Need to Know for July 11

Good news on the coffee front, Paris climate accord support and Pride march rescheduled

Good News from your Morning Joe

According to two new studies published on July 10 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, greater consumption of coffee could lead to a longer life, CNN reported. One study surveyed more than 520,000 people in 10 European countries and found that drinking more coffee could significantly lower a person’s risk of mortality. The second study focused on non-white populations and surveyed 185,000 African-Americans, Native Americans, Hawaiians, Latinos and others and found that coffee increases longevity among various races. “We found that coffee drinkers had a reduced risk of death from heart disease, from cancer, from stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney disease,” said Veronica Setiawan, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California and a co-author of the research. However, the researchers have warned that the studies, could neglect other health behaviors, such as exercise and balanced eating, CNBC reported.

Read: Drinking more coffee leads to a longer life…

We’ll Always Have Paris

Over 140 Jewish organizational leaders signed a letter encouraging Jewish institutions across the U.S. to support the goals of the Paris climate accord. “We call upon all Jewish federations, JCCs, synagogues, camps, day schools, Jewish organizations, leaders, businesses, and community members to identify ways in which we, the organized and powerful American Jewish community, can and must respond to this climate crisis,” read the letter, which was released on July 6 by the nonprofit Hazon and the Pearlstone Center. The letter’s signees include Steven Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Robert Bank, president and CEO of the American Jewish World Service; Cheryl Cook, the executive director of Avodah, and Sharon Alpert, president and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Read: 140 Jewish leaders vow to help US reach Paris climate accord goals

Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade — Marchers in Chicago, June 25, 2017. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images)

Pride and Yom Kippur

Organizers of North Carolina’s Pride parade and festival said they would find a solution following complaints from the Jewish community about the event being scheduled for Yom Kippur. Organizer John Short said the Durham parade’s volunteer organizing committee had Jewish members but it still had not realized the scheduling conflict. He added that “all the Jewish community will be able to attend” the event. Organizers had apologized for scheduling the parade for Sept. 30 but did not change the date. They said the parade has been held on the last Saturday of September for the past 17 years. The Jewish community had expressed disappointment and anger at the scheduling of the parade for Yom Kippur. Several Jewish groups have marched in the parade in recent years.

Read: North Carolina Pride organizers promise ‘solution’ so Jews can attend parade set for Yom Kippur

Jay-Z Jewish lyric spurs concerns from ADL
The Anti-Defamation League expressed concern about a Jay-Z lyric that “Jewish people own all the property in America,” but emphasized that it did not believe that the rapper intended to promote anti-Semitism. The song, “The Story of O.J.,” on Jay-Z’s latest album, “4:44,” has attracted negative social media attention for its lyric, “You wanna know what’s more important than throwin’ away money at a strip club? Credit/You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it.” Jay-Z’s defenders say the lyric is typical of his use of exaggerated stereotypes to make broader points about social problems — in this case, counseling African-American empowerment through emulation of Jewish business leaders. “We do not believe it was Jay-Z’s intent to promote anti-Semitism,” the ADL said. “On the contrary, we know that Jay-Z is someone who has used his celebrity in the past to speak out responsibly and forcefully against the evils of racism and anti-Semitism.” Jay-Z also announced his dates for the 4:44 Tour and he will be in D.C. at the Verizon Center on Nov. 29.

Read: Jay-Z Jewish Lyric Spurs Concerns from ADL

Put Your Money Where Your Brain is

Money Magazine’s list of the 711 Best Colleges for your money is out and University of Maryland, College Park came in at Number 20. Princeton University is at the top of the list. UM was the only area college on the list in the top 50. Johns Hopkins University came in at 131. Towson University made the list at 150. Out of the 711 colleges ranked, 15 were in Maryland. Factors considered include average SAT scores upon admission, yearly cost and the percentage of students that receive grant money. Here’s the list.

#TeamJulius

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is working around the clock to care for its baby giraffe, Julius, who remains in intensive care. Julius was born on June 15 and initial blood work indicated he was not receiving the necessary antibodies to protect him from disease or infection. Julius had to undergo an emergency transfusion of giraffe plasma donated by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on July 9. Since the transfusion, Julius is showing a slight improvement in his blood work, but he is still in a very fragile state. Read updates here.

Today’s J-Word

Loch in Kop (Yiddish)
Meaning: A hole in the head
Usage: “I need a new smart phone like I need a loch in kop!”

Go to the Jmore – Baltimore Jewish Living channel on YouTube to watch the J-Word of the Day video.

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