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August 6, 2020 at 9:35 pm
A day after two blasts—one of them an enormous—ripped through Beirut, causing untold destruction, it’s still not possible to grasp the true scope of the calamity, a former Israeli Military Intelligence chief has said.
Speaking by video conference to journalists, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, who served as former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force and is now executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies, noted that Israel has offered medical assistance to Lebanon. “This is a terrible, terrible disaster. The big question is how many people are missing. The numbers are between 1,000 to 4,000.”
Analyzing the incidents that led to the explosion, Yadlin said it “started from a small explosion at what looks like a fireworks storage ...
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August 6, 2020 at 9:33 pm
'Over the next two weeks, we will make efforts to lower the rate,' Netanyahu said in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the state is making all efforts to lower the spread of the resurgent coronavirus in the country as the Health Ministry reported 1,689 new cases over the past 24 hours.
Delivering remarks during a joint press conference with Israel's coronavirus czar, Prof. Ronni Gamzu, in from the Share Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem, said that despite the high morbidity rate, the government will not reimpose a nationwide lockdown for now.
“No country with our infection rate didn’t impose lockdowns, but we are aware of the socio-economic situation,” Netanyahu said during the press conferenc...
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August 6, 2020 at 9:26 pm
The 34-year-old suspect is believed to have a history of mental illness
Police in the city of Le Havre, France say a man has taken at least half-a-dozen hostages during a bank robbery and is demanding the release of "Palestinian children imprisoned by Israel."
The unidentified suspect, believed to be 34-years-old, is also demanding that men under the age of 40 be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, located in the Old City of Jerusalem.
There are no reports of anyone being injured in the incident. Read more at i24
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August 6, 2020 at 9:22 pm
All-electronic tolling now permanent at all MDTA facilities
Full-time all-electronic tolling is now permanent across Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday.
The cashless tolling is in place statewide at the following facilities:
John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (Interstate 95)
Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95)
Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (Interstate 895)
Nice/Middleton Bridge (U.S. Route 301)
With all-electronic tolling, drivers do not stop to pay tolls. Instead, tolls are collected through E-ZPass and video tolling.
The Maryland Transportation Authority implemented temporary all-electronic tolling statewide in March as part of its coronavirus response, and made all-electronic tolling permanent at the Bay Bridge in May with the installation of a new tolling gantry.
Oth...
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August 6, 2020 at 9:16 pm
DUNDALK, MD — Some people in the Baltimore area have waited two weeks or more for mail delivery.
Residents in Dundalk have started lining up at the post office every day to try to get bills, checks and other important notices. They said it's beyond frustrating to go to the post office and wait in a line day after day, especially for those waiting on checks that will help pay their bills.
Kasandra Peros lined up with dozens of others Thursday at the Dundalk Post Office with the hope of picking up their mail. She has been waiting on her unemployment debit card.
"We haven't been receiving any mail at the house for like two weeks now," Peros said. "Bills aren't getting paid. My car insurance has been due. I got bills that need to be paid, and I can't pay them beca...
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August 6, 2020 at 9:06 pm
And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God...
Each day we recite this paragraph which reiterates the obligation to love G-d.
Rashi adds on this directive, לאהבה את ד', to love the Lord : You should not say: I will learn in order to become rich, or in order to be referred to as Rabbi, or in order that I receive a reward. Rather, whatever you do, do out of love, לבא וסוף הכבוד , and ultimately, the honor will come.
These last words of encouragement seem to negate the whole notion expressed immediately prior to it, that one should serve G-d for no other reason than pure and selfless love.
Clearly, Rashi’s intention in quoting from the Sifrei and Talmud (נדרים מב...
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August 6, 2020 at 9:03 pm
People are increasingly testing negative for the coronavirus, Maryland health officials say, as the state confirms more than 93,000 cases.
MARYLAND — More than half of Marylanders who tested positive for the coronavirus in the last day were under 35 years old, according to authorities. The positivity rate for those younger than 35 is 5.5 percent, which is higher than their counterparts; the positivity rate among Marylanders older than 35 is 3.27 percent, state health officials said.
For the second straight day, Maryland is reporting its lowest positivity rate during the coronavirus pandemic. It has dropped to 4.03 percent, officials say, the lowest on record.
Baltimore City's positivity rate is the lowest it has been in nearly a month. Officials said it was 5.44 percent, th...
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August 6, 2020 at 8:00 pm
[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.
In Parshas Eikev, we read the verse stating that Hashem’s eyes are on Eretz Yisrael "from the beginning of THE year to year's end" [mayrayshis HAshana vi'ad acharis shana].
Rav Shimon Schwab asks, why, when t...
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August 6, 2020 at 6:54 pm
Baltimore, MD - Aug. 6, 2020 - Reminder: we’re looking forward to seeing you at the Jersey pickup this evening! Due to a delivery delay, please don’t arrive before 8:15 - we will continue giving out jerseys (to those who have raised their commitment in full) until 11:00pmThe jerseys haven’t arrived yet & the delivery time has been updated to 8:00 - due to Hurricane Isaias they were delayed in transit from FL & have not arrived yet. On the bright side, guess what will be delivered on time... hot chulent 😋 !!!
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August 6, 2020 at 4:10 pm
White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx is warning of an uptick in coronavirus cases in nine U.S. cities.
“Many of the Sun Belt states have made substantial progress with their mitigation efforts,” Birx told state and local officials on Wednesday, according to a copy of the call obtained the Center for Public Integrity, referring to a slew of Southern states that experienced surges earlier this summer.
But Birx said that the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive is increasing in nine U.S. cities as well as California's Central Valley.
"We are concerned that both Baltimore and Atlanta remain at a very high level. Kansas City, Portland, Omaha, of course what we talked about in the Centr...
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August 6, 2020 at 3:51 pm
Federal prosecutors and judges would get the ability to carry concealed firearms if a bill introduced by a trio of southern Republican senators is made law.
Sens. Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn and Kelly Loeffler introduced the Protect Our Prosecutors and Judges Act on Tuesday to allow federal prosecutors and judges to have a concealed carry license.
The bill would expand the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, which allows current and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms, to include current and retired federal; judges, and state, local, and federal prosecutors.
Read more at Fox News.
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August 6, 2020 at 3:50 pm
Israel’s coronavirus cabinet voted late on Wednesday to open the country’s sky for travelers starting from August 16.
The vote, which reportedly followed five long hours of discussions, also saw the weekend restrictions on business activities lifted.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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August 6, 2020 at 3:43 pm
If elected into the White House in November 2020, Joe Biden will seek to restore the US diplomatic engagement with Iran, his aide said, Jerusalem Post reports.
The newspaper cited Aaron Keyak, the Jewish engagement director with Joe Biden’s campaign, as saying that as president, Biden will aim to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The efforts on this front “will include re-engaging Iran in a diplomatic solution,” he clarified, as per the JPost, saying a Biden administration will look for ways to bring Iran back to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
Read more at i24NEWS.
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August 6, 2020 at 3:40 pm
President Trump’s re-election campaign is formally asking that a fourth debate between the president and Democratic challenger Joe Biden be added and that the showdown be held early next month, before many states start sending out absentee ballots to voters.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), the Trump campaign urged that if a fourth showdown can’t be added, then the date of the first debate – scheduled for Sept. 29 – be moved up to the first week of September.
Read more at Fox News.
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August 6, 2020 at 3:39 pm
Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told lawmakers Wednesday that neither President Barack Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden attempted to influence the FBI’s investigation of incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn during a January 2017 Oval Office meeting with top national security officials.
“During the meeting, the president, the vice president, the national security adviser did not attempt to any way to direct or influence any investigation,” Yates said during sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The testimony counters repeated insinuations by President Donald Trump and his top allies that Obama and Biden took a leading role in steering an investigation into the incoming national security adviser, a charge Trump has used to claim h...
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August 6, 2020 at 3:37 pm
President Donald Trump is staying in the race in some key battleground states on the strength of support from swing voters, according to The Zogby Poll released Wednesday.
“What’s keeping things close is Trump’s domination of swing voters,” Zogby Analytics wrote in its release. “A good portion of these voters live in large cities, are aged 30-49, and say their finances are better off than they were four years ago.
“In order for Trump to get back to his winning ways he will need to maintain a big lead among swing voters and he must also find a way to win back women, suburban voters and Independents from Biden’s clutches.”
Among the likely voters in the poll that are designated as swing voters, Trump gets at least 60% su...
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August 6, 2020 at 3:31 pm
A study released by Gallup and Knight Foundation on Tuesday suggests that Americans are more fed up with the news media than ever.
The released poll shows that the American people are deeply divided — and blame media bias for the problem. 36% of surveyed Americans lay a “moderate amount” of today’s partisan hostility at the feet of the media, and 48% of them believe news outlets have contributed “a great deal” to the problem.
That same overall percentage of Americans believe that the press is “critical” or “very important” to democracy but are unimpressed by the job they have been doing. 37% say they have witnessed a “fair amount” of bias in reporting, while 49% say there is “a great deal&rd...
