New York City’s second night under curfew was calmer than the first, with mostly peaceful demonstrators marching to protest the death of George Floyd and sporadic reports of vandalism. The citywide curfew from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday was imposed to prevent the nighttime chaos and destruction that followed peaceful protests for several days in a row. Chief of Department Terence Monahan said the order to clear the streets at 8 p.m., three hours earlier than Monday’s 11 p.m. curfew, allowed police to take control of city streets. “The earlier curfew really helped our cops take out of the neighborhoods people that didn’t belong there,” Monahan said on NBC’s “Today.” Monahan said officers allowed peaceful protests to continue after 8 p.m.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday he was concerned that mass protests over George Floyd’s death in New York City could imperil the long, hard fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic in a worldwide hotspot. “You turn on the TV and you see these mass gatherings that could potentially be infecting hundreds and hundreds of people after everything that we have done,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing. “We have to take a minute and ask ourselves: ’What are we doing here?” The Democratic governor said he agreed with demonstrators fighting racism and societal inequality. But he sounded frustrated about possibly compromising more than two months of social and economic sacrifices. New York City is set to begin phasing in economic activity June 8. “It took us 93 days to get here.

The white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck was arrested and charged with murder Friday, and authorities imposed an overnight curfew to try to stem three nights of often-violent protests that left dozens of stores burned and looted. Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the case. He was also accused of ignoring another officer at the scene who expressed concerns about the black man as he lay handcuffed on the ground, pleading that he could not breathe. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a small grocery store. An attorney for Floyd’s family welcomed the arrest, but said he expected a more serious murder charge and wants all four officers involved to be arrested.

As the summer is fast approaching, New York State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein says it is time to have an honest and candid discussion about opening sleepaway summer camps. In the larger context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening the state will be a slow and deliberate process, with the health and safety of all New Yorkers the primary consideration. With the proper guidelines and protocols, Assemblyman Eichenstein says that sleepaway camp can potentially be a safe option for our children this summer. Assemblyman Eichenstein points out that sleepaway camps are unique in that they potentially are able to create a locked down and highly controlled environment.

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was placed on lockdown Thursday morning after reports of an active shooter, according to the Navy. The individual who opened fire at the Texas base around 6:15 a.m. was neutralized shortly thereafter, the Navy says. The facility remains on lockdown. One security guard was reported to be injured, while first responders have arrived on scene. A statement on NAS Corpus Christi’s Facebook page earlier said: “NAS Corpus Christi is now in a lockdown status. There is an active shooter in the vicinity of the North Gate. If you are in or near the North Gate get out and away to safety.

On Wednesday morning, Israel’s Health Ministry failed to publish updated coronavirus data in the morning for the first time so the latest data available is from Tuesday night, when there were 16,666 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 50 in serious condition, of whom 38 are ventilated. The death toll rose to 279, when Israel’s youngest victim, 33-year-old Avishalom Rosilio of Migdal HaEmek, who suffered from underlying medical conditions, passed away of the coronavirus overnight Tuesday. Israelis returned to their shuls on Wednesday morning, after davening at home or outside for almost two months. גבאי בית כנסת שירת 'נפתלי' אלעד פותח את בית הכנסת הבוקר pic.twitter.com/IqPYepbKiy — עקיבא ווייס Akiva Weisz (@AkivaWeisz) May 20, 2020 התגעגענו!Back to Synagogue Halleluyah!

The Chinese ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, was found dead in his official residence in Hertzliya on Sunday morning, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed. A large number of police forces arrived at the scene and opened up an investigation. There were no signs of violence and police and Magen David Adom believe that Wei died of a heart attack. Du Wei, 57, who entered his position only four months ago as the coronavirus pandemic began spreading throughout the world, is married and has one child but he was currently in Israel alone. When he arrived in Israel in February to fill the position, he first self-quarantined in his residence for two weeks. Prior to serving as the ambassador of Israel, Wei was the Chinese ambassador to Ukraine.

An explosion Saturday at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles injured 11 firefighters who had gone inside and on the roof to try to knock down a fire and then had to run for their lives when a ball of flames shot out the building and scorched a fire truck across the street. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said “one significant explosion” shook the neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. Firefighters inside had to run through a wall of flames he estimated as 30 feet high and wide, and those on the roof scrambled down a ladder that was engulfed in fire. Scott said people at the scene described the explosion as sounding like a freight train or jet engine.

The Mashgiach HaGaon HaRav Moshe Aharon Braverman, z’tl, passed away on Shabbos morning of the coronavirus at Ma’anyei Yeheshua Hospital at the age of 86. Harav Braverman was known as one of the gedolei haMashgichim in the Litvish community. In his youth, he learned in Yeshivah Ponevezh and was the student of Hagaon Harav Shach, z’tl, who appointed him as the mashgiach of Grodno in Ashdod. Harav Braverman delivered a vaad for dozens of years every Wednesday in the Beis Medrash Ohel Tamar in Bnei Brak which was broadcast live to hundreds of people. Yehi Zichro Baruch. STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

There are 16,608 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Motzei Shabbos, with a total of 59 patients in serious condition of whom 49 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 268. A total of 12,855 patients have recovered from the virus, leaving only 3,485 active cases. Following a meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏, head of the National Security Council, Meir Ben-Shabbat, and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri on Thursday night, it was announced that Israel’s beaches will be re-opened to the public on Wednesday. The fact that Israel is experiencing a week-long heavy heatwave may have influenced the decision.