MIAMI BEACH (AP) — Cooped-up tourists eager for a taste of Florida’s sandy beaches, swaying palm trees and warmer climates are visiting the Sunshine State in droves, topping pre-pandemic levels in recent months. Miami is one of the top search destinations on travel websites and statewide, Florida had 32.5 million travelers from July to September […]

GENEVA — The World Health Organization says the global risk from the omicron variant of the coronavirus is “very high” based on early evidence, warning of the possibility of future surges with “severe consequences.” The U.N. health agency, in a technical brief to member states highlighted to reporters on Monday, said “considerable uncertainties” remain about […]

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it could still take some time to get a full picture of the threat posed by omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus as scientists worldwide scramble to assess its multiple mutations. Stock markets swooned, some public gatherings got canceled, and countries across the globe suspended incoming […]

CALIFORNIA (Israel Hayom) – A number of residents of Beverly Hills discovered on Sunday morning that their yards had been littered with antisemitic fliers that link the coronavirus pandemic to a “Jewish agenda.” Local police noted that at approximately 6 a.m. on Nov. 28, a call came in from a Beverly Hills man who reported […]

NEW YORK (AP) — With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine. “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement. “It […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) – New York City on Monday issued an advisory strongly recommending that everyone wear masks indoors at all times regardless of vaccination status, amid concern about the new, highly mutated strain of Covid named omicron. ” Dr. David Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called the new COVID-19 variant omicron a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic” Monday and said he was not considering any widespread U.S. lockdown. He urged Americans anew to get fully vaccinated, including booster shots, and return to face masks indoors in public settings to slow […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — The rabbi of the Spanish Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam, Rabbi Yosef Tzarfati, announced his sharp opposition to the shooting of a movie about philosopher Baruch Spinoza in the community’s institutions. The rabbi stressed that the community’s herem (excommunication) of Spinoza, who abandoned and ridiculed the Jewish faith, is still in […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Politifact, a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter, has debunked a theory circulating on social media claiming that numerous athletes have suffered heart attacks and died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The theory, which cited a German news story, claimed that […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Five members of the South African Jewish community who flew to Israel to offer consolation to the family of Eli Kay HyD, who was murdered in the terror attack last Sunday, were detained at Ben Gurion airport. A new directive prevents foreigners from “red” countries including South Africa from entering Israel. The […]