Top tech leaders and other billionaires would be forced to hand over billions of dollars in wealth they’ve gained during the coronavirus pandemic under a new bill introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. The “Make Billionaires Pay Act” would impose a one-time 60% tax on wealth gains made by billionaires between March 18, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021. The funds would be used to pay for out-of-pocket health-care expenses for all Americans for a year. As of Aug. 5, the bill would tax $731 billion in wealth accumulated by 467 billionaires since March 18, according to a press release. If passed, the bill would tax billionaires on wealth accumulated through the end of the year, however. Under the bill, tech and other busines...
During the period ending June 30, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic continued to limit people’s travel and commuting, and to weigh heavily on Uber’s core ride-hailing business, sending gross bookings down 73% in constant currency measurements. The pandemic did drive demand for Uber’s food delivery business, however, and bookings were up 113% there. On an earnings call Thursday, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “The Covid crisis has moved delivery from a luxury to a utility.” He believes Uber users will continue to order food and other items through Uber delivery services even after the pandemic subsides, and stay-at-home orders are lifted. Read more at CNBC.
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, says the United States is facing a “concerted challenge” to navigate the resurgent Covid-19 outbreak — but if Americans band together, the nation can avert another extended shutdown. “There seems to be a misperception that either you shut down completely and damage a lot of things, mental health, the economy, all kinds of things, or let it rip and do whatever you want,” Fauci told POLITICO’s “Pulse Check” podcast on Wednesday. “There’s a stepwise fashion that you can open up the economy successfully.“ “You don’t have to lock down again, but everybody has got to be on board for doing these five or six fundamental public health measures&rd...
Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, Jr. became the new Air Force chief of staff on Thursday, making history as the first African American to lead one of the military services. Brown succeeded Gen. David Goldfein, as the Air Force’s 22nd chief of staff at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, where the significance of the moment was not lost on Brown. “This is a very historic day for our nation, and I do not take this moment lightly,” he said in remarks to an audience of VIP’s at one of the base’s spacious hangars. “Today is possible due to the perseverance of those who went before me, serving as an inspiration to me and so many others,” he said. Read more at ABC News.
The IDF launched a retaliatory strike against targets in northern Gaza late Thursday night, according to Palestinian media reports. “During the day, explosive balloons were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement. “In response, a short while ago, an IDF fighter jet and an IDF aircraft struck an infrastructure used for underground activities of the Hamas terror organization in the Northern Gaza Strip The explosive balloons reportedly ignited fires in Israeli communities nestled close to the Gaza border, according to Hebrew media reports. Read more at i24NEWS.
Food prices at grocery stores across the nation continue to increase amid a time of economic uncertainty for many Americans. The price of food has steadily increased across the board since February, just before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ latest report. These increases have impacted many foods, including beef and veal, poultry, pork and eggs. Prices of fruits and vegetables also rose, albeit at a lower rate, compared to other categories, according to the report. This price increases, however, complicate matters for over 55 million people who have sought unemployment benefits since the shutdowns began. More than 1.18 million workers filed for unemployment last week...
[Ed. Note: Shoresh Sports Camp in PA, referred to below, has absolutely no association with Camp Shoresh Day Camp in MD]The following is an urgent letter from Dr. Glatt: The Commissioner of Health of Nassau County just called me and asked for our assistance regarding 8 cases of newly diagnosed COVID-19 in our community in campers returning from Camp Shoresh in Pennsylvania. In addition, many other campers there had symptoms and were not tested for COVID-19. The PA DOH is already involved as well. Based on significant concerns that the Governor and the NY State DOH have regarding this exposure, they have asked, and I fully agree, that all campers returning from that camp self quarantine immediately. All family members exposed to those campers likewise should be quarantined pending further...
“And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers (Devorim 7:12).” In the opening verse of this week’s Parsha, Moshe creates a simple paradigm – if we live up to the word of God, God will deliver on the promises He made to the Patriarchs. But for the fledging Jewish nation, more important than the promises of livestock and produce, was the promise of protection and victory in the wars against the kingdoms of Canaan. Moshe reminds us that in the same way that God brought Pharaoh to his knees, He can and will do the same with Canaanite kingdoms. Moshe continues and says, “And the Lord, your God, will drive out those n...
A pro-Trump super PAC has had its ads banned by Facebook, according to the Washington Examiner, potentially for 90 days, which would last through the November presidential election. The Committee to Defend the President is blocked from digital ads on the social media giant for sharing alleged “misinformation,” per the report. “As a result of the Committee to Defend the President’s repeated sharing of content determined by third-party fact-checkers to be false, they will not be permitted to advertise for a period of time on our platform,” Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement, per the Examiner. Read more at NEWSMAX.
Days before Joe Biden is set to announce his running mate, Democrats including confidants of the former vice president say the race is fluid, with different candidates gaining or losing momentum. Three candidates — Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former national security adviser Susan Rice and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) — are seen as the top candidates in contention. But Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was seen as a front-runner in the spring but seemed to fade from the spotlight, is still very much in the race, said several sources. Read more at The Hill.
A newly published U.S. coronavirus death projection estimates almost 300,000 COVID-19 fatalites by December, but the doom could be 66,000 less if 95% of people wear face coverings, CNN reported Thursday. The current U.S. death count is 159,990, according to Johns Hopkins University, which means the death total in the U.S. will roughly double in four months. The first recorded U.S. COVID-19 death came in February, around seven months ago. “The U.S. forecast totals 295,011 deaths by December,” according to a statement by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, per CNN. Read more at NEWSMAX.
CNN’s senior political analyst believes President Donald Trump is “within striking distance” of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. In a commentary posted Thursday, analyst Harry Enten said Biden has had the “upper hand” in national and battleground state polls from May to July. “Yet, while Biden has maintained advantage, Trump has one thing going for him: His position is no longer deteriorating,” he wrote. “A look at the polls shows that even as coronavirus cases and deaths rise, Trump remains within striking distancing of Biden.” Read more at NEWSMAX.
American Jewish and pro-Israel groups reacted to the news on Thursday that Elliott Abrams has replaced Brian Hook as U.S. Special Representative for Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement that Hook was resigning after being the main point person for the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian regime. Abrams has been serving as the U.S. State Department’s special representative for Venezuela, a post he will continue to retain. President of the American Jewish Congress Jack Rosen told JNS that Abrams “will have little time to settle in,” citing the upcoming deadline to extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran. He expressed faith that the new appointee, like his predecessor, will “work determinedl...
Twitter is refusing to take down the account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s account on the social-media platform, even though he posts tweets calling for the genocide of Israel and the Jewish people, and even after the company was called out for its double standard over how it decides who violates its guidelines. On Monday, the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs on anti-Semitic content online held a meeting with representatives of Google, Facebook and Twitter, but it quickly became clear that Twitter had no intention of making the necessary changes to prevent Khamenei’s anti-Semitic tweets. The Twitter representative was present, but did not speak, choosing instead to “listen.” Blue and White Party Knesse...
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has rejected a request from the Trump campaign to either add an additional general election debate or move up the calendar for the contests. In a letter to Trump private attorney Rudy Giuliani, his liaison to the commission, the commission writes that it is committed to its existing schedule of three debates between Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, saying it would consider adding a fourth debate only if both sides agree to it. “If the candidates were to agree that they wished to add to that schedule, the Commission would consider that request but remains committed to the schedule of debates it has planned as reflected in the attached release,” the commission wrote in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. ...
Bnei Braq - Aug. 7, 2020 - The sad news comes from Bnei Brak this morning about the petirah of the late Rabbi Zosha Berkowitz, Z'L, one of the leaders of the Koidinov Institutions, who died suddenly. He was 52 years old at the time of his death. His father died in the last year in England. His funeral will be on the 11th from the Koidinov Beit Midrash on Maharshal St. in Bnei Brak. Many of the Baltimore community will remember him from his many visits here with the Koidenover Rebbe, shlita.
John Bolton, who served at National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump, relates in his new book how Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, prevented Prime Minister Netanyahu from speaking with the president when Netanyahu wanted to convince him not to speak with the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Zarif. According to Bolton, Kushner pushed for a meeting but in the end it did not happen. In an interview with the Makor Rishon newspaper, Bolton says that President Trump’s decisions on a variety of foreign policy subjects were not made for any reason other than how they would affect American politics at home. “Sometimes I saw this strategy produce results as positive as I could have hoped. If Trump is re-elected, the fear from negative reactions from Repu...
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