U.S. health officials offered a reality check Tuesday about the scary new virus from China: They’re expanding screenings of international travelers and taking other precautions but for now, they insist the risk to Americans is very low. “At this point Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday. China has confirmed more than 4,500 people with the respiratory illness, which in severe cases can cause pneumonia, with dozens more counted in other countries. In the U.S. so far, there are five confirmed patients, all of whom had traveled to the hardest-hit part of China — and no sign that they have spread the illness to anyone around them. Still, “this is a very fast-moving, constantly changing situation,” Azar added.

French President Emmanuel Macron was criticized by senior French judicial officials on Monday for implying that the murderer of Sarah Halimi should face a new trial in a speech he delivered in Israel last week. “Even if, in the end, the judge had to decide that criminal responsibility is not there, the need for a trial is there,” Macron said in a speech to French Jews in Jerusalem last Thursday.

A meeting was held this week in Beit Shemesh’s City Hall to launch a pilot program that will incorporate solar power to generate electricity on the roofs of 60 public buildings throughout the city. The buildings will be equipped with solar panels whose purpose will be to generate power for the city’s buildings. The plan is expected to reduce the energy costs incurred by the city in the operation of those buildings and generate a surplus by selling electricity back to the Israel Electric Company (IEC). So far 60 public buildings have been mapped out and the managers of the buildings whose roofs were found to be fittings were contacted and called in to discuss the project.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pompeo’s battle with National Public Radio and tweeted out more media criticism, one target familiar and the other less so. Trump introduced Pompeo at an East Room announcement of the administration’s Mideast peace plan, saying it was “very impressive” that he got a standing ovation from the White House workers and guests. “That reporter couldn’t have done too good a job on you,” the president said. “I think you did a good job on her, actually.” President Trump to Secretary Pompeo regarding @NPRKelly: "That reporter couldn't have done too good job on you yesterday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told senators privately Tuesday he does not yet have the votes to block new witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. McConnell convened a closed-door meeting of GOP senators shortly after Trump’s legal team made its closing arguments in the trial, the third and final day of defense proceedings punctuated by revelations from John Bolton, the former national security adviser. A Republican familiar with the meeting was not authorized to describe it by name and requested anonymity. The GOP leader faced a handful of potential defections, but several days remained before any potential witness vote would be taken. A decision to call more witnesses would need 51 votes to pass.

U.S. forces on Tuesday recovered the remains of two American service members killed in the crash of an Air Force plane in Afghanistan, the U.S. military command in Kabul said. They also retrieved what they believe is the plane’s flight data recorder. They were the only two people aboard the Air Force E-11A electronic surveillance aircraft when it went down on Monday in Ghazni province, officials said. Their identities have not been publicly announced, pending notification of their relatives. The statement from Kabul said the cause of the crash is under investigation, but there are no indications that it was downed by enemy fire. The Taliban hold much of Ghazni province.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday invited his Polish counterpart to Jerusalem for talks aimed at boosting bilateral relations following tensions over Poland’s World War II history. Rivlin spoke in Oswiecim, southern Poland, during observances of the 75th anniversary of the liberation, by the Soviet Red Army, of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp that Nazi Germany operated in occupied Poland.

On the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Congressman Max Rose, Member of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, issued the following statement announcing that Holocaust survivor and Staten Island resident Rabbi Avraham Hakohen “Romi” Cohn will deliver the House Opening Prayer this Wednesday, January 29 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Opening the House of Representatives in prayer is a tradition that began in 1789 with the first Continental Congress. According to Ezra Friedlander, CEO of the Friedlander Group, Rabbi Cohn will be accompanied to Washington, DC, by leading Rabbinic personalities and community leaders who will witness this historic occasion from the House Gallery as invited guests.

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond, but there were no reports of casualties or heavy damage. The quake was centered 139 kilometers (86 miles) northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 kilometers (87 miles) west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It hit at 2:10 p.m. (1910 GMT) and the epicenter was a relatively shallow 10 kilometers (6 miles) beneath the surface. Dr. Enrique Arango Arias, head of Cuba’s National Seismological Service, told state media that there had been no serious damage or injuries reported. Gov.

The horrific tragedy which took place last month in Greenville, NJ, has left behind a devastated community who is struggling to pick up the pieces. In one senseless act of hatred, two souls were so brutally ripped away from this world. The traumatic episode and the proximity to the innocent children have affected young and old alike.    The residents of Greenville, NJ, have all made the drastic move to live there for one reason only; and that is so they can have a home. Not looking for extravagant standards, but instead settled for the minimum, which is a basic house at an affordable price. A place they can call home without going into debt.   To establish a new Jewish community was going to be tough, but for those willing to sacrifice and take the first step, the future looked bright.