The Trump administration on Wednesday hardened its efforts to prevent the completion of new German-Russian and Turkish-Russian natural gas pipelines by warning companies involved in the projects they’ll be subject to U.S. penalties unless they halt their work. The move will likely increase tensions in already fraught U.S.-European ties as well as anger Russia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the administration is ending grandfather clauses that had spared firms previously involved in the pipelines’ construction from sanctions authorized by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, a 2017 law aimed at punishing Russia, in particular, for interference in U.S. elections and other matters. The move opens the door for U.S.

Baruch Hashem 30 new families have moved to Rochester since we began our marketing program back in the spring of 2015. Some of our new families have written about their experiences since moving to town. See excerpts from their reviews below. To see all of our testimonials in full visit http://www.torahrochester.com/reviews Chesky and Rivka Serebrowski – Moved from Monsey We moved to Rochester from Monsey with our 2 kids and were not really sure what to expect. We were totally amazed by the community here, the warmth with which we were welcomed and the seamless transition into community. The new daycare TLC, is absolutely fabulous and we could not be happier with chinuch our children are receiving.

Countries around the world are reimposing lockdowns and implementing new health checks at their borders in an effort to curb a resurgence of the coronavirus before it spins even further out of control. Starting Wednesday, all travelers arriving in Greece from a land border with Bulgaria were required to carry negative coronavirus test results issued in the previous 72 hours. The new rules, which follow an increase in tourism-related COVID-19 cases, triggered an immediate drop in arrivals compared to recent days. In the U.S., some state governments and businesses imposed their own new restrictions or sanctions. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo added to a list now totaling 22 states whose visitors will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they visit the tri-state region.

Early during the coronavirus outbreak, Ohio’s Republican governor appeared prophetic with his decisive steps to ban spectators from a sports expo, shut down all schools before any other state and put a stop to the presidential primary. Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine has backed away from a statewide mask mandate, faced a mutiny within his party over business closures and juggled listening to both health experts and those who doubt them. For DeWine, navigating a path out of the state’s pandemic shutdown has been a bumpy one. His aggressive moves that won early praise have tilted toward messages of personal responsibility, following the direction of governors in Republican-leaning states who resisted wide crackdowns.

Rav Binyanim Finkel, who is world-renowned for both his Torah learning and his tremendous chesed, was approached recently with the details of multiple individuals who are currently suffering in poverty due to extremely difficult life situations. Rav Finkel was deeply moved by the stories of the individuals in question, who have endured everything from cancer to blindness, abuse to homelessness. It was then that plans were made for the Rav to travel on urgent business to the Kosel HaMaaravi, with a list of names to pray for in hand. The names belong to all those who donate to help the families in need.

Video from the body cameras of two officers charged in George Floyd’s death is being made available for public viewing by appointment on Wednesday, but a judge has so far declined to allow news organizations to publish the footage for wider distribution. Footage from the body cameras of Thomas Lane and J. Kueng was filed with the court last week by Lane’s attorney, but only the written transcripts were made public. A coalition of news media organizations and attorneys for Lane and Kueng have said making the videos public would provide a more complete picture of what happened when Floyd was taken into custody. Members of the news media and the public are viewing the video Wednesday by appointment at the courthouse.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Wednesday that he’s the first governor in the United States to test positive for the coronavirus and that he is isolating at home. Stitt, 48, said he mostly feels fine, although he started feeling “a little achy” on Tuesday and sought a test. He said his wife and children were also tested Tuesday and that none of them have tested positive. Stitt has backed one of the country’s most aggressive reopening plans, resisted any statewide mandate on masks and rarely wears one himself. “We respect people’s rights … to not wear a mask,” Stitt said during Wednesday’s news conference, which was held virtually. “You just open up a big can of worms. “A lot of businesses are requiring it, and that’s fine.

Dear Fellow Jew, The second wave of coronavirus is now a reality in many parts of the world! Our Brethren in Eretz Yisroel were hit really hard. Each passing day the infection rate is going up and up. The goverment has already locked down many neighborhoods, and is considering a national lockdown. This has resulted in many Families losing their livelihoods once again. Currently more than 1,000,0000 people are unemployed, that is about 20% of the country! Among these people, there are many people who are already living in a very precarious situation! There is a real health crisis, but the social crisis is already there and is devastating among the Israeli population!

The head of the New York State Troopers PBA issued a statement Wednesday “demanding” that state troopers be removed from New York City “and cease any law enforcement activities within that jurisdiction.” According to the PBA Head, the new regulations would “criminalize methods of restraint, including putting any pressure on a person’s chest or back.” FOLLOWING IS THE FULL STATEMENT: As President of the New York State Troopers PBA, I am demanding that New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett immediately remove all uniformed State Troopers currently stationed within New York City and cease any law enforcement activities within that jurisdiction.

Con artists on Wednesday apparently hacked into the Twitter accounts of technology moguls, politicians and major companies in an apparent bitcoin scam. The ruse included bogus tweets from Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The fake tweets offered to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to a bitcoin address. Twitter put out a statement noting that it was aware of a “security incident impacting accounts on Twitter.” The company said it is investigating and working to fix it, and promised an update shortly. Bezos, Gates and Musk are among the 10 richest people in the world, with tens of millions of followers on Twitter.