News Sparks: NY and Florida Both Hit COVID Highs; Baby Cow Escapes Slaughter; and More

By Yehudit Garmaise

Florida Hits New Record for COVID Positivity, Testing in Great Demand

New York smashed its previous record for COVID positivity when 44,431 state residents tested positive on Friday, however, Florida, also hit a new record yesterday, when the state hit 32,850 new cases. 

Only one day earlier, on Friday, when Florida reported 31,758 new COVID cases, the Sunshine State broke its previous record of more than 27,000 cases, which was set in August during the height of the Delta wave.

The highly contagious Omicron variant is driving the current nationwide COVID surge, which, in turn is causing a fierce demand throughout the country for at-home and PCR testing for which people wait in long lines in the cold in New York City and in cars in Miami-Dade County. 

Israeli MK Yaakov Litzman to Retire from Knesset, Says has Nothing to do with Criminal Charges

MK Yaakov Litzman, who represents the United Torah Judaism Party in Israel’s Knesset, Member of Knesset (MK) will not run again, he said today. 

“If there are new elections, I won’t be running,” Yaakov Litzman told the Knesset channel in an interview. “I’m not going to the Knesset again. At my age, 74, I’ve served in the Knesset for more than 23 years.”

Although Litzman is currently being investigated on charges that claim he used his former position as deputy minister of health to prevent the assault charges of Malka Leifer, the former principal of a girls’ school in Israel from being extradited to Australia, Litzman said that his decision not to run again has nothing to do with the criminal investigations. While the MK has not pled guilty, Litzman said that he negotiated a “no-plea deal,” which means that he has accepted a conviction, without actually admitting guilt.

Litzman has served in the Israel Knesset since 1999, he served as Director of the Beis Yaakov in Jerusalem, and he initiated the project to set up Chareidi residential neighborhoods in Ashdod, Tel Aviv, Arad, and Beit Shemesh.

FDNY Lieutenant, who Served at Ladder 148 on 12th Ave, Found Dead at Staten Island Firehouse

Lt. Joseph Maiello, 53, who was promoted to lieutenant last year after serving in the FDNY for 21 years and previously worked at Ladder 148 at 4210 12th Ave., was discovered deceased in a bed at Engine 163/Ladder 83 at 875 Jewett Ave. in Castleton Corners, said FDNY officials, who added that Lt. Maiello died of natural causes, although the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will investigate the cause of death.

“The Uniformed Fire Officers Association mourns the tragic and unexpected death of FDNY Lt. Joe Maiello, who passed away this morning, while on duty,” the union’s president, James McCarthy, said in a statement. “Our sincerest condolences and sympathies are extended to his loved ones during this heartbreaking time.”

“The department is saddened by the loss, and we’re here to support the officer’s family at this time,” an FDNY spokesman said.

Calf Narrowly Escapes Slaughter to Find Peaceful New Home in NJ Sanctuary

After a brave 9-month-old baby cow ran away to narrowly escape her demise at a slaughterhouse in Queens last Friday, later that day, the 400-pound Hereford heifer has found refuge at the Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue center in Sussex County in NJ, where rangers in the Flushing Meadows Corona Park corralled her to safety. "She will now be spending the holiday season at her new home: a local rescue sanctuary," the NYPD Special Ops Department, which dispatched its ESU Truck 10 to assist at the scene of the calf, and wrote in a tweet. "Only in New York!" 

"Little Stacy, [which they have named the calf-on-the-run] is doing well, getting used to us as she awaits test results that will hopefully give her the OK to go in with some other kids," they wrote. During her quarantine period, "She gets human visitors and can see and hear other cows," explained the sanctuary, add that after Stacy clears quarantine, she will join the approximately 450 other permanent residents, which include 93 other cows, all of whom find permanent homes at Skylands after being rescued "from slaughterhouses, live markets, farms, extreme neglect, abuse, religious ceremonies, abandonment, and wandering in the streets."

"No matter where they are from or from what dire circumstances they escape, they are provided with proper veterinary care, the best foods, water, a safe place to live, eat and sleep as well as lots of love around the clock," Skylands states on its website. The New York City Parks Department praised its staff who "managed to rescue the cow through quick thinking and action. Looks like our Urban Park Rangers were in a sentimental Moo-d today," they wrote on social media.