You have seen the Faces of Project Inspire: the incredible impact on individuals of Project Inspire/Jinspire programs…whether online or in local communities, the recent Shabbat Retreat for 920 equally represented less affiliated and more observant Jews, the Project Inspire Convention, trips to Israel and much more. No matter your age or background, these opportunities have inspired you – and ignited your desire to reach many more of our dear Jewish brothers and sisters to connect meaningfully with fellow Jews. A “Million 2 Inspire.” As 2019 ends, now is the opportunity to gain a tax deduction – and simultaneously expand Project Inspire’s array of programs, events and initiatives that unite Jews learning and sharing their Judaism together.

Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America. The reason? There are actually two different definitions of the 12-inch measurement known as a foot. Some land surveyors use what’s known as the U.S. survey foot. Others use the definition that’s more accepted by the broader world: the international foot. The difference between them is so tiny that you can’t see it with the naked eye on a 12-inch ruler. But over big distances, it matters. So, to reduce the chance for errors and confusion, the federal government has announced it’s finally giving the boot to the survey foot. The international foot is the smaller one — adding about an eighth of an inch of difference when measuring a mile.

The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld the sentence of the state’s only death row inmate, an Alaska man who pleaded guilty to taking part in a 2000 torture killing. The justices said the arguments from Briley Piper, 39, of Anchorage, were “untimely” and didn’t contest his guilt, the Rapid City Journal reported. Piper was sentenced to death after pleading guilty in the slaying of Chester Allen Poage, of Spearfish. Another man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the slaying, Elijah Page, has already been executed. A third man, Darrell Hoadley, was convicted at trial and sentenced to life in prison. Piper argued in his latest appeal that his guilty pleas were not made voluntarily or intelligently, and he blamed his defense counsel for that.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn apologized Sunday for this party’s crushing defeat in the British general election but defended his campaign, which failed to resonate with the party’s working-class base, as “one of hope rather than fear.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won 365 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons in Thursday’s landslide election. Labour took 203 seats, its worst total since 1935. Corbyn, 70, has pledged to stand down as the decimated party’s leader and the maneuvering to replace him has begun. “I’m sorry that we came up short and I take my responsibility for it,” Corbyn wrote in a letter published in the left-leaning Sunday Mirror newspaper.

A young man in his 30s was suddenly Niftar while sitting shiva for his toddler son who was niftar last Thursday. R’ Yitzchok Meir Weiss Z”L, a resident of Bnei Brak, suffered a heart attack and was rushed to Tel Hshomer Hospital where he was unfortunately Niftar. His son, Yisrael Weiss Z”L, was niftar last week after losing consciousness in a daycare in Bnei Brak. R’ Yitzchok Meir is a son-in-law of the Mashgiach of Yeshivas Orchos Torah in Bnei Brak, learned in Mir Brachfeld and spent many years being Meshamesh the late Mir Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel ZATZAL. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A pawn shop owner in Keyport, NJ has been arrested on weapons-related charges after his phone number was found on one of the suspects in the Jersey City shooting, NBC New York reports. Officials are now looking into whether any of the guns used in the shooting came from that Keyport pawn shop, which was full of firearms, including three AR-15-style assault rifles. Prosecutors had previously said they believed some of the guns used in Tuesday’s shootout may have been purchased in Ohio by Francine Graham, one of the two suspects. Ahmed A-Hady, 35, was arrested Saturday morning and faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. (AP)

Rav Ephraim Krohn needs help making a Chassuna in two weeks…Rabbanim and Askanim are urging us to get involved and help with this dire situation. Rabbi Ephraim Krohn is well known amongst Yeshiva Torah Ore Yerushalayim Alumni and residents of the Matisdorf/Soritzkin neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He is someone who not only himself learns with great Hasmada day and night, but has constantly been there for others as well. Talmidim of all ages recall his warm smile, helping hand, and his dedication to their welfare. He is now making a second chassuna within short succession of another and is incapable of carrying the financial burden on top of a already tight situation.

Police in Beverly Hills are investigating a break-in and vandalism overnight at one of the city’s largest Iranian-Jewish synagogues as a hate crime. The break-in happened around 2 a.m. Saturday at the Nessah synagogue on Rexford Drive, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. The synagogue was closed for the rest of Shabbos and was expected to open back up on Sunday. Several rooms inside the building were ransacked and Sifrei Torah and Seforim were damaged but the outside of the building didn’t suffer any severe damage. Police added that no markings or other signs of anti-Semitism were left by the suspect who was captured on security footage but it would still be investigated as a hate crime. “This cowardly attack hits us at the heart of who we are as a community.

SCHI OFFERS OPPORTUNITY FOR A FIELD SEAT AT THE SIYUM HASHAS! SCHI’s annual Chinese Auction is now live! The School for Children with Hidden Intelligence (SCHI) services a vast disparity of children with special needs, yet they take care to provide an individualized educational program to suit each student’s personal needs.  SCHI has made its name as an unrivaled facility with exceptional and distinctive accomplishments in the world of special education.  Because SCHI believes that every child deserves a chance. SCHI is offering an exclusive promotion for all orders that are entered by this Sunday, December 15th (no minimum). Enter promo code siyum19 to be entered into an exclusive raffle for a field seat at the upcoming Siyum Hashas!

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi don’t see eye-to-eye on much these days, but in the throes of impeachment, they’re in lockstep on the desire to close out the year by checking off items on their to-do lists. As the uncertain politics of the effort to remove Trump from office collide with critical year-end legislative deadlines, Washington, for the first time in recent memory, appears intent on demonstrating its capacity to multitask. Lawmakers and White House officials are eager to project the image that they’ve been focused on anything but the polarizing proceedings that are increasingly consuming their days and nights. Even President Donald Trump, no stranger to unpredictability and drama, could only marvel at the week of Washington whiplash.