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our commitment to a two-state solution.”

Price added that Blinken “underscored his deep concern over the situation in the West Bank, including heightened tensions, violence, and loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives, and emphasized the need for all parties to de-escalate the situation urgently.”

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Abbas briefed Blinken on “Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people… including the blockades, extrajudicial killings, home demolitions and settlement construction, in addition to settlers’ violence and violations carried out against the ‘occupied’ city of Jerusalem and its Muslim and Christian holy sites.”

The IDF is in the midst of an anti-terror offensive, mainly in the West Bank. The campaign has resulted in more than 2,000 arrests in near-nightly raids; more than 125 Palestinians have died in the raids. Many of those were killed while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces; some were uninvolved civilians.

The IDF’s anti-terror offensive in the West Bank was launched following a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people earlier this year.

An Israeli man was killed in an attack in Hebron last Saturday, another woman was killed in a suspected attack in September, and four soldiers have been killed in the West Bank in attacks and during the arrest operations.

President Joe Biden has been one of the first American leaders to not pursue a peace initiative between Israel and the Palestinians. During a closed meeting with Palestinian Americans on the UN sidelines in September, Abbas revealed how he scolded Blinken, calling him a “little boy” for failing to use his position to coax Israel into making peace.

Kenyans Dominate NYC Marathon

About six miles from the finish line, Daniel do Nascimento collapsed at the side of the NYC Marathon. The 24-yearold Brazilian was set to win the race, but his physical woes allowed Evans Chebet to take the lead in the men’s race. Chebet, a Kenyan, had already won the Boston Marathon this year.

“I felt bad for him,” Chebet said in Swahili through a translator, “but I had to continue the race.”

Chebet nabbed the title in 2 hours 8 minutes 41 seconds. His victory makes it a clean sweep for Kenyan men at six world marathon majors this year. Chebet, 33, did his part by winning two of them — and two of the toughest.

“Boston was actually harder,” Chebet noted.

As for the women’s race, another Kenyan took the crown. Sharon Lokedi was fearless in her marathon debut, breaking free from a celebrated field to win in 2:23:23.

“Perfect weather for me,” said Lokedi, 28, who splits her time between Kenya and Flagstaff, Ariz., where she trains with the Under Armour-sponsored Dark Sky Distance group. “I didn’t expect to win. I expected to run well. But it ended up being a good outcome.”

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, a Kenyan-born Israeli who arrived in New York with the fastest time in the field, finished second. Gotytom Gebreslase, an Ethiopian who is the reigning world champion, placed third. Edna Kiplagat, a 42-yearold Kenyan who is one of the world’s most decorated marathoners, was fourth. And Viola Cheptoo of Kenya, last year’s runner-up, was fifth.

This year’s race was the warmest marathon on record since the competition was moved to its traditional early November date in 1986. The temperature in Central Park was 73 degrees Fahrenheit at 11 a.m., shortly before the elite runners began to cross the finish line.

As for the American runners, Scott Fauble, 31, was the top man, finishing ninth — a solid result coming the morning after he signed a new sponsorship deal with Nike. Fauble was also the top American finisher in Boston this year.

American Killed in Baghdad

An American aid worker was gunned down in Baghdad on Monday.

Millennium Relief and Development Services, a Texas-based international aid group, confirmed in a statement that one of its workers was “shot and killed by armed attackers as he returned to this home on Monday evening.”

“We are greatly saddened by the tragedy that took the life of our colleague, near his home in Baghdad, Iraq,” Millennium said. “An investigation is ongoing and details on the assailants and the motivation for the attack are not known at this time.”

The victim had worked for the past few years for Global English Institute, a local English learning institute that Millennium said has operated under its umbrella for more than two decades. He was in charge of “managing the promotions and advertising while his wife was manager of the school.”

“He loved the people of Iraq, and it motivated him to strive for excellence in his work at Global,” Millennium noted. “He will be remembered as a source of great encouragement and will be missed by all who knew him and were touched by his life.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing.

Attacks against individual foreigners in Baghdad were common in the early years that followed the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Such incidents have been rare since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Iraq in 2017.

U.S.-led coalition forces concluded their combat mission in Iraq last year, but American troops remain there to advise and train Iraqi forces in the ongoing fight against ISIS.

The Thanksgiving Squeeze

Most families look forward to Thanksgiving, spending time with each other and enjoying good food. But this year, some families are curtailing their upcoming celebrations as they struggle

28 with finances tightening their budgets. In a poll, commissioned by digital wealth management company PersonThe Jewish Home | NOVEMBER 10, 2022 al Capital, one in four Americans say they’re actually skipping Thanksgiving altogether in order to save money. One in three say they are hosting smaller dinners, and a staggering 88 percent are cutting at least one dish from their table in order to make ends meet. Last year, nine in ten Americans surveyed in an IPSOS poll said that they planned to celebrate the holiday. Contrast that with this year, when that number has fallen to just 74 percent. In fact, 47 percent say they’re celebrating “Friendsgiving” because of its more budget-friendly menu. Specifically, just 24 percent of Friendsgiving celebrations will even have a turkey on the table, with 33 percent opting for a pizza instead! Hoping to cut on costs, many Americans are asking guests to bring a side dish to the dinner. Some are asking if guests can contribute alcohol; forty-six percent would appreciate a dessert. Another 42 percent are going a step further, asking their friends and family to help pay for the big meal. Aside from cutting food costs, some Americans – 57 percent – are cutting their guest list.

Overall, 45 percent of the country say they feel financially stressed by Thanksgiving 2022. Gen X Americans have the least amount of stress (33%) while Gen Z is feeling it the most (54%).

Want to cut costs when preparing your celebration? Respondents say the best things to do to save money are pay attention to deals (38%), use coupons (36%), and start shopping for holiday ingredients early (36%). When it comes to the items no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without, turkey tops the list (36%), followed by gravy (35%), mashed potatoes (31%), stuffing (31%), and sweet potatoes (29%).

Brussel sprouts, creamed spinach, and squash are all items that are going to be the first to be cut from this year’s menu.

Nicole Nears Florida

Subtropical Storm Nicole quickly took aim at land after it formed in the southwestern Atlantic on Monday, prompting a hurricane warning for portions of the northwestern Bahamas and a storm watch along the east coast of Florida as

Nicole was forecast to approach the northwestern Bahamas on Tuesday, when it was expected to strengthen and move near or over those islands Wednesday, meteorologists said. The storm, which was packing 45 mph winds Monday evening, will head toward Florida’s east coast as a hurricane by Wednesday night.

In preparation, the government of the Bahamas issued a hurricane watch that was upgraded Monday afternoon to a hurricane warning for the northwestern Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center. Three to five inches of rain was expected across the northwest Bahamas and central and northern parts of Florida from Tuesday through Thursday, with up to 7 inches possible in some locations.

The warning, which means that hurricane conditions were expected within 36 hours, included Abaco, Berry, Bimini and Grand Bahama islands. A tropical storm warning, anticipating tropical storm conditions, was in effect for the Andros, New Providence and Eleuthera islands.

In the United States, a hurricane watch, anticipating possible hurricane conditions within 48 hours, was issued for the east coast of Florida, from the Volusia-Brevard county line to Hallandale Beach north of Miami in Broward County, and for Lake Okeechobee in the southern part of the state.

The storm is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches the Florida Peninsula, said Jamie Rhome, acting director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“The worst of the impact will be coming onshore during the day on Wednesday, and possibly lingering on Thursday,” Rhome said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday declared a state of emergency for 34 counties that could be in the path of the storm. (© The New York Times)

U.S. Jail for Nigerian Fraudster

Hushpuppi will be spending the next 135 months in an American slammer. Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, better known by his Instagram handle, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1.7 million to two of his victims on Monday.

The Nigerian fraudster is accused of using the proceeds of his crimes to fund a lavish lifestyle he flaunted on social media in a series of international online scams.

Although he would later be accused by prosecutors of targeting high-profile victims including a U.S. law firm, a foreign bank and a professional soccer club in Britain, Abbas never appeared to keep a low profile. The 40-year-old shared pictures and videos of his life in Dubai with his more than 2 million Instagram followers, showing off luxury cars, designer clothes and trips on a private jet.

Abbas was extradited to the United States from the United Arab Emirates following his arrest in Dubai in June 2020 and has remained in U.S. custody ever since. Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, described him in a statement as “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world.”

In one case, prosecutors alleged that he conspired with others to trick a Qatari business executive into sending them hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to the plea deal, Abbas and an associate falsely told the unidentified business owner that the money was needed to help secure a $15 million loan that the victim needed to build a school and related tax costs.

Abbas then used the money for his own benefit, buying a $230,000 luxury Swiss watch and obtaining citizenship and a passport from the tiny Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the plea deal said.

He also admitted as part of the plea deal to being a co-conspirator in plans to launder around $14.7 million stolen from a bank in Malta. In an aspect of the case not mentioned in the plea deal, U.S. prosecutors alleged that the funds were taken by North Korean hackers.

One of the tactics favored by Abbas and his associates was “business email compromise,” a type of phishing attack in which scammers illegally access email accounts belonging to a company to trick employees into making an unauthorized money transfer.

Abbas’s scams spanned the globe. In one case, he conspired to launder millions of pounds stolen from the unnamed British soccer club and a British company. In another case, Abbas was accused of scamming a law firm in New York into fraudulently transferring more than $900,000 to a Mexican bank account controlled by his fellow conspirator, Canadian national Ghaleb Alaumary.

Will Smoking be Banned in Casinos?

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the most prominent U.S. gambling hub outside of Nevada, an employee-led push to ban smoking on casino floors has gathered momentum and clout, representing a potentially critical moment for the industry nationwide.

“A lot of eyes are on Atlantic City,”

said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, a nonprofit that for over four decades has pressed for smoke-free casinos, airplanes, and bars.

Twenty states, including New York and Massachusetts, ban smoking in casinos, as have many Native American-run gambling hubs. Even in states that allow smoking, such as Pennsylvania, some leading casino operators have opted to remain smoke-free since the coronavirus pandemic, leaving Atlantic City as the last large refuge for smokers in the Northeast.

Mark Giannantonio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, said he recognized that ending smoking was most likely a matter of when, not if. But he opposes the effort to do so right now.

He pointed to what he sees as several economic threats to New Jersey’s gambling industry: the lingering effects of the pandemic; the risk of a prolonged recession; and the three new casinos that could be built in or near New York City. “The economics are real,” he said.

But employees who say they fear for their health in a workplace filled with potentially deadly secondhand smoke consider the policy craven, even immoral.

The New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006 carved out exceptions for casinos, simulcasting facilities, cigar bars and tobacco shops. Each of Atlantic City’s nine casinos now designates roughly a quarter of their gambling floors for smokers.

A bill to ban casino smoking altogether in New Jersey has gathered enough sponsors to all but guarantee passage if it were to reach a vote in the Assembly and Senate; the governor has said he would sign it into law if it reached his desk.

Still, the bill has stalled, just as it did in prior legislative sessions. The Democratic leader of the state Senate, Nicholas Scutari, said in July that he expected the legislation to eventually pass, but said there were “economic things” and “other items” at work.

The union that represents casino card dealers, who often stand feet away from smokers as they work, supports the proposed smoking ban. A larger union, which represents most other casino and hotel employees, opposes it. (© The New York Times)

Don’t Lick Toads

The U.S. National Park Service is warning people to stop licking toads in the wild. What may seem to be a reminder to use common sense is an effort to prevent people from licking these animals due to their gland-secreted psychedelic substance that can create a hallucinogenic experience.

In a Facebook post, the National Park Service (NPS) urged people to refrain from licking the Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado river toad. According to the agency, the frog is not harmless; it contains a potent toxin that can make people sick if they touch it or get the poison in their mouth.

“These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin. It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth,” the National Park Service advised.