In one fell swoop, President Donald Trump ended all of the nearly 1,600 cases stemming from the January 6 US Capitol attack.
He signed a proclamation Monday pardoning nearly all 1,270 people convicted in the January 6 attack, directing the Justice Department to drop about 300 pending cases, and ordering the release of a small group of 14 other defendants who were charged in the most serious sedition cases. (Trump misspoke earlier tonight when he said the pardon would cover about 1,500 people.)
These actions go farther than many — including Trump’s own advisers and GOP allies — were expecting. Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson said in recent days that Trump should only pardon nonviolent offenders.
But the proclamation he signed, granting a “fu...
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio's nomination Monday.
Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.
H...
Jerusalem, Israel - Jan. 20, 2025 - "Congratulations Donald Trump, Israel loves you" was posted on a large banner outside of the Friends of Zion Museum. The event timed to coincide with the inauguration swearing-in ceremony on January 20, 2025, was attended by about a thousand people. Ambassadors, businessmen, dignitaries, and key figures in US-Israel relations filled the multiple levels and areas of the Friends of Zion campus in Jerusalem, Israel.
Crowds arrived early and crowded into the entrance to the museum well before the announced start time. The guests were served an American-style buffet dinner of hotdogs and burgers, before the live broadcast and a panel discussion.
The Soloman Brothers provided live music. Hundreds of red hats and Israeli an...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 20, 2025 - This past shabbos, Parshas Shemos, we celebrated the bar mitzvah of my youngest child.
It was an incredible experience and so grateful on many levels and I’m still processing this milestone.
For weeks, my husband and I were busy preparing, each one with our own to-do-list, along with juggling the responsibilities of regular life. Somewhere in between that, I lost track of the news, however I continued to daven daily for our people with my Tehillim for Hostages whats app group, and using the tefillah card I have at home for the safety of our Chayalim, return of our hostages and healing for those injured in the war. Almost like background noise, I knew there was talks of a cease-fire and a potential hostage release. I didn...
Earlier this evening (Monday), the families of Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, and Romi Gonen, who were released from captivity last night, gave their first public statement at Sheba Medical Center. During the statement, Yamit Ashkenazi, the sister of Doron Steinbrecher, also delivered a message from her sister.
Yamit Ashkenazi, Doron Steinbrecher's sister, said, "Today, Doron is home with us. Our Dorona is here. We are still processing, trying to cope. Doron is doing well, strong and brave, but she has a long road of recovery ahead of her and us. She is surrounded by the warmth and love of her family, friends, and all of Israel, for which we are deeply grateful.
We reached this moment after far too long, and without Trump's involvement, it would not have happened," Yamir sai...
Steven Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, recounted his recent efforts that helped secure the ceasefire and hostage release deal that went into effect yesterday (Sunday) in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News.
Witkoff said that he was emotional when he saw the photographs of the three hostages who were released Sunday afternoon and their first meetings with their families. "I myself had tears in my eyes when I saw the pictures. As a family member, I can't imagine what it must have been like for these parents to have welcomed back their daughters and knowing that they weren't going to lose their children."
He said that he believes President Trump "felt fulfilled" when he saw the images of the freed hostages reuniting with...
Minutes before leaving the presidency, Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses, saying Monday that his family had been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics.”
“Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” he said as his presidential term was ending.
The family pardons were the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by the Democrat, who has been known as an intuitionalist during his half-century in politics. Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and allies who have been targeted by Republican Presi...
Vivek Ramaswamy will launch a campaign for governor in Ohio early next week and is parting ways with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, two sources familiar with his plans told NBC News.
Ramaswamy’s interest in seeking office in his home state is not a surprise. But his decision to leave DOGE now removes him from the high command of a federal spending watchdog group that he was supposed to run with Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO and owner of X.
“He’s leaving DOGE. He’s going to announce early next week for governor,” said one of the sources, who was granted anonymity to discuss preparations for a campaign that has not officially launched. “It became increasingly clear over the las...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 20, 2025 - Despite several public pleas from herself, family members, and friends, Marilyn Mosby did not receive a pardon from President Joe Biden.
Mosby and her supporters renewed their push for a presidential pardon in the waning weeks of the Biden Administration, though those efforts were unsuccessful.
Mosby, Baltimore City’s former state’s attorney, was convicted on two counts of federal perjury charges following a jury trial in November 2023, and a separate jury convicted her in a January 2024 trial on one count of federal mortgage fraud.
Before Donald Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2025, outgoing President Biden issued several pardons, including some for his family members, and pre-emptive pardons to former administration offi...
Members of the Teamsters union have authorized a strike against Costco on Feb. 1 unless they reach a deal with the warehouse retailer before the current contract expires on Jan. 31.
The union said 18,000 Costco workers are set to go on strike at 56 of the company’s warehouse stores spread across five states after 85% of members voted to authorize a strike. In addition to disagreements on wages and benefits, the union said Costco had rejected union proposals dealing with seniority pay, paid family leave, bereavement policies, sick time, and safeguards against surveillance.
The company did not respond to a request for comment on the strike vote.
The Teamsters covered by the Costco national contract make up 8% of the 219,000 U.S. employees that the company has at 616 U.S. stores, acc...
Baltimore City is adding a height monitoring camera in an effort to prevent trucks from creating extra traffic congestion and other disturbances in restricted business and residential areas.
The camera detects and photographs tags of trucks 12.5 feet or higher.
Starting January 27 a new camera is scheduled to go up in the 1600 block of Church Street.
Signs will be in place warning drivers.
First time violators will be issued a warning, followed by $125 and $250 fines for second and third-time offenders.
"The Commercial Vehicle Height Monitoring System helps to reduce traffic congestion and damage to streets, homes, businesses, and other infrastructure by commercial vehicles that unlawfully drive along restricted roadways," The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said in a pres...
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 20, 2025 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Maier Borenstein on the birth of a son.Mazel Tov grandparents Howie & Shari Borenstein and Shlomie & Sari Lax
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
What the Families of the Hostages Need Now
We are in the midst of an extremely tense and turbulent time with the drawn-out return of the hostages. I think it’s important to pay attention to the following verses from last week’s parasha: "Bnei Yisrael were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to G-D. G-D heard their moaning, and G-D remembered the covenant with Avraham and Yitzchak and Yaakov. G-D looked upon Bnei Yisrael, and G-D took notice of them.”
What is the Torah describing here? The situation of the Bnei Yisrael is excruciating, they cry out from the depths of their hearts, G-D hears their prayers, remembers His covenant with the patriarchs, and the exodus from Egypt gets und...
President Trump said a "tide of change is sweeping the country," telling Americans during his inaugural address Monday that he is "optimistic" that the U.S. is beginning a "new era of national success," while declaring that the country's "decline is over."
Trump addressed the nation on Monday after taking the oath of office for the second time and being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
"The golden age of America begins right now," Trump said in his inaugural address. "From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer."
"During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put Americ...
Hello,
My name is Bracha, and I'm the mother of Shira - a sweet and brave little Israeli girl.
Shira is suffering from a serious medical condition, and we need urgent treatment to help her recover.
As her mother, I’m doing everything I can, but our situation is very difficult, and we have large expenses for treatments and medications that we cannot afford on our own.
With a heavy heart, I am reaching out to ask for your help.
Every donation, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to providing Shira with the care she desperately needs.
It’s not easy to ask, but Shira needs this so much, and I don’t know what to do without your help.
With endless gratitude,
Bracha
Donate now: https://thechesedfund.com/lemaanachenu/shira-s?aff=...
BJL Weather Information Notification System Community Schedule Changes for Schools, Organizations & Businesses for Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 / 20 Tevet, 5785 as of 8:33AM
Bais Yaakov Elementary: Begin 10:00 AM. Early arrival at 9:30 AM. No AM MTA bus service (4th graders daven at home). ELC begins at 9:15 AM.Bais Yaakov Middle/High School: Begin at 9:30 AM. No AM MTA bus service (daven at home).Bais Yaakov Preschool: Begin 10:00 AM.
Bnos Yisroel: Begin at 10:00 AM. Daven at home. Staff arrival at 9:45 AM.
JCC - Owings Mills: Open 10:00 AM. Visit jcc.org/schedule for any changes to Group X or PH Pool schedules.
JCC - Park Heights: Open 10:00 AM. Visit jcc.org/schedule for any changes to Group X or PH Pool schedules.
Talmudical Academy: MS & Mesivta Minyan begins at 8:30 AM. Low...
President Joe Biden on Monday issued pardons for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The pardons, coming in the final hours of Biden’s president, amount to an extraordinary flex of presidential power. They serve to protect several outspoken critics of President-elect Donald Trump, including former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, whom Trump has vowed retribution against.
“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden wrote in a statement.
“Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” he went on.
Fauci...
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 19, 2025 - Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim marked a joyous milestone with the celebration of the Chanukas Habayis for its new edifice. The event featured divrei bracha from HaRav Yaakov Hopfer, shlita, Rav of Shearith Israel and President of the Vaad HaRabbanim of Baltimore. Eleven-year-old Netanel Goetz, son of Daniel and Tzippi Goetz, made a siyum hamishnayos on Masechta Eruvin, followed by HaRav Menachem Goldberger, who recited the siyum kaddish.
Racheli Fine, daughter of Dr. Derek and Mrs. Lauren Fine, spoke as a representative of the heart of the shul, offering heartfelt reflections that beautifully captured the essence of the Suburban Orthodox community.The remarkable growth and vitality of Suburban Orthodox Congregation are a direct...
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 19, 2025 - Bais Yaakov: Exhibit Hours are Cancelled for Tonight.
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 19, 2025 - 4:33PM - A major motor vehicle accident has occurred on Greenspring Avenue southbound at 695. (On the same side of the street as The Quarry.) It is advised to avoid the area.
