After a full day of squabbling, name-calling, arguing, and walkouts, members of the Corona Cabinet decided that as of Friday, Israel will face a hermetic lockdown for two weeks until Simchas Torah. The upcoming lockdown will considerably tighten the rules on the Israeli public from the current lockdown that people are in. According to the upcoming rules, all stores and businesses that are non-essential will be closed. A prohibition will be in effect outlawing any gathering aside from their nuclear family. It is still unclear what will befall the necessary preparations for Sukkos including the purchasing of arba minim, and materials for building sukkahs. Shuls will be allowed to convene only in outdoor spaces and will have up to 20 participants.

Johnson & Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus. The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. J&J’s vaccine could offer an advantage in distribution over those inoculations, which require vaccination sites to ensure recipients return for their second dose. The company also said its vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures for three months, far longer than the Pfizer vaccine that requires deep freezing for long-term storage. A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. – including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

A recent uptick in Covid-19 cases in Israel drove the Israeli government to enact a second lockdown, in an attempt to stem the increase of cases. This lockdown has added additional insult to injury for thousands of families who have been financially devastated by all the previous restrictions and constraints. With no financial assistance from the government in the form of stimulus payments or unemployment, innumerable families are literally suffering from hunger. Now, with the Yom Tov season upon us, these families are completely helpless. An immense burden has been placed on charitable organizations who saw the demand for assistance skyrocket in unprecedented numbers.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released from a Berlin hospital after more than a month’s treatment for poisoning, with doctors now believing that it’s possible he could see a “complete recovery” from the Soviet-era nerve agent, the hospital said Wednesday. Navalny spent 32 days at Berlin’s Charite hospital, 24 of them in intensive care, before doctors deemed his “condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged from acute inpatient care.” He will remain in Germany for the time being to continue his rehabilitation, his team said. As he was released Tuesday, the 44-year-old displayed his characteristic sarcastic sense of humor.

בס”ד יום א’ סליחות תש”פ Dear Friends ! While the world was grieving the terrible Panademic, there has also been an awful financial impact for our Mekubolim at our Holy Yeshiva. The inability to raise money around the world and listening to our Supporters all over the world trying to make a living, has left us unable to provide our Rabbonim the minimum wage to provide for their families, with some sinking into destitution. CLICK HERE NOW TO SEE THE FULL CAMPAIGN Many families in our Yeshivas Hamekubolim are simply drowning in despair as their entire sources of livelihood have dried up. The Rabbonim, who have always been the proud heads of the household and always learned hard in our Yeshiva to provide for their families, are now buckling under the burden of having no income for months.

Barack Obama spent hours reading legal briefs as he mulled candidates for the Supreme Court. Bill Clinton savored building a personal connection with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And Ronald Reagan offered a personal touch in making his case for Anthony Kennedy after his first two picks for a vacancy went sideways. President Donald Trump has a style all his own for selecting a nominee for the high court. He’s flying by the seat of his pants with his frequent public deliberations on replacing Ginsburg, a process that’s moving at warp speed.

Joe Biden was running late. Again. On a recent Friday, he’d already apologized for the delayed start to a speech, then taken more questions than expected at a subsequent press conference. When it was finally over, Biden’s motorcade sped away quickly enough to leave behind one of the journalists traveling with it. But as the line of armored, black SUVs reached Biden’s home in suburban Wilmington, it suddenly reversed course and headed back out — this time to a nearby M&T bank branch. Biden’s next event was already supposed to be underway, a virtual fundraiser with National Democratic Finance Chair Chris Korge. Instead, he lingered at an ATM.

Election Question: What steps have been taken to protect the nation’s election systems from potential interference by foreign powers like Russia? Have voting systems been “hardened” in any way? Answer: Federal, state and local officials prioritized securing voting systems after Russia interfered in the 2016 election, breaking down bureaucracy to improve communication of potential threats, conducting security reviews and installing network sentinels to detect known cyberthreats and suspicious activity. A key step was the January 2017 decision by the outgoing Obama administration to designate the election systems as “critical infrastructure” on par with nuclear reactors, banks and the electrical grid.

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The city’s Department of Health & Mental Hygiene made an ominous announcement Tuesday night: Several neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens are experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 — including an area it is dubbing “The Ocean Parkway Cluster” — and the rise in cases is “cause for significant concern.” The department said there are several COVID-19 “signals” in the two boroughs “that are cause for significant concern. Moreover, this situation will require further action if noncompliance with safety precautions is observed.” “For weeks we have been closely monitoring signals in neighborhoods that have seen growth in COVID-19,” reads a statement.