Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell denounced newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday, calling the far-right Georgia Republican’s embrace of conspiracy theories and “loony lies” a “cancer for the Republican Party.” “Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” said McConnell, R-Ky., referring to a handful of conspiracy theories that Greene has publicized in the past.

Israel’s cabinet voted shortly before midnight on Sunday night to extend the nationwide lockdown until Friday morning at 7 a.m. and extend the closure of Ben-Gurion Airport until Sunday. The decision comes as Israel continues to grapple with a still-high morbidity and mortality rate from the UK coronavirus variant. Also at the meeting, a committee was established to facilitate the operation of rescue flights for Israeli stranded abroad. The committee will be responsible for evaluating exemption requests from Israelis seeking to return home for humanitarian reasons. Finally, the cabinet voted to reimpose mandatory quarantine in state-run hotels for those allowed to enter the country during the closure.

A 15-month-old born to Chabad residents of Tzfat after 17 years of waiting is hospitalized in serious condition and has been sedated and ventilated after contracting the coronavirus. The toddler tested positive for the coronavirus last week and after her condition deteriorated, she was hospitalized on Friday in serious condition. On Sunday, she suffered a further deterioration in her condition and she was sedated and ventilated. The public is asked to urgently daven for the refuah of Ayala bas Chana Natalie Chantelle b’toch sha’ar cholei Yisrael. On Motzei Shabbos, a two-month-old baby from a family in Beitar that was born with medical issues and subsequently contracted the coronavirus passed away. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

(By: Sandy Eller) A crippling Nor’easter that blanketed the greater New York City area in snow and had states of emergency declared in both New York and New Jersey was no match for the chesed of Klal Yisroel, as Misaskim and Hatzolah Air worked together to deal with some rather unusual circumstances as the mammoth winter storm raged on. The events began Sunday night in tragedy, when 70 year old Shulem Friedman of Boro Park passed away unexpectedly while vacationing in South Florida with his wife and grandchildren. With a punishing two day storm just beginning to wreak havoc in New York and New Jersey, and the majority of flights coming in and out of JFK, Newark and LaGuardia cancelled, arranging kevurah in Kiryas Joel was far from simple.

Kosovo and Israel formally established diplomatic ties on Monday in a ceremony held digitally due to the pandemic lockdown. Kosovo Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart, Gabriel Ashkenazi, held a virtual ceremony to sign the documents in their respective capitals. “Today we are making history. We are establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Kosovo,” said Ashkenazi. 1/3Minister @MelizaHaradinaj and I just signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Kosovo and Israel and we unveiled the sign that will hang at the entrance to the Kosovo embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, former Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and former Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer were nominated on Sunday for a Nobel Prize by famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Reuters reported. The four were nominated for their roles in negotiating the Abraham Accords peace deals between Israel and four Muslim countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

Iran could be weeks away from amassing enough material to develop nuclear weapons if it continues to violate the 2015 nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in an interview with NBC News broadcast on Monday. The television interview, Blinken’s first since being confirmed by the Senate, followed confirmation from the White House that former Obama national security aide Rob Malley was appointed as the US envoy to Iran, a move that angered Israel supporters due to Malley’s reputation as being tough on Israel and soft on Iran. Iran said over the weekend that it would not agree to any changes in the conditions or parties of the 2015 deal following remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that new talks should include Saudi Arabia.

Israel confirmed 5,140 new coronavirus cases on Monday morning, with tests showing a still alarmingly high positivity rate of 9.7%. There are currently 68,331 active virus cases, with 1,839 virus patients hospitalized, of whom 1,140 are seriously ill, 390 are critically ill, and 315 are ventilated. The death rate has risen to 4,796, with 1,433 deaths confirmed in the past month alone – one-third of all virus fatalities since the start of the pandemic. There are 167 seriously ill patients in their 50s, 99 patients in their 40s, 50 patients in their 30s, and 20 seriously ill patients in their 20s. Additionally, there are two teenagers and four children who are seriously ill from the virus.

Central Park has seen more than 18 inches accumulate by 7 p.m. (including 8 inches in just six hours), making this nor’easter one of the top 10 snowstorms in New York City history. But WCBS Chief Meteorologist Craig Allen says even though it looks like the storm is over, more snow is actually on the way. Allen says the heaviest pounding of snow is winding down, but it will continue through Tuesday. Several areas will still get a couple of more inches. Strong 40-50MPH winds are expected through the night, and power outages can be expected in various locations. Snow drifts of 2-4′ can be expected. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 snowplows were out in full force Monday, trying to keep New York City roads clear.

A furious nor’easter descended on the tri-state area overnight, dumping up to 7 inches in spots before dawn — a precursor to rapid snowfall rates later Monday that could ultimately bury New Jersey under 2 feet of snow, while New York City could see up to a foot and a half. The worst weather likely starts late morning. Winter storm warnings are in effect for the vast majority of the tri-state area, including all five boroughs of New York City, through early Tuesday, while coastal flood warnings are in effect for about a dozen tri-state countries. The anticipated treacherous weather prompted the suspension of some public transit services and forced COVID vaccination appointments scheduled for Monday to be postponed throughout New York City.