COVID seen causing strokes among young, healthy * 4 vaccinated Israelis have Indian strain * Horse walks into elevator * Italy v Song of Songs bird * How do aliens look?

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, April 29, 2021 [COVID is causing strokes among the young and healthy, global study indicates]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [1 in 4 stroke patients with coronavirus are under 55; Jerusalem doctor involved in research says it shines spotlight on results of virus blocking larger blood vessels]( [Pfizer CEO: Pill for treating COVID could be available by end of 2021]( By [TOI staff]( [Deputy health minister predicts nearly all virus restrictions will go in 3 weeks]( By [TOI staff]( [Children from 5 schools among Israel’s 41 cases of Indian COVID strain]( By [TOI staff]( [Health Ministry says 17 cases identified among people who haven’t left the country, indicating community spread; 4 of those diagnosed are fully vaccinated]( [Top Israeli health official: Not clear if vaccine effective against India strain]( By [TOI staff]( [BioNTech chief ‘confident’ Pfizer vaccine works against Indian virus strain]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( Times of Israel Podcast [Daily Briefing Apr. 29: Lag B’Omer’s inflamed political, environmental disasters]( By [TOI staff]( [Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today]( [Police ready for limited Lag B’Omer bonfire festivities amid pandemic, heatwave]( By [TOI staff]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [‘Israel’s worst constitutional crisis,’ until the next one]( [Netanyahu’s failed bid to install his ex-spokesman as justice minister underlines the dangers of tinkering with Basic Laws to suit the needs of leaders who come and, eventually, go]( [Gantz said to hold coalition talks with Netanyahu despite vowing to replace him]( By [TOI staff]( [Bennett, Sa’ar meet to talk unity gov’t, as Shaked said hoping to thwart efforts]( By [TOI staff]( [Rivlin: Constitutional functionality collapsed in fight over justice minister]( By [Stuart Winer and TOI staff]( Interview [How do aliens look? An Israeli zoologist’s down-to-earth theory on ET evolution]( By [Rich Tenorio]( [In his new book ‘The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy,’ Arik Kershenbaum argues that using earthly evolutionary biology is the best way to picture interstellar life]( No new neigh-bor [A horse walks into an elevator… of luxury Tel Aviv apt. building]( By [TOI staff]( [Animal’s owner says there was no sign saying ‘forbidden to bring a horse in’; he and a second man are arrested]( [Italians set to decimate bird cited by Song of Songs as messenger of spring]( By [Sue Surkes]( [While Israelis seek to extend one year hunting ban, Rome greenlights shooting of 7.5 million turtledoves in move that could drive species toward extinction]( Top Ops [Alon Tal]( [Why thou shalt not make a Lag B’Omer fire — and what to do instead]( [The smoky celebration has dire health and environmental consequences, but drums, stars and kites can crank up the fun]( [Yirmiyahu Danzig]( [Deporting African Hebrews is a betrayal of Zionism and Jewish values]( [The Interior Minister has been actively discriminating against this community, and against African American Jews in general]( [Gideon Rahat]( [How can Israel prevent an eternal merry-go-round of elections?]( [The right electoral reforms should lead fairly easily to a stable government and budget]( [Robyn Frisch]( [Lag B’Omer is all the rage in Israel — here’s a primer for the uninitiated]( [Many Diaspora Jews have never heard of the holiday, but it’s time we embraced it and learned to enjoy it. Here’s how.]( [CRM]( [Israel braces for fallout as Abbas expected to delay Palestinian elections]( By [TOI staff]( [Hamas, which stands to make gains in the vote, warns it will hold Israel responsible if ballot is postponed over dispute on East Jerusalem voting; Israel says it’s not intervening]( [Israel reopens Gaza fishing zone after quiet night on the border]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( From the blogs [Houda Nonoo]( [Ramadan reminds me how lucky I am to be a Jew living in the Gulf]( [We go to their iftar meals, they came to our synagogue opening. What more do we need to prove our culture of peace, dialogue, and coexistence?]( Live updates [LIVE: Ra’am chief: Still no decision whether to back Netanyahu-led gov’t or his rivals]( By [TOI staff]( [Days before PM’s mandate to assemble ruling majority expires, Mansour Abbas says any new coalition will need both his Islamist party and Naftali Bennett’s right-wing Yamina]( [Biden: White supremacists are the ‘most lethal terrorist threat’ to US]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [In first speech to Congress, president says ‘working closely with our allies’ on Iran’s nuclear program, calls US Capitol raid ‘worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War’]( [Seated behind Biden during Congress speech, Harris and Pelosi make history]( By [DARLENE SUPERVILLE]( [In speech to nation, Biden declares: ‘America is rising anew’]( By [Jonathan Lemire and Josh Boak]( [Israeli ambassador insists country won’t be bound by Iran deal]( By [TOI staff]( [After Biden says US coordinating with allies on reentering pact, Erdan says Washington respects Jewish state’s need for ‘freedom of action’]( [US eyes major rollback of Iran sanctions to revive nuclear deal]( By [Matthew Lee]( [Iran’s Rouhani claims Israel ‘directed’ US killing of top general Soleimani]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [Saudi prince strikes conciliatory tone with rival Iran after secret talks]( By [AFP]( [Fearing the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s last Jew plans move to Israel]( By [Jay Deshmukh and Usman SHARIFI]( [In Israeli first, woman chosen as sole spiritual leader of Orthodox community]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Rabbanit Shira Marili Mirvis to lead the Shirat Hatamar synagogue in settlement of Efrat; says she always felt need for a female Torah role model in her life]( [In Bartaa, on West Bank border, only Israelis eligible for vaccine… in theory]( By [Uriel Heilman]( [With huge disparities in Israeli and Palestinian vaccination campaigns, citizens of this mixed village technically differ in eligibility, though in practice the line is blurred]( [Palestinians suspected of firebombing cabin at illegal outpost; man lightly hurt]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [US rejects Human Rights Watch’s accusation of Israeli ‘apartheid’]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [CRM]( [Jewish photographer makes it his mission to preserve legacy of Rosenwald schools]( By [Dave Schechter]( More Headlines [In precedent, man sentenced to 9 months for harassing his ex-wife]( By [TOI staff]( [Rivlin hails Macron for backing law change after Halimi’s killer avoids trial]( By [TOI staff]( [Top New York City mayoral candidates vie for ultra-Orthodox endorsements]( By [Andrew Silow-Carroll]( [Baptist-affiliated Oregon university fires Jewish prof. who alleged antisemitism]( By [Ben Sales]( [Cyber directorate warns of anticipated attacks to mark Iran’s ‘Jerusalem Day’]( By [TOI staff]( [Google, Tel Aviv University set up joint AI-based research program]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [As competition heats up, Intel touts new $200 million Haifa campus]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [With a seder and vaccine shots, Doug Emhoff settles in as Second Gentleman of US]( By [DARLENE SUPERVILLE]( [Court drops libel verdict against Yair Netanyahu; case to continue]( By [TOI staff]( [12-year-old boy pulled from window of burning apartment]( By [Stuart Winer]( [New York ex-AG Eric Schneiderman loses law license for a year over sexual abuse]( By [Asaf Shalev]( [Israel, Lebanon to resume US-brokered maritime border talks next week — report]( By [TOI staff]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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