New York City has reached its goal of performing 50,000 coronavirus tests a day, and its contact tracing effort has potentially prevented thousands of new infections, officials said Thursday. Mayor Bill de Blasio said four new clinics operated by the urgent care company MedRite will bring the total citywide daily testing capacity to 50,000. “This is the number we’ve been wanting to get to for quite a while. We will now have that capacity,” he said. Dr. Ted Long, the head of the city’s contact tracing effort, said the median wait for test results citywide is now two days, down from more than double that a week ago, but he acknowledged that waits at some testing sites have been much longer.

A federal judge has halted the public release of police officer disciplinary records in New York, temporarily turning back a state transparency reform enacted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted a temporary restraining order late Wednesday barring police departments and other entities in the state from disclosing discipline records until at least Aug. 18, when she’ll hear arguments in a union lawsuit challenging their release. Failla took over the case when it was transferred from state court, extending and expanding an existing stay that paused public disclosure of records concerning unsubstantiated and non-finalized allegations or settlement agreements.

You may have seen a puppet show, but have you ever seen a frum puppet that can talk on his own? Chuck Field and his puppets Ziggy and Dr Sol are huge hits every year at camps around the country – and this year they’re coming to your living room! Prepare to be astounded as Chuck speaks through his puppets WITHOUT MOVING HIS MOUTH, putting on a hilarious show that children – and adults – will love.  Tune in this Sunday, July 26th, at 5pm EST. Access to the show is just $10 for the whole family.  Tickets are just $10 for your entire family, and a portion of the proceeds will go to tzedakah! The show will be recorded so you can rewatch anything you may have missed! Don’t wait! Get your tickets now! CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUT TICKET!

In response to numerous requests Merkaz L’Chinuch HaTorah is offering a full gamut of summer workshops for rebbeim and moros, and its intensive summer and fall programs for talmidim. Both children and bochurim can improve learning skills, from kriah through Gemara. Rebbeim and moros can acquire new techniques for reaching their talmidim and talmidos at all levels. Especially now in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, students who were struggling even before Covid-19 have lost their support system, and have found themselves falling even further behind and increasingly frustrated by phone or Zoom classes.

The White House says President Donald Trump will visit North Carolina on Monday to tour a business that is participating in work on a COVID-19 vaccine. The White House said Trump is expected to speak about the collaboration between the administration and the private sector to rapidly develop a vaccine and ensure rapid distribution once ready. North Carolina is a key battleground state in the coming election, and Trump’s visit marks his 10th trip to the state during his presidency. Trump is seeking to highlight progress on a vaccine and therapeutics as the country struggles to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The biotechnology facility Trump will visit is the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Innovation Center in Morrisville, a suburb of Raleigh.

Israel’s Health Ministry warned on Thursday that an intense heatwave will hit Israel on Sunday and continue all week and urged the elderly and those suffering from illnesses, including the coronavirus, to take proper precautions. The temperatures in Israel next week, when Tish’a B’Av – the longest fast of the summer – falls out, are expected to be extremely hot with above-average temperatures for the season. The ministry urged the public to avoid exposure to the sun, to minimize physical exertion outdoors, to make sure to drink enough water and to stay inside air-conditioned rooms as much as possible. The temperature is expected to be 97° F in Jerusalem on Sunday and a mere 106-111°F in Eilat. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Softening his earlier stance, President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged that some schools may need to delay their reopening this fall as the coronavirus continues to surge. It marks a shift from Trump’s previous demand for a full reopening of the nation’s schools. In recent weeks, Trump has said that it’s safe to open schools and that Democrats have opposed it for political reasons. But speaking at a White House news conference, Trump said districts in some virus hot spots “may need to delay reopening for a few weeks.” He said the decision will fall to governors.

Five months after it kicked New Yorkers out of trusted traveler security programs in a spat over immigration policy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reversed itself Thursday and told a court it had misrepresented the facts in a lawsuit over the matter. The department announced that New Yorkers would once again be allowed to enroll and re-enroll in Global Entry and other federal travel programs that allow vetted travelers to avoid long security lines at airports and the U.S. border. President Donald Trump’s administration in February booted New Yorkers from the programs, saying it was taking the action because a newly enacted state law allowing unauthorized immigrants to get driver’s licenses had cut off some federal access to state motor vehicle records.

Reb Daniel Shore z”l was a fixture in the Kensington community for many years, his smile lighting up the faces of all who knew him. He and his large family were close to Rav Chaim Epstein zt”l and davened for many years at Yeshiva Zichron Meilech. CLICK HERE NOW TO SEE FULL CAMPAIGN Reb Daniel was a ben Torah in the truest sense of the word. He spent many years learning in Lakewood under Rav Shneur Kotler and kept up with many of his friends from those days. When the Shores moved a year ago to Lakewood, Reb Daniel’s joy was boundless. He was with most of his married children and was able to go back the life of a ben Torah he yearned for. But it did not last long. Alas, Reb Daniel contracted the dreaded coronavirus early on, and was niftar after a few weeks.

The United States accused Russia on Thursday of conducting a test of an anti-satellite weapon in space, asserting that it exposed Moscow’s intent to deploy weapons that threaten U.S. and allied satellites. In Moscow, the Defense Ministry said the July 15 event involved “a small space vehicle” that “inspected one of the national satellites from a close distance using special equipment.” It added that the inspection “provided valuable information about the object that was inspected, which was transmitted to the ground-based control facilities.” The U.S., however, said the Russian actions were inconsistent with the stated mission of an inspector satellite.