Baltimore, MD - Jan. 21, 2018 - I am sorry to hear that you are being furloughed. Here is the good news: The state of Maryland will be paying unemployment benefits to furloughed employees and Kol Torah will be hosting a open beis medrash for all that are interested. 2 items to keep in mind: If the federal government issues back pay for the furlough you will need to pay back all unemployment benefits to the state of Maryland. State unemployment benefits are also counted as taxable income. Learning Program: Kol torah (2929 Fallstaff Rd.) will have a learning program in the morning for those interested. Danishes will be served as well as lunch. The program begins at 9 am and lunch will be at 12:30 pm. Please come for as much or as little as you can. If you have any questions about the learni...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 22, 2018 - A new Chabura has formed for those interested in learning Halacha L’maaseh from the source.  The Chabura will be learning the Halachos of Chol Hamoed from Maseches Moed Katan, starting with the Gemara and Rishonim and continuing into the Bais Yosef, Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Berura.  The Chabura is led by R’ Yosef Rosenfeld, who guides the learning and delivers regular Shiurim.  Located in Kehillas Kol Torah, the Chaburah meets Sunday through Thursday from 8:30 until 10 PM, followed by Maariv. For more information, please contact Dovid Meyer at 443-812-6681 or R’ Yosef Rosenfeld at 443-787-6179.
Camarillo, CA - The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline jumped 4 cents nationally over the past two weeks to $2.58. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the increase is due to higher crude oil costs. The current gas price is 22 cents above where it was a year ago. Gas in San Francisco was the highest in the contiguous United States at an average of $3.26 a gallon. The lowest was in Tucson, Arizona, at $2.16 a gallon. The U.S. average diesel price is $2.99, up 5 cents from two weeks ago.
The KnessetJerusalem, Israel VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: President Rivlin, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Speaker Edelstein, Leader Herzog, members of the Knesset, justices of the Supreme Court, citizens of Israel — (applause) — it is deeply humbling for me to stand before this vibrant democracy — (applause) — to have the great honor to address this Knesset, the first Vice President of the United States to be afforded that privilege here in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel. (Applause.) And I bring greetings from a leader who has done more to bring our two great countries closer together than any President in the past 70 years — the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump. (Applause.) Thanks to the President’s leaders...
Three men have been shot and wounded in midtown Manhattan in an area that is traditionally buzzing with tourists near the Empire State Building and Macy's. The shooting happened Sunday afternoon on West 31st Street. The victims were taken to a hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. Police say two men were arguing when one of them drew a gun and fired several shots. They say the gunshots hit the intended target and two bystanders. One of the bystanders was apparently a tourist. The gunman and a companion fled on foot. No arrests have been made. Neighborhood resident David Markovich says he arrived seconds after the gunfire erupted and saw the three victims lying bleeding on the ground. Markovich says police and ambulances arrived moments ...
It's HAPPENING Monday! Help the children at JEWELS succeed by donating online and spreading the word to all your family and friends. Join the campaign by visiting charidy.com/JEWELS. JEWELS first opened its doors in 2012 with 13 students and a goal to equip each child with the skills to achieve his or her full potential through special education, rehabilitation, and loving support, all in a Jewish setting. Six years later, JEWELS has tripled in size to 40 students and has 40 incredible staff members, including therapists. JEWELS is growing…and thriving! Special educators lead each of the five classes, divided by age and level of development. Through its clinic, which provides therapies to children from all schools, JEWELS fulfills its mission of s...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is set to sow more disruption and political peril Monday after the Senate inched closer but ultimately fell short of an agreement that would have reopened federal agencies before the beginning of the workweek. A vote scheduled for noon Monday would end the shutdown with a short-term spending bill.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations kept going late into the night, with a vote to break a Democratic filibuster on a short-term funding bill scheduled for noon Monday. Under the proposal taking shape, Democratic would agree to a three-week spending measure — until Feb. 8 — in return for a commitment from the Republican leadership in the Senate to address immigration policy...
To rousing applause from Israeli lawmakers, the American vice president vows the US 'will never compromise the safety and security of the State of Israel' and calls on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. US Vice President Mike Pence promised Monday to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem "before the end of next year" in a Knesset speech that earned him rousing applause and multiple standing ovations from the gathered lawmakers.  "In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, and that United States Embassy will open before the end of next year," Pence said. Pence also called on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, stressing that "peace can only come through dialogue." ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has lost about five months worth of text messages between two staffers who worked on probes into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails and possible collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to a Republican lawmaker. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, revealed in a Jan. 20 letter that the FBI’s technical system failed to preserve texts that were exchanged between Lisa Page, a lawyer, and Peter Strzok, an agent, between mid-December 2016 through mid-May of 2017. A spokesman for the FBI and a spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Congressional Republicans have been focusing on Strzo...
State Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension -- including Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen -- in a late Friday vote to shut down the federal government, and Maryland will see changes as a result.  Nearly 300,000 of Maryland's six million residents work for the federal government. Fort McHenry, part of the National Park Service, will be closed on Saturday. Some faculty members at the Naval Academy will also be affected, the Baltimore Sun reports. There are nearly 10,000 federal employees working in Baltimore City, and Social Security has nearly 11,000 in Baltimore County.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice both have offices in Baltimore City. Cancer research at Johns Hopkins may also be slowed becaus...
BALTIMORE (AP) — Deputy Police Commissioner Darryl DeSousa, who has steadily risen through the ranks during a 30-year career with Baltimore's police department, will take the helm of the force in a city struggling with a feverish pace of killings. After a record year in per-capita homicides, Baltimore's mayor on Friday fired the city's police commissioner after 2½ years on the job and named DeSousa to the top post, saying a change in leadership was needed immediately. "I am impatient. We need violence reduction. We need the numbers to go down faster," Mayor Catherine Pugh said at a news conference at City Hall after announcing DeSousa's promotion. Although violent crime rates in Baltimore have been high for decades, Baltimore ended 2017 with 343 killings...
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 20, 2018 – It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) informs the community of the petirah of Rabbi Zushe Blech, a'h, husband of Vittie Blech, father of Ariella (Yitzchak) Greenberg, Dalya (Dovid) Addi, Benzion (Lakie) Blech, Daniel Blech and brother of Debbie Berson    The Levayah will take place Sunday January 21, 1:30 p.m. Graveside at Agudas Yisrael, 6300 Hamilton Ave Rosedale, MD Shiva will be observed at 6205 Lincoln Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209 (please park at Ner Tamid) Shacharis 7:30   Mincha/Maariv 5:00 PM (Erev Shabbos 1:00 PM)Visiting hoursAfter Shachris till 12:001:30 – 6:00Please no visitors between 12:00 – 1:30, 6:00 – 7:00, and after 9:00 PM.Please respect the above hours. Bila HaMaves LaNetz...
US Vice President Mike Pence began a visit to Israel on Sunday after being praised as a "great friend" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and shunned by the Palestinians overUS recognitionof Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Pence was welcomed at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport by Israel's Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and US Envoy to Israel David Friedman and made no statement to reporters before travelling to Jerusalem. It is the highest-level US visit to the region since President Donald Trump made his Jerusalem declaration on December 6 and promised to begin the process of moving the American embassy to the city, whose status is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With thePalestinians boycotting Pence, the visit provides little obvious opportunity to b...
The Siyum on Maseches Shavuos took on special meaning for Daf Yomi participants this cycle, as it coincided with the 50th Yartzeit of Rav Eliezer Silver, one of the trailblazing leaders of American Jewry during the mid-20th century. Agudath Israel of America’s Daf Yomi Commission - the primary force behind Daf Yomi learning on our continent – arranged a Siyum on Tuesday evening in Congregation Zichron Eliezer in Cincinnati, OH. The Shul is named in memory of Rav Silver, and is situated in the city where Rav Silver served as Rav for nearly four decades prior to his petirah. As with all Agudath Israel Daf Yomi Siyumim, the event was broadcast live at satellite locations across North America, and many others participated in the ceremony via telephone or LiveStream. Rav Yissochor ...
Amman - Jordan’s king appealed Sunday to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to “rebuild trust and confidence” in the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following fallout from the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Pence, in turn, tried to reassure the monarch that the Trump administration remains committed to restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and views Jordan as a central player. Advertisement: The vice president also said that “the United States of America remains committed, if the parties agree, to a two state solution.” Such a caveat deviates from long-standing U.S. support for a two-state solution as the only possible outcome of any peace deal. ...
Washington - Congressional Democrats are taking a page from the playbook of President Donald Trump and hard-line conservatives: Fight for your base and don’t blink. In forcing a showdown over immigration — and triggering a government shutdown — Democrats have embraced a confrontational, rule-breaking strategy they once blasted as irresponsible when practiced by the other party. But the Trump-era appears to come with new rules for both sides. Rather than playing it safe in an election year, Democrats are calculating the bigger risk would be missing the moment to challenge a deeply unpopular president and deflating the energy that could drive liberal voters to the polls in November. “No one wants to conduct themselves in a way that you are running scared and being a...
WASHINGTON — A prestigious scientific panel is recommending that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate the "entirely preventable" 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the United States each year. The U.S. government-commissioned, 489-page report by a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released Wednesday throws the weight of the scientific body behind lowering the blood-alcohol concentration threshold from 0.08 to 0.05. All states have 0.08 thresholds. A Utah law passed last year that lowers the state's threshold to 0.05 doesn't go into effect until Dec. 30. The amount of alcohol required to reach 0.05 would depend on several factors, including the person's...
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is expected to approve a plan to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem as early as next year, rather than waiting for several years, Trump administration officials said Friday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been considering several options since President Donald Trump, late last year, declared Jerusalem to be Israel's capital and announced the United States would finally move its embassy there from Tel Aviv. Tillerson has said previously that building a new facility that satisfies the significant security requirements is a complex process involving site-selection, permitting and construction. He's said that process is starting immediately but will take at least three years. Yet a temporary plan that has bee...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hours after shuttering much of the federal government, feuding Democrats and Republicans in Congress spent Saturday dodging blame for a paralyzing standoff over immigration and showed few signs of progress on negotiations needed to end it. The finger-pointing played out in rare weekend proceedings in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers were eager to show voters they were actively working for a solution — or at least actively making their case why the other party was at fault. The scene highlighted the high political stakes for both parties in an election-year shutdown whose consequences were far from clear. "The American people cannot begin to understand why the Senate Democratic leader thinks the entire government should be shut down until he gets hi...
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