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July 31, 2020 at 1:10 pm
While the world waits for a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine to be developed, some scientists believe that tried-and-true vaccines may offer some protection against the virus.
Results from a recent study show that individuals who received SARS-CoV-2 tests, and had been immunized for other diseases, had much lower rates of infection than people who had not been inoculated for diseases such as measles-mumps-rubella and polio, or had not received flu vaccines. In particular, Blacks who had taken the pneumococcal vaccine had significantly lower rates of COVID-19 infection.
This finding is significant in light of statistics from the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that said members of racial and ethnic minority groups are at increased risk of gett...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:51 pm
(Adapted from Shabbos Nachamu Parsha Perspectives 5778)
As I write these words, the tears of Tisha B’Av are not yet dry. We spent this past Wednesday evening and Thursday mourning two thousand years of collective loss. We mourned the 2,500,000 Jews murdered during the destruction of the second Temple, we mourned the 6,000,000 who perished in the Holocaust, we mourned every man, woman and child we have lost throughout the years. But then something amazing occurs – we find comfort. This Shabbos is called, Shabbos Nachamu (the Shabbos of consolation). This name is taken from the opening words of the Haftorah, ‘Nachamu Nachamu Ami, be consoled, be consoled my nation,’ uttered by the prophet, Isaiah.We transition from profound mourning...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:47 pm
It may be more than six months since the 13th Siyum HaShas, but around the globe daf yomi learners continue to inspire Klal Yisroel with their unyielding commitment to the daf. For over half a year, and through the COVID-19 pandemic, these individuals and their families have made sacrifices to ensure the flame of Torah continues to burn.
In honor of these individuals and the approaching Siyum on Meseches Shabbos, Agudath Israel of America’s Daf Yomi Commission is proud to present a five-part Hilchos Shabbos Halachah L’maaseh series.
The series will begin this Sunday, August 2nd, at 9:00 pm EDT, and will conti...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:26 pm
I implored G-d at that time...
Moshe tells the nation how he prayed fervently to enter the land but was refused and told by G-d to cease from requesting.
We are taught that the word used for prayer here, ואתחנן, is numerically equivalent to שירה, a song, indicating that Moshe’s ‘petition’ was more a song of constant praise than it was a incessant plea.
If he had been beseeching G-d we can understand why G-d asked him to stop, but if he was merely ‘singing’ why would Moshe have to stop praising G-d?
The Midrash describes how after being told his wish could not be granted, Moshe then appeals to G-d to at least enter the land in the form of a beast of the field that grazes and drinks water who takes in the scenery, “so ...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:23 pm
Enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire as congressional negotiators are deadlocked over a coronavirus relief deal.
The additional $600 a week in unemployment insurance that Congress provided in late March will sunset on Friday at midnight, dealing a significant financial blow to millions of jobless Americans amid a weakening labor market.
Lawmakers had hoped the deadline, which was known for months, would result in the kind of eleventh-hour agreement that was once commonplace in Washington. But in a sign of how far apart negotiators are, the Senate left town for the week on Thursday, ensuring Congress will careen over the fast-approaching unemployment cliff.
"I think this is something that we saw the deadline coming and knew that we needed to take action. We haven't been ...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:17 pm
McKINNEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The mask mandate to keep Texans from spreading COVID-19 is coming with some side effects.
Some people who are forced to wear face masks all day in the workplace complain of headaches, shortness of breath and anxiety.
Whether the elastic is too tight or the cloth is too thick, there are a lot of reasons for mask fatigue that people who wear them for long periods are starting to experience.
Nearly three months of wearing a face mask everyday has taken a toll on the women who work at Southern Sisters Salon in McKinney.
Like a lot of workplaces in North Texas, masks are mandatory, but for some of those forced to wear them, they are miserable. Read more at CBS DFW
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July 31, 2020 at 12:14 pm
(CNN) Children younger than 5 have between 10 and 100 times more genetic material from the novel coronavirus in their noses compared to older children and to adults, according to a small study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
While the study didn't measure transmissibility, it raises questions -- just as schools start to reopen -- about how easily the new coronavirus may be spread by the under-5 set.
"We had just noticed that some of the children that we were testing for SARS CoV-2 that were positive, the youngest children seemed to have a high amount of the viral nucleic acid -- a high viral load in their nose -- compared to some of our older children and adults," lead author Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Lurie ...
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July 31, 2020 at 12:11 pm
July 31 (Reuters) - Florida reported a record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a fourth day in a row on Friday, with 257 fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.
In numerical terms, the loss of life is roughly equivalent to the number of passengers on a single-aisle airplane.
Florida also reported 9,007 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 470,000, the second highest in the country behind California. Florida's total death toll rose to nearly 7,000, the eighth highest in the nation, according to a Reuters tally.
Florida is among at least 18 states that saw cases more than double in July.
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July 31, 2020 at 11:58 am
Baltimore CIty officials say coronavirus cases are rising at a rate outstripping increased testing.
"Let me be clear, COVID is not making exceptions. We all have to be asking about how we can better protect our family, friends and neighbors," Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said. "Baltimore is different from our surrounding jurisdictions. It is a densely populated urban city and that presents its own set of challenges."
Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa said the city is seeing a rise in the average number of new cases per day from week to week. As of Tuesday, the city's positivity rate was 6.2%.
"All of these data are indicative of the resurgence of new cases in Baltimore," Dzirasa said. "Put simply if you are outside of your home, keep a face covering on you at all times. If y...
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July 31, 2020 at 11:50 am
When Dr. David Samadi, M.D., lead medical contributor for Newsmax TV, logged onto his Twitter account on Wednesday, he noticed something was different. He couldn’t tweet out any messages.
Then he checked his email. In his inbox, an email from Twitter telling him his account “has been locked for violating the Twitter Rules.”
Samadi, a nationally renowned physician and surgeon dubbed one of New York City’s “top doctors” by New York Magazine, was placed on 24-hour Twitter timeout for breaking the social media platform’s policy on “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.”
This, for offering his professional opinion that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment can be effective agai...
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July 31, 2020 at 11:42 am
A New York fertility doctor has developed a rapid, noninvasive coronavirus test that can deliver accurate results in 30 minutes or less, according to a preliminary study.
The test, developed by Dr. Zev Williams, a reproductive endocrinologist who runs the Columbia University Fertility Center, and his colleagues, uses a person’s saliva to screen for COVID-19.
A small sample of saliva is placed into a tube containing enzymes and a compound that causes a chemical reaction before the tube is then warmed up with a heat block. The liquid in the tube turns yellow when it’s positive for the virus or red when it’s negative. Read more at NY Post
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July 31, 2020 at 11:39 am
Former President Barack Obama used his eulogy at the funeral of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) to call for an end to the Senate filibuster to pass Democrats’ new legislation on voting reform.
Obama said that Republicans had imitated Jim Crow-era restrictions on voting rights, which Lewis marched against, by passing state voter ID laws and other measures that conservatives argue prevent voter fraud.
He urged Congress to pass a new version of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Read more at Breitbart.
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July 31, 2020 at 11:30 am
Baltimore, MD - July 31, 2020 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Rabbi Moshe & Mrs. Shira Cohen on the birth of a son.
Mazel Tov grandparents Mr. Avraham & Mrs.Sima-Leah Cohen
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן
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July 31, 2020 at 11:29 am
Amazon.com Inc. on Thursday posted the biggest profit in its 26-year history as online sales and its lucrative business supporting third-party merchants surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN), the world’s largest online retailer, rose 5% in after-hours trade.
While rival brick-and-mortar retailers have had to shut stores during government-imposed lockdowns, Amazon hired 175,000 people in recent months and saw demand for its services soar. The company said revenue jumped 40% from a year earlier to $88.9 billion.
Amazon had forecast it might lose money in the just-ended second quarter because it expected to spend some $4 billion on protective equipment for staff and other expenses related to COVID-19. It did just that – and still earned $5.2 billi...
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July 31, 2020 at 11:09 am
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell on Thursday said charges would not be brought against the white former police officer who shot and killed Black teenager Michael Brown in 2014, citing a lack of evidence, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“Can we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred?” Bell, the top prosecutor in the county, said at a press conference. “The answer to that is no.”
Darren Wilson, the former officer, had previously been cleared by a grand jury and federal investigation. Bell on Thursday said while his office couldn’t prove Wilson committed a crime, it didn’t exonerate his actions.
Read more at NEWSMAX.
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July 31, 2020 at 11:04 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has been banned from Twitter for breaking the social media platform’s site’s rules forbidding hate speech.
The company said Friday that Duke’s account “has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct.”
It didn’t specify what exactly Duke posted that triggered the ban, but its policy on hateful conduct prohibits promoting violence or threatening attacks against people based on religious affiliation, race and ethnic origin.
Twitter said the ban was in line with its recently updated policy aimed at cutting down on harmful links. Under the new rules, the company may suspend accounts dedicated to sharing hateful content or that try to get around its b...
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July 31, 2020 at 10:58 am
A new poll conducted by Maagar Mochot and published Friday by Israel Hayom showed that over half of Israelis believe the protesters participating in recent demonstrations across Israel are violent.
According to the poll 52% of Israelis believe that the demonstrators are "violent" or "very violent." Another 44% believe that the police are also too violent.
When asked who they believe is behind the demonstrations, 25% said they believe business owners and employees who suffered financial harm due to the lockdown are responsible for the protests, while 21% said they believe political factors are behind the protest.
Another 48% laid the blame on both groups, while 6% did not know or gave a different answer.
When asked for their opinion on how police are handling th...
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July 31, 2020 at 10:54 am
Crime is Another Example of Economic Malfeasance Related to the Peoples Republic of China Accommodating Theft of Commercial Products They Cannot Field Organically
Former Ohio woman Li Chen, 46, pleaded guilty today via video conference in U.S. District Court today to conspiring to steal scientific trade secrets and conspiring to commit wire fraud concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions.
“Once again we see the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facilitating the theft of our nation’s ingenuity and hard work as part of their quest to rob, replicate and replace any product they don’t have the ability to develop themselves,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Securi...
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July 31, 2020 at 10:50 am
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, commanding officer for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
One U.S. Marine has died, another is in critical condition and a rescue operation is underway for eight more after a training exercise "mishap" with an amphibious assault vehicle off the coast of Southern California on Thursday.
The deceased Marine, whose name is being withheld for 24 hours so that the family can be informed, was pronounced dead at a hospital in San Diego on Thursday, according to a press release early Friday by the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
The Marine in critical condition and another injured Marine in stable condition were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Fifteen Marines and one sailor were inside the vehi...
