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White House Virus Task Force Members Face Quarantine

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(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

By: Kevin Freking

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.

Fauci’s institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties. While he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.

Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined he had a “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms.

Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus.

All three men are scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the panel, said the White House will allow Redfield and Hahn to testify by videoconference, a one-time exception to the administration’s policies on hearing testimony. The statement was issued before Fauci’s quarantine was announced.

Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. White House officials had confirmed Thursday that a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide as spokeswoman Katie Miller, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Miller had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president and had tested negative a day earlier. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working in the White House.

The CDC and FDA would not disclose the identity of the person who had tested positive and with whom the agency leaders had come in contact.

Redfield sought to use the exposure as a teachable moment. The CDC statement said if he must go to the White House to fulfill any responsibilities as part of the coronavirus task force, he will follow CDC practices for critical infrastructure workers. Those guidelines call for Redfield and anyone working on the task force to have their temperature taken and screened for symptoms each day, wear a face covering, and distance themselves from others.

Trump has resisted wearing a mask, and in a meeting with the nation’s top military leaders Saturday evening, he did not wear a mask during the brief portion that reporters were allowed to view. The generals around Trump also did not wear a mask, but participants did sit a few feet away from each other.

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said Hahn tested negative for the virus after he learned of the contact. He wrote a note to staff on Friday to alert them.

Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people was exhibiting symptoms, but all were asked to deplane so they could be tested “out of an abundance of caution,” a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pence’s staff — which works next door in the Executive Office Building — are tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested Friday. Miller tweeted she was “doing well” and looked forward to getting back to work.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president. He said the White House was “probably the safest place that you can come,” but the he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.

Trump’s valet’s case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. (AP)

 

Poll: Majority of Israelis Support Annexation of Judea & Samaria Among right-wing Israelis, 71 percent support declaring sovereignty.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made declaring sovereignty a central campaign promise. (Flash90/Yonatan Sindel)

By: David Isaac

With the pieces falling into place for an Israeli declaration of sovereignty over some 30 percent of Judea and Samaria, a new poll shows the majority of Israelis are in favor of applying Israeli law over those territories.

According to the Israeli Voice Index for April 2020, 52 percent of Jewish Israelis support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of extending Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. That number jumps when surveying Jewish Israeli right-wing voters (71%).

If Israel were to go forward with extending its sovereignty, only 20 percent of Israelis polled say that Palestinians in the areas affected should be granted full citizenship while 37 percent said that their legal status should remain unchanged.

Nevertheless, only 32 percent says Israel will in fact move forward with this step in the coming year.

Curiously, among Arab Israelis, less than half say they should be made full citizens of Israel, (47%) with 9 percent saying that Palestinians should not be given any political status beyond what they have today. Four and a half percent say they should be granted the status of residents, and 39 percent did not know or refused to answer the question.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 26 that in “a couple of months,” Israel will establish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu had campaigned on a promise to annex parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley. That promise took on greater meaning when it was included in the unity agreement between the Likud and Blue and White.

Netanyahu and the Likud insisted that the agreement include a provision allowing them to bring forward in Israel’s parliament the issue of annexation by summer.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that America would support Israel’s sovereignty move.

Israel’s erstwhile peace partner the Palestinian Authority condemned the move.

The European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell is reportedly weighing ways to punish Israel if it declares sovereignty.

The Israeli Voice Index is a monthly survey conducted by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. (World Israel News)

Read more at: worldisraelnews.com

Largest Real Estate Deal Since Coronavirus Pandemic Hit NYC – Joseph Chetrit Gets $25M for Luxury UES Pad

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The top floor of this luxury pad that has a glass-enclosed gym that overlooks a 36-foot long swimming pool. Photo Credit: Brian Wittmuss/VHT Studios

Edited by: JV Staff

While the world is caught up in the news pertaining to a nightmarish pandemic that has taken hold of our lives, the good news is that other significant events are taking place in the world of real estate.

According to the Mansion Global web site, renowned and highly respected real estate investor Joseph Chetrit has netted approximately $25 million for a townhouse that he owned in Manhattan. What makes this real estate transaction so unique in that this deal is one of the largest in New York City to close since the Cornoavirus outbreak began in March, according to the Mansion Global web site.

Chetrit is a name that is well known in Brooklyn’s Sephardic Jewish community. As both a savvy investor and philanthropist, Chetrit came from humble beginnings in Morocco. Chetrit was born in Morocco to Simon and Alice Chetrit. He has four brothers: David, Meyer, Jacob and Juda Chetrit. The Chetrit family made their initial fortune in textiles and shipping.

In 2013, Chetrit and his partner David Bistricer, purchased the Sony Tower in New York City for $1.1 billion, according to a Wikipedia report, with plans to convert the building into condominiums.  In 2016, they halted the project due to fears of an over-supply of luxury housing; instead selling the building for $1.4B+ to the Olayan Group of Saudi Arabia. Additional projects include the renovation of the Temple Court Building and Annex with Charles Dayan; and the $290 million 2005 purchase along with partners Charles Dayan and Yair Levy of the 800,000 square foot historic 620 5th Avenue and its 2011 sale to RXR Realty, LLC for $500 million.

As an investor who made his primary wealth from buying low in a downturn and selling high later, Chetrit’s strategy has been market timing rather than development. He typically selects structures with flexible zoning (which broadens the pool of future purchasers) in areas seeing a downturn and thanks to his minimal use of debt, he has the ability to wait the market out. 

The Mansion Global reported that a person familiar with the deal who chose to remain anonymous said that Chetrit’s Upper East Side pad had been in contract for a much larger amount of money. Due to the sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unsteadiness of the stock market, the selling  price of the eight-bedroom, 32-foot-wide townhouse on East 76th Street had to be renegotiated.  

Originally, the selling price for the apartment that has six floors and is approximately 13,000 square feet in size was going for $39 million when it was placed on the market in 2017. Other swanky amenities include an elevator, a rooftop garden and a cigar bar, according to the Mansion Global report.  The top floor of this luxury pad that has a glass-enclosed gym that overlooks a 36-foot long swimming pool, according to the Douglas Elliman listing with Tal Alexander and Richard Steinberg.    

So, how did this property land in Chetrit’s hands to begin with? According to the Mansion Global report, Chetrit plubked down a cool $26 million back in 2007 when he purchased this property from Lenox Hill Hospital in 2007, according to the Mansion Global web site. The property was one of the three townhouses created from the combination of six brownstones, as was reported by the Mansion Global site.    

The site reported that he facades of the original buildings were preserved while the interiors were completely reconstructed. Another one of the houses was purchased for $40.25 million in 2018 by the late David Koch, the prominent investor and Republican donor, and his wife Julia Koch.

Iconic Jersey Shore Boardwalk Reopens; Long Branch Gets Ready for Memorial Day Weekend

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Long Branch's boardwalk, adjacent roadway and promenade will reopen following its recent coronavirus closure. (Google Earth)

Edited by: JV Staff

Good news for New Jersey residents who are just itching to get out of their homes and into the great outdoors. So, after almost two months of scrupulously adhering to the self-isolation and quarantine guidelines offered by Garden State Governor Phil Murphy, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it now appears that among the restrictions that are in the process of being eased is the opening of the iconic Long Branch, New Jersey boardwalk. 

As of 6 am on Saturday, May 9th, the boardwalk, adjacent roadway and promenade all opened. The closures of the boardwalk and its amenities began on March 31st due to the  rapid spread of the Coronavirus in places like New York and New Jersey.   

Due to health concerns the bathrooms on the boardwalk will stay closed, and social distancing rules will continue to apply.  Wearing protective masks and latex gloves are encouraged if social distancing is not possible.

Long Branch Mayor John Pallone decided to announce the closures in March to prevent a surge of visitors who would likely gravitate there with the upcoming warm weather. The beaches, however, have remained open for residents, sightseers and tourists.     

Long Branch is complete with sandy beaches, oceanfront promenades, delicious food and plenty of summertime events. The town also hosts parades, antique shows, holiday events and great live theatre. And, of course, the annual Oceanfest, the biggest Independence Day celebration anywhere in New Jersey.

According to the Patch.com web site, New Jersey county officials have worked with mayors on gradually reopening their cities and towns.

“I have been working closely with the governor’s office on beaches reopening and I hope to have more guidance next week,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone. “I am in constant communication with our shore town mayors and I would like to see the beaches open by Memorial Day weekend.”

According to a recent report on the nj.com web site, in his strongest indication yet, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday “optimism is high” that New Jersey’s beaches will be reopened by Memorial Day weekend, with some strict measures, even as the coronvirus continues to grip the state.

Murphy had signaled Thursday evening of potentially opening up the beaches for the holiday, which is only a little over two weeks away.

The nj.com report also indicated that Cape May County officials sent Murphy a plan earlier this week to incrementally reopen beaches, boardwalks, bars and other staples of the county’s tourism industry over the next two months.

 

Encouraging Illegal Aliens To Remain In The US Is A Crime, Supreme Court Rules

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(DCNF) The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal statute that forbids encouraging illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. unlawfully in a decision Thursday.

The Supreme Court justices voided an earlier decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled that a federal anti-harboring statute was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech. The ruling by the nation’s highest court Thursday upholds the law.

The Supreme Court not only vacated the appeals court’s decision, but also criticized the judges for “drastically” straying from judicial norms.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart of the bench, wrote the high court’s opinion.

“[T]he appeals panel departed so drastically from the principle of party presentation as to constitute an abuse of discretion,” Ginsburg wrote, and later stated that “a court is not hidebound by the precise arguments of counsel, but the Ninth Circuit’s radical transformation of this case goes well beyond the pale.”

The decision brings to a close a court battle that lasted roughly 10 years.

A grand jury indicted California immigration consultant Evelyn Sineneng-Smith in 2010 for multiple violations of anti-harboring laws, which make it a felony to “encourag[e] or induc[e] an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law.”

Sineneng-Smith encouraged illegal alien clients to apply for a certification that would allow them to remain legally in the country, despite them not qualifying for the certification, according to the indictment. She would charge her clients a fee for this service, and allegedly made millions off of the scheme.

Sineneng-Smith earned more than $3.3 million off of her clients, legal affairs outlet Jurist reported.

In a challenge to the decision, Sineneng-Smith argued that the law violated her right to free speech. The Ninth Circuit reversed her conviction, finding that the entire law was invalid as an over broad restriction of speech.

The Ninth Circuit’s reversal however, was not based on arguments presented by her defense, but by third party arguments submitted to the panel of judges.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Ninth Circuit overstepped its authority by injecting an argument not made by the defendant herself. The decision ultimately reaffirms that parties — not the courts — shape issues in a court case.

The case is now to be sent back to the Ninth Circuit “for reconsideration … bearing a fair resemblance to the case shaped by parties.”

The decision was hailed by immigration hawks.

“We applaud the Court’s well-reasoned decision,” Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of Immigration Reform Law Institute, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the Court did not have to reach the issue of whether this important statute is constitutional, but it did keep the law in place. When and if the overbreadth issue is brought up properly by a defendant in the future, we will be there,” Wilcox said.

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Wall Street Journal: Economic Lockdown Is the ‘Catastrophe’

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Visitors to the Department of Labor are turned away at the door by personnel due to closures over coronavirus concerns, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in New York. Applications for jobless benefits are surging in some states as coronavirus concerns shake the U.S. economy. The sharp increase comes as governments have ordered millions of workers, students and shoppers to stay home as a precaution against spreading the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

By Eric Mack (NEWSMAX)

Those saying we had to sacrifice the economy to save lives have succeeded in only the former, according to The Wall Street Journal ;opinion piece in a scathing rebuke of lockdowns at all costs amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

“The tradeoff isn’t between lives and livelihoods,” the Journal editorial board concluded. “The policy goal has to be to protect both as much as possible.

“Deploy more personal protective equipment, greatly increase testing, build surge capability to handle flare-ups, and isolate society’s most vulnerable to keep hospitals from getting overwhelmed.

“But for heaven’s sake reopen the economy so we don’t consign millions to years of poverty.”

The op-ed was in response to those denouncing a past call back on March 19, “Rethinking the Coronavirus Shutdown,” when the shutdowns were only beginning.

“Well, after Friday’s horrific jobs report, how do you like the shutdown now?” the Journal wrote. “The people who said we have to sacrifice the economy to crush the virus have succeeded in the former even as the virus will be with us for many more months or longer.”

April’s unemployment rate showed 14.7% of Americans out of work, the highest rate in record U.S. history, until 6.4 million workers were added to the unemployment line.

“Much of the media continue to treat the economic destruction as a sideshow and present a false choice between saving lives and jobs,” the board wrote. “But this is the fastest jobs collapse in modern history. The Great Depression drove millions of Americans into poverty and caused many suicides, and there’s a substantial risk this could happen again.”

And, most notably, even hospitals are cutting essential frontline workers, as elective surgeries have put healthcare facilities on life support.

“Congress has appropriated $175 billion to shore up hospitals, but this won’t help small physician practices much,” the board wrote. “Many healthcare providers warn they may not survive if their privately insured patients lose jobs and sign up for Medicaid, which doesn’t cover their costs.”

The board even rebuked Democrats’ plan to keep paying Americans’ unemployment indefinitely, until a vaccine that may or may not come.

“The crowd that demands the economy remain locked-down until there’s a vaccine, miracle therapy or daily testing of everyone in the country seem to think the government can replace the private economy,” the board wrote. “That’s a fantasy, and they are betraying the very low- and middle-income workers they claim to represent. Average wages in April rose sharply because so many low-income workers were laid off.”

The Journal went as far as sharing President Donald Trump’s mantra, “Americans need to work to make a living, and they want to work,” even amid the desire to “blame President Trump for the economic pain.”

“It is important to stress that the strict lockdowns were a government policy choice,” the board wrote. “But the damage is done, and our focus isn’t on recriminations. The issue is what to do now, and the public is wise enough to know that public health can’t be sustained without a healthy economy.

“Americans can see the destruction all around them. They know the virus will be with us for a long time unless there’s a vaccine, so we have to learn to live with it and have a functioning economy.”

No Israeli Corona Deaths in 24 hours for First Time in 6 Weeks

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By Ebin Sandler, World Israel News

On Saturday morning, Israel announced that the nation recorded no new coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours.

This was the first full day since March 28 that Israel reported no new deaths from COVID-19, which has infected over 16,400 Israelis and killed 247 as of Saturday evening.

The announcement arrived just days after malls and open-air markets reopened for business, with national parks permitting visitors on Saturday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic brought the nation and much of the world to a grinding halt.

On Thursday, Jerusalem’s iconic Mahane Yehuda market reopened, a national landmark where locals and tourists alike crowd in six days a week to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and dine at trendy gastro pubs and eateries.

Tel Aviv also reopened its Carmel and Hatikva markets on Thursday.

All businesses in Israel must comply with a detailed set of rules that requires social distancing of customers, maximum numbers of patrons per square meter, and health and hygiene protocols for employees and facilities.

At open-air markets in Tel Aviv, for instance, authorities fenced off entrances, placed markings on the ground to insure social distancing, and hung posters with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines visible to customers and merchants alike.

As Israel sees coronavirus infections and fatalities plummet, it prepares to face its next big test with arrival of the Lab B’Omer holiday on Monday evening and Tuesday. The day is usually marked with massive bonfires across the country that attract huge crowds, with the nation’s largest holiday gathering taking place at Mount Meron. Hundreds of thousands of thousands of religious pilgrims and casual revelers descend on the holy site in northern Israel to celebrate the legacy of the Jewish sage Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai, who died on this day during the second century and is buried there.

While mass celebrations have been cancelled at Meron this year, Israelis may be tempted to gather in other locations in light of loosened restrictions on gatherings and movement.

Last Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that starting on Lag B’Omer, Israelis may hold weddings and funerals with 50 people in attendance. Netanyahu also announced that Israel plans to abolish all restrictions on June 14, provided that no red flags indicate heightened risks of infection.

As a precaution, Netanyahu announced that Israel will use three criteria to determine if Israel needs to reimpose restrictions. Specifically, Israel will monitor whether: (1) 100 new cases arise in one day, (2) cases double within 10 days, and (3) hospitals report 250 severe cases of the virus.

Netanyahu also stressed that Israelis for the time being must continue to observe social distancing, wash hands frequently, and wear face masks in public.

Tucker Carlson Calls For ‘Sociopath’ Adam Schiff To Resign For Knowingly Lying To Americans For Years

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks before Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Fox News host Tucker Carlson called on Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to resign after 57 closed-door Congressional transcripts were finally released, showing once and for all that no evidence of collusion or conspiracy between Russia and Donald Trump exists.

Tucker pointed out on Friday that not only did Schiff claim evidence existed of a conspiracy between Russia and Trump, but that he had seen it firsthand.

“Adam Schiff is a sociopath. He will do or say anything to achieve power. He is unfit to hold office. He should resign,” Carlson said. “And not just Adam Schiff. The entire apparatus of official Washington has been exposed by these transcripts, as well as by the documents just released in the Michael Flynn case”, Newswars reported.

“It was all lies, literally all of it, even the core claims about hacking that formed the basis of the entire story and the investigation that followed.”

Legal group Probes de Blasio, NYPD over Alleged Targeting of Jews in Brooklyn

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(JNS) The Lawfare Project, a Jewish legal and civil-rights group, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request as part of an investigation into the alleged targeting of New York City’s Jewish community.

The investigation comes as after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio upset many with a series of tweets about the Jewish community after hundreds gathered in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn for the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz. The synagogue that held the gathering later apologized for the crowd.

“The Lawfare Project is concerned that, at a time when anti-Semitic hate crimes are skyrocketing in New York City, Mayor de Blasio has added fuel to the fire by singling out the entire Jewish community for the spread of the coronavirus, even threatening its members with arrest,” Gerard Filitti, senior council at the Lawfare Project, said in a statement. “In light of the mayor’s outrageous statement, we have filed FOIL requests to investigate whether the mayor and the NYPD have taken actions that have disproportionately, and unlawfully, targeted the Jewish community.”

In documentation provided to JNS by the Lawfare Project, several high-profile instances did not result in the NYPD issuing summonses or arrests for social-distancing violations.

This includes a March 26 incident where dozens of people were gathered in Astoria Park in Queens; an April 3 event where hundreds of motorcyclists ignored social-distancing guidelines and participated in a funeral procession; and during a flyover of the Blue Angels on April 28, when a number of media reports suggested social-distancing was ignored. No arrests or summonses were reported from these event.

Following de Blasio’s apology, the NYPD also broke up a second overcrowded Jewish funeral later that week.

As part of the request, the Lawfare Project is seeking communications related to the Mertz funeral, the NYPD’s response, the Blue Angels event and other documentation concerning any individuals who violated mandatory social-distancing orders.

In addition to targeting the Jewish community, African-Americans and Latinos have been issued more than 80 percent of summonses for social-distancing violations in the city, reported CNN. Local officials have spoken out regarding the unfair targeting of these communities.

“We will always fight to protect and preserve the civil and human rights of the Jewish community,” said Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the Lawfare Project, in a statement. “It is outrageous for the mayor, charged with protecting the rights of all New Yorkers, to seemingly selectively enforce the law only against the Jewish community. That is the essence of anti-Semitism, and it must stop.”

Williamsburg synagogue receives ‘cease and desist’ order from city health department

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(INN)  Congregation Kahal Tolaas Yaakov in Williamsburg, New York, on Friday was served by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene with a cease and desist order.

The order came after the synagogue continuously violated New York State’s executive order regarding gatherings and religious services.

Last week, the congregation held a large funeral for Rabbi Chaim Mertz, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to “name and shame” the city’s entire Jewish community.

This week, a second event, this one with at least 100 participants, was held, leading the city to issue the order.

Olivia Lapeyrolerie, a spokesperson for the de Blasio’s office, told the Jewish Insider: “While we know how important faith is during this time of crisis, this behavior is unacceptable, dangerous and reckless. If this house of worship continues to defy the City and State’s executive order, the building will be shut down.”

Tara Reade: Biden Should Drop Out, ‘Gross’ to See Him ‘Running on Character’

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Photo Caption - In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif. (AP Photo/Donald Thompson)

By By Eric Mack (NEWSMAX)

Amid attacks on her potential political motives for coming forward with public allegations of sexual assault by Joe Biden in 1993, accuser Tara Reade said it began only when other allegations against Biden noted no other employees have come forward with similar incidents.

“It wasn’t until 2019, when I saw Lucy Flores come forward and the way the media treated her,” Reade told Megan Kelly in an exclusive interview, fully released Friday. “I felt I had wanted to come forward, so I talked to my friend Karen, and Karen had said, ‘have you noticed they said no employees have come forward?’

And I said, ‘I know,’ and I thought about it.”

In a 42-minute interview, Reade told Kelly the smear campaign against her is Exhibit A for why it has taken her so long to bring the long suppressed assault allegations forward.

“I’m a posterchild for why women wouldn’t come forward, aren’t I?” she added later. “If you’re watching social media and the news on how I’m being attacked on everything about me – if you did have a story to come forward on Joe Biden – it would be pretty daunting, wouldn’t it?

“My end game is basically telling my story in a dignified way, not be torn apart. And it’s being able to move on with my life and heal.”

She did admit the political nature of the timing of her revelations, but it was brought on by Biden’s “running on character,” which Reade feels compelled to respond to.

“Everything’s political, right?” Reade admitted. “This is deeper than that.

“He is running on a platform of character, and I found that’s gross. I know what he’s like. I experienced what he was like, and I wanted people to know.”

Reade, who is a domestic violence survivor and now public advocate for victims, told Kelly she is a progressive who supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She also voted for Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., in her district, but she was frustrated by being rebuffed to tell her story on Biden’s character to a number of women being considered as Biden’s running mate

“I wanted to reach out to them, yes,” Reade said, adding Harris was first. “So, I tried to reach out to her, in particular, for help. I wanted to get a safe place to tell what happened, and I didn’t get a response, and I kept trying to get it out there.

“Many things can be true at once. He is presented as a champion of women’s rights, and I know personally, and I know several other women that did not experience him that way.”

Reade admitted to have posted social media support for Biden in the past, and also voting for former President Barack Obama and Biden in both 2008 and 2012.

“I feel politically homeless,” Reade says now, removing herself from the Democratic Party over this and refusing to vote Republican because of her progressive beliefs.

“I am not here to influence a national election, and I don’t want to be,” she told Kelly. “I don’t want to help Donald Trump win. I do not want to help Joe Biden win, obviously, he’s the person that hurt me.”

But, in a direct message to Biden, who she hoped would “drop out” of the race: “You should not be running on character for the president of the United States.”

“You don’t have to discredit me, or not believe me, to vote for Joe Biden,” she said. “I even have friends and family that are still voting for Joe Biden.

“I don’t really care, deep down, if they believe me or not. I know what happened to me, and I’ll move forward. But I want other survivors to know that they can come forward, and when they see this onslaught of this sort of partisanship, it’s very discouraging.

“So, we can come forward unless it’s a Democrat? Is that the message we’re sending?”

Reade lamented the media and his supporters in being “complicit” in not holding Biden accountable.

“They’re saying the media has to investigate it: To me, that was appalling,” Reade told Kelly. “It’s like calling upon the mob to tear apart somebody. And they did.”

Instead, Reade pointed to the Senate personnel complaint she filed, which she said Biden is actively withholding from being released from the University of Delaware to obfuscate the truth.

“I think that says it all,” Reade said. “Once we get the document, we’ll see what it says.

“I think that his reluctance is speaking volumes.”

Finally, on the issue of taking a polygraph, Reade is wary of doing it as a precedent it would set for women weighing whether to come forward. Polygraphs are for “a criminal,” like Biden, she added.

“I’m not a criminal,” Reade said. “Joe Biden should take the polygraph.

“Does that mean we’re presumed guilty and we’re all going to have to take polygraphs? I would take one if Joe Biden takes one, but I’m not a criminal.”

 

Obama Lashes Out at Trump: ‘Absolute Chaotic Disaster’

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By Solange Reyner  (NEWSMAX)

Former President Barack Obama on Friday during a private phone call with allies criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as “chaotic” and warned that the “rule of law” was endangered by the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The searing comments from Obama came during a 30-minute web talk with members of the Obama Alumni Association where the former president pushed for Democrats to rally behind Joe Biden to win the 2020 presidential election.

“This election that’s coming up on every level is so important because what we’re going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party,” Obama said according to audio of the call obtained by Yahoo News.

Obama was critical of Trump’s response on the coronavirus pandemic:

“What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life. And by the way, we’re seeing that internationally as well. It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”

Trump earlier this week again blamed the Obama administration for a bare cupboard of medical supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile, telling ABC News the U.S. didn’t have ventilators, medical equipment and testing.

“And we’ve taken it and we have built an incredible stockpile — a stockpile like we’ve never had before,” Trump told David Muir.

The Obama administration faced repeated crises over the span of eight years, including the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, but failed to take significant steps to replenish the supply of specific personal protective equipment, specifically N95 masks.

Trump has received significant blowback for his handling of the pandemic, mostly from Democrats, though his top health policy advisor on the White House coronavirus task force is Obama holdover Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Health.

Obama, who formally endorsed Joe Biden in April, also weighed in on the Flynn case following the news of Attorney William Barr’s decision to drop the criminal case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

“The fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk,” said Obama. “And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we’ve seen in other places.

Before taking office, Obama warned Trump about Flynn and his contacts with Russia.

“So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do,” he said referring to the 2020 election.

NY Pandemic Update : Saturday May 9th

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Mr. Cuomo also announced 226 more deaths due to the coronavirus, 10 more than the number reported a day earlier.

New hospitalizations for Covid-19 patients remained relatively flat, with 572 new patients being treated at city hospitals for the coronavirus. On Friday, 604 people were hospitalized, and that number hovered in the 600s this week.

“That number has been infuriatingly constant,” he said. “We would like to see that number dropping at a faster rate that it is currently dropping.”

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Three young children have died in New York of a mysterious, toxic-shock inflammation syndrome with links to the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Saturday.

As of Saturday, more than 73 children in New York have been sickened by the rare illness, which has some similarities to Kawasaki disease and was publicly identified for the first time earlier this week, NY Times reported.

The state will be working with the New York Genome Center and Rockefeller University to determine what is causing the illness, which Governor Cuomo described on Saturday as “truly disturbing.”

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Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of a new initiative to expand access to testing in low-income communities and communities of color. The state is partnering with Northwell Health to establish an initial 24 temporary testing sites at churches in predominately minority communities in downstate New York to build on the state’s network of downstate testing sites.

The results of the state’s diagnostic testing and antibody testing surveys show that low-income and minority communities are suffering the most from COVID-19. The largest statewide antibody testing survey of 15,000 New Yorkers found a greater infection rate in communities of color. Additionally, the state’s comprehensive survey of all newly admitted patients hospitalized for COVID-19 found communities of color are most impacted and of the 21 zip codes with the most new COVID-19 hospitalizations, 20 have greater than average black and/or Latino populations. A deeper look into two of the most impacted communities in the survey, in Brooklyn and the Bronx, found communities of color are also lower-income and have a greater percentage of COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections than New York City overall.

Today’s testing expansion initiative builds on previous state actions to address inequalities and deliver for those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, the state has partnered with Ready Responders to bring healthcare services, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, to residents of public housing in New York City and delivered one million cloth masks and 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to public housing.

The Governor also announced the preliminary results of the state’s antibody testing survey of more than 1,300 transit workers in the New York City region show 14.2 percent have COVID-19 antibodies, compared to 19.9 percent of the general population in New York City.

Facebook’s “Oversight Board” just an Excuse for Technofascism

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By Jeffrey Wernick, legendary Investor and Strategic Advisor to Parler,

Facebook’s Content Oversight Board has generated a lot of discussions. Some cite it as another example of power over speech. Others have discussed the number of people on the Committee. Still, others focus on the names mentioned and their alleged biases and preferences. I cogitate all this is a distraction and diversion from the real issues. Facebook is a private company and is allowed to set its own Terms of Service. As Facebook has scaled, its bargaining power has strengthened since its users do not want to lose the audiences or the monetary value they have built, and prefer to preserve the status quo. Facebook, like any other business, tries to maximize the value of its bargaining power for their maximum financial benefit.

Facebook has said under oath that they are a publisher. We should not necessarily believe that statement because they admittedly lied under oath before, repeatedly lied to their users, and to just about everyone else. But the biggest Facebook lie is that they are a social network and public forum. The Social Network is merely the title of a movie that present Zuckerberg as an unscrupulous backstabber. Facebook and Zuckerberg’s noble intentions are fiction. Facebook has faced a lot of attacks regarding its decision to become a moderator of content and their digital inquisition against certain individuals. They want to continue to perform that role, but they do not want the accountability, so they are trying to legitimize the concept of aggressive content moderation by giving it more gravitas.

How many are on the Board? Irrelevant. Composition of the Board. Irrelevant. Do they have market power? Debatable. Have they abused the Section 230 waiver and exemption? Debatable.

The description of any Board or Committee as “pro-social” whose job is to judge the statements of others is an embrace of an elitism that is anti-social and anti-American. Anyone who would even serve on a Board or Committee like that has already indicated they believe the concept is legitimate. They are arrogant elitists and technofascists independent of whatever ideology they claim. They have chosen Facebook’s Terms of Service over the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Shame on Facebook. Shame on anyone who embraces this concept. And shame on anyone who would agree to serve on this Committee. They are free speech frauds who want to control language and thought. Trust no one who wants that power or authority. My proposed solution is for people to simply get off Facebook.

Facebook is an acknowledged data rapist who promotes digital assassinations of individuals and groups. And is now recruiting more people to further legitimize those practices. Do not be distracted by the window dressing. Shame everyone and anyone who is willing to serve on it and practice technofascism.

Omar Attacked as Insufficiently Anti-Israel

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  ( Free Beacon)

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) is under fire from an unlikely group—the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists who once hailed her as their movement’s biggest star.

Omar, who has championed anti-Israel causes from her perch in Congress, recently signed on to a congressional letter urging the Trump administration to ensure that an international embargo on Iran’s purchase of advanced military equipment is not lifted later this year. In a rare display of agreement with her Republican colleagues, Omar lent her name to the letter, which was spearheaded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation’s most prominent pro-Israel group.

The letter, which was signed by nearly every member of Congress from both parties, expressed support for Trump administration efforts at the United Nations to ensure the Iran arms embargo remains in place. If the embargo were lifted, Iran would be capable of purchasing advanced missiles that could strike into the heart of Israel.

Omar’s willingness to partner with AIPAC in its efforts to crack down on Iranian terrorism sent shockwaves through the anti-Israel community, eliciting a range of criticism from activists who heaped praise on Omar when she expressed anti-Semitic views and advocated for economic boycotts of the Jewish state.

“It’s official, [Omar] got her own taste of the Benjamin’s baby! She’s now under the spell of [AIPAC],” tweeted Palestinian activist Abbas Hamideh, referring to Omar’s past claim that AIPAC wields power by lining the pockets of members of Congress. “It was too hard for her to resist signing a letter stating Iran was a threat to ‘Israel’ and the Gulf States effectively voting for sanctions on Iran.”

“[Omar] has updated her bio: Mom, Refugee, Intersectional Feminist, and SELLOUT,” Hamideh later tweeted, one of several enraged missives he sent on the subject.

“When you sell yourself cheap you get outed by the entire Pro-Palestinian Movement. [Omar] has become the latest example of why identity politics can be deceiving,” he stated in another. “She sold out during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Keep that in mind next time when voting.”

These same activists rushed to praise Omar when she promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Israel’s control over U.S. foreign policy and called for Jewish goods to be blocked from the international marketplace.

 

Other Omar allies, such as Palestinian journalist Ramzy Baroud, accused the lawmaker of selling out her values to the pro-Israel community.

“No explanation by Omar’s office could possibly suffice, or morally justify this shameful decision,” Baroud wrote in a Palestinian Chronicle article headlined, “Extremely Disappointing.”

At the Electronic Intifada—which often posts anti-Semitic rhetoric—veteran activist Ali Abunimah accused Omar of siding with Israel over Iran.

“Omar has signed on to a letter whose goal is to preserve and protect American empire and shore up its reactionary and undemocratic client states in the region,” Abunimah wrote in an article that went on to defend recently killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani as an agent of “peaceful rapprochement.”

The American Conservative, a publication aligned with the anti-Israel isolationist movement that seeks to reduce the economic pressure on Iran, also expressed disappointment in Omar.

“The fact AIPAC was able to get these signatures is a testament to its influence and the hurt that it can bring down on politicians when [it] comes to re-election,” the publication wrote, echoing tropes about AIPAC’s supposed stranglehold on Congress.

“Omar’s recent signature on a letter that would have garnered hundreds of her colleagues’ support and made a splash with or without her, is a signal to AIPAC that she knows her seat is at risk, and that she would rather neutralize the feud with the pro-Israel powerhouse than send it flocking to the aid of her opponents,” according to the American Conservative.

Omar’s decision to back AIPAC’s letter elicited a vastly different response in the mainstream pro-Israel orbit.

One veteran Republican pro-Israel activist who works with AIPAC told the Free Beacon that Omar may be waking up to the threat posed by Tehran.

“People can have profound differences about foreign policy while still recognizing the existential threat that the Islamic Republic of Iran poses to American interests throughout the Middle East,” said the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record about the letter. “These sanctions help prevent the regime from spreading terrorism and further destabilizing the region. At the end of the day, I’m pleased Rep. Omar realizes that it’s all about the ballistic missiles.”

FDA Grants Approval for First At-Home Saliva Coronavirus Test

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By Tauren Dyson (NEWSMAX)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized emergency use for an at-home, saliva coronavirus test, according to the agency’s website.

The RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab at Rutgers University got an amended emergency authorization on Thursday for the test, which lets people send saliva samples to a lab.

The same lab was also granted emergency authorization in April for its saliva collection method, which New Jersey health care workers used to begin testing patients, according to The New York Times.

The FDA made note that this would be the only saliva-based coronavirus testing kit on the market. The only other coronavirus tests require people to gather nasal or throat samples and send them to a lab.

What’s new and next is expanding access to testing for people,” chief operating officer and director of technology development at the RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab Andrew Brooks told CNN.

According to Brooks, users will have to spit into a tube and fasten it with a cap. When the entire preservation agent turns blue, the tube is placed into a biohazard bag and sent off to the lab.

“If people are committed to do self-collection and can facilitate that collection at home, certainly with a prescription under medical care, we can get to those that are quarantined, don’t have the means for transportation or are too scared to go outside,” Brooks said. “So they get the test in the mail or from a distribution center.”

FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn wrote in the agency’s press release: “The FDA has authorized more than 80 COVID-19 tests and adding more options for at-home sample collection is an important advancement in diagnostic testing during this public health emergency.”