The New York City Department of Health closed four yeshivas and issued summonses to three Brooklyn parents whose children were exposed to measles but still not vaccinated as of an April 12 deadline imposed in certain Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant zip codes, officials said Thursday.
United Talmudical Academy of Williamsburg-Yeshiva Torah V’Yirah, UTA Beth Rachel School for Girls, United Talmudical Academy, UTA Beth Rachel School for Girls were all forced to close for not fully complying with orders to provide immunization records regularly so as to assure unvaccinated children were being excluded from classes, according to city health officials.

US Mortgage Rates Increased This Week With 30-Year At 4.17%U.S. long-term mortgage rates increased this week, though they remain lower than a year ago in a positive sign for home sales.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.17% from 4.12% last week and 4.47% a year ago.
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Each of these highly personalized texts reflects in some ways the zeitgeist of its time

New York – - A Brooklyn judge on Thursday ruled against a group of parents who challenged New York City’s recently imposed mandatory measles vaccination order, rejecting their arguments that the city’s public health authority exceeded its authority. In a six-page decision rendered hours after a hearing on the matter, Judge Lawrence Knipel denied the [...]

President Donald Trump's pick to serve on the Federal Reserve, Stephen Moore, once criticized Trump's positions on immigration, calling them "crazy" and "dangerous."
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Amid measles outbreak, SAR Academy and High School rejects 'religious exemption,' says it's understanding of Jewish law requires children to be inoculated against deadly diseases

France – Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark. A judicial police official told The Associated Press that investigators made an initial assessment of the cathedral Wednesday [...]

President says probe exonerates him of Russian meddling and obstruction suspicions, though Mueller paper details how he tried to squeeze investigation

Jackson County, TN – Authorities say a diver who helped save a youth soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand last year has himself been rescued from a cave in Tennessee. Jackson County Emergency Management spokesman Derek Woolbright said Josh Bratchley had been missing for nearly 28 hours when he was found Wednesday night [...]

Pesach At The Kosel – Birchas KohanimThe Kosel Heritage Foundation announced that Birchas Kohanim that will take place on Monday, 17th of Nissan (April 22, 2019), the second day of Chol Hamoed Pesach in Eretz Yisrael.
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Leading halachic authorities have ruled that online authorizations are acceptable for the purpose of selling chametz. The traditional and preferred practice, however, is for the authorization transaction to be done in person with the local rabbi.
Chabad.org makes this service available online at no charge, to provide every Jew with the opportunity to have their chametz sold for Passover.
Sell your chametz here.

Washington – President Donald Trump may not have obstructed justice, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Robert Mueller’s 448-page report takes the American public inside the room with Trump as he expressed fear that the special counsel would end his presidency and made several attempts to get the people around him to curtail the [...]

Some Of Samsungs New $2,000 Foldable Phones Are Already BreakingSome of Samsung’s new, almost $2,000 folding phones appear to be breaking after just a couple of days.
Journalists who received the phones to review before the public launch said the Galaxy Fold screen started flickering and turning black before completely fizzling out.

Louisville, KY – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans to introduce legislation to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 nationally. The Senate leader said Thursday his bill will cover all tobacco products, including vaping devices. The Kentucky Republican represents a state that for generations was a leading [...]

Abdelkader Merah found to have helped in 2012 terror spree in which soldiers, rabbi and three children were killed; prosecution had requested life term

McConnell Proposes Raising Minimum Age For Buying TobaccoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans to introduce legislation to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 nationally.
The Senate leader said Thursday his bill will cover all tobacco products, including vaping devices.
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‘You’re not going to find a darn thing’ in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that shows that the Trump campaign ‘had any kind of connection with whatever the Russians were doing,’ says President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. #
WATCH:

French flag is projected onto massive complex next to Old City walls; Mayor Moshe Lion offers Parisians 'a warm embrace'

Washington – The U.S. Agency for International Development is preparing to lay off most of its aid workers in the West Bank and Gaza. The local staff, mostly Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, but also some Jewish Israelis, will be culled from about 100 employees to 14, National Public Radio reported on Thursday, citing internal agency [...]

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rav Ezriel Tauber zt”l. He was 79.
Rav Tauber, a Holocaust survivor, was a renowned speaker and maggid shiur who inspired thousands over the course of his lifetime through his shiurim and writing.
Drawing on his vast knowledge, treasure of personal stories and experience, Rav Tauber electrified audiences around the world.

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