(Worthy Insights) – A huge quarry – one of the largest ever found in Jerusalem, dating from the end of the Second Temple period, in recent weeks is being uncovered by an Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in the Har Hotzvim industrial area in Jerusalem, funded by the Vitania real estate development company on its grounds. The excavated area extends about 3,500 square meters and is just one section of a massive quarry. A stone tool was found here which, according to the Jewish Halacha/Law, does not become impure, and was widely used by the Jewish population in Temple times.

During the excavation, the archaeologists uncovered tens of various-sized building stones, as well as quarrying and cutting trenches whose outlines indicate the size of the blocks being quarried. “Most of the building stones extracted from here were huge rock slabs, whose length reached ca. 2.5 meters, their width was 1.2 meters and they were 40 centimeters thick,” say Michael Chernin and Lara Shilov, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. [ Source: Israel365 (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The summer of reversals for President Joe Biden continued in dramatic form on Monday as he announced that he now supports sweeping Supreme Court reform. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Biden pushed 18-year term limits and a binding ethics code on Supreme Court justices — after a long career spent opposing such measures — as well as a constitutional amendment overturning the court’s recent decision granting presidents immunity from criminal prosecution.

…

And then came the news that Biden would be endorsing proposals to overhaul the court amid his last gasp effort to hold on as the Democratic presidential nominee, followed a few days later by his decision to step aside.

Now, despite outward appearances and a challenging political terrain, the path to Supreme Court reform is beginning to take shape. Based on interviews on and off the Hill, there is a rough consensus and strategy that could actually lead Democrats to embrace Biden’s stance and act on the court — if they can win in November. [ Source: Politico (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday slammed Vice President Kamala Harris over her decision not to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to a joint session of the US Congress.

“It has never been more important than it is right now for us to stand with our closest ally in the Middle East,” Johnson told reporters at the US Capitol, arguing it is “inexcusable” and “outrageous” that Harris is “boycotting” Netanyahu’s speech.

“This is a historic moment,” Johnson continued. “It is an important moment for the country, for all the reasons we’ve said. The gravity of this situation cannot be overstated, and yet Kamala Harris will abandon her seat. As you all know, as the vice president and serving as the president of the Senate, she is supposed to be seated next to me in the rostrum. She will not be there, because she refuses to attend.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The International Olympic Committee was Tuesday weighing a Palestinian call for Israeli athletes to be barred from the Games over the war in Gaza, three days before the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

As the Israeli Olympic team settled into the Athletes’ Village, the IOC was studying a letter sent by the Palestine Olympic Committee to President Thomas Bach asking him to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter sent on Monday “emphasized that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The Big Apple has seen an alarming 11% jump in rapes this year — with some sections of the city seeing their numbers more than double.

There were 880 rapes reported citywide from Jan. 1 through July 14, compared to 796 in the same period last year, NYPD stats reveal.

“This should be a wake up call,” said Jane Manning, director of Women’s Equal Justice.“The NYPD needs to allocate more investigators to its understaffed Special Victims Unit, so that every case is investigated well and dangerous offenders are apprehended.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Three investigations are currently underway into the Secret Service following last Saturday’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump. On Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified on Capitol Hill as calls mount for her resignation.

In a packed hearing room, Director Cheatle faced bipartisan criticism over how her agency handled security before a 20-year-old man shot Trump from a nearby rooftop. Lawmakers repeatedly questioned who was responsible for the agency and whether Cheatle should retain her position, but she continued to refuse to step down.

“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death,” Cheatle stated in her first public appearance since the rally. She promised to move “heaven and earth” to ensure that an incident like the one on July 13th never happens again. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Rights groups say Iranian authorities executed eight people over the weekend, bolstering concerns that the regime may accelerate the carrying out of death sentences after a lull ahead a snap presidential election held earlier this month.

The human rights-focused news agency HRANA reported that four people, including an Afghan national, were hanged on July 21 in Qezel Hesar prison in Karaj. The news agency said they were convicted of drug-related charges.

Rights groups have documented a sharp rise in the number of Afghans executed in Iran, with activists saying they do not get fair trials. [ Source: Radio Free Europe (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – First Baptist Church of Dallas, where Dr. Robert Jeffress is the senior pastor, was forced to hold its Sunday services at the Dallas Convention Center after a four-alarm fire tore through the 134-year-old Historic Sanctuary of the church on Friday.

It took 100 firefighters to keep the fire contained, but the damage to that chapel building was severe.

Pastor Clint Pressley of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C. posted, “If the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) had a Notre Dame it would be FBC Dallas. This is heartbreaking. Praying the Lord is merciful.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Family, friends, and the general public continue to mourn the murder of Corey Comperatore, a former firefighter who died Saturday during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil, which featured songs, testimonials, and prayer, Wednesday night at Lernersville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania, to remember and celebrate Comperatore’s life.

Among them was Pastor John Neyman, a local preacher with ties to the community. Neyman was invited to speak at the event, and he told CBN News he shared an important message about the power of forgiveness and of Comperatore’s courage. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Donald Trump scored a significant court win Saturday as a state judge in Florida turned down attempts by the Pulitzer Prize Board to toss out a libel lawsuit Trump filed in 2022 relating to a series of reports in the New York Times and Washington Post on the 2016 Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

In a 14-page ruling issued Saturday, Senior Judge Robert Pegg turned down arguments from the prominent journalism awards panel that their decision to bestow the national reporting prize on the staffs of the two newspapers in 2018 amounted to a statement of “pure opinion” rather than fact.

The libel suit does not hinge directly on the articles the Times and Post published about the Trump campaign’s links to Russia or on the decision to award the Pulitzer to the newspapers. [ Source (Read More…) ]