The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defense, ending an unusually acrimonious confirmation fight. The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm the former Republican senator as the civilian leader of the Pentagon in a largely party line vote. Just four Republicans joined the Democrats and independents in support of…
Aly Raisman, the Jewish gymnast who won three medals at last summer’s London Olympics, is joining the celebrity cast of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Raisman was among the cast revealed by “Good Morning America” on Tuesday for the show’s 16th season, which begins March 18. Others include former figure skating champion Dorothy Hamill, like…
Comedian Seth MacFarlane said on Tuesday that he would not host the star-studded Academy Awards ceremony again, after TV critics panned Sunday’s show. “Family Guy” creator and star MacFarlane was asked on Twitter whether he would host the Oscars a second time after making his debut in Sunday’s show, and replied: “No way. Lotta fun…
The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to end a delay in the nomination of Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defense, clearing the way for his expected approval as civilian leader at the Pentagon within hours. The Senate voted 71-27 to end debate and move forward, almost two weeks after Republicans launched…
An Orthodox Jewish man who for religious reasons failed to produce identifying documents to Dutch police will have to pay a $90 fine, a Dutch appeals court ruled. Tuesday’s ruling by the Hague Appeals Court, which is a Dutch Supreme Court, struck down a lower court ruling last year regarding a violation that occurred on…
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday backed President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the U.S. Treasury Jack Lew, despite some concerns about his perks from previous employers, and clearing the way for a confirmation vote in the full Senate. The 19-5 vote saw about half of the panel’s 11 Republicans opposing Lew’s nomination, which could…
A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in Israel on Tuesday, the first such attack since a November truce, and a militant group said it launched the strike to retaliate for the death of a Palestinian in an Israeli jail. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s West Bank-based Fatah movement, called…
Sheldon Adelson sued a Wall Street Journal reporter for libel for calling him “foul-mouthed.” The lawsuit filed on Feb. 22 seeks “damages, including aggravated, exemplary and special damages,” for a December article co-written by Kate O’Keeffe. Only O’Keefe is named in the suit, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. “We will vigorously defend Ms. O’Keeffe…
President Barack Obama will not bring a peace plan to Israel and the Palestinian Territories next month, but rather intends to listen, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday. Obama’s plan to visit has raised speculation of a new U.S. push to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, stalled since 2010 in a dispute over Israeli settlement…
Orthodox Brooklyn lawmaker Dov Hikind apologized on Monday for donning blackface and wearing an Afro wig at a party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim, a costume that drew criticism from fellow lawmakers and the Anti-Defamation League bias monitoring group. The Democratic assemblyman, who had earlier defended the costume on his blog, said he did…
A women’s Megillah reading at the Western Wall took place on Shushan Purim without incident or arrests. Approximately 80 women turned out, some donning prayer shawls, others dressed as police and haredi Orthodox worshipers, on Monday morning in Jerusalem, the TImes of Israel reported. Hallel Silverman, the 17-year-old niece of American comedian Sarah Silverman, who…
