|
September 22, 2021 at 8:51 pm
Mild cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated individuals are becoming increasingly common as the highly contagious delta variant barrels through communities, but physicians and public health experts say that shouldn’t be a cause for significant concern.
A breakthrough case of COVID-19 occurs when a person contracts COVID-19 at least two full weeks after the final dose of the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks only breakthrough cases that result in hospitalization or death, as these incidences are both serious and very rare.
COVID-19 cases are up to five times more common in unvaccinated individuals compared with the vaccinated, according to the CDC. But state-level data shows that milder breakthrough cases that do not result in hospitalization are on the ...
|
September 22, 2021 at 8:50 pm
“Significant progress” has been made toward reaching a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian sources told the Quds News Network news agency on Wednesday.
According to the unnamed sources, the progress was achieved after Israel reportedly made “a concession” regarding Palestinian security prisoners serving life terms in Israeli prisons.
The sources did not provide additional details about the ostensible progress.
But as Egypt pursues its efforts to reach a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization called for kidnapping IDF soldiers to force Israel to release security prisoners.
Khader Habib, a senior PIJ official in the Gaza Strip, said that Palestinian &...
|
September 22, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Newer variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are evolving to become more airborne, according to a recent study from the University of Maryland, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
People infected with the Alpha strain of COVID-19 are exhaling 43 to 100 times more of the virus into the air compared to those infected with the original COVID-19 strain, the study shows.
The research found that the viral load in the air from Alpha variant patients was 18-times more than could be explained by the increased amounts of virus in nasal swabs and saliva.
Researchers also found that face coverings such as surgical masks and cloths, reduce the amount of the virus breathed into the air by about 50%.
"We know that the Delta variant circuling...
|
September 22, 2021 at 8:21 pm
The city will ban plastic bags beginning Oct. 1.
In a Wednesday morning news conference, Mayor Brandon Scott said to prepare for the ban, they are giving out thousands of reusable bags.
“This is a culture change for our entire city," Scott said. " We know that there are going to be growing pains.”
Once the ordinance takes effect, businesses will not be able to distribute plastic bags at checkout. Any other bags distributed will require a 5-cent surcharge.
“All of our departments have been working with businesses specifically to hear what they need," Scott said.
Scott previously delayed the ban over COVID-19 because of concerns from the business community.
|
September 22, 2021 at 8:21 pm
Six new speed cameras will be activated Monday in three Baltimore County school zones, police announced.
For the first 30 days, motorists exceeding the speed limit by 12 mph or more will receive warnings. All speed camera zones are marked with signage.
See a full list of speed cameras in Baltimore County here.
The new speed camera locations include:
- McDonogh School, 8600 block of McDonogh Road (both east and westbound)
- Harbour School, 11200 block of Dolfield Boulevard (both east and westbound)
- Randallstown Elementary School, 8900 block Greens Lane (both north and southbound)
In compliance with state law, police said Baltimore County's speed cameras operate weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., including summer months and on weekdays when school in not in session.
|
September 20, 2021 at 2:22 pm
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 20, 2021 - An Important COVID-19 Update from the Baltimore Vaad HaRabbanim.
For a larger, printable copy, click on the graphic below
|
September 20, 2021 at 12:50 pm
Our community does not have a unique problem, but we are small enough that we can create unique solutions
“We need to leave the Kiddush club in place.”
Those weren’t the exact words I used, but it was the message I conveyed to the president of my shul, who wanted to shut down the Kiddush club. I was a placeholder — interim rabbi was my exact title — while the shul was searching for a new rabbi. I had a slim chance of getting the job and figured there was nothing to lose. Was I trying to curry votes? Hard to believe, as a vote would be lost for every vote gained. Maybe I was just an inexperienced 27-year-old who was out of his depth.
Shuls have been fighting over Kiddush clubs for as long as they have existed, and our shul was no exception....
|
September 20, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Collections Resume on Modified Schedule Starting October 2 Bulk trash collection for residents will resume on Saturday, October 2, 2021, with a modified schedule. Collections will occur on Saturdays from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m., with services focused on a different sector of Baltimore City each week. Residents can call 311 to schedule bulk trash or white goods collection. Each household will be allowed the removal of up to three items per month. Residents can begin contacting 311 to request a collection date starting September 17, 2021. The collection schedule will be as follows: Second Saturday of the month: Northwest & Central DPW will make up all missed bulk and white goods collections during the week. When residents call 311, service representatives will share the next collection...
|
September 20, 2021 at 11:26 am
Most of the 11 Jewish groups set to receive funding serve families and young people in the SF Bay area
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are donating $1.3 million to 11 Jewish organizations, eJewishPhilanthropy reports.
“Mark and Priscilla have made some personal commitments in the past, but these new grants reinforce their interest in learning and deepening their connections with the community,” a spokesperson for the Chan-Zuckerberg family office told the news publication.
The funding comes from the Chan-Zuckerberg family office and not the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).
|
September 20, 2021 at 11:22 am
Tonight it happens. We enter the sukkah. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz once wrote about this moment as follows:"In a life that is too settled and fixed, there is a danger of becoming complacent with an exaggerated sense of security. People and nations that feel too self-satisfied in their present situation can actually be on the edge of an abyss. The Sukkah jolts us out of our comfortable existence, takes us out of our well-built homes and instills within us a feeling of transience. The Sukkah liberates us from dangerous feelings of ‘I deserve this’ or 'this belongs to me.' This new awareness sharpens our senses and immunizes us against forgetting what truly matters in life. Instead of predictability, there is flexibility. Instead of feeling burdened, there is a lightness of ...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:52 am
A U.S. auto safety agency opened an investigation into roughly 30 million vehicles over possible faulty airbag inflators on Friday, affecting over 20 automakers, Reuters reported, citing a government document it reviewed.
The vehicles, with model years from 2001 and 2019, could have potentially faulty air bag inflators that were manufactured by Takata Corporation, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which opened up an investigation into the affected vehicles, according to Reuters.
The news wire noted the probe had not yet been publicized but the agency has notified the companies.
Takata air bag inflators have been previously recalled over metal elements causing potential explosions with faulty inflators. More...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:50 am
Flight bookings rapidly declined in August and early September amid a surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant.
Online customers spent $4 billion on flights within the U.S. in August, down 24 percent from July and 35 percent below pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis from Adobe Digital Insights.
Through the first 10 days of September, flight bookings remained weak, down 39 percent from the same period in 2019.
“Historically, July and August have similar consumer spending levels when it comes to domestic flight bookings,” says Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “The fact that August came in over $1.2 billion under July is striking when you consider the historical benchmark, and it shows how mu...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:41 am
We have real data (from a federal agency, no less) that proves the 2020 election was a mess.
Based on data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an analysis by the Public Interest Legal Foundation shows almost 15 million mail ballots effectively disappeared after election officials gave them to the U.S. Postal Service to deliver to voters.
Some ballots were lost. Some may have ended up on the floors of apartment complexes, never to be claimed. Some went to addresses where the registrant no longer lives. Some may have gone to vacant lots and businesses. Some, having never been requested by the voter, were never returned. Others were rejected by election officials when they were returned.
To put that 15 million figure in perspective, consider this: President Jo...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:38 am
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that President Joe Biden and the Democrat-led Congress should take a “strategic pause” from the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, according to Axios.
Manchin reportedly told workers at a Procter & Gamble facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia, that he wanted to pause all negotiations on the $3.5 trillion bill until 2022. This comment mirrors his call for a “strategic pause” that he floated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this month.
The strategic pause until 2022 would significantly delay the $3.5 trillion and the $1.2 trillion so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plan to vote on the larger infrastructure bi...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:38 am
The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions starting in November on those from abroad who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, ending a travel ban implemented to limit the spread of disease and reopening the United States to relatives who have been separated from families and employees from businesses.
Foreign travelers who provide proof that they are fully vaccinated before boarding a flight will be able to fly to the United States starting in “early November,” Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said Monday.
“International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange ideas and culture,” Mr. Zients said. “That’s why, with science and publ...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:14 am
The Maryland Department of State Police expresses condolences after the passing of one of their own, Trooper First Class Alec Elijah Cohen.
Trooper First Class Cohen, 29, of Baltimore County, graduated from Northeastern University with a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He then joined the ranks of the Maryland State Police after graduating with the 146th Academy Class. TFC Cohen was a member of the Maryland State Police for 4 ½ years and was assigned to the North East Barrack at the time of his death.
TFC Cohen was found unresponsive at his home on September 17, 2021. He was taken to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit where he remained in critical condition. At 11:35 a.m. yesterday morning, Trooper First Class Alec Cohen succ...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:13 am
Data shows the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11, the companies announced Monday morning.
"We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children," Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. "Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. -- underscoring the public health need for vaccination."
There were 2,268 participants ages 5 to 11 in the trial, which, while it still followed a two-dose regimen, used a lesser dose than the amount given to people ages 12 and older, for the "safety, tolerability and immunogenic...
|
September 20, 2021 at 10:09 am
Stocks were under pressure Monday as concerns over China’s property bubble roiled global markets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 586 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.69% and 1.99%, respectively.
Chinese real estate developer Evergrande's shares tumbled more than 15% Monday amid worries the company will not be able to make a debt payment later this week.
Some market watchers have called Evergrande China’s "Lehman Brothers moment," drawing comparisons to the collapse of the U.S. investment bank, which began the 2008 financial crisis.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tanked 3.3% while China’s Shanghai Composite was close...
