Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday pushed back against criticism he received after saying this week that he is a millionaire.
“I didn’t know that it was a crime to write a good book, which turned out to be a best-seller,” the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate told a crowd in Gary, Ind.
“I don’t apologize for writing a book that was No. 3 on The New York Times best-seller [list],” he added but reiterated his belief in a “progressive tax system which demands that the wealthiest people in this country finally start paying their fair share in taxes.”
“If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too,” he told the New York Times. 

Israeli planes targeted a military position near the province of Hama in Syria on Saturday, but Syrian air defenses intercepted and downed some of the rockets, Syrian state television said on Saturday.
Citing military sources, SANA news agency and Syrian state television said that Israeli aircraft had targeted “one of our military positions toward the city of Masyaf.”
“The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA added.

Southwest Airlines has removed all of its 737 Max 8 jets from flight schedules through the busy summer travel period amid ongoing concerns surrounding the safety of the aircraft.
All of Southwest’s 737 Max 8 airplanes have been removed from flight schedules through Aug. 5, the company announced. It was unclear how many flights would be affected or canceled as a result of the decision.
The company’s president, Tom Nealon, released a statement that said a “limited number of customers” were being affected by the continued grounding of the Max 8 jets, which occurred after the model was involved in two fatal crashes in six months.

New York – Rep. Ilhan Omar is “off her rocker” and her fellow member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a “joke” who will be seen “ultimately as an asterisk” in history, according to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Omar, D-Minn. is facing fierce backlash after a speech at a Muslim rights group’s event in [...]

Jerusalem – A delegation from Israel that was due to attend a conference in Bahrain this week has pulled out due to security concerns, the organizers said on Sunday, after Bahrainis held an extensive campaign against the visit. A spokeswoman for Israel’s Economy Ministry said a planned visit to Bahrain this week by Israel’s Economy [...]

Ecuador blew through nearly a million dollars a year hosting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London, officials revealed Saturday.
The country shelled out a total of $6.5 million on behalf of Assange, who went into hiding there in August 2012 but was dragged out and arrested on Thursday. Most of that $6.5 million was spent on security, according to the Daily Mail. The rest was used for medical expenses, food and washing his clothing.
The 47-year-old asylum seeker was reportedly abusive toward the embassy staff, ate with his fingers, infrequently bathed or did laundry — and even smeared feces on the walls.
 
Read more at NY POST.

Army says there's been no change since last summer, when the integration of women was frozen due to the financial cost, despite a successful pilot program

Meeting comes amid military offensive by Libyan commander to take capital Tripoli; UN health agency says fighting has killed 121 people in 10 days

PROGRAM:
11:35 Adrian Garbacz opens program
14:20 Yechiel Eisenstadt – Dinner Chaiman
21:40 The Rosh Hayshiva Shlita
38:18 Yaakov Young – Young Leadership Award presentation
42:55 Binyomin Greenstein – Alumnus of the Year Award presentation
47:30 Meilich Rubin – Kesser Shem tov Award presentation
50:45 Harav Chaim Boruch Rubin presents award
55:35 Mendy Horowicz – Harav Nosson Tzvi Memorial Award presintation
1:00:30 Mendy Horowicz responds
1:05:08 Yechiel Eisenstadt introduces Ralph Herzka
1:07:04 Ralph Herzka – Campaign Chairman
1:13:54 Jordan Slone – Guest of Honor presentation
1:18:25 Jordan Slone responds
1:23:49 Ralph Herzka thanks Co-chairman Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz