NEW YORK NEWS
The New York City Marathon was back at full capacity for the first time since 2019, with some new records being made. Evan Chebet from Kenya beat out the Ethiopian Shura Kitata by 13 seconds to take the men’s race with a finishing time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 41 seconds. Sharon Lokedi, also of Kenya, won the women’s race in 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 23 seconds. In the wheelchair race, Marcel Hug of Switzerland broke a course record when he finished in 1 hour, 25 minutes and 26 seconds and won for the fifth time, tying the record for most ever wins in the wheelchair race. Meanwhile, Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz (Rami Matan Even-Esh) ran the marathon for the first time to raise money for Holocaust survivors.
A U.S. District Judge issued an injunction blocking the gun law that prevents people from carrying in places of worship. The language of the ruling excoriates the State Legislature for passing this law immediately after the Supreme Court ruled on these issues. “The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the Status quo – not 2022 legislation on the books for nine weeks,” the judge said. “Legislative enactments may not eviscerate the Bill of Rights. Every day they do is one too many.” Judge John Sinatra Jr, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, went further: “The nation’s history does not countenance such an incursion into the right to keep and bear arms across all places of worship across the state,” Sinatra wrote. “The right to self defense is no less important and no less recognized at these places.” The status of the lawsuit will be determined by the results of the election in New York.
Teva Pharmaceuticals will be paying over $500 million to the state of New York after a jury found that it was liable for contributing to the opioid crisis. The Israel-based distributor and manufacturer was part of a large lawsuit, but did not settle like the other defendants. According to Attorney General Letitia James, this is the largest amount secured from an opioid manufacturer or distributor sued by the state. “This is a landmark day in our battle against the opioid crisis,” she said.
Beigel’s Bakery in Brooklyn suffered the tragic death of one of their employees when he was caught on some equipment in the freezer and was trapped. Mahamadou Dansago, 33 an immigrant father of five from Mali, appeared to have been locked inside the freezer for five hours, according to police. Beigel’s manager David Greenberger, speaking to reporters outside the store, said that “we are devastated by the loss of our employee in this accident” and added that “The family has been notified and we have extended our deepest condolences to them.”
A small plane crashed at Beth Moses Jewish Cemetery in West Babylon on Long Island. The twin-engine Beechcraft B-60 was experiencing engine troubles around a mile away from its destination in Farmingdale when it had to make the landing. The two passengers in the plane were taken to the local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The FAA is conducting an investigation into the crash.
US NEWS
The FBI has identified and interviewed the person connected to the broad threat of synagogues in New Jersey. “We identified the source of the threat who no longer poses a danger to the community,” the Law Enforcement Agency posted on Twitter. “As always, we would like to remind the public to remain vigilant and if they observe suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement immediately.” Federal officials became alerted to the threat when antisemitic postings to an online forum frequented by extremists were discovered. The person told authorities he does not like Jewish people and was very angry, but he indicated that he was not going to do anything harmful. The postings were similar in style to postings of active shooters before they commit their crimes.
Nike has dropped Kyrie Irving’s line of basketball shoes amid the controversy regarding Irving’s alleged antisemitic statements. This comes after the Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving for tweeting a link to an antisemitic movie. “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the company said. “To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.” The line was scheduled to end in October of 2023.
Elon Musk wasted no time trying to right the Twitter ship. After laying off half the social media company’s employees, totaling around 3,700 people, a massive drop in revenue occurred as advertisers became skittish with the change in ownership. Despite that, Musk bragged that they are having their highest daily user count ever recorded. Musk also plans to unveil a premium Twitter experience for $7.99 per month, which will be the only way for anyone to get a blue verification check on their profile. A class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco has been filed against Twitter over Elon Musk’s plan to fire thousands of staffers — as employees were abruptly locked out of their company Slack and email accounts, and barred from going into the office ahead of the mass layoffs. Founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey apologized for what was happening to the company, claiming that he grew it too big too quickly.
Amazon is pausing hiring for roles in its corporate workforce, the company announced in a memo to staff. The e-commerce retail giant is reacting to the sluggish economy and high inflation, along with sharp changes in buying as more and more people are returning to pre-pandemic life. Amazon’s HR chief Beth Galetti wrote in the memo, “We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense.”
A Diesel shortage is prompting experts to advise consumers to stock up on food. Diesel trucks are still the primary way for most people to receive necessary goods. U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows that the country has only 25 days of supply of diesel left in reserves as of three weeks ago — a low not seen since 2008 and far below emergency levels. This comes on the heels of President Joe Biden promising “no more drilling” at a campaign event for Kathy Hochul. The reason for the shortage given is that refiners slowed their refining as the pandemic hit consumer demand, but truck operators kept on buying at high levels as they continued to make deliveries.
The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series for the second time in six years. Rookie sensation Jeremy Pena became the first rookie to win the World Series MVP, and Astros manager Dusty Baker finally earned himself a ring at the age of 73 and with a quarter-century of managing under his belt. The veteran skipper was the winningest manager without a championship until this point. “Dusty has been unbelievable since Day 1,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. “He’s been an unbelievable manager, an unbelievable human being just on a personal level with every person in our clubhouse, he loves the game of baseball, he has dedicated his life to this game and he deserves it. He’s an unbelievable manager and unbelievable man.”
WORLD NEWS
Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition won a decisive victory in the Israeli elections, earning the right-wing block 64 seats in the 120-seat election. This comes a year after Netanyahu was ousted from office after a series of elections left the country divided and forced his political enemies to create a unity coalition of left-wing and right-wing parties. After that government failed, the Israeli people went back to the polls for the fifth time in three years and gave Israel’s longest-tenured Prime Minister a wide mandate. PM Yair Lapid said he instructed all branches of the Prime Minister’s Office to prepare an orderly transfer of power. “The State of Israel is above all political considerations. I wish Netanyahu success for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel,” said Lapid
North Korea added to its recent barrage of weapons demonstrations by launching four ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, as the United States sent two supersonic bombers streaking over South Korea in a dueling display of military might that underscored rising tensions in the region. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the four short-range missiles fired from a North Korean western coastal area around noon flew about 130 kilometers (80 miles) toward the country’s western sea. South Korea scrambled about 80 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, on Friday after tracking about 180 flights by North Korean warplanes inside North Korean territory in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
Ukraine’s state electricity operator on Saturday announced blackouts in Kyiv and seven other regions of the country in the aftermath of Russia’s devastating strikes on energy infrastructure. The move comes as Russian forces continue to pound Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles and drones, inflicting damage on power plants, water supplies, and other civilian targets in a grinding war that is nearing its nine-month mark.
By QJL Staff
