The Senate passed a bill to help sick veterans. Then 25 Republicans reversed course

 https://www.npr.org/2022/07/29/1114417097/veterans-burn-pit-bill-republican-senators

The bill — like many issues related to veterans' health — had amassed deep bipartisan support, and easily passed the Senate by an 84-14 vote in June. But a technical error required another vote, and this time, more than two dozen Republicans switched sides. The final tally was 55-42 (with three senators abstaining), falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Senate Republicans burned a bill that would have helped veterans — here’s why

https://www.vox.com/2022/7/30/23284976/senate-republicans-pact-act-veterans 

The question remains why more than two dozen Republicans, many veterans themselves, voted for it last month but flipped this week. According to some Democrats, the bill was blocked for political benefit.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) alternatively argues that Republicans took out their anger over a separate bill on the PACT Act. Democrats are attempting to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a historic $369 billion to be spent over the next 10 years to address climate change, health care, inflation, and taxes.

“The less charitable explanation is this,” Murphy said, about why so many Republicans flipped, “Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans. Because that’s the other thing that’s changed in the last three weeks. Republicans thought that Democrats weren’t going to be able to pass a bill asking corporations to pay a little bit more, tackling climate change. Yesterday, news emerged that there is an agreement that makes it likely that a climate change bill is going to proceed on the Senate floor, and magically 30 votes flip.”

New method to improve visual perception of people with autism developed in TAU

 https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/mind-and-spirit/article-713636

A new Tel Aviv University (TAU) study suggests a new learning method for people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that could speed up their learning processes and even significantly improve capabilities in terms of visual perception.

Improving the perceptual capabilities of people with ASD is a difficult challenge, requiring long and tedious training. The new study used a new learning method based on “memory flashes” lasting just a few seconds. Using it could significantly improve the achievements of people with autism who also manage to generalize learning to other situations.

Actually, the Russian Economy Is Imploding

 https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/07/22/russia-economy-sanctions-myths-ruble-business/

Five months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there remains a startling lack of understanding by many Western policymakers and commentators of the economic dimensions of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and what it has meant for Russia’s economic positioning both domestically and globally.

Far from being ineffective or disappointing, as many have argued, international sanctions and voluntary business retreats have exerted a devastating effect over Russia’s economy. The deteriorating economy has served as a powerful if underappreciated complement to the deteriorating political landscape facing Putin.

Sanctions 'catastrophically crippling' Russian economy, study finds

https://www.euronews.com/2022/07/28/sanctions-catastrophically-crippling-russian-economy-study-finds 

Russia's economy has been "catastrophically crippled" by western sanctions and the mass exodus of international companies, according to a Yale University study.

The research -- which the authors say is the "first comprehensive" analysis of the Russian economy -- found that since the start of the Ukraine war, Russia has taken a devastating hit across multiple metrics.

"Russia has lost companies representing ~40% of its GDP, reversing nearly all of three decades worth of foreign investment," write researchers at the Yale School of Management, adding that this situation has been worsened by an "unprecedented" capital and population flight.

Study shows: Western sanctions take a heavy toll on Russia's economy | DW News

Women Rabbis?

 https://hakirah.org/vol%2011%20schachter.pdf

In the printed notes of Rav Soloveitchik’s shiurim on Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah, 1 prepared for publication by Rabbi Eliyakim Koenigsberg, in the very first essay, the Rav is quoted as having said that a woman may not serve as a rabbi. The Tanna’im understood the pasuk in Chumash as implying that women may not be appointed to the position of King.2 The Talmud points out3 that the repetition of the verb in the pasuk “som tasim alecha melech”4 implies that this principle applies not only to the position of King, but to all positions of serarah and authority. Hence it would follow5 that a woman may not be appointed president of a synagogue or as rabbi, since these are also positions of serarah. 6 The reason the Rav brought up this topic in the beginning of Yoreh De’ah is because the Rama7 quotes the practice of not appointing a woman as the town shochet. The Beis Yosef quotes the Kol Bo who seems to say8 that although a woman may shecht privately, she may not be appointed as the town shochet. If indeed this was the intention of the Kol Bo it could be understood that this appointment would constitute a form of serarah. Indeed in Europe before the war, the town shochet was, in a certain sense, the assistant rabbi. The shochet knew sections of Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah, and often when the rabbi would be on vacation, the shochet would paskin the she’eilos.

10K Christians Rip Greene's Christian Nationalism: 'Betrayal of Our Faith'

 https://www.newsweek.com/10k-christians-rip-greenes-christian-nationalism-betrayal-our-faith-1729377

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) just essentially declared that America has no place for Jews, Muslims, or the LGBTQ community when she explicitly stated 'we should be Christian nationalists,'" the introduction to the petition said. "Now she's even selling 'Proud Christian Nationalist' t-shirts with an ad that says 'Stand Against the Godless Left' and shows her fists violently raised. (So much for loving your neighbor or following the Prince of Peace.)"

Ukraine drone strike hits Russia Black Sea fleet HQ 'spoiling Navy Day' - so sad!

 https://www.jpost.com/international/article-713523

A senior official in Russian-annexed Crimea accused Ukraine on Sunday of carrying out a drone attack ahead of planned celebrations to mark Navy Day, injuring five and forcing the cancellation of festivities.

The New Proliferation of Female Pseudo-Orthodox “Rabbis” and More

 https://yated.com/the-new-proliferation-of-female-pseudo-orthodox-rabbis-and-more/

However, there is one notable exception to this trend: the ordination of female “Orthodox rabbis”. In contrast with an acute decrease in the ordination of male Open Orthodox clergy, the female side of this enterprise has quietly mushroomed both in Eretz Yisroel and in the US, as two seminaries and a network of pseudo-Orthodox congregations have been involved in trying to radically change the Orthodox landscape and its future leadership profile.

What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer's Disease?

 https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease

Amyloid plaques

The beta-amyloid protein involved in Alzheimer’s comes in several different molecular forms that collect between neurons. It is formed from the breakdown of a larger protein, called amyloid precursor protein. One form, beta-amyloid 42, is thought to be especially toxic. In the Alzheimer’s brain, abnormal levels of this naturally occurring protein clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function. Research is ongoing to better understand how, and at what stage of the disease, the various forms of beta-amyloid influence Alzheimer’s.

Dynamic shifts between Fox News, Donald Trump

 https://thehill.com/homenews/3577133-dynamic-shifts-between-fox-news-donald-trump/

Trump in a statement on Tuesday complained that Fox, the Journal and the Post “have always been against me, until I won.”

Settlers claim road terror in fatal West Bank car crash

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/by4cp9y65

"We were driving along Route 60 on the way to a family meeting in the Ariel settlement," Rivka Zinman said.

"Suddenly a white Palestinian car appeared, driving fast from the opposite lane, I slowed down the car, but the Palestinian vehicle accelerated. I realized it was going to hit me head-on and I couldn't stop. The collision was at an enormous speed. I lost my son to Palestinian road terror," she said.

The Palestinians involved in the crash were moderately wounded and were evacuated to the hospital as well.

Trump Threatens To Sue CNN And Other Outlets For Dismissing His Voter Fraud Claims

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/07/27/trump-threatens-to-sue-cnn-and-other-outlets-for-dismissing-his-voter-fraud-claims/?sh=609e4c921add

Trump released a 282-page letter that his attorney, Jim Trusty, sent last week to CNN CEO Chris Licht demanding the network "immediately take down the false and defamatory publications" and issue retraction statements.

Trusty argued in the letter that CNN rushed to label Trump a liar for his unproven voter fraud allegations and "consistently fed a narrative that denounced President Trump's legitimacy and competency," among other claims he said constitute defamation.