WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, angrily confronted Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday in testimony on Capitol Hill, rejecting Paul’s insinuation that the U.S. helped fund research at a Chinese lab that could have sparked the COVID-19 outbreak. Paul suggested that Fauci had lied before Congress when […]

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s excess deaths during the pandemic could be a staggering 10 times the official COVID-19 toll, likely making it modern India’s worst human tragedy, according to the most comprehensive research yet on the ravages of the virus in the South Asian country. Most experts believe India’s official toll of more than […]

NEW YORK — Health officials say the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge and accounts for an estimated 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases. That’s a dramatic increase from the week of July 3, when the variant accounted for about 50% of genetically sequenced coronavirus cases. “The best way to prevent the spread of […]

TORONTO (AP) — Canada announced Monday it will begin letting fully vaccinated U.S. citizens into Canada on Aug. 9, and those from the rest of the world on Sept. 7. Officials said the 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived as of Aug. 9 for eligible travelers who are currently residing in the United States and […]

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday he does not plan to reinstate a citywide mask mandate even as COVID-19 cases increase, opting instead to focus on vaccinating more residents. There have been calls for New York City to follow the lead of Los Angeles County, which announced last week […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — In an unprecedented and blatantly political move, ice cream giant Ben and Jerry’s announced Monday that it would not be selling its ice cream in the OPT- “Occupied Palestinian Territories.” The company claimed that selling the ice cream there is “inconsistent with our values” and said that it “hears and recognizes […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — For a brief moment on Tisha B’Av it appeared that the Bennett administration had succeeded in achieving a major breakthrough regarding Temple Mount, the most sensitive site in the Middle East. After Hamas threatened and sent rockets in May due to perceived intrusions on the El-Aqsa mosque, it appeared that Israel would […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — President Herzog, Foreign Minister and Alternative Prime Minister Yair Lapid and other government officials condemned Sunday the disruption by orthodox elements of a Tisha B’Av prayer service, which was held at the egalitarian “pluralistic” prayer plaza near the Western Wall used by the Conservative Movement for prayers. “On the day we commemorate […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County residents are again required to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status — a new mandate starting this weekend that health officials hope will reverse the latest spikes in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The rule went into effect late Saturday for the nation’s largest county, home […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Three Israelis making a documentary in Nigeria on a forgotten Jewish community were arrested last week and charged with making contact with anti-government separatist elements. One of the three is prominent Jewish and Israel rights activist Rudy Rochman, who has 95,000 followers on Instagram. Rochman was with filmmaker Noam Leibman and French-Israeli […]