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October 21, 2021 at 10:16 pm
The storm caused power outages in thousands of homes throughout the region
Storm Aurore swept across parts of northern Europe on Thursday, leaving four dead in Poland and causing substantial damage in Germany, France, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
All four deaths in Poland occurred in the Lower Silesia region.
One person was killed when a van was blown off the road and a builder died when a wall of a house under construction fell over.
In the city of Wroclaw, two died when a tree fell on a passenger car.
The state weather service issued an alert for strong winds in most of the country.
In the Netherlands, there were reports of mini-tornadoes injuring four people.
A campsite in Zelhem near the German border was also struck by a whirlwind with a tree branch hitting a chalet, media ...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:30 pm
This week's parsha relates Akeidas Yitzchak, in which Hashem told Avraham to sacrifice his only son. Avraham complied immediately, without any hesitation, and even ran to do it (22:3). This was the climax of Avraham Avinu’s 10 tests, and throughout history, this has served as one of our nation's greatest merits.
As crazy as it sounds, back then in the times of Avraham, the gentiles would sacrifice their children to their gods ALL THE TIME. This was the normal culture. So much so that Hashem, who never uses a single letter in Tanach unnecessarily, felt that it was imperative to spend eight entire p’sukim forbidding His nation from ever adopting this common at the time, albeit wrong, practice*.
If this was such a normal practice & culture back then, was Avraham&rs...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:26 pm
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values, which represents some 1,500 Orthodox Jewish rabbis, condemned Luria's suggestion that calling out Soros's activism constitutes an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., accused Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin of spreading an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory" in claiming that left-wing billionaire George Soros had inserted liberal operatives in Virginia school boards. Both the Youngkin campaign and an Orthodox Jewish rabbi shot down Luria's claim.
"I call it out in my own party and I’m calling it out now," Luria declared on Twitter. "Evoking George Soros as a shadowy funder is an anti-Semitic conspira...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:25 pm
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday cleared booster shots of Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccines, giving people the freedom to mix and match any of the three vaccines approved for use in the U.S., the agency said in a statement.
An influential Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee earlier Thursday unanimously endorsed boosters of Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccines.
The agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the Moderna booster for elderly people and at-risk adults six months after they complete their primary series of shots, bringing it in line with the distribution plan for Pfizer and BioNTech's booster. It ...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:23 pm
The U.S. on Thursday donated its 200 millionth COVID-19 shot to help vaccinate the rest of the world, the White House announced. The Biden administration aims to lead a global vaccination campaign even as it rolls out boosters for domestic use, which critics say diverts doses from those who are in greater need around the world.
The donated doses include more than 120 million in surplus from the U.S. stockpile of shots, as well as the initial deliveries of the 1 billion doses the Biden administration has purchased from Pfizer for overseas donation by September 2022. More than 100 countries and territories have received the American doses, and the U.S. remains the largest vaccine donor in the world.
“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to m...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:22 pm
There were some harsh words In Annapolis for Gov. Larry Hogan over police funding on Wednesday.
During a Board of Public Works meeting, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Democratic candidate for governor accused Gov. Hogan of using the view of one Baltimore City Council member, Ryan Dorsey, who wants to defund police, as the view of the entire Democratic Party.
The criticism from Franchot comes less than one week after Hogan proposed a $150 million "re-fund the police initiative," which would increase state spending on public safety.
Franchot said Hogan's rhetoric on police reform is not a good one.
"What does not build safer communities or ease the political tensions we're used to seeing down the road in D.C. is sending fundraising emails with the subject line 'far-left lunac...
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October 21, 2021 at 9:04 pm
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi taught that every day a bas kol, a heavenly voice, emanates from Mount Chorev bemoaning the disgrace of the Torah by those who neglect to uphold its honor.
This ‘voice’ is an echo of the sound of the Shofar that resonated at the giving of the Torah, that the Torah asserts never ceased.
The Holy Baal Shem Tov taught that although it is not audible, its sound waves penetrate deeply into our hearts and is often that which silently prods us to change our ways and repent.
Is it that simple? Can the faint sound of this Shofar possibly manipulate us to choose wisely?
Many of us recite daily the portion of the Akeidah, the record of the remarkable devotion to G-d, where Avraham was ready to slaughter his beloved son Yitzchok, with his full compliance.
This ...
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October 21, 2021 at 8:53 pm
One woman died in a four-vehicle crash Tuesday on Interstate 695 near Greenspring Avenue, according to police. Two people were taken to area hospitals following the wreck, which began with a tractor-trailer, authorities reported.
Paula Jeanne Roberts, 62, of Baltimore, was taken to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where she later died, officials said.
The crash happened before 3:30 p.m. on the inner loop of the beltway, police reported.
A Volvo tractor-trailer hit the Dodge Caravan that Roberts had been driving, pushing it from the road into a jersey wall, according to authorities.
Then the tractor-trailer rear-ended a Hyundai Santa Fe and sideswiped a Toyota Avalon, police said.
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October 21, 2021 at 8:15 pm
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 21, 2021 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Avigayil Schuchman and Avi Mitnick on their engagement.
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Moshe & Mrs. Michal Schuchman and Mr. David & Mrs. Racheli Mitnick and grandparents Mrs. Debby Schuchman and Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Silverberg and Mr. & Mrs. Searle Mitnick and Mrs. Dena Felsman.
יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
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October 21, 2021 at 3:43 pm
The Israeli Air Force has resumed training for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities after two years in which no such training had taken place, Channel 12 News reported.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi has even ordered a significant budget be used to facilitate the training exercises.
The resumption of training for a possible attack on Iran is taking place against the background of American attempts to resume talks with the Iranians on a nuclear agreement.
In Israel, it was decided that there was an urgent need for a military backup plan in case the negotiations with the Iranians did not achieve the desired results.
According to the report, the chief of staff is now instructing the military not only to increase its intelligence gathering capability and build up-...
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October 21, 2021 at 3:42 pm
The Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration will convene this coming Wednesday for the first time since the current government's term began and since the beginning of the Biden Administration and will approve 3,144 housing units in Judea and Samaria.
Among the approvals is the outline plan of Mitzpe Dani in the area of the settlement of Ma'ale Mikhmas in the Benjamin region. At the same time, the construction of more than a thousand housing units for Palestinian Arabs in Area C will be approved.
The council was supposed to convene many weeks ago and approve a little over 2,000 housing units, but a strike by Civil Administration employees prevented the meeting. Over the past few months, staff work has been carried to approve another 900 housing units.
Accordi...
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October 21, 2021 at 3:38 pm
The State Department engendered extensive backlash on social media after celebrating the diversity of pronouns from the department’s Twitter account.
The U.S. Department of State celebrated International Pronouns Day, encouraging the public to “share their pronouns,” including the neutral “ze/zir/zirs,” via its Share America blog.
“These pronouns include the gender-neutral they/them/theirs — words that traditionally refer to a plural number but that today are used by some individuals who identify as gender nonbinary or who prefer not to share gender information,” the Wednesday blog post said. “Other pronouns include the feminine she/her/hers and the masculine he/him/his. Some people are pioneering gender-...
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October 21, 2021 at 3:36 pm
The Pentagon announced that the United States military conducted three successful tests on Wednesday for a program to develop new hypersonic missile weapons.
News of the tests arrived shortly after US President Joe Biden expressed worries towards China’s hypersonic weapon capabilities the same day.
Experiments conducted on the weapon components “demonstrated advanced hypersonic technologies, capabilities, and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment,” a Pentagon statement said, Reuters reported.
The three tests were conducted by the Sandia National Laboratory at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Findings from the study will assist in “the development of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and the Army’s...
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October 21, 2021 at 12:53 pm
A new letter from the National Institutes of Health offers more evidence that White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci lied to Congress when denying that federal health agencies had funded “gain-of-function” research, The Federalist reported Thursday.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in May challenged Fauci about an annual $600,000 grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based non-profit.
“The NIH has not ever and does not now, fund gain of function research,” Fauci said. “Sen. Paul, with all due respect, you are entirely and completely incorrect.”
Gain-of-function research refers to scientists modifying organisms. Although Fauci has defended it in studying potential therapeutics such as vaccine...
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October 21, 2021 at 12:41 pm
Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman searched for creative ways to improve the budgetary situation while at the same time targeting the chareidi community. Two new decrees which will go into effect next month are set to cause significant hardship to chareidi families.
The first new budgetary amendment concerns child care subsidies which until now were given to families of Avreichim studying Torah. Lieberman plans to cut the subsidies and provide them to those who are “maximizing earning potential”. Although students studying for degrees are eligible for such subsidies, Avreichim studying in kollel will not receive subsidies even if their wives are working full-time. For many low-income families this is a serious additional expense.
The second amendment concerns disposab...
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October 21, 2021 at 12:37 pm
Israel and the UAE signed a historic deal Wednesday to collaborate on space missions including the Israeli rocket ship Beresheet 2 which is bound for the moon, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post.
The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) also signed a deal with the Israel Space Agency to enhance cooperation in scientific research, space exploration, and knowledge transfer.
The deal was signed on Wednesday in Dubai by Emirati Minister of State for Advanced Technology and chairwoman of UAESA Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, and Israeli Minister of Science and Technology Orit Farkash-Hacohen.
As part of the agreement, the two nations will work together on data-based development and research from the Israeli-French satellite Venus, which tracks environmental preservation param...
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October 21, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist who has stood as a stumbling block to President Joe Biden’s agenda, denied a news report on Wednesday that he might leave the Democratic Party if his colleagues do not scale back a sweeping domestic spending bill.
Manchin told reporters that an article in Mother Jones that he might leave the party and become an independent was “bullshit.” He added that he had “no controls over rumors.”
The Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote, meaning a defection by Manchin could potentially hand control of the chamber to Republicans.
Manchin has been at odds with many of his fellow Democrats over key aspects of Biden’s agenda, from voting rights to climate...
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October 21, 2021 at 12:30 pm
The largest union representing the New York Police Department is planning to sue the city for “unilaterally” imposing vaccine mandates on police officers they represent.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association called out NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for its “haphazard vaccine rollout,” standing firm that vaccination against COVID-19 should be a “personal medical decision.”
“From the beginning of the de Blasio administration’s haphazard vaccine rollout, we have fought to make the vaccine available to every member who chooses it, while also protecting their right to make that personal medical decision in consultation with their own doctor,” PBA President Patrick Lynch wrote in a statement Wednesday.
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October 21, 2021 at 12:30 pm
An average of five different national surveys show that more than half the country disapproves of the job President Joe Biden is doing.
RealClearPolitics on Wednesday said Biden’s overall job approval rating is just 42.3%, with 51.2% of likely voters disapproving. A whopping 60.8% say the country is headed in the wrong direction.
The numbers were the average results of six surveys — Grinnell/Selzer, Quinnipiac, Morning Consult-Politico, Economist/YouGov, Rasmussen Reports, and Reuters/Ipsos — conducted at times between Sept. 9-Oct. 19.
Immigration appears to be Biden’s biggest problem, with 58.7% (Sept. 15-Oct. 18) saying they disapproved of his job. An average of 31.8% overall approved of his immigration policies.
Biden’s job approval ...
