The Supreme Court handed a big win to a former Washington high school football coach who lost his job over reciting a prayer on the 50-yard line after games. At issue was whether a public school employee praying alone but in view of students was engaging in unprotected "government speech," and if it is not government speech, does it still pose a problem under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.  The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the answer to both questions is no. "Here, a government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. And the only meaningful justification the government offered for its reprisal rested on...
Baltimore, MD - June 27, 2022 - Consumers are advised that Metamucil has a product on the market that contains collagen, which is a non-kosher ingredient. This product, Metamucil Fiber + Collagen Peptides, is NOT APPROVED for use. See an image of the label below. While STAR-K does not certify any Metamucil products, our site previously listed 'All Powders' as being approved. That information has since been updated. The METAMUCIL POWDERS listed below are currently APPROVED: •           Real Sugar Orange •           Real Sugar Orange Smooth •           Real Sugar Unflavored Coarse •    &...
The IRS still needs to process more than 21 million paper tax returns, delaying refunds for many Americans as the agency struggles to work through the backlog, a government watchdog said this week. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in a recent report that the agency still needs to process about 21.3 million paper returns as of May 31 – a 7% increase from this same time last year, when there were 20 million unprocessed paper returns. "Unfortunately, at this point the backlog is still crushing the IRS, its employees and, most importantly, taxpayers," Collins wrote in the report. "These processing delays are creating unprecedented financial difficulties for millions of taxpayers and outright hardships for many." Although more than 90% of taxpayers submitted their re...
Maryland Transit Administration riders will need to prepare to pay more starting June 26. Single-ride fares will increase by 10 cents for core service -- which includes bus, light rail and Metro subway -- as part of a legislatively mandated fare increase required by the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013, which requires a fare increase by a minimum of 10 cents every two years. As a result, single-trip fares will increase from $1.90 to $2 for core service, which were last changed in 2019. Riders using CharmPass, the MTA's mobile-ticketing app, get free transfers within 90 minutes when riding between bus, light rail and Metro subway. The MTA also offers CharmFlex, a discounted fare option to accommodate Marylanders who are returning to onsite work on a more fl...
Baltimore City, MD— Monday, June 27, 2022 —  The city agency with the largest budget, DPW continues to fail to perform the most routine and basic city service; curbside recycling collection. This failure to pick up recycling is leading to the reduction of recycling rates, increased trash, and creating an unfair burden on the solid waste workers who are now forced to collect double the amount of materials for the every other week collection day. These workers are subjected to working longer hours to complete their routes. DPW has NOT been adequately compensating these workers for this increased workload. After one of the longest budget hearings in this council's history, DPW could NOT answer simple questions about the missed collections or what the plan is to resume we...
A kosher certification group sued JetBlue Airways Corp in New Jersey federal court Thursday, alleging JetBlue unlawfully used its trademarks to advertise food it had not certified. According to the lawsuit, New York-based JetBlue sells an artichoke snack that it says is certified by Kof-K Kosher Supervision without the group's consent. Kof-K has never certified any of JetBlue's products as kosher or given the airline permission to use its trademarks, according to the lawsuit. A JetBlue spokeperson said Friday that the airline was investigating the claims. An attorney for Kof-K declined to comment. Kosher foods are prepared in accordance with strict Jewish dietary laws. Teaneck, New Jersey-based Kof-K certifies kosher products in the U.S. and internationally. A JetBlue&n...
Walking past the countless photos of Holocaust survivors and victims at Warsaw’s POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in 2016, New York-native Daniel Patt was haunted by the possibility that he was passing the faces of his own relatives without even knowing it. For Patt, a 40-year-old software engineer now working for Google, that sort of conundrum presented the potential for a creative solution. And so he set to work creating and developing From Numbers to Names (N2N), an artificial intelligence-driven facial recognition platform that can scan through photos from prewar Europe and the Holocaust, linking them to people living today. Patt has a personal stake in the project: Three of his four grandparents are Holocaust survivors from Poland, and he wants to help his grand...
'I am ready to create a...bridge to Ayelet Shaked and my right-wing rivals so that a government can be formed' Religious Zionism party head Bezalel Smotrich said Sunday that he is doing everything he can to establish an alternative government headed by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, preventing the dissolution of the parliament (Knesset) and a fifth-round of elections. "I am ready to create a... bridge to (Interior Minister) Ayelet Shaked and my right-wing rivals so that a government can be formed that will serve the citizens of Israel without dragging us into unnecessary elections," he said. "The face of (Ra’am leader) Mansour Abbas has disappeared in recent weeks. We are not sitting with supporters of terrorism in the coalition. We were the first to recog...
Baltimore, MD – June 26, 2022 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Dr. Bert Kahn, z’l, husband of Bina Kahn and father of Leah Plavnick, Natan Kahn, Chana Wasserman, Zalman Kahn, Shira Katsman, Yosef Kahn, Daniel Kahn, Rochel Hartman, and Meira Persworsky. Shiva will be observed through Friday afternoon, July 1, at 6116 Benhurst Avenue. Shacharis Monday-Friday - 7:00 am Mincha/Maariv Monday- Thursday - 8:25 pm Bila HaMaves LaNetzach
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is considering resigning from the government in the next few days, Kan reported Sunday evening. According to the report, Bennett held consultations Sunday as he considers his political future and plans the transfer of power to Yair Lapid. During the consultations, Bennett told confidants that he is “considering resigning in the coming days”. Should the coalition succeed in passing legislation dissolving the Knesset on Monday – and avoids the formation of an alternate government – Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is expected to be sworn in as prime minister this week. Under the coalition agreement, Bennett would rotate out from prime minister to alternate prime minister. Now, however...
Russia launched the largest missile barrage on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in weeks early Sunday, hours before a Group of Seven meeting convened in Germany to discuss new economic measures to stop Moscow’s invasion. Several missiles flew toward Kyiv around dawn, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down at least one on the outskirts of the capital, Ukrainian government officials said. One missile hit an eight-story residential building, where city officials said residents were pulled from the rubble. One person died and four others were injured, including a 7-year-old girl and her 35-year-old mother, who is a Russian citizen, Ihor Klymenko, the head of Ukrainian national police, said on his Facebook page. Another missile landed on the playground of a kindergarten, accordin...
On June 24th, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union) issued the following statement: In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, we reiterate the approach we articulated when a draft ruling in this case was leaked to the media last month. The Orthodox Union is unable to either mourn or celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade. We cannot support absolute bans on abortion—at any time point in a pregnancy—that would not allow access to abortion in lifesaving situations. Similarly, we cannot support legislation that does not limit abortion to situations in which medical (including mental health) professionals affirm that carrying the pregnancy to term poses real risk to t...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) on Sunday said conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who “misled” Americans during their confirmation hearings about whether or not they supported overturning Roe v. Wade should be impeached and face “consequences” for lying under oath. Ocasio-Cortez told NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd the Supreme Court “dramatically overreached its authority” and created a “crisis of legitimacy” that President Biden should address. “If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue — without basis, if you read these opinions — rulings that deeply undermine...
Israel employs nearly 100,000 workers from the West Bank and Gaza Israel's cabinet approved issuing 3,500 additional permits for Palestinian workers in its manufacturing and services sectors, increasing the number to 12,000 to help relieve a shortage of skilled staff, the Israeli Economy Ministry said on Sunday. Workers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip require permits to cross checkpoints and enter Israel, where wages are higher. Israel employs nearly 100,000 West Bank and Gazan workers, according to the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority. However, most work in construction or agriculture, with only a comparatively small number given permits for jobs in factories or the services sector. The jobless rate in Israel is roughly three percent, and...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia temporarily delayed the FDA's ban on Juul devices on Friday after the e-cigarette giant called the agency's order "extraordinary and unlawful" in a court filing, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FDA said Thursday that it has not "received clinical information to suggest an immediate hazard associated with the use of" Juul devices, but that there is "insufficient evidence to assess the potential toxicological risks" of using the products. Juul hit back on Friday, arguing that it will "suffer significant irreparable harm." "In our applications, which we submitted over two years ago, we believe that we appropriately characterized the toxicological profile of JUUL products, including comparisons to combustible ci...
The robot will be used in the towns and cities surrounding Ukraine's capital Kyiv The US military reportedly gave one of its two robotic dogs to help an American nonprofit clean up mines and other ammunition left by the Russian army in Ukraine, Foreign Policy reported after talking to a source familiar with the case. The HALO Trust – a company with expertise in clearing landmines and other explosives – will use its ‘Spot,’ a robotic dog to remove mortar shells and cluster munitions in territories formerly controlled by Russia, Chris Whatley, the group’s executive director, told the publication. The robot will be used in the towns and cities surrounding Ukraine's capital Kyiv.  Last year, a test session showed that ...
'We understand that the solution goes further than public transport… walking and cycling' Israel’s government on Sunday approved the “One Million” plan, aimed at reducing private car travel in the country by five percent – one million trips per day – by the end of the year to "alleviate traffic congestion." It includes dozens of measures to improve the public transport system, eliminate incentives for owning a private vehicle, accelerate road work processes to reduce journey times, and changes in the world of work. “The goal of the program is to… encourage the use of public transportation to alleviate traffic congestion,” said Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, calling it a “significant message t...
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