People with a gene which increases the risk of developing dementia could be more likely to have a severe case of COVID-19, according to a study. The paper published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences linked carrying two faulty copies of the APOE gene to a two-fold risk of having severe COVID-19 from the baseline. “Further investigation is needed to understand the biological mechanisms linking APOE genotypes to COVID-19 severity,” wrote the authors. Read more at NEWSWEEK.
For the first time, Twitter called tweets from Donald Trump “potentially misleading” — a decision that prompted the president to accuse the social media platform of election meddling. On Tuesday, Twitter highlighted two of Trump’s tweets that falsely claimed mail-in ballots would lead to widespread voter fraud, appending a message the company has introduced to combat misinformation and disputed or unverified claims. “Get the facts about mail-in ballots,” read the message beneath each tweet. It linked to a curated fact-check page the platform had created filled with further links and summaries of news articles debunking the assertion. Twitter said the move was aimed at providing “context” around Trump’s remarks. Read more at CNN.
An Ohio man who was seen brandishing an antisemitic sign at a protest in Columbus, Ohio, in April also threatened to kill Jews at Kent State University in a separate incident in early May. The Cleveland Jewish News reported that Jackie Congedo – the director of the Cincinnati Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council — spoke about the incident during a webinar on coronavirus-related antisemitism last week. Describing a man at the Columbus protest who was carrying a sign that portrayed a religious Jew as a rat under the words “the real plague,” Congedo said, “Fast forward several weeks after this protest and law enforcement is actually investigating a subsequent incident where we know that he entered a convenience store around the anniversa...
A new study conducted by the Israel Institute for Biological Research indicated that derivatives of two drugs designed to treat Gaucher disease were an effective treatment for the coronavirus. Gaucher disease is an enzyme disorder that causes the buildup of fatty substance in the bones and internal organs. It is particularly common among Ashkenazi Jews. Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Tuesday that one of the derivatives tested is from the FDA-approved drug Cerdelga. The second is currently in the late stage of testing. The Institute noted that using pre-approved drugs was an advantage, as the research phase was significantly shortened. The Institute stated that its study showed that the new derivatives significantly reduced the reproduction rate of the coronavirus, lowering the s...
The Justice Department has notified Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that it has closed insider trading investigations of their stock sales before the coronavirus pandemic crashed global markets, according to people familiar with the investigation. The notifications leaves open a Justice Department investigation into Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who earlier this month stepped down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after FBI agents seized his cellphone and executed a search warrant for his electronic communications. Loeffler’s office and aides to Feinstein and Inhofe confirmed that the three senators were informed Tuesday afternoon that the Justice Department has ended an inquiry into their stock trades and that neither...
Bowing to pressure, Maimonides Medical Center in Boro Park is allowing patients to have visitors and be accompanied by relatives for a limited pilot program. Boro Park’s premier hospital on Tuesday rolled out a visitors’ protocol, days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that family members must be allowed to visit relatives and visually monitor their medical progress. It comes after patients reported horror stories of neglect and not being adequately fed and cared for. Hospitals across the state have barred any visitors out of concern they could spread the coronavirus. Starting Tuesday, Maimonides will allow each patient to have two visitors a day, one at a time, during select hours, as New York’s pilot program gets underway in 21 hospitals across the state. Visitation ...
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Shmuel Hakohein Miller zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah Beis Yisroel of Lakewood. Rav Miller was a son of Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l. He led his yeshiva for decades in Brooklyn, NY before relocating it to Lakewood several years ago. Rav Shmuel, an outstanding talmid chochom, was a son of Rav Avigdor and Rebbetzin Ettil Miller zt”l. When he became of marriageable age, he married his wife, Rebbetzin Miriam, a daughter of Rabbi and Mrs. Moshe Pancer. Rav Shmuel went on to found Yeshiva Bais Yisroel in New York together with his father, and he was marbitz Torah for decades. Throughout the years, Rav Shmuel showed great selflessne...
Benny Gantz made his first visit as defense minister to the embattled communities on the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and warned that the conflict with the Islamist terrorist group would continue. Gantz — who was IDF chief of staff during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014 — met with a group of local municipal officials in the city of Sderot, a frequent target of rocket attacks from Gaza. “This tension will not disappear, it will stay with us for several years,” Gantz said. “We know who our neighbors are,” he added. “We are turned toward peace. There will be ups and downs and we are ready for anything.” One of the officials said after the meeting, “There was a first get-to-know meeting with him as ...
The Israeli cabinet decided on Sunday to limit the Shin Bet security service’s surveillance of cell phones of people infected with the coronavirus and only use it as a last resort. Because of the decreased rate of infection, the cabinet changed the regulation so that phone tracking would be allowed “in specific and special cases only, where location … cannot be completed with epidemiological investigation using other methods,” reported Reuters. The cabinet did note that the program could be ramped up again if virus rates go on the rise. So far, Israel has had 16,712 coronavirus cases and, to date, 280 deaths. The country has largely reopened with some restrictions in place. The surveillance program was approved by the cabinet in March as an emergency measure an...
Baltimore, MD - May 27 - Breakfast And Lunch Distribution At Bnos Yisroel for Wednesday, May 27 Menu: Wed - pickup for Shavous/Shabbos meals  for Thurs - Sunday, Blintzes, Baked Ziti  +... (no challah will be given out)Thurs - NO PICKUPTimes for Wednesday 1:00-2:45 - Cars picking up 1 to 4 meals3:15 - 4:15 - Cars picking up 5-7 meals5 - 6 - Cars picking up 8+ meals6:30-7:30 PM pickup for those who could not pick up during the earlier time slots*Thursday: NO PICKUP *Sign: Paper on passenger side or front window with number of meals, family name, and the names and ages of the family members 18 and underIf you are rolling down your front passenger window please place your sign n the front windowPlease make sure your signs are  readable - Please use a sharpie!  It slows d...
 In a historic moment for the U.S. space program, NASA and SpaceX are set to launch American astronauts into space on a U.S. spacecraft and from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade. "This is a milestone in the history of the U.S. space program. It's only the fifth time that people have been launched on a new U.S. spacecraft," John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute and former member of the NASA Advisory Council, told ABC News. The SpaceX Demo-2 test flight will carry NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station and is scheduled for launch on Wednesday. If all goes as planned, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket, will dock at the space sta...
TOWSON, Md. — Baltimore County restaurants and bars are getting some guidance from the county about how to prepare for reopening. Under Gov. Larry Hogan's statewide executive order, restaurants and bars are currently only permitted to provide carryout and delivery service. In an effort to help restaurateurs prepare for reopening more quickly when the time comes, the county sent a letter to restaurants and bars Tuesday, giving them steps to incorporate guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into their businesses to prepare for outdoor dining. The county is also working on a streamlined application process for expansions to accommodate outdoor areas. The county cited public health experts as saying outdoor restaurant and bar seating -- combined wi...
Baltimore County is home to one of 10 ZIP codes in Maryland with the state's highest number of coronavirus cases. BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Nearly 5,500 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Baltimore County, where almost 300 have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, officials reported Tuesday. Baltimore County is now testing residents without a doctor's order; however, people must call the county's COVID-19 hotline at 410-887-3816 to get an appointment. Data released Tuesday shows that 297 people in Baltimore County have died from the virus, with test results pending for 15 others. Officials say 5,498 people in Baltimore County have tested positive for the coronavirus. One area in Baltimore County is on a list of top 10 ZIP...
JERUSALEM (JNS) – Imagine being able to exit Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, hop on a fast train to Jerusalem and within about 45 minutes, stand at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. That day could come soon, but first Jerusalem officials need to clear a few hurdles. Former Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announced in 2017 that he intended to extend Israel’s new fast-rail line, which currently only reaches the entrance to Jerusalem, to Jerusalem’s Old City, and to name the new station after U.S. President Donald Trump in honor of his having recognized Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem and in charge of foreign relations, international economic development and tourism, told ...
New Jersey high schools, middle schools and colleges will be allowed to hold in-person graduation ceremonies “unlike any others” beginning July 6, as long as they are outside and comply with social distancing, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday. The decision, announced via Twitter, comes as Murphy was under intense pressure to allow schools to do more than the virtual ceremonies many had planned to comply with his executive order banning large gatherings. “To the Class of 2020, I am proud to say that you will have your opportunity to join with your classmates and families to celebrate your graduation,” Murphy said in his daily media briefing. Read more at NJ.com.
Eight guests who attended an Orthodox Jewish wedding in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires on Monday were arrested for violating coronavirus-related social-distancing regulations. The six men and two women — who reportedly included the bride and groom — were detained by police who answered an emergency call complaining that the wedding was taking place in apparent contravention of public health guidelines. Other guests were prevented from entering the building where the ceremony took place. The arrests followed a similar controversy last week, when images of 150 guests at another Orthodox Jewish wedding were widely shared on the internet. The guests were gathered in a relatively small space without wearing masks and without observing the six-feet distancing protocol. Video...
Israel’s economy contracted by around 7.1 percent in the first quarter, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday. This was the first quarterly contraction of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) since 2012, according to Reuters. The contraction is mainly being attributed to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which affected trade, investment, consumer and government spending. Private spending dropped 20.3 percent and investment in fixed assets fell by 17.3, while exports fell by 5.9 percent from January to March, according to the report. GDP contracted by 4.6 percent without including tax income on exports. The fourth-quarter GDP growth rate in 2019 was at 4.6 percent as the economy grew 3.5 percent overall last year. Israel’s Fi...
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani issued an implementation order on Tuesday of parliamentary legislation passed last week that bans the use of any Israeli products in the country. The ban includes technology, such as computer hardware and software, and was passed unanimously by Iranian lawmakers last week, Fars News Agency reported. The legislation was passed “to confront the hostile acts of the Zionist regime against peace and security,” and considers any cooperation with Israel an “act against god.” Read more at i24NEWS.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just under the 25,000 marker Tuesday after earlier crossing the milestone for the first time since March 10. The Dow closed at 24,995, up 530 points, or 2.2 percent, after earlier touching a session high of 25,176. The average first passed 25,000 in December 2017. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 similarly crossed 3,000 for the first time since March 5, but closed at 2,991, up 1.2 percent. The S&P, often seen as a better gauge of the market as a whole, first crossed 3,000 last July. Read more at The Hill.
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...
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