National

26 International Court of Justice “urgently” weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli “annexation.” The Jewish Home | NOVEMBER 17, 2022 Previously, Estonia had usually voted for resolutions condemning Israel at the UN together with several other countries. “Estonia is a member of the EU, and if the EU has a common political position including some UN resolutions as well… then naturally, we will act in accordance with a jointly agreed EU position,” Reinsalu said. However, should the 27 EU countries have differences of opinion, Reinsalu said Estonia would now as a rule align its voting position with Washington. Estonia, a nation of 1.3 million, held a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2020-2021. Among the countries that voted for last week’s resolution was Ukraine, prompting a rebuke from Israel. A top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said it was “a grave mistake” for Kyiv to back the measure. Estonia borders Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia. It was occupied by the Germans and the Soviets from 1940 until 1991. It joined the EU in 2004.

Bezos: I’ll Give Away Most to Charity

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said he would give away most of his money to charity, making him the latest billionaire to pledge to donate his vast fortune during his lifetime.

Bezos is the world’s fourth-richest person, worth $124 billion, according to Bloomberg. In an interview with CNN released Monday, Bezos, appearing with his girlfriend, former television anchor Lauren Sanchez, said they were making preparations “to be able to give away this money.”

He said he wanted to give in a way that maximized the effect of the donations. “It’s really hard,” he said. “And there are a bunch of ways, I think, that you could do ineffective things.”

It was the first time Bezos announced that he would give away the bulk of his wealth. More than 230 of the richest people in the world have promised to donate their money to charitable causes as part of the Giving Pledge, a philanthropy movement started in 2010.

The New York Times reported Monday that Amazon plans to lay off approximately 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs starting as soon as this week, in what would be the largest job cuts in the company’s history. Bezos’ wealth, which as recently as last year was more than $200 billion, according to Bloomberg, has fallen by tens of billions, on paper, because it is closely tied to Amazon’s share price, which has suffered along with other technology stocks this year.

On Saturday, Bezos and Sanchez announced a $100 million grant for singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton to direct to her chosen charitable causes, as part of an annual gift called the Bezos Award for Courage and Civility. Before Parton, $100 million awards were given to chef José Andrés and CNN commentator and activist Van Jones, announced by Bezos at a news conference after his trip in July 2021 aboard a rocket sent to outer space by Blue Origin.

In 2020, Bezos pledged to give $10 billion to combat climate change as part of the Bezos Earth Fund. As part of that commitment, Bezos pledged $2 billion to restore natural habitats and transform food systems at the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, last year. Previously, Bezos’ largest donation was a $2 billion gift to help homeless families and start preschools. (© The New York Times)

Attack at UVA

On Sunday, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a 22-year-old former football

28 player, killed three students and wounded others after the group returned from a school field trip at University of Virginia. The Jewish Home | NOVEMBER 17, 2022 The murderer was a student at the university. He had been facing school disciplinary action after UVA officials learned he failed to disclose his conviction last year on a misdemeanor concealed weapons charge. Now, authorities are investigating past incidents involving Jones. In September, while UVA officials were “reviewing a potential hazing issue,” they “heard from a student” that Jones “made a comment to him about possessing a gun,” UVA spokesperson Brian Coy said in a statement. During the investigation, UVA learned Jones was convicted in 2021 of a misdemeanor concealed weapons violation and received a 12-month suspended sentence and a small fine. Jones had not reported that to university officials, as required. UVA officials sought more information about both the claim that Jones had a gun and his misdemeanor conviction, the statement said, but Jones “repeatedly refused to cooperate.” On October 27, the UVA threat assessment team “escalated his case for disciplinary action,” the statement said. On Monday afternoon, many hours after the shooting, Jones was finally taken into custody. He had been on the run, prompting an overnight lockdown on UVA’s campus, with about 500 people sheltering in classrooms and libraries. Those killed in the attack were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.

Airlines Fined for Not Refunding

The Transportation Department said Monday that it had fined a half-dozen airlines a total of more than $7 million for failing to provide timely refunds to customers. The department’s intervention contributed to the airlines issuing more than $600 million in refunds, it said.

Frontier Airlines, a budget carrier based in Denver, was fined $2.2 million, more than any other company. It was the only U.S. airline penalized as part of Monday’s announcement and has issued $222 million in refunds, according to the department.

The refunds were meant to compensate passengers for flights that were canceled, significantly delayed, or otherwise altered substantially, the department said.

Air India was assessed the second-largest fine, of $1.4 million, and TAP Air Portugal was fined $1.1 million. The remaining three carriers – Aeromexico, El Al and Avianca – will each pay less than $1 million. Including the penalties announced Monday, the department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection has issued a record $8.1 million in fines in 2022.

The announcement comes after months of growing complaints from travelers about flight delays, cancellations, and other problems. Airlines have enjoyed a booming business since this summer, as more people have shifted their spending from goods to travel and other services after two years of the pandemic. Many people have been so eager to travel that they have been willing to pay much higher ticket prices.

The fines announced Monday are part of a continuing effort by the Transportation Department to hold the industry to account. This summer, for example, it unveiled a consumer dashboard to encourage airlines to commit to providing free hotel stays and meals when travel is severely disrupted. The department has also proposed stricter rules for how airlines and travel-search websites disclose fees for services such as checking bags and seat selection.

In August, the department also proposed a rule that would more clearly define when airlines would issue refunds. Consumer groups embraced that proposal but also complained that the department had acted too slowly, allowing airlines to not refund customers money they were owed, particularly early in the pandemic.

The airline industry has opposed the department’s proposed new rule, arguing that most companies offer refunds when they are due and that the rule could have unintended consequences. (© The New York Times)

Katie Hobbs, who as Arizona’s secretary of state stood up to efforts by allies of former President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election, clinched a victory in the state’s race for governor, according to The Associated Press.

Hobbs, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Kari Lake, a right-wing former newscaster who was talked about as a future leader in a Trump-dominated Republican Party, in a bitter and closely watched race that became a final test of whether candidates molded in Trump’s image could win in battlegrounds. Lake, one of the most prominent purveyors of Trump’s assertions about his 2020 election, followed several other election-denying candidates in defeat.

The contest was a study in contrasts of both style and substance, but the stakes for American elections and democracy were evident from the first.

Lake was a magnetic performer who began her campaign echoing Trump’s claims that the 2020 election had been “crooked” and “corrupt.” She borrowed and sharpened Trump’s tactic of using the news media as a foil, routinely videotaping her interviewers or denigrating their news organizations. She taunted Hobbs as a “coward” and ridiculed her as “chicken” through the contest’s final days for refusing to debate her onstage.

She disparaged the late Sen. John McCain, who championed a maverick brand of Republicanism, as a “loser” – again echoing Trump – and claimed that she and her followers had driven “a stake in the heart of the McCain machine.”

Hobbs, a mild-mannered elected official, rose to national prominence when she stood steadfast against efforts by Trump loyalists to overturn the vote in 2020. On the stump, she often pointed to her refusal to give in to the “insurrectionists” – protesters who at one point surrounded her home – as a sign that she was “battle tested.”

Hobbs often sought to stay out of the spotlight and held fast to her decision not to debate Lake, saying she did not want to give a platform to an election denier and her lies. But even some of Hobbs’ own voters and allies expressed concerns that she was evasive and awkward in the limelight.

In the end, it was Lake who struggled to defeat Hobbs. (© The New York Times)

Fire Ants Invade Hawaii

Some residents of Hawaii are going to sleep scared as venomous fire ants swarm the island and may even invade their beds.

The infestation is believed to have begun at a private home and is the biggest seen on the island since they were first seen in 1999.

Fire ants are known to be aggressive and possess a venomous sting which can cause painful welts which develop into blisters.

In some people, the ants’ venom can cause a life-threatening reaction.

Heather Forester, extension specialist at Hawaii Ant Lab, noted, “They’re changing the way of life for our residents here in Hawaii. You used to be able to go out hiking and go to the beach.

“They can rain down on people and sting them. The stings are different for different people. In heavily infested areas, the ants can actually move into people’s homes. We have a lot of reports of them stinging people while they sleep in their beds.”

The ants are native to Central and South America and are thought to have arrived more than two decades ago aboard a ship and thrive in shade, trees, and water.

For now, the infestation is currently limited to Wailua River State Park although experts are concerned it could spread down the river to other parts of the state.

Haylin Chock, of the Kauai Invasive Species Committee, added, “That’s really

30 the concerning part - it would infest the entire state park. If they are at that point, they can start climbing trees. It’s like a The Jewish Home | NOVEMBER 17, 2022 paradise for them. “If that happens, how are we supposed to know where they are?” The ants can also sting animals such as cats and dogs, as they rest in gardens or run around the yard. Some also attack the animals’ eyes, causing a clouding of their corneas.

Two World War II-era airplanes collided in midair at an air show in Dallas on Saturday, authorities said, turning the commemorative Veterans Day weekend event into a scene of horror.

Six people were aboard when the planes — a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra — crashed about 1:20 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin Michels, Dan Ragan, Leonard Root, and Curt Rowe were killed in the horrific collision.

The crash occurred at the Wings Over Dallas air show at Dallas Executive Airport, which is about 10 miles south of downtown Dallas.

Videos posted online appeared to show a fast and agile airplane slamming into a larger aircraft as horrified onlookers watched.

Paul Martin, a member of the Army Air Forces Historical Association, said that the Flying Fortress was a bomber airplane that was lumbering and like a “tractor-trailer truck,” big enough to carry a crew of 10 or 11 people, while the Kingcobra was a single-pilot fighter plane.

To have either aircraft in flying condition is a rare occurrence, he said. There are fewer than a handful of either in that condition, he said.

“It’s heartbreaking for me to hear this, both on a human level and a historical level,” he said.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said on social media Saturday that there were no reports of injuries to spectators or those on the ground. He said that much about the crash remained unknown or unconfirmed.

“The videos are heartbreaking,” he said. “Please, say a prayer for the souls who took to the sky to entertain and educate our families today.”

Christopher Kratovil, a lawyer in Dallas, took his 12-year-old daughter, Kelsey, a history buff like himself, to the air show Saturday.

He said there were several aircraft flying at the same time, perhaps about eight, a mix of bombers like the Flying Fortress and fighters like the Kingcobra.

Kratovil said the Flying Fortress appeared to be doing a flyby near the crowd, a common move meant for attendees to get a good look.

Then he saw the explosion.

His first thought was it could be pyrotechnics, but he quickly realized there was no way to do midair pyrotechnics. He then saw a wing come off the B-17 and then the fuselage of the plane fall to the ground, followed by fireballs and a loud crash. (© The New York Times)