore City has declined from 20% to 17% over the last few days, moving closer to rates considered safe for reopening. Read more at WBALTV
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May 26, 2020 at 2:57 pm
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Monday he believes the U.S. has “overreacted a little bit” to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that Americans can get back to work sooner rather than later if they observe social distancing and wear masks.
The former congressman and budget chief for the Trump administration cited recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance finding the virus does not spread easily via surfaces to assert the country may have gone too far with restrictions.
“The fact that it’s difficult to get this disease from touching stuff … should sort of reset how we look at this,” Mulvaney said on CNBC. “What it means is that if we are careful about social distancing and putting on masks and so forth, ...
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May 26, 2020 at 2:43 pm
Stock roared Tuesday coming off the holiday weekend, as the national shutdown continues to unwind, more drug companies chase coronavirus vaccines and the New York Stock Exchange reopened its floor to traders for the first time in two months.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up nearly 600 points Tuesday, about 2.3 percent, on the heels of its 3.3 percent gain last week.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 57 points, about 1.9 percent. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a 1.6 percent gain. All three indexes are coming off strong gains last week and are positive for May.
“With more signs of the worst of the virus being behind us investors are beginning to focus on more countries reopening and the lifting of travel bans around the world,” said Torsten Slok, chief...
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May 26, 2020 at 2:06 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 26, 2020 - Baltimore County Police received a 911 call around 7 a.m. today for a person driving erratically in the 400 block of Mt. Wilson Lane, around the campus of Ner Israel Rabbinical College. The caller stated that the driver was trying to run people over and gave the tag and a description of the vehicle, a black Nissan.
As officers were en route, they spotted the vehicle at Mt. Wilson Lane and Reisterstown Road. They attempted to stop the vehicle and it fled southbound on Reisterstown Road. After a brief pursuit, the vehicle was stopped at Reisterstown and Fallstaff roads. The suspect would not comply with orders to get out of the vehicle so officers broke the driver’s side window in order to arrest th suspect. During the arrest one officer sustained...
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May 26, 2020 at 1:43 pm
Most people are more likely to wind up six feet under because of almost anything else under the sun other than COVID-19.
The CDC just came out with a report that should be earth-shattering to the narrative of the political class, yet it will go into the thick pile of vital data and information about the virus that is not getting out to the public. For the first time, the CDC has attempted to offer a real estimate of the overall death rate for COVID-19, and under its most likely scenario, the number is 0.26%. Officials estimate a 0.4% fatality rate among those who are symptomatic and project a 35% rate of asymptomatic cases among those infected, which drops the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) to just 0.26% — almost exactly where Stanford researchers pegged it a month ago.
Unti...
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May 26, 2020 at 1:43 pm
Last year, a celebrity made headlines when she shared a video of herself very thoroughly sanitizing her Qatar Airlines seat. There were disinfecting wipes involved, plastic gloves and a face mask.
And that was before the coronavirus pandemic.
With the world battling a highly contagious global health threat, that celebrity has taken her in-flight hygiene habits a step further by wearing a hazmat suit on board.
She is not alone in wearing hazmat suits on planes. The behavior is becoming more common for regular air travelers, as well as airline staff.
Disposable PPE suits can cost less than $20 online, but health experts aren’t advocating wearing them on planes during the pandemic.
“Wearing a hazmat suit on an airplane is unnecessary and could cause undue concern for other tr...
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May 26, 2020 at 1:26 pm
Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, chief rabbi of the Iranian Jewish community, was asked to give an interview to the official television station of the regime in Tehran and express his views on Israel.
The interview took place during the last Friday of Ramadan, known as Al-Quds Day, which is traditionally devoted to anti-Israeli incitement.
“We Iranian Jews want to send this message to Zionists and primarily to [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu. Know that you Zionists do not represent Judaism and do not represent the Jewish people. You represent only the idea of a political movement whose ideas and values run counter to the ideas and values of our sacred teachings and Jewish religion,” Rabbi Gerami said.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
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May 26, 2020 at 1:19 pm
President Trump is considering creating a panel to oversee complaints of bias against conservatives by social media platforms in a move that would likely spark pushback from tech companies.
The plans are still being mulled, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal, but options could include the creation of a formal White House commission on the allegations.
“Left-wing bias in the tech world is a concern that definitely needs to be addressed from our vantage point, and at least exposed [so] that Americans have clear eyes about what we’re dealing with,” a White House official told The Journal.
Read more at The Hill.
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May 26, 2020 at 11:51 am
Israel’s High Court of Justice annulled Monday a directive to demolish the home of a Palestinian terrorist who took part in the murder of 19-year-old First Sgt. Dvir Sorek in August 2019.
In their majority decision, two justices – Judges Uzi Fogelman and Anat Baron – wrote that the terrorist’s family, his wife and three children, did not know of his deeds, therefore, the punishment is not proportional.
Terrorist Mahmoud Attawone is charged with intentionally causing death for his involvement and complicity in the stabbing attack against Sorek — among other offenses, Hebrew-language outlet Walla News reported.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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May 26, 2020 at 11:20 am
COVID-19 update as we start to leave our cocoons. The purpose of this post is to provide a perspective on the intense but expected anxiety so many people are experiencing as they prepare to leave the shelter of their homes. My opinions are not those of my employers and are not meant to invalidate anyone else’s – they simply are my perspective on managing risk.
In March, we did not know much about COVID-19 other than the incredibly scary news reports from overrun hospitals in China, Italy, and other parts of Europe. The media was filled with scary pictures of chest CT scans, personal stories of people who decompensated quickly with shortness of breath, overwhelmed health care systems, and deaths. We heard confusing and widely varying estimates for risk of getting inf...
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May 26, 2020 at 11:08 am
Baltimore, MD - May 25, 2020 - For nearly 40 years, I had the honor of serving on the Baltimore City Council. I am appalled by the current state of our City. I’ve never seen our local leadership so out of touch with reality, unable to act and unwilling to lead. Never. The mayor and council president seem numb to the death toll, steadfast in pointing blame and more focused on passing resolutions and pursuing political quarrel than saving lives and actually changing the course of Baltimore’s history.
I join in claiming that the 2020 mayoral election will be the most important in a generation. If that fact has yet to resonate, take it from me - this is my 21st election - and I assure you Baltimore is at a juncture unlike any other.
Having assessed candidate after candidate, none...
