Baltimore, MD - May 3, 2024 - Salvage crews within the Key Bridge Unified Command are preparing for the removal of the piece of bridge lying on top of the M/V DALI.
The operation requires careful handling of roadbed material, crushed containers, and bridge fragments currently resting on the M/V DALI’s bow. The salvage teams are meticulously preparing for the refloat of the DALI, ensuring all aspects of the wreckage impacts are thoroughly evaluated and addressed.
"The complexities of this next phase of operations require thorough preparation, strategic planning, and specialized expertise," said Capt. David O’Connell, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Key Bridge Unified Command. "We have the right team making this work happen in the safest and most efficient way possible.&rdq...
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and his wife were indicted Friday on charges related to accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes and laundering the funds.
The indictment filed by the Justice Department (DOJ) details payments Cuellar allegedly accepted from an oil company owned by the Azerbaijan government and a Mexican bank.
“The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts,” the DOJ wrote in a press release announcing the indictment in the Southern District of Texas.
“In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his...
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Rabbi Eitan & Atara Reiner on the birth of Chana Miryam.
Mazel Tov to grandparents Dr. Barry & Suri Reiner.
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
Baltimore, MD - May 3, 2024 - Johns Hopkins University president calls for protesters to immediately end encampment on campus
A protest in support of Palestine entered its fourth day at the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus.
The demonstrators have been calling on the University to cut ties with Tel-Aviv University and stop accepting Department of Defense funding to develop weapons.
Student protest leaders hammered out an agreement with Johns Hopkins University president Ron Daniels late Monday night. The deal was that the school would ensure the safety of the peaceful protests from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the students promised no tents or overnight camping.
Officials said the pact was announced and most of the students left, but a few stragglers rema...
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 - To recognize May as Tickborne Disease Awareness Month, the Maryland Department of Health recently launched a tickborne disease prevention campaign encouraging Marylanders to take simple precautions to prevent illness caused by infected ticks in time for warmer spring weather and increased outdoor activity.
“We want Marylanders to explore the beautiful nature found in our great state,” said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott. “But we want them to safeguard their health and be mindful of ticks and the diseases they spread.”
See Governor Wes Moore’s proclamation proclaiming May as Tickborne Disease Awareness Month in Maryland.
In an effort to reduce the spread of disease, the tickborn...
Lawsuits and insurance claims are already flowing in the aftermath of the Key Bridge collapse.
WMAR-2 News has learned Chubb, the company who insured the Key Bridge, is reportedly preparing a $350 million payout to the state of Maryland.
The development was confirmed by a spokesperson with WTW, the brokerage firm handling the Key Bridge insurance policy.
It's unclear when the payment will be made, but WTW expects it to be worth the full policy amount, estimated to be around $350 million.
This news comes on the heels of Baltimore City filing legal action against the owner and operator of the DALI container ship that crashed into the bridge. Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine PTE, the companies behind the DALI have since denied any fault or neglect.
The c...
I have always been fascinated by onomatopoeias (pronounced: änəˌmädəˈpēə). This is one of those rare English words where it does not really matter if you spell it regularly or use the phonetic spelling; either way, you will probably end up pronouncing it wrong! Sorry, that is just the nature of this strange word that is spelled with 8 vowels and contains 6 syllables!If you do not already know, an onomatopoeia is the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it. In short, it is a word that sounds like what it describes. Think of words like: crash, clang, splat, clink, bang, and boom. My personal favorite onomatopoeia is the succession of the letter z written three or more times, like this: zzz. Everyone who sees a bunch of z’s knows ...
The world is in chaos.
The ancient battle between the forces of Yaakov and Esav, continues to rear its ugly head. The world united under the banner of the corrupt philosophy of Esav which seeks instant gratification; freedom from the clutches of morality; entitlement without investment; and a denial of a higher truth embodied within the nation of Israel and its illustrious history, is aflame with growing antisemitism.
We are in the last exile, the Golus of Edom, fighting once again to defeat its archangel — the Satan and its cohorts, as Yaakov did so valiantly early in our history.
We find ourselves positioned between the conclusion of Pesach and the Shabbos of Acharei Mos. In this week's portion we will read of the special service led by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, where ...
Rabbi Labish Becker - Acharei Mos 5784 -Reluctant Leadership- from Agudath Israel on Vimeo.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, yesterday evening (Thursday, 2 May 2024), at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, met with the Holocaust survivors who will serve as torchlighters at the official opening ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem. Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, Yad Vashem Chairman Danny Dayan and the survivors also attended the meeting.
At the emotional meeting, the Prime Minister and his wife heard the survivors' Holocaust stories, and about their aliyah to Israel and their families.
[All quotes below are translated from Hebrew.]
Izi (Itzhak) Kabilio, an 88-year old Holocaust survivor from Yugoslavia, said that, first and foremost, what happened must not be forgotten and added, "Today, the Stat...
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Yanky Lowenbraun & Raizy Friedman on their engagement.
Mazel Tov to Yosi & Dasi Lowenbraun and Shlome & Faigy Friedman
יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Moshe Kutoff & Rena Gross on their engagement.
Mazel Tov to Mr. & Mrs. Etan Gross
יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Matisyahu Topas (Baltimore) and Yael Hersher (Miami) on their engagement.
יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
Baltimore, MD – May 3, 2024 – 8:56 AM – An accident has resulted in significant traffic congestion extending from the ramp onto 83 South back to Sinai Hospital.
Consider taking alternate routes to avoid delays
"For the Jewish students on campus it's comforting to know the local Jewish community cares and looks out for them in such a vulnerable time."-Efy FlammDirector Jewish Collegiate NetworkTowson Hillel would like to share that a deeply biased resolution calling for divestment has been introduced to Towson University (TU) Student Government Association (SGA) and will be voted on by SGA on Tuesday, May 7th. (The date has been chaged from the 2nd)The resolution's content can be viewed here.
BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) is an antisemitic, anti-dialogue, harmful and dangerous movement that threatens the safety of Jewish students on campus, while also fracturing the campus community as a whole. You can learn more about BDS and its impact here and here. In 2017, fo...
There are many prohibitions in the Torah. It can be challenging at times to refrain from violating these prohibitions and maintaining our allegiance to God. Yet, there are other prohibitions that seem a bit less complicated and tempting.
“For regarding the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul, and I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of any flesh is its blood all who eat it shall be cut off.”
(Vayikra 17:14)
I don’t know of anyone who struggles with blood consumption. Yet the Torah hands down such a stiff penalty. Jewish law tells us that if an animal is slaughtered for sacrificial purposes, the blood must be applied to the altar, and if the animal is slaughtered for regular consumption, ...
Baltimore, MD - May 2, 2024 - Johns Hopkins University and students protesting the conflict in Gaza are at odds over an agreement the school’s administration claims was made earlier this week.
A so-called “solidary encampment”, made up of dozens of tents and pro-Palestine signage, has taken over a campus common area known as “The Beach” for the last four days.
On Tuesday, University President Ron Daniels released a statement saying demonstrators agreed to dismantle their tents and signage every night, only allowing protests to take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. “This will ensure our students’ safety and reduce disruptions,” said Daniels.
However, on Thursday, the group organizing the protest called the ‘Hopkins Justice Col...
Baltimore, MD - May 2, 2024 - An ongoing process to replace lead water pipes in Washington, D.C., reveals several warning signs for the Baltimore area as officials here check more than 275,000 pipes for lead.
Since 2019, D.C. officials have replaced 5,400 lead pipes mostly for free to customers — but it comes at a cost amid an uncertain future. Federal funding is set to run out and there will be more lead pipes than expected that need to be replaced at a cost of almost $2 billion.
DC has been replacing lead pipes for years
Lead pipes were found after a test a few months ago at a home at the corner of 14th Street and Arkansas Avenue, Northwest. Last week, a D.C. Water crew got to work as soon as the local noise ordinance lifted at 9:30 a.m. to dig up the pipes.
That was one ...
Baltimore, MD - May 2, 2024 - Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an estimated cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, a state transportation official said Thursday.
As salvage efforts continue, authorities also announced late Wednesday they had recovered the body of a fifth person who died in the March 26 collapse.
The state plans to build a new span by fall of 2028, said David Broughton, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Transportation. He said the cost estimate is preliminary, and detailed engineering specifics have not been confirmed.
Late Wednesday, authorities announced they recovered the body of a fifth person who was missing after the collapse of the bridge more than a month ago, shutting down the port of Baltimore...
