AR-15s to Be Stored in County Schools to Protect Against Mass Shootings

 https://www.newsweek.com/ar-15s-stored-county-schools-protect-against-mass-shootings-1731535

"What problem are these North Carolina sheriffs solving?" Watts wrote. "The hundreds of officers in Uvalde had access to AR-15s but chose not to engage a gunman with an assault rifle and a death wish. 'MORE GUNS' is not a solution - keeping guns away from kids/teens is."

Amnesty International Assessment That Ukraine ‘Put Civilians in Harm’s Way’ Stirs Outrage

 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/world/europe/amnesty-international-ukraine-russia-war-crimes.html

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine accused the organization of trying to “amnesty the terrorist state and shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.”

Israeli messaging on deadly Jabaliya explosion makes inroads on international media

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-messaging-on-deadly-jabaliya-explosion-makes-inroads-on-international-media/

Israeli officials have been working hard since Saturday evening to convey the truth that an explosion in the Gaza Strip that killed multiple people, including several children, was the work of a failed rocket launch by Palestinian terrorists rather than an IDF strike.

When it comes to global media coverage of the incident, the effort appears to have paid off.

Initial reports from Gaza claimed an Israeli strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza had killed seven civilians, including four children. Photos circulating on social media showed seven body bags. But the IDF stated unequivocally on Saturday and again on Sunday that it had not struck anywhere in the area at the time of the blast, and that it had video and radar proof that the explosion was caused by a rocket misfired by Palestinian terror operatives.

Alex Jones ordered to pay $49.3M total over Sandy Hook lies

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/05/alex-jones-sandy-hook-damages-00050186

Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for particularly egregious conduct, beyond monetary compensation awarded to the individuals they hurt. A high punitive award is also seen as a chance for jurors to send a wider societal message and a way to deter others from the same abhorrent conduct in the future.

Spiritual abuse - is religion inherently abusive?

https://mishpacha.com/shattered/

As a community rav, this dynamic is one that Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman of Passaic is all too familiar with. He sees this abuse play out in both parenting and marriage relationships. “It has nothing to do with Hashem,” he says firmly. “These abusers hide behind Hashem, to dominate people, to abuse people — all in the name of G-d.”

And while the abusers may cite halachah and maamarei Chazal, their actions are not rooted in any form of holiness. “You have parents who are abusive to their kids, so they jump on the kibbud av v’eim bandwagon,” Rabbi Eisenman says. “But their actions have nothing to do with halachah and everything to do with their world view and what they think is right, regardless of halachah.”

Is Trump Right That Inflation Bill Raises Middle Income Taxes?

https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-trump-right-that-inflation-bill-raises-middle-income-taxes-1731261

Mostly False.The Inflation Reduction Act would not increase taxes for Americans earning less than $400,000. The basis of Trump's statement is a single piece of analysis which, while thorough and comes from an authoritative source, is still just a projection of potential follow-on costs after corporations and others are taxed

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: Happiness in the Jewish Perspective

Sectarian Infighting and the Fall of Jerusalem (Tisha Bav 5781 2021)

Dick Cheney brands Trump a 'coward' in TV ad

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/357663

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney blasts former President Donald Trump in a new video ad for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) which was released on Thursday.

The former Vice President brand Trump a “coward” and a “threat to our republic” in the video, released weeks before voters go to the polls.

“In our nation’s 2460year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,” Dick Cheney says in the one-minute ad, titled “He Knows It”, according to The Hill.

Sunday Night Havdalah

 https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/9993

In Maariv on Motza’ei Shabbos-Tisha B’Av, we recite “Attah Chonantanu” to allow the performing of melachah (or by simply saying “Hamavdil Bein Kodesh L’Chol” once it is Tzeis Hakochavim at the conclusion of Shabbos). There is no bracha of Besamim at all - as that is considered hana’ah (benefit or pleasure), which we minimize on Tisha B’Av. It is also not recited on Motza’ei Tzom, when the fast ends on Sunday night, as at that point it is no longer directly after Shabbos.

A Democratic bill negotiated between Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer would "increase taxes on millions of Americans across every income bracket."

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/aug/03/adam-laxalt/gop-claim-tax-hikes-democratic-bill-doesnt-factor-/

• An analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation found that every income group would lose ground from the bill’s tax changes, although by a modest amount — approximately 1%.

• However, this analysis didn’t factor in subsidies for energy efficiency and clean energy, the continuation of expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and lower drug prices because of Medicare negotiations. Independent experts expect these benefits to cancel out, or reverse, any negative tax impacts.

• The only actual tax increases in the bill are levied directly on very large corporations and high-earning money managers. This means that any impact on ordinary Americans would come from secondary effects, which are difficult to measure.

Trump’s TV stars pose problems for the GOP

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3588823-the-memo-trumps-tv-stars-pose-problems-for-the-gop/

Trump “believes in the power of TV,” Zelizer said. “I do think at some level Trump believes that there’s no-one as powerful in American culture as The Celebrity.”

But, he added, “the reality is that politics isn’t television and many TV people can fall apart quickly entering the political arena.”

Did we all believe a myth about depression?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62286093

A study showing depression isn't caused by low levels of the "happy hormone" serotonin has become one of the most widely shared medical articles.

Josh Hawley's Speech Rejecting Sweden, Finland's NATO Bids Goes Viral

 https://www.newsweek.com/josh-hawley-speech-sweden-finland-nato-membership-viral-video-russia-1730765

The Senate voted 95-1 on Wednesday to ratify the Scandinavian countries' bid for membership. Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, was the sole "no" vote.

Hawley delivered a speech in the chamber, explaining his opposition to NATO expansion. A snippet from his comments, posted on Twitter, has been watched more than 775,000 times in less than 24 hours.