International

Israel, US vote against UN funds for ‘antisemitic’ Durban Conference

Both Israel and the United States voted Thursday against the United Nations budget to protest the allocation of funds to the World Conference against Racism, historically known for its tolerance of virulent antisemitism.When the conference was first held in Durban, South Africa in 2000, participants sold copies of the antisemitic trope, Protocols of the Elders

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International, Middle East, USA

Editorial: For shame: Sen. Josh Hawley’s plan to challenge Biden victory desperate — and dangerous

Sen. Josh Hawley’s decision to challenge the election of Joe Biden as president is dangerous nonsense and desperately wrong in every way. Missouri’s junior senator said Wednesday he’ll challenge the Electoral College results when Congress opens presidential ballots next week. He’s the first senator to make such a pledge. If he follows through, both houses

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USA

Perdue quarantines after exposure to COVID-19 in final days of tight runoff race

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. David Perdue said Thursday he was forced to quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus, scrambling the final days of a runoff campaign for control of the U.S. Senate. In a statement, the Republican’s campaign said he and his wife, Bonnie, tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday morning and are

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USA

My worst moment: Mayim Bialik on overrated standing ovations and her pal Neil Patrick Harris

Mayim Bialik kicks off the new year as the lead in the new Fox comedy “Call Me Kat,” which is based on the BBC sitcom “Miranda.” “We’re doing an American version, which means more of an American sensibility, so we’ve adjusted it around my quirks and my personality,” said Bialik. “‘Call Me Kat’ is about

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Freshman Miami congresswoman-elect to miss DC swearing-in ceremony due to COVID-19

MIAMI — Miami Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar will be unable to attend a Sunday ceremony in Washington to swear in members of the new Congress after learning she has COVID-19 during an emergency trip to the hospital, her office announced Thursday morning. Salazar, a Republican who last month defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in

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USA

Education for Girls in Britain and Israel

My grandchildren, who have grown up in a secular environment in Israel, find it odd that I, their (hopefully) broad-minded grandmother, should have gone to a secondary school for girls. In Israel, it is only those segments of the population which adhere to ancient tenets of gender identification that maintain gender-segregated schools for their offspring. In England, where I grew up, the situation was similar but the ideas behind it were different. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Toomey typifies Unrepresentative Senate

Pat Toomey could not get elected as a senator for Illinois, our sixth most populous state, but since 2010 he was narrowly elected to two terms in Pennsylvania amid low turnout in Philadelphia for each election. One can draw a straight line between his re-election in 2016, possibly on Donald Trump’s coattails and his late December proposal to shut off a safety valve to salvage state and municipal budgets such as those in his home state. And mine. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, USA

Ossoff’s closing TV message before Ga. runoff continues focus on driving up Black turnout

ATLANTA — Senate candidate Jon Ossoff’s closing TV argument is a call to action centered on Black voters’ struggles with injustice and the coronavirus pandemic as he makes his final pitch in the last week of the runoff campaign. The 30-second spot, “We the people,” includes flashbacks to the stories of five Black Georgians his

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USA

Schiff on 2020: Impeachment, COVID-19, Biden Victory

Every time we near the end of one year and the start of another, I take time to reflect and look back on what we’ve gone through and achieved together. And honestly, I can’t think of another year in my life that compares to 2020. The year started with our efforts to hold President Trump accountable for wrongdoing, to send a message that no one — not even the President of the United States — is above the law. [Adam Schiff]

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USA