Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the first time on Tuesday laid out a rough timeline for when he foresees another relief package coming to fruition, predicting Congress will be able to negotiate and pass legislation “in the next month or so.” However, the Kentucky Republican, who has previously refrained from offering a specific timetable, reiterated the next stimulus will not resemble the “$3 trillion, left-wing wish-list” that the Democratic-led House passed earlier this month. “That ain’t gonna happen,” McConnell said. Although the Senate leader was sparse with the details when speaking to reporters at a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, his public openness to more federal aid comes amid pressure from both sides of the aisle to furth...
China’s “bat woman” researcher warns that the deadly coronavirus surfacing now is “just the tip of the iceberg” in terms of what humans may soon face without a global effort to prevent similar infectious outbreaks, the NY Post reports. “If we want to prevent human beings from suffering from the next infectious-disease outbreak, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and give early warnings,” Shi Zhengli, a top Chinese scientist specializing in viral transmissions from bats, told CGTN in an interview. “If we don’t study [the viruses], there will possibly be another outbreak,” warned Shi, who was dubbed “bat woman” by the press because of her research inv...
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany joins ‘Fox & Friends.’
Authorities in Wuhan, China say that they have conducted around 6.5 million coronavirus tests among city residents in just over a week as authorities try to prevent a second outbreak from spreading. Reports on CCTV and news outlet Caixin translated by CNN revealed that authorities said they have begun “pool testing,” or the gathering of multiple samples into the same receptacle for mass-testing with further tests necessary if any positive results are uncovered. The process does not allow for individual results, but does allow authorities to dramatically improve the speed of testing. “Since the launch of the Wuhan centralized nucleic acid test on May 15, as of May 24, more than 9 million residents have been sampled and more than 6.5 million have been tested,” reads...
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, ...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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
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, ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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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