China imposed sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens including legislators on Monday in response to the U.S. imposition of sanctions on 11 Hong Kong and Chinese officials accused of curtailing political freedoms in the former British colony. Among those targeted were Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley and Pat Toomey and Representative Chris Smith, as well as individuals at non-profit and rights groups. “In response to that wrong U.S. behavior, China has decided to impose sanctions on individuals who have behaved egregiously on Hong Kong-related issues,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Monday. He did not specify what the sanctions entail. Read more at NEWSMAX.
The Republican Party’s fundraising platform took in more than $164 million in July, bringing its second quarter total to $275 million. The Hill obtained the numbers, which showed WinRed raised $164.3 million last month from 3.217 million donations. The average donation was $51. ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising arm, raised $710 million during the second quarter. Read more at NEWSMAX.
Hundreds of people smashed windows, stole from stores and clashed with police early Monday in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city’s downtown. At one point, shots were fired at police and officers returned fire, police spokesman Tom Ahern said on Twitter. No officers were injured in the shooting. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the unrest, which began shortly after midnight, but anti-police graffiti was seen in the area. Hours earlier, dozens of people had faced off with police after officers shot and wounded a person Sunday in the city’s Englewood neighborhood, located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. Read more at NEWSMAX.
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of the Sadigura Rebbe, Rav Yisroel Moshe Friedman zt”l. The rebbe was ill for some time and was hospitalized today after collapsing at his home in Bnei Brak. The rebbe had been spending the bulk of his time over the last year in Los Angeles receiving treatment for his illness. Yehi zichro boruch.
Most Wall Street workers can expect to see their bonuses slashed this year and some jobs may be cut, according to a report published Monday by compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc. Banks are struggling to curb rising costs as shutdowns caused by the pandemic have put millions out of work, and forced banks to add billions to reserves in case consumers or business customers default on loans. These costs are likely to hurt employee incentives, like bonuses, despite the recent rebound in U.S. equities markets, according to the report, which is closely watched by financial professionals. Only traders and investment bankers who work in underwriting are likely to receive bigger bonuses in 2020, compared with 2019, according to the report. Read more at NEWSMAX.
The Maryland Department of Health's Division of Vital Records closed its northwest Baltimore location on Monday following a fatal gas explosion nearby. In a statement, officials said the location was closed out of an abundance of caution after employees smelled a strong odor of gas in the area. Health officials will evaluate whether to reopen the office on Tuesday based on recommendations from Baltimore Gas and Electric, Baltimore City Fire Department and management at Reisterstown Road Plaza. Read more at WBAL
President Trump abruptly departed the briefing room on Monday moments after starting his coronavirus briefing.                                                                                     Moments later, he returned to the podium and told reporters that he had been escorted out of the briefing because there was a shooting outside of the White House. "I'd like to thank t...
2:45 PM: Reisterstown Road closed between Falstaff and Clarks... Avoid the area... Baltimore, MD - Aug 10,  2020 - One woman is dead and six people remain hospitalized with serious injuries after an explosion in northwest Baltimore that leveled three rowhomes, fire officials said. The gas explosion near Labyrinth and Reisterstown roads left several people trapped under the rubble. Rescuers continue to search for other people who may be trapped there. "It's a major gas explosion, so you had homes that were pretty much crumbled," fire department spokeswoman Blair Adams said.
Baltimore, MD - Aug. 10, 2020 - This afternoon, the Agudah is burying four 30 Cubic Yard dumpsters with the City of Baltimore Shaimos of the last two years.  At approximately 8:05 this evening, after Mincha, Rabbi Heinemann will be giving a Hesped on the Shaimos. The Hesped may be viewed below or listened to by phone at 1-408-418-9388 access code: 798 761 947.
Baltimore, MD – Aug. 10, 2020 – 10:23 AM - A major explosion of 3 homes just occurred at the corner of Reisterstown and Brookhill, near the Reisterstown Road Plaza. Emergency personnel are on scene and staged at Labyrinth and Reisterstown. They are actively searching for up to 5 people, including children, who may be trapped. One person is reported deceased Steer clear from the area.Click here to listen live. Baltimore City Councilman Yitzy Schleifer on scene Credit: Baltimore Shomrim 24 Credit: Baltimore Shomrim 24
Baltimore, MD - Aug. 10, 2020 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Ditza Backman and Jacob Friedlander (Kew Gardens Hills) on their engagement. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs Aaron Blackman יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן
“The whole government resigned,” Hamad said. He added that Prime Minister Hassan Diab will head to the presidential palace to “hand over the resignation in the name of all the ministers.” Lebanon’s Cabinet has resigned over last week’s devastating blast at the Beirut port, the health minister said, a decision that was made under pressure as several ministers quit or expressed their intention to step down. The minister, Hamad Hassan, spoke with reporters at the end of a Cabinet meeting on Monday, which came after two days of demonstrations over the weekend that saw clashes with security forces firing tear gas at protesters. “The whole government resigned,” Hamad said. He added that Prime Minister Hassan Diab will head to the presidential pa...
Lebanese protesters enraged by a deadly explosion they blame on government negligence clashed for the second evening running with security forces in Beirut Sunday. Police fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters hurling stones and shooting fireworks near an access street to parliament, AFP correspondents reported. Lebanese protesters enraged by the blast vowed to rally again after a night of street clashes on Saturday in which they stormed several ministries. Maronite patriarch Beshara Rai joined the chorus of people pressing Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet to step down over a blast he said could be “described as a crime against humanity. It is not enough for a lawmaker to resign here or a minister to resign there,” Rai said in a Sunday sermon. Re...
Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron called on the government to pass the state budget quickly on Sunday and warned that new elections would have a negative impact on the economy, which has already been severely damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. “The changing morbidity trends and developments in Israel and around the world are causing great uncertainty regarding employment, businesses’ income and government intake and expenses,” Yaron said in a statement. Yaron stressed that the most important thing for Israel’s economy at the moment is “stability in the conduct of government and orderly decision-making,” as this would help “reduce uncertainty for homes and businesses.” Read more at i24NEWS.
The Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad threatened that Israel “will bear the consequences of anything that happens to the residents or farmers [of Gaza] as a result of the escalation.” The group issued the threat on Sunday, after Israel Defense Forces troops fired smoke grenades into Gaza, to evacuate civilians who came under gunfire while doing construction work on the security barrier. The IDF soldiers conducting the evacuation operation also came under fire. No injuries were reported, but the IDF halted construction of and stopped traffic in the area. According to Ynet, Islamic Jihad called the incident “the continuation of Israeli terror” that will lead to a “Palestinian response,” stating, “The scenes of random ...
A total of 140 new olim (“immigrants”) from France arrived in Israel earlier this week and were welcomed at Ben-Gurion Airport by Pnina Tamano-Shata, Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption, and the president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) Yael Eckstein, whose organization arranged the flight. Many of the new immigrants who arrived on Monday had experienced some degree of anti-Semitism back home, which they said influenced their decision to move to Israel. Several days before the flight with her husband and three children, Barbara Simha Bohadana said from Paris: “I was fired because I was Jewish. A pharmacy manager, who I worked for as a pharmacist, did not even try to hide the reason for my dismissal. He just told me that...
Eight more Israelis died of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the country’s overall death toll from the pandemic to 600. There are currently 383 Israelis hospitalized in life-threatening condition, including 118 on artificial lung ventilation, while the total of active cases is, as of Sunday evening, at 24,554. Since the first outbreak of the pandemic in the country, medics diagnosed 82,670 cases of the virus. Read more at i24NEWS.
Gilad Auerbach is a veteran United Hatzalah volunteer EMT from Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel. In mid-July, Gilad had entered a period of voluntary self-quarantine, after he was exposed to a fellow first responder who later tested positive for Covid-19 Coronavirus. The EMT wound up spending several days in isolation away from his family at United Hatzalah’s regional volunteer center in Sderot. Gilad was overwhelmed by the generosity he experienced all the while, as fellow volunteers brought food, drinks, and gifts, to make his stay as comfortable as possible.  The day after his period of quarantine finally ended, Gilad was back in action with his ambucycle and responded to multiple emergencies. The first incident occurred when a 70-year-old man tripped and fell on the stairs...
The Ohio governor’s positive, then negative, tests for COVID-19 have provided fuel for skeptics of government pandemic mandates and critics of his often-aggressive policies. “I’m sure the internet is lighting up with ‘Well, you can’t believe any test,’ ” Mike DeWine said in a WCOL radio interview Friday, after a whirlwind of events the day before when the initial positive showing forced the Republican to scrub a planned meeting with President Donald Trump. And on Sunday, he told CNN’s “State of the Union” that “people should not take away from my experience that testing is not reliable or doesn’t work.” DeWine added that state officials will have to be “very careful” about expanding quick antigen te...
President Donald Trump is doing better in the key swing state of Pennsylvania than what the polls indicate, former Democratic National Committee chair Ed Rendell said in a new interview that aired Sunday, explaining there are a significant number of people who don’t want to admit that they are voting for him. Speaking on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show on WABC 770AM hosted by John Catsimatidis, Rendell, who was also Pennsylvania governor from 2003 to 2011, said that “when the polls had Hillary [Clinton] winning Pennsylvania comfortably, I said I was worried because with Donald Trump there is an effect with the polls that’s very much like Frank Rizzo, our former mayor in Philadelphia, who was a rough, tough guy … who wasn’t liked by Afr...
More articles