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28 The country’s internal security system said, “The citizen was referred to the General Prosecutor’s Office, since he The Jewish Home | JULY 28, 2022 cooperated with an American journalist who entered Mecca via a route for Muslims, in contradiction to the ordinances for the holy city. “A spokesperson for the Mecca-area police said that the police transferred to the General Prosecutor’s Office a citizen who aided the entrance of one of the journalists (not Muslim) who has American citizenship to the holy capital city via the route for Muslims, in a clear violation of the entry regulations to Mecca for non-Muslims. The citizen was arrested, and steps have been taken against him.” “Anyone who comes to the kingdom must respect the regulations, especially with regards to the holy places and the holy religious ceremonies,” Saudi Arabia’s General Security said. “Crimes of this sort are considered a felony, and punishments will be imposed on those committing them, based on the regulations.” Last week, journalist Gil Tamari of Israel’s Channel 13 News posted a video of himself driving through Mecca, despite rules banning non-Muslims from entering the city. Tamari himself was not punished, since he published his report only after his return to Israel, Middle East 24 News reported. However, the trip, which included Mount Arafat, where Muslims gather during the hajj, was not authorized by Saudi authorities.

According to Bloomberg, Tamari’s behavior “provoked controversy on social media and clarified the sensitivities of closer relations between the two countries.”

On Tuesday, Tamari tweeted an apology for his trip, saying he did not mean to offend Muslims.

In it, Tamari wrote, “Disclaimer: I would like to reiterate that this visit to Mecca was not intended to offend Muslims, or any other person. If anyone takes offense to this video, I deeply apologize. The purpose of this entire endeavor was to showcase the importance of Mecca and the beauty of the religion, and in doing so foster more religious tolerance and inclusion. Inquisitiveness is at the heart and center of journalism, and this type of first-hand journalistic encounter is what separates good journalism from great journalism.”

He added, “This founding principle also guided us in this journalistic endeavor and allowed many people to see, for the first time, a place that is so important to our Muslim brothers and sisters, and to human history.

“Once again, if anyone was hurt by or offended by this, I apologize wholeheartedly. We had no such intention.”

Channel 13 also responded to the backlash, “The visit of foreign news editor Gil Tamari to Mecca is an important journalistic achievement, which was not intended in any way to hurt the sensitivities of the Muslims. Obviously, if someone felt hurt, we apologize for that. We emphasize: Journalistic curiosity is the soul of the profession of journalism.

“In our opinion, knowledge and familiarity with an important place, firsthand, only contributes to increasing religious tolerance and the discourse for recognition of others’ faiths.”

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t-shirts • skirts • tops • blouses • dresses The Investigation into Hunter Biden

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s business activities is nearing a critical point.

No decision has been made yet regarding whether to bring charges against Hunter Biden. Justice Department guidelines indicate to avoid bringing politically sensitive cases close to an election, CNN said, quoting those briefed on the matter.

According to CNN, the probe, led by David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, has intensified in recent months, along with discussions between officials and investigators. Potential charges could include tax violations and making a false statement in connection to the purchase of a firearm, at a time when he would have been forbidden from doing so due to his struggles with drug addiction.

The probe focuses on Hunter Biden’s financial and business activities in foreign countries, as well as whether Hunter and his associates violated money laundering, campaign finance, and tax and foreign lobbying laws, and whether Hunter Biden broke federal firearm and other regulations.

Layoffs at Shopify

Shopify is laying off about 1,000 employees, according to a memo sent out by CEO Tobi Lütke.

The company had mistakenly thought that the e-commerce boost in sales fueled by the pandemic would continue.

“When the Covid pandemic set in, almost all retail shifted online because of shelter-in-place orders. Demand for Shopify skyrocketed,” wrote Lütke.

“Shopify has always been a company that makes the big strategic bets our merchants demand of us — this is how we succeed,” he continued. “We bet that the channel mix — the share of dollars that travel through ecommerce rather than physical retail — would permanently leap ahead by 5 or even 10 years. We couldn’t know for sure at the time, but we knew that if there was a chance that this was true, we would have to expand the company to match.”

Shopify is not the only U.S. company to announce layoffs. Peloton laid off thousands of employees earlier this year. Real estate firm Re/Max slashed 17% of its workforce. Netflix also cut jobs.

For many companies, even though business is increasing, their labor costs are becoming too much to bear. The combination is causing American companies across a variety of industries to slash headcount.

Shopify saw outsized growth during the pandemic. In 2020, its business essentially doubled, and it reported 57% revenue growth for 2021, up to $4.6 billion. Its gross merchandise volume — or the total value of sales conducted on the platform — grew 47% year over year. The company set an ambitious goal of making 2,021 technical hires in 2021.

According to Crunchbase News, which has been tracking layoffs in tech, more than 30,000 tech workers in the U.S. have been laid off in 2022.

A former U.S. congressman and an FBI agent trainee were among nine people indicted on federal charges connected to unrelated insider trading schemes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced this week.

“We allege that each of the defendants charged today corrupted the integrity of the markets by stealing inside information or trading on stolen information. We also allege that several defendants tipped friends or family members with that stolen information so that they too could trade and benefit from an unfair advantage,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams told reporters on Monday. “When insider trading occurs, investors who play by the rules are left to conclude that the deck is stacked against them.”

Stephen Buyer, a Republican who served as a U.S. representative from Indiana from 1993 through 2011 and participated as a trial manager during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, has been charged with four counts of securities fraud for allegedly using his role as a business consultant for major companies to reap profits for himself and family members worth roughly $350,000.

Buyer was arrested Monday and faces up to 20 years in prison per count of securities fraud if convicted.

In one of three additional cases, an indictment accuses former FBI trainee, Seth Markin, 31, of using merger information he secretly obtained from his then-girlfriend – a lawyer working on the transaction – to benefit himself, friends and family members last year. He had looked at his girlfriend’s documents without her permission and then tipped off at least 20 people to the merger.

Markin and co-defendant Brandon Wong made more than $1.4 million in profits from the illegal trading.

Home prices in the U.S. hit a new alltime high in June, despite sales dropping for the fifth month straight.

According to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median home price in June was $416,000, up 13.4% from one year ago. The number marks over a decade of yearover-year monthly price gains.

Sales of existing homes dropped 5.4% in June from May and 14.2% from one year ago. June also saw the lowest sales figures since June 2020 – which had been an artificial low due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the number of homes available for sale at the end of June rose 9.6% from May and 2.4% from a year ago.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates are climbing, reducing buyers’ purchasing power. And even though purchase rates are slowing, the average number of days a property spends on the market before being sold is at a record 14; last year, the number was 17, while a typical market would see properties up for sale for nearly 30 days.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted, “Falling housing affordability continues to take a toll on potential homebuyers. Both mortgage rates and home prices have risen too sharply in a short span of time.

“Homes priced right are selling very quickly, but homes priced too high are deterring prospective buyers,” he added. “Whenever homes are listed, they are attracting buyers.”

He concluded, “I don’t foresee any oversupply coming, even as sales retreat.”

THC Addictions

New research published in The Lancet details an association between high cannabis potency – or concentration of THC – and an increased risk of psychosis

32 and cannabis use disorder (CUD). “THC concentrations in cannabis have increased globally in recent decades,” the The Jewish Home | JULY 28, 2022 authors wrote. “In the USA and Europe, the concentration of THC has more than doubled over the past 10 years, and new legal markets have facilitated the rapid development of cannabis products with higher potencies than earlier products, such as concentrated extracts.” THC is the psychoactive component in cannabis and its effects are dose-dependent. In the past, researchers have proposed a standardized unit of 5 mg of THC for all cannabis products. Lowpotency was classified as between 5 mg and 10 mg of THC per product in the current review. Around three in 10 marijuana users in the United States currently have marijuana use disorder, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

As of May, a total of 19 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized marijuana, while a bill aimed at decriminalizing the substance at the federal levelwas passed by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives in April.

“Policy makers should carefully consider cannabis potency when regulating cannabis in legal markets, such as through limits or taxes based on THC concentration,” researchers warned.

A total of 119,581 participants were included in the review. One study revealed those who used high potency cannabis daily were five times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder compared with those who never use THC.

The research marks the first review of its kind to take a wide look at addiction and mental health risks associated with highly potent cannabis use.

Alaska’s Raging Wildfires

Wildfires are raging across Alaska this year, with more than 530 wildfires burning thousands of acres. Thankfully, the flames have consumed little property, although many residents have had to

Recent rains have helped, but longer-term forecasts are showing a pattern similar to 2004, when July rains gave way to high-pressure systems, hot days, low humidity and lightning strikes that fueled Alaska’s worst fire year.

In 2004, the acreage burned by mid-July was about the same as now, but by the time that fire season ended, 10,156 square miles (26,304 square kilometers) were charred.

“The frequency of these big seasons has doubled from what it was in the second half of the 20th century,” said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska’s International Arctic Research Center. “And there’s no reason to think that’s not going to continue.”

Alaska is dealing with sparse rainfall. Parts of the nation’s largest state saw an early snow melt and then a largely rainfree June that dried out the duff layer — the band of decaying moss and grasses that blankets the floors of boreal forests and the tundra. This organic matter can be up to 2 feet thick but in various stages of decay.

On May 31, a lightning strike on the duff layer in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta started the East Fork fire, an area in southwest Alaska that rarely burns. Two communities with a combined population of about 700 were threatened but no mandatory evacuations were ordered in what became the largest wildfire ever in the delta at 259 square miles.

In Alaska, a little more than half of all wildfires are started by lightning and the rest are caused by humans accidentally, intentionally or through negligence. Of the 4,687 square miles burned so far this year, only 2 square miles have been from human-caused fires.

Many of Alaska’s fires are not put out by firefighters. Instead, the state allows them to burn out. Firefighting resources are generally used to battle fires in populated areas.

A suspect accused of using a sharp weapon to attempt an attack on Rep. Lee Zeldin last week has been arrested on a federal assault charge.

Zeldin is the Republican candidate running for governor of New York.

The attempted attack took place outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall near Rochester, N.Y., where Zeldin was speaking. In the attack, a man later identified by the police as David G. Jakubonis approached Zeldin with a pointed weapon described by federal officials as a keychain with two sharp points.

Jakubonis pulled Zeldin down before being dragged away by several people who were nearby. Zeldin was not injured.

Jakubonis appeared on Saturday in federal court in Rochester. Earlier, he had been charged with attempted assault in the second degree, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. Following this, he was released without bail.

The federal charge was assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, and it carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

Zeldin, who has made New York’s rising crime rate a central focus of his campaign’s attacks on incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, said in a statement he was “thankful that federal authorities came in to do what New York State’s broken pro-criminal justice system could not – uphold the rule of law.”

According to the criminal complaint filed Saturday, Jakubonis, an Army veteran, allegedly told authorities he had consumed whiskey on the day of the campaign event and “must have checked out” as he walked on the stage and asked if Zeldin was disrespecting veterans. Jakubonis told authorities he did not know who Zeldin was at the time.We're Coming to the FIVE TOWNS...

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Millennials Don’t Move Far

A new study by the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University shows that a majority of millennials in the U.S. live near where they grew up.

The study, released on Monday, showed that by age 26, over two-thirds of young adults in the U.S. live in the same area where they grew up. A full 80% of young adults moved less than 100 miles away from their childhood homes, and 90% live within 500 miles of their childhood homes.

Race also plays a part. The study noted that migration distances were shorter for Black and Hispanic young adults when compared to white or Asian young adults.

Income also played a role: Adult children of higher-income parents traveled further away than those of less wealthy parents. The study emphasized that “for many individuals, the ‘radius of econom-

ic opportunity’ is quite narrow.”

Destination varied by race, the study added. For Black young adults, Atlanta was the most popular destination, followed by Houston and Washington. For White young adults, top destinations included New York, Los Angeles, Washington, and Denver. Hispanic and Asian young adults preferred Los Angeles and New York; after those two, Hispanics preferred San Antonio and Phoenix, while Asians preferred San Francisco.

The report added that young adults in Appalachia were less likely to move far away than those of similar incomes living elsewhere.

The study is backed up by a survey from the Pew Research Center. Released last week, the survey showed that 25% of U. S. adults ages 25-34 resided in a multigenerational family household in 2021, a significant rise from 1971’s 9%.

Chinese Infiltration?

A garden which the Chinese government offered to build in Washington, D.C., would have served China well for intelligence collection, CNN said in an exclusive report.

The garden, which China offered to spend $100 million to build in 2017, would have included an ornate garden at the National Arboretum, as well as temples, pavilions, and a 70-foot white pagoda.

Despite the alluring offer, when U.S. counterintelligence officials began examining the proposal, they realized that the pagoda would have been placed at one of the highest points in Washington, D.C., two miles from the Capitol and perfectly situated for intelligence collection.

In addition, Chinese officials wanted to build the pagoda with materials shipped to the U.S. in diplomatic pouches, which are not permitted to be examined by U.S. Customs officials.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the security concerns in 2018; federal officials quietly killed it before construction began.

Since 2017, U.S. federal officials have investigated Chinese land purchases near critical infrastructure, closing down a high-profile regional consulate which the U.S. government believed to be full of Chinese spies and stonewalling what they believed to be efforts to plant listening devices near sensitive facilities.

CNN said that one of the most alarming things discovered by the FBI is that Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop some cell towers near U.S. military bases are capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons.

The Chinese government has strongly denied any efforts to spy on the U.S.

Additionally, Huawei has denied that its equipment is capable of operating in any communications spectrum allocated to the Defense Department. At the same time, however, multiple sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN that there is “no question” Huawei’s equipment can intercept the highly restricted airwaves used by the military and disrupt critical U.S. Strategic Command communications.

In 2021, the Commerce Department opened its own probe of the matter; that probe was first reported on by Reuters.

Among the concerns that U.S. national security officials have is that external communication from the Huawei equipment, such as that which occurs when software is updated, may be exploited by the Chinese government.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told CNN that the agency opens a new China counterintelligence investigation approximately once every 12 hours.

“That’s probably about 2,000 or so investigations. And that’s not even talking about their cyber theft, where they have a bigger hacking program than that of every other major nation combined, and have stolen more of Americans’ personal and corporate data than every nation combined,” Wray said.

“We’re concerned about allowing any company that is beholden to a nation state that doesn’t adhere to and share our values, giving that company the ability to burrow into our telecommunications infrastructure.”

In its statement, Huawei told CNN, “All of our products imported to the U.S. have been tested and certified by the FCC before being deployed there. Our equipment only operates on the spectrum allocated by the FCC for commercial use.