On Sunday morning, officials in Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem provided an update on the condition of Ephraim and Itai Rimmel, whose wife and daughter Mrs. Tzipi Rimmel A”H, 35, and her daughter, Noa Rachel A”H, 3 weeks old were killed in a horrific crash. B’chasdei Hashem, there has been a significant improvement over the weekend in Ephraim’s, 40, condition after a complicated surgery on his back. Ephraim has regained consciousness and his condition is listed as stable, as he remains in an intensive care unit. Itai, 10, however remains critical, in a medically induced coma in a pediatric ICU. An Arab driver smashed into the Rimmel’s vehicle in Jerusalem at the beginning of December, in the area of Givat Ze’ev Junction.

HaGaon HaRav Tzvi Siman Tov, Rosh Yeshivas Ohr Hatorah, among the rabbonim of Yeshivat Chazon Ovadia and the Mora D’asra of former Jewish community of Afghanistan, remains hospitalized in an intensive care unit with a serious case of pneumonia. The rav has been in an intensive care unit for about three weeks, in Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak, where he is being treated for pneumonia. The rav founded Yeshivas Ohr Hatorah in Bnei Brak and headed it for thirty years. In addition, he gives shiurim in Yeshivat Chazon Ovadia. Due to the seriousness of his condition, on last Thursday, there were an atzeres tefilla with hundreds attending, hosted in the yeshiva in Bnei Brak. The tzibur is asked to be mispallel for Tzvi Matisyahu ben Rivka for a refuah shleima bsoch cholei yisrael.

A judge sentenced a 32-year-old Minnesota man to 15 years and nine months in prison for using a bow and arrows to attack sheriff’s deputies, injuring one. Authorities arrested Ramey James Olson after a two-hour standoff with sheriff’s deputies in Sauk Centre on Sept. 13, 2018. Prosecutors say Olson ended up in the Sauk Centre garage after crashing a stolen car. The St. Cloud Times reported that Olson was sentenced Thursday. One of the arrows struck a Stearns County sheriff’s deputy in his left forearm. Deputies fired their weapons, striking Olson in the shoulder and buttocks, and grazing his hand with a bullet. (AP)

After a prolonged period of time during which a decision was not announced, Degel Hatorah appointments were made; including the head of Chareidi Education in Jerusalem and the head of the Chareidi Cultural Division in the capital as well. The Jerusalem Professional Committee convened last week, and the decisions were made regarding the new appointments in light of struggle during recent months by Degel Hatorah to secure the appointments. On Sunday morning, it was decided that Shmulik Greenberg would be appointed director of chareidi education in the city and Pinchas Ehrlich director of the Chareidi Culture Division. These appointments are viewed as being ‘professional’, and therefore, addressed by the Jerusalem Professional Committee.

A Florida city confirmed Friday that hackers seeking to extort money were responsible for crippling its computer systems earlier this week but officials have yet to decide whether they will pay a reported $1 million ransom. If they do opt to fork over the money, they may have to dip into Pensacola city coffers; the city of about 52,000 in Florida’s Panhandle — whose annual budget is roughly $245 million — is not insured for such an attack. Obtaining it in the future is “something that our risk manager will certainly be looking into,” said city spokeswoman Kaycee Lagarde. Lagarde confirmed that ransomware was behind the attack that brought down the city’s computer network over the weekend, less than a day after a Saudi aviation student killed three U.S.

A man apparently felt so bad about breaking the law that he called police three times to confess, according to police in Georgia. Lt. Tim Watkins of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office told the Thomasville Times-Enterprise that a man called at 5 a.m. Friday to say he had stolen a car in Thomasville and was about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away in the smaller town of Boston. A Boston police officer went looking for the Chevrolet Impala and 29-year-old Quent Rashed Lankford, but could find neither. Lankford called back again, and finally called a third time to say he had broken into a convenience store and was drinking beer. “He wanted to confess and turn himself in,” Watkins said. “He called three times.” That was enough for Boston police to track down and arrest Lankford.

A closure order was issued against the New Chevron Yeshiva on Sunday, December 15, 2019, after yeshiva leaders were granted a hearing to plead their case. Israel Fire & Rescue Service issued the closure order, signed by Jerusalem District Commander Nissim Tuito. According to fire service officials, talmidim learn and sleep in the makeshift structure that lacks any form of safety and security measures required nor does it have any fire protection. At the end of the hearing, it was decided the yeshiva will be shut immediately due to the worrisome condition of the structure, which also lacks any and all safety and fire prevention requirements. According to Commander Tuito, he is responsible to protect citizens in his district, as this is a foundation stone of the service.

Residents of the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem promise a legal battle as they continue efforts to prevent the city changing the name to Neot Yosef in memory of Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L and Maran HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv ZT”L. Leaders of the opposition to the planned name change explain Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon cannot do as he pleases when and entire neighborhood remains opposed. The residents have already begun raising funds for the battle. Taking their battle cry from Hebron, residents of Har Nof are battling City Hall under the banner ‘הר נוף מאז ומתמיד’, as they remain steadfast in their opposition to the plan. They explain that half of the institutions in the neighborhood have ‘Har Nof’ in their name, including shuls, schools, stores and businesses.

Campaign now live! (Video) We each breathe approximately 24,000 a day. It B”H goes so smooth, so natural – we don’t even notice it. However for those born with cystic fibrosis, every breath is difficult…painful…laborious. They suffer from low energy and low appetite. They are vulnerable to recurrent lung infections and hospitalizations. Cystic fibrosis is genetic in nature…disproportionately affecting Jewish families, typically several children per household. And unfortunately, cystic fibrosis has no cure. There are supplements and painful daily therapies to alleviate some of the disease’s effects…but the disease and its effects linger. There is one thing that improves the lives of cystic fibrosis patients more than anything else: A therapeutic respite trip to Key West, FL.

NYC Mayor DeBlasio went to Williamsburg on Sunday morning, and visited the home of the Deutsch family, who is sitting Shiva for their son Moshe Hersh HY”D, one of the victims in the Jersey City terror attack. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)