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October 13, 2021 at 9:42 am
Redistricting in Baltimore County is front and center again. The county's NAACP and the ACLU of Maryland say the Redistricting Commission's proposed plan would unlawfully dilute Black people's votes — in violation of the landmark Voting Rights Act.
On Tuesday, those groups stood together in protest.
The ACLU and local and state leaders are calling on the County Council to reject the Redistricting Commission's plan or face court action.
"We have a growing and thriving population of Black and brown people who choose to live in Baltimore County. There's an opportunity for the County Council to create council districts that celebrate the diversity and opportunity in civic engagement," said Calin Young, public policy director of ACLU of Maryland said.
Danita T...
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October 13, 2021 at 9:42 am
The House voted Tuesday to temporarily raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion after the Senate approved the stopgap measure late last week, putting off the risk of default until early December.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the lower chamber back to Washington from a two-week recess to pass the measure. The bill passed along party lines Tuesday evening in a 219-206 vote. It now heads to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.
"A default would send shockwaves to global financial markets, and would likely cause credit markets worldwide to freeze up and stock markets to plunge. Employers around the world would likely have to begin laying off workers," Pelosi told reporters during a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
The debt ceiling bill was packaged as part of a rule for...
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October 12, 2021 at 6:21 pm
A delegation of Bahraini officials visiting Israel succeeded in piquing the interest of numerous Israelis as they visited famous places wearing their traditional keffiyehs and long white robes, according to a Times of Israel report.
The Bahrainis were guests of Sharaka, or “partnership” in Arabic, a group which sees itself as a “peace startup”, founded with the aim of translating the Abraham Accords into a warm peace between people. Such a peace has been sorely lacking in Israel’s relations with Egypt and Jordan, the first two Arab nations to make peace with Israel.
When arriving at the Western Wall, the Bahrainis who saw Jews praying there respectfully joined in and prayed their own prayers among the Jews, who looked on in curiosity and bewilderment a...
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October 12, 2021 at 6:19 pm
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday called to curb the political influence of the ultra-Orthodox, angering Haredi lawmakers.
“I am happy there are charedim, but we need to limit their political sway,” Bennett said at the Jerusalem Post Conference at the Museum of Tolerance in downtown Jerusalem.
He included charedim as one of three main elements in Israel’s political arena, along with the nationalistic right and humanistic left.
Bennett, who is Orthodox, explained that all three political camps are “needed,” and that he “wouldn’t want an Israel without the religious aspect, because we are the Jewish state.”
“I wouldn’t want an Israel without a left-wing. While clearly, I feel differently on many issues, I am happy there ...
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October 12, 2021 at 6:15 pm
Rabbi Aaron Kotler is stepping down from his position at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ.
Rabbi Kotler has carried the title of CEO/president/menahel of the yeshiva for years.
Under his watch, the yeshiva never missed a kollel check and managed the finances of the yeshiva with aplomb.
Rumors of his resignation have been swirling for quite some time.
Rabbi Kotler is a son of Rav Shnuer Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha, and a grandson of Rav Aharon Kotler, founding rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha.
His brother, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, is one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoah, along with his brother-in-law, Rav Dovid Schustal, and Rav Yeruchem Olshin and Rav Yisroel Neuman, shlita.
The news comes on the heels of the unrelated major incr...
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October 12, 2021 at 6:12 pm
It has come to our attention that in certain models of STAR-K Sabbath Mode-certified Kitchen Aid French Door refrigerators - among them KRFC302ESS and KRSC503ESS - the interior lights continue to be operational even in Sabbath Mode.
To determine if your model has this issue, do the following:
1. Set the Sabbath Mode.
2. Keeping the left door and freezer drawer closed, open the right door.
a. If there is no light displaying, your unit is fine.
b. If you see a light, however dim, you will need to tape down both
refrigerator switches and the freezer switch before Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Be sure to remove the tape after Shabbos/Yom Tov.
...
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October 12, 2021 at 4:17 pm
Agudath Israel of America, along with several other Jewish organizations, have asked the United States Supreme Court to hear Weiss v. National Westminster Bank (NatWest). The case, brought by victims of Hamas terrorism, argues that the bank should be liable for its role in financing Hamas’s terrorist activities.
The terror victims claim that NatWest, the bank, facilitated financial transactions to a supposed charitable organization called Interpal that helped fund Hamas and its terrorist activities. In an surprising decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the bank’s facilitation of financial transactions with an entity that the bank knew to be affiliated with a terrorist organization was not sufficient as a matter of law to move the case forward an...
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October 12, 2021 at 3:23 pm
Jerusalem, Israel - Oct. 12, 2021 - The Jerusalem Post 10th Annual Diplomatic Conference was held at the new Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, Israel on Tuesday, October 12th.
Jerusalem Post Editor Yaakov Katz began the full-day conference program by introducing Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion to speak. Included in the long list of Israeli politicians and leaders were Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Isaac Herzog, Gidon Saar, Avigdor Liberman, Ayelet Shaked, Yussi Cohen, and Sylvan Adams.
Jerusalem Post journalists interviewed multiple guests and panelists. Bloomberg's Gwen Ackerman interviewed Eran Peleg of Clarity Capital, who talked about "uncertainty" in the markets.
President of the World Jewish Congress Ron Lauder and Safra Catz CEO of Oracle ...
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October 12, 2021 at 1:28 pm
Earlier attempts to reopen the border to tourists were delayed due to delta variant, fourth wave in Israel
Israel’s government is expected to announce the reopening of the state’s borders to foreign tourists who are fully vaccinated from November 1.
Initially, visitors from 40 countries will be permitted entry, mostly from European Union nations with which Israel has mutually recognized vaccination standards, Globes reported.
Inline with the Covid-19 booster campaign conducted in Israel, only tourists with two shots conducted within six months of their visit, or with a third dose, will be allowed into the country.
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October 12, 2021 at 1:25 pm
Rapid antigen tests will be used as part of the 'Green Classroom' initiative to keep kids out of quarantine
Approximately 2.5 million Covid-19 antigen test kits landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday afternoon for the purpose of examining students in the education system, the Israeli government announced.
An additional 4.7 million antigen tests are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.
"We are doing everything we can to keep the economy open, the education system functioning and the routine of life going. With the millions of tests we bring to Israel, it is possible. With proper, tight and flexible management, we beat the Delta strain," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
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October 12, 2021 at 1:05 pm
Texas Jewish death row inmate Randy Halprin was granted a new trial after a judge ruled in his favor over allegations that the judge who presided over his trial used anti-Semitic language, WFAA reported.
A Dallas County judge has ruled that Halprin – part of the “Texas 7” group of escaped prisoners – be given a new trial after examining evidence that his trial was biased because the judge held anti-Semitic beliefs.
Judge Lela Mays approved Halprin’s application for relief after examining claims by the death row inmate that former Dallas County Judge Vickers Cunningham referred to him using anti-Semitic language, thereby prejudicing the jury against him.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will now make a final decision as to whether Halprin will be given a ...
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October 12, 2021 at 12:23 pm
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has doubled down on the Biden administration’s use of Title 42, dismissing recent criticism from a former senior State Department official who called it “illegal” and “inhumane,” instead insisting to Yahoo News on Tuesday that while it “is not an immigration policy that we in this administration would embrace,” the policy is a “public health imperative.”
Title 42, which was first used by former President Donald Trump and then continued by the Biden administration to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants who have crossed into the United States from Mexico, is an obscure public health authority that permits the government to prevent noncitizens from entering the U.S. du...
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October 12, 2021 at 11:32 am
A federal judge in Utica sided Tuesday with 17 health care workers who object to New York State's vaccine mandate for health workers on religious grounds, granting their request for an injunction that stops the state from enforcing the policy for those who claim a religion-based objection."There is no adequate explanation from defendants about why the 'reasonable accommodation' that must be extended to a medically exempt health care worker under 2.61 could not similarly be extended to a healthcare worker with a sincere religious objection," Judge David Hurd wrote.
Hurd's preliminary injunction means New York will continue to be barred from enforcing any requirement that employers deny religious exemptions.
Unlike other judges who have heard similar cases about vaccine...
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October 12, 2021 at 11:03 am
Just hours before Shabbos, scores of yeshivas and other nonprofit organizations received confirmatory emails from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) announcing $50,000 grants for security and target hardening for their facilities. And - for the first time in New York state history - as advocated for by Agudath Israel of America and others, among those awardees were many Orthodox Jewish summer camps. Summer camps and yeshivas alike need to protect their children and faculty from hate, and ought to be given the wherewithal to do so.
Agudath Israel of America would like to thank Governor Kathy Hochul for prioritizing and expediently delivering these much needed funds, which will help secure 362 at-risk nonprofits in NY. Many enjoy bask...
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October 12, 2021 at 11:02 am
Electra Consumer Products whose headquarters is in Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel, has signed a deal with the multinational chain of convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven, Calcalist reported Tuesday (העסקה נחתמה: סבן אילבן בדרך לישראל; חנות ראשונה בתוך שנה).
The agreement between the parties was signed for 20 years, with an option to extend for another 50 years.
Over the next 3 years, Electra will establish dozens of convenience stores throughout Israel, with the chain’s first stores expected to open in Tel Aviv next summer. By the end of 2024, Electra is expected to invest about NIS 60 million ($18.6 million) in promoting the brand and opening new chain stores in Israel.
According to Calcalist, the company has decided t...
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October 12, 2021 at 11:01 am
Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, decried the Biden administration on Newsmax, saying the White House is headed toward a “critical mass of failure.”
“I think this presidency is looking at a critical mass of failure,” Stewart said Monday on “Spicer & Co.” while mentioning that previous “failures” tend to build on themselves. “I mean, look, when [President Joe Biden] came to office, I was worried this might happen, but I never dreamed that he would achieve this in eight months.”
“It’s remarkable,” Stewart said. “I mean, start with Afghanistan, then talk about inflation and stagnation and the job numbers — and still languishing with [COVID-19] — and terrifying debt, and the list...
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October 12, 2021 at 10:58 am
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive, is predicting that cryptocurrencies will be regulated by governments and that he thinks bitcoin is “worthless.”
“No matter what anyone thinks about it, government is going to regulate it. They are going to regulate it for (anti-money laundering) purposes, for (Bank Secrecy Act) purposes, for tax,” Dimon said Monday, referring to banking regulations, in a conference held virtually by the Institute of International Finance.
Dimon, head of the largest U.S. bank, has been a vocal critic of the digital currency, once calling it a fraud and then later saying he regretted the statement.
This summer, JPMorgan gave wealth management clients access to cryptocurrency funds, meaning the bank’s fi...
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October 12, 2021 at 10:42 am
Former President Donald Trump may not be the person who was “pulling the strings” behind a plan hinged on replacing the top Justice Department official with a loyalist willing to carry out a more aggressive strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 election, a Democratic Senate investigator admitted on Sunday.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared on NBC News’s Meet the Press to discuss the interim report released last week by his panel on the DOJ pressure campaign.
Trump is said to have favored replacing Jeffrey Rosen, his acting attorney general, with Jeffrey Clark, another DOJ official who drew up a proposal to intervene in the Georgia certification process and raised doubts about the elec...
