International

World’s oldest man plans to mark birthday in Israel with bar mitzvah

Tel Aviv (dpa) – The world’s oldest man, who turned 113th on Thursday, plans to mark his birthday by celebrating his bar mitzvah in the Israeli city of Haifa about a century later than most people, his daughter told dpa. About 100 family members are expected to attend his belated bar mitzvah, which is expected […]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Michael A. Lindenberger: Trump campaign exposes media’s structural weaknesses

The longer this campaign lasts, the more I’m ready to believe Donald Trump is the Slim Shady of modern political journalism. He’s been sent here to destroy us. Either that, or he’s glommed onto the fatal weakness at its heart — and is doing whatever he can to let it destroy itself. Whatever the case,

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USA

Cautious optimism as Peres shows signs of improvement after stroke

Former president Shimon Peres likely suffered “serious damage” to his brain after being hit by a major stroke, but is stable and no longer appears to face an immediate threat to his life, his doctors said Wednesday morning. Prof. Rafi Walden, Peres’s son-in-law and personal physician, told reporters the statesman’s condition may have even improved

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Middle East

Turns out it was the bears, not the scientists, trapped on Russian island

BERLIN — Five Russian scientists trapped by more than a dozen polar bears for two weeks used a shipment of flares and air horns to free themselves this week, according to Russian and European news reports. Because of the endangered status of polar bears, the scientists were willing to use only non-lethal methods to scare

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International, The World We Share

US and Russia extend ceasefire in Syria, aid remains delayed

Washington/Beirut (dpa) – The United States and Russia have ageed to extend the current ceasefire in the Syria conflict by 48 hours, while much-needed aid continues to remain undistributed. US Secretary of State John Kerry Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed on the extension in a telephone call, Kerry’s spokesman Mark Toner said

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International, Middle East, USA

Poll: Most Texans oppose Donald Trump’s plan to build a border wall

AUSTIN, Texas — A majority of Texans oppose GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s signature idea to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, even as immigration is most often cited by Texans as the biggest issue facing the state. Those were among the top findings of a new survey released Wednesday by the Texas Lyceum,

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USA

American trust in news media falls to lowest level in history: Gallup poll

A major pollster has some stark news: “Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media ‘to report the news fully, accurately and fairly’ has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32 percent saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage

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USA

Women earn less in Obama’s White House than they did 2 years ago

Last month, on Women’s Equality Day, the White House pledged it was committed to closing the gender pay gap. “Equal pay has been an administration priority since President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law as his first piece of legislation,” the White House said in an August statement. “Policies that ensure

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USA

Bill Clinton beats back controversies as he tackles political ‘road rage’

NORTH LAS VEGAS — With Hillary Clinton still recuperating from pneumonia, it fell to her husband to rally voters at a community college here Wednesday in the battleground state of Nevada. “She did it for me a long time,” former President Bill Clinton told the crowd. “It’s about time I showed up and did it

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USA

How Climate Change Threatens National Security

This story originally appeared on The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A coalition of 25 military and national security experts, including former advisers to Ronald Reagan and George W Bush, has warned that climate change poses a “significant risk to U.S. national security and international security” that requires

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International, The World We Share, USA

Clinton to resume campaigning Thursday after bout with pneumonia

Hillary Clinton will resume campaign travel on Thursday following a break as she recovered from pneumonia, according to a campaign spokesman. The Democratic presidential nominee remained at home on Tuesday, said spokesman Nick Merrill. “She has spent the day catching up on reading briefings, making calls, and she watched President Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on

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USA