Jerusalem, Israel - Police Search for Protesters Who Put Up Posters Comparing Police Official to Nazi

Jerusalem, Israel - Police launched a search for anti-parade protesters who put up posters in Jerusalem comparing a senior police official to a Nazi officer.

Written as a mock obituary, the posters were found in several local synagogues in the Meah Shearim neighborhood and claimed Jerusalem District Police commander, Major General Ilan Franco, was the grandson of the commander of the Treblinka extermination camp and that they would share the same fate.
"Ilan Franco, the grandson of Franco Schmirt, the SS commander of the Treblinka extermination camp, your fate will be the same as that of your Nazi grandfather and thus your memory will live in infamy. Go back to Nazi Germany," the poster read.

Brooklyn, NY +Serious MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +Serious MVA+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck and is in serious condition on East 17th Street and Avenue "I" Chesed She'll Ems on location.

Monsey, NY - Suspicious Death Likely to Remain Unknown

Monsey, NY - Ramapo police probably will never know exactly what killed Leon Stettiner, whose body was found face-down in his yard near his wrecked van, as was reported at that time on VOS IZ NEIAS.

Officially, the death is considered an accident, although police think the 57-year-old Monsey man died from a medical condition.
No autopsy was performed because of Stettiner's religious beliefs. "There's no way to 100 percent determine his cause of death," said Ramapo police Sgt. Mark A. Emma. "He did have some medical condition. There were a lot of pills (in his home). The case is closed. It's an accidental death."

Stettiner was last seen at 5 p.m. Wednesday. He was found lying dead in his yard about noon Thursday by members of Chevra Hatzoloh of Rockland County ambulance service.
Emma said it appeared that Stettiner had entered his 1989 Dodge Caravan and began backing it out of the driveway, then put it into forward and drove off the paved area and into a nearby scrub area, where it hit a tree.
Stettiner, who apparently was not wearing a seat belt, slammed into the steering wheel - his chest was bruised where he hit, Emma said - then got out of the van and walked around to the back of the vehicle. He got about 30 feet away from the wreck before he apparently collapsed on the lawn.
Evidence at the scene showed that Stettiner was lying outside at least overnight before his body was discovered by Hatzoloh members.
Emma said Stettiner had a serious kidney condition, but did not know whether that had anything to do with the man's death. By the same token, it was impossible to tell whether the accident and injury to his chest killed him, or a combination of factors. There were no witnesses to the accident.

Albany, NY - Removal of Hevesi Recommended by Governor Appointed Lawyer

Albany, NY - A lawyer appointed by Governor George Pataki says there is enough evidence to recommend that Comptroller Alan Hevesi be removed from office for using a state worker to chauffeur his wife.

Jerusalem, Israel - Protesters Against Parade Not Released for Shabbas

Jerusalem, Israel - The Jerusalem Magistrates Court late on Friday decided to delay by three days the release of four Ultra-Orthodox Jews suspected or protesting and attacking policemen at a protest on Thursday against a parade.

Manhattan, NY +Suspicious Substance in Senator's Office+

Manhattan, NY - Late Friday Police, Fire Department and EMS were all called to Senator Charles Schumer's Manhattan office at the 17th floor of 757 3rd Avenue for a suspicious white powder that was found at the location.
Two people were doconned by HazMat units and the building was evacuated, but a Schumer spokeswoman said that preliminary tests indicate that the substance poses no chemical hazard.

New Square, NY +Dwellin Fire+

New Square, NY +Dwellin Fire+ A large fire in a dweilling at 24 Jefferson Avenue and Washington Avenue, M/A requested to scene, fire now a 2nd Alarm, Hatzolah BLS and ALS also responding on a rush.
Hatzolah medics involved in an accident at Route 45 and Ackerson Road while responding to the fire.

U/D: 19:01
Fire now a 3rd Alarm, companies have gone to exterior operations with several handlines in operation.

Lakewood, NJ +MVA/Entrapment+

Lakewood, NJ +MVA/Entrapment+ A motor vehicle accident on County Line Road and Princeton with five aided involved some of them trapped inside, police on the scene four rigs are requested, Crash Unit, Hatzolah and Lakewood EMS BLS and ALS are all on the scene.

Connecticut +Suspicious Person Arrested by FBI+

Connecticut +Suspicious Person Arrested by FBI+ The FBI has arrested a person from Brooklyn, NY that is a possible suspect on the FBI's terorists watch list, after having done some suspicious activity in a Connecticut bank.

An FBI spokesperson said, we believe that a suspicious person that was caught by local police in a bank in CT withdrawing large sums of money, is a suspect on our terorists watch list and will be taken into our custody.

New York +Hevesi Told To Repay State Additional $90,000+

New York +Hevesi Told To Repay State Additional $90,000+ Lawyers for state Comptroller Alan Hevesi say that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office has determined Hevesi owes New York at least $90,000 more for the use of a staffer as a driver for his wife.

Japan - Suicides Down as Economy Improves

Japan - The number of Japanese who committed suicide fell by nearly 8 percent in the first half of this year, government data showed, a drop one official said reflected the improving economy.

A total of 14,828 people committed suicide from January to June, down from 16,082 in the same period of 2005, data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed.
A ministry official said that the drop in the number of people killing themselves was partly linked to the economy shaking off a decade-long economic slump.

Lawrence, NY +Fall Victim+

Nassau County, Lawrence, NY +Fall Victim+ Police and Fire Department are on the scene at 138 Harborview South for an aided male that fell from the 3rd floor, emergency units are reporting aided is in serious condition and requesting NCPD Helicopter #4 to the scene, launching zone at the Middle School.
 
U/D: 10:57
Aided has been medevaced to NUMC.

Cedarhurst, NY - Vaad Hakashrus Pulls Kosher Supervision from Gourmet Glatt

Cedarhurst, NY - Controversy over Gourmet Glatt Emporium, a popular kosher supermarket in Cedarhurst, grew with the decision of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway to withdraw its kosher supervision.
The Vaad had said earlier that Gourmet Glatt had until Feb. 1 to sell its business or lose the Vaad’s supervision.

“I feel totally drained from this fiasco,” said Mark Bolender, a partner in the supermarket. “I gave my life and soul to this community and I hope the community does not turn its back on me.”
Bolender, who added a second kosher supervisor just a week ago, continued to insist this week that the Vaad’s action stemmed strictly from a “personality” conflict.
“There were no kashrus issues whatsoever,” he said.

But in a “message to the community,” the Vaad said it acted after Gourmet Glatt hired the second kosher supervisor, Rabbi Yehuda Kravitz, in “violation of its contract and policies with the Vaad.” In addition, it said Gourmet Glatt had “serious halachic and contractual violations over time” and that it was unable to get the owners to correct them.
Bolender said “I respect the Vaad of the Five Towns,” adding that he hired Rabbi Kravitz only “to protect my investment.”
Bolender noted that his recently expanded supermarket has been in the Five Towns about 30 years and was one of the first to sign on with the Vaad.

A number of people were critical of the Vaad, with one saying that though the Vaad must be supported and every eatery held to the same standards, the Vaad “is being somewhat vague — perhaps suspiciously vague — on the actual reasoning behind their decision.

Sydney, Australia - Jews Targeted by School Racists

Sydney, Australia - Racism against Jewish children is rising in Sydney schools and taking on disturbing new manifestations, according to a new study.

The study, based on interviews with teachers from Sydney's south and western suburbs, says that racism is becoming more prevalent.
Anti-Semitic incidents reported in schools in the St George, Chester Hill and Parramatta areas included swastika drawings on desks and comments from Muslim children that "Hitler did the right thing" by killing Jews, the study says. A board game on how to capture Israel, including pictures of missiles, is also in circulation, it says.

Suzanne Rutland and her colleague Sol Encel, of the University of Sydney's department of Hebrew, biblical and Jewish studies, will present the findings of their study.
They will also show the board game, which Professor Rutland said was sold from Lakemba mosque. I think we have a real problem with the new racism towards Jews, she said.

Lakewood, NJ - Board Member Told He Has Conflict

Lakewood, NJ - Planning Board member Mitch Dolobowsky he was ordered off the panel by Mayor Meir Lichtenstein.

Bill Hobday, a community watchdog, said Dolobowsky is a proponent of restraint in more intensive development outside the downtown. Dolobowsky was told his position on the Municipal Utilities Authority conflicted with his Planning Board post.
Lichtenstein said Dolobowsky was removed on the advice of Township Attorney Steven Secare and not based on any position Dolobowsky has taken on the Planning Board.

Queens, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+

Queens, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+ A four car motor vehicle accident with injuries on the west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway on the Kosciuszko Bridge is blocking some lanes and causing heavy traffic delays from Queens into Brooklyn.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY - Gas-Station Scam

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY - A thief posing as a gas-station attendant and was trying to defraud motorists in Greenpoint, got arrested.
Paul Zeigler, 20, was impersonating a worker in the Hess station on Greenpoint Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard when he asked for one motorist's credit card, he ran it through the card reader and pumped the fuel. He then fraudulently told the motorist the card did not work and asked for cash. But at that time a real employee in the sales booth spotted the scam and called 911.

Zeigler fled when cops arrived just after after the motorist gave him $40 for the gas.
But after a while he tried to sneak back to fetch his jacket that he left behind and at that time he got busted after a brief struggle with police.

Israel - Sharon Rushed to ICU

Israel - Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was taken to an intensive care unit after his overall condition and heart function deteriorated.
Sharon, who has been in a coma since suffering a major stroke in January, contracted a new infection that affected his heart, said David Weinberg, a spokesman for the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv.
"At this point, his condition is stable," Weinberg said. Experts have speculated that because of the severity of his stroke, Sharon, Israel's prime minister from 2001 to 2006, is unlikely to recover.

Newark, NJ +Bull Traffic Alert+

Newark, NJ - Police are running after a bull that was roaming the streets of New Jersey's largest city.
Traffic is slow as police have managed to corral the animal in a parking lot at 114 South Street and Hermon Street. However, the bull remained feisty, climbing over an air conditioning unit as an officer with a rope tried to move in but the animal, remained defiant. However, it appeared the animal was tied up and left to tire.
It was not clear where the bull came from.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on 11th Avenue and 55th Street with a pedestrian that was struck, Hatzolah responding.

Nassau County, Woodmere, NY +Armed Robbery+

Nassau County, Woodmere, NY +Armed Robbery+ Police on the scene searching for two males black who were involved in an armed robbery at Johnson Place and East Broadway.
Proceeds are a pocketbook, cell phone, transit tickets and credit cards.

U/D: 21:48
PD have two perps in custody.

Iran Test-Fired Dozens of Missiles

Iran test-fired dozens of missiles, including the Shahab-3 that can reach Israel, in military maneuvers that it said were aimed at putting a stop to the role of world powers in the Persian Gulf region.

The show of strength came three days after U.S.-led warships finished naval exercises in the Gulf that Iran branded as "adventurist."

Asked about the maneuvers, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she thought the Iranians "are trying to demonstrate that they are tough." "The Iranians also I think are not unaware that the security environment is one in which if they actually were to do something Iran would suffer greatly and so I think they probably understand that," Rice said.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A moter vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Avenue "M" and Ocean Avenue, Hatzolah responding.

Manhattan, NY +Gertel's Bakery Not Closing+

Manhattan, NY - According to Abe Stein, owner of the legendary kosher bakery Gertel’s, at 53 Hester Street, there is “no base to rumors that the store is closing.”

Mr. Stein after reading in a NY Magazine that cried: “Impending Jewish-Bakery Apocalypse?” warning that “Gertel's Bakery, one of the last of the old-time Jewish bakeries on the Lower East Side, may be shutting down, another victim of the condo-ing of New York, “If that bakery's classic hamantaschen and rugalach are on the way out, we wondered, Can Yonah Shimmel's knishes and Kossar's bialys, other pillars of Jewish baked goods, be far behind?”
"We haven't finalized anything yet," owner Abe Stern said back then, without denying the possible closing, widely discussed in the neighborhood.” But, apparently, not denying is not the same as saying Yes, he says now.

Jerusalem, Israel - Thousands of Haredim Hold Rally

Jerusalem, Israel - Thousands of ultra-Orthodox are holding a demonstration in Jerusalem this evening in protest of the planned parade , which is scheduled to take place in the city next Friday.

The rally marks the third straight day in which Jerusalem haredim are protesting against the parade. Ultra-Orthodox began to hurl stones from Tzfania Street toward the Bar-Ilan Road and set garbage cans ablaze. One police officer was hurt when a stone struck him in the head; he was evacuated to a nearby hospital in light to moderate condition.
Jerusalem police detained 16 haredim for questioning, under suspicion for rioting and throwing stones. During the protest, demonstrators threw metal bars, tear gas, stones and eggs.
A police officer was injured in his face from an unidentified burning agent thrown on him by haredi protesters. He is being treated at the scene.

Newark, NJ +Suspicious Thraet on Plane+

Newark, NJ +Suspicious Threat on Plane+ A United flight that has just landed in Newark International Airport from San Francisco, CA has been isolated by PAPD due to a phone threat on this plane when it landed, no one getting off the plane except the pilot, awaiting more information on one passenger.

New York, NY - City Tries Crosswalk Countdown Clocks for Pedestrians

New York, NY - City is testing timers that count down and display the seconds until the signal changes.

The $186,000 gadgets show the time left until opposing traffic gets a green light and the flashing "Don't Walk" warning becomes a steady "Don't Walk" order. Pedestrians who have just strolled up can decide whether they have enough time to start crossing, while those in the crosswalk can see how long they have to make it to the other side.
The five boroughs of New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx - each get one of the experimental signals for six months under the pilot program. After that period, more of the city's 100,000 crosswalks could get the timers.

Manhattan, NY +West Side Highway Traffic Alert+

Manhattan, NY +West Side Highway Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident on the north bound of the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 125th Street with one vehicle that overturned with aided inside, NYPD on the scene have all lanes temporarly closed.

Mahwah, NJ - Anti-Hate Rally is Set

Mahwah, NJ - Student leaders at Ramapo College have scheduled an anti-hate rally for next week in response to recent incidents at the college.

During the past week, anti-Semitic messages have been scrawled on a student's vehicle and three dormitory rooms. Mahwah police are investigating. "I deplore this shameful and intolerable act and assure the community that we are trying to identify the perpetrator," college President Peter Philip Mercer wrote in an e-mail message to the university.

The first incident occurred, when someone outlined the words "I hate Jews" on a window of a car in the school parking lot, according to the president's e-mail and police reports. The owner of the vehicle isn't Jewish, and the message didn't appear to target her, said township police Capt. Stephen Jaffe.
The other student notified school security that she remembered seeing a crudely carved swastika on the side of a building a few weeks before.

Kiryas, Joel, Monroe, NY - Kelly, Hall Go Courting for Votes

Kiryas, Joel, Monroe, NY - How much difference could one little village make in a congressional race?
Plenty, if the village is Kiryas Joel and the competitive race between Republican Sue Kelly and Democratic challenger John Hall for the 19th District seat comes down to a few thousand votes on Tuesday.

Both candidates have been courting the endorsement of the village's leaders - who command the larger of two Kiryas Joel voting blocs - and enlisting a posse of powerful politicians to help make their cases.

New York, NY - Billboard Company Sues City Over Sign Restrictions

New York, NY - A billboard company is suing the city because of a law that restricts private outdoor advertising near parks and highways while exempting the city's own commercial signs is illegal.

The lawsuit, filed by OTR Media Group Inc. in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says the law imposes an illegal restraint on trade and violates the company's rights to equal protection and free speech.
The OTR lawsuit attacks Local Law 31, passed in 2005 by the City Council and signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. OTR's papers say the law creates permit requirements for commercial advertising signs that impose a practical ban on all new privately owned signs and threaten many existing ones.

New York, NY - U.S. Cities Were Target of August Airline Plot

New York, NY - A group of alleged terrorists arrested in London in August planned to blow up airliners over U.S. cities to maximize casualties, rather than over the Atlantic Ocean as many intelligence officials originally thought, according to recent remarks by a senior FBI official.

The comments by Mark Mershon, head of the FBI's New York field office, indicate U.S. and British intelligence officials now think the airliner plot was aimed at maximizing the potential loss of life and economic impact. "The plan was bring them down over U.S. cities, not over the ocean," Mershon said at the Infosecurity 2006 conference in New York, according to Government Security News (GSN).

Palm Springs, CA - Police Arrest Suspect in Deadly Wildfire

Palm Springs, CA - Police had arrested a suspect in the California wildfire that killed five firefighters, destroyed 34 homes and charred an area nearly three times the size of Manhattan.  "Today I'm announcing that we have we a suspect in custody for the Esperanza Fire," a Riverside County Sheriff's spokesman said.

The spokesman said sheriff's investigators would ask prosecutors to charge Raymond Oyler with the murder of the five firefighters as well as arson.

The fire, which broke out last week was fully contained on Monday.

East Brunswick, NJ - Deadbeat Dad Owes $2.2M Child Support

East Brunswick, NJ - A prominent East Brunswick, N.J., dermatologist has been found to owe his estranged wife nearly $2.2 million in support for their seven children. Dr. Sandy Milgraum, 53, was hunted down by Middlesex County sheriff's deputies. 

Milgraum's practice exploded in the 1990s when he appeared on various talk shows talking about laser tattoo removal and other procedures, said attorney Patrick Collins who has represented Milgraum's wife in a contentious break-up that started 10 years ago. He said Milgraum's annual income soared past the $1 million mark back then, but claimed Milgraum's wife saw little of it.

"He was one of these guys who, when he got divorced, it was 'crash and burn,'" Collins said. Milgraum has refused to obtain a religious divorce from a panel of three rabbis, leaving his wife as an outcast in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Israel - Missile Strikes on Israeli Settlements

Israel - The Brigades of Al-Aqsa Martyrs, the military arm of Fateh movement, announced responsibility for firing two missiles on Kfar Ezeh settlement, east of Gaza City.
The brigades said in a press release that the missile strike comes in response for the Israeli aggression on Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Brigades of Ezzuddine Al-Qassam, the military arm of Hamas movement, announced that it fired two "Qassam" type missiles towards Sderot in southern Israel.

Henry County, VA - Sheriff Indicted on Drug Charges

Henry County, VA - Sheriff Frank Cassell and 12 of his under sheriffs have been indicted on federal charges in an alleged drug-related racketeering conspiracy. Also a US Postal Service employee, a probation officer and five citizens were also charged in the 34-count indictment.

The indictment alleges that beginning in 1998, drugs seized by the sheriff's office were sold to citizens for distribution. The drugs include cocaine, marijuana, steroids and the sedative Ketamine.
Cassell was charged with impeding the investigation by federal agents, who began their probe in March of last year.

He's been sheriff of Henry County since 1992, and his department has 122 employees, including 96 sworn law enforcement officers.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on Coney Island Avenue between Avenue "P" and Avenue "Q" Hatzolah responding.

Monsey, NY +Suspicious Death+

Monsey, NY +Suspicious Death+ Chesed She'll Ames on the scene at Route 306 and Viola Road for a person found DOA in a car, Police are investigating apparently he is DOA for a few days.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Jewish Group To Sue Politician Over Holocaust Remarks

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - A prominent Brazilian Jewish group said that it is suing a recently elected congressman for allegedly saying in a interview that Jews invented the Holocaust.  .

Congressman-elect Clodovil Hernandez, compared the Holocaust to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, which he claimed were plotted by Americans. "It's evident that (the bombing) was set up by the Americans themselves, don't be fooled," he allegedly said. "It's like the Holocaust. You think there wasn't any Jew there manipulating things under the table?"  
 
The Jewish organization filed legal papers to open an official investigation of Hernandez, who has declined to speak to the media about the comments.

Jerusalem, Israel - Police Injured - Protestors in Custody in Protest

Jerusalem, Israel - Three policemen were lightly injured by rocks and 8 protestors were taken into custody in another stormy anti-Parade protest in Jerusalem’s Meah Shearim neighborhood.
The policemen were transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

The Eida Hareidit Rabbinical Court has called for additional protests, including a Million Man Protest next week, intended to coincide with the Parade, vowing the event will not take place as planned in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Long Island, NY - Jewelry Store Jilts Customers

Long Island, NY - A Long Island jewelry store has abruptly closed its doors - leaving behind a $100,000 lawsuit and angry customers and suppliers who claim the owner still has their gems.

One customer - who dropped off a new $4,800 watch simply to have a few links removed from the band - was stunned to find the store closed just over a week ago, with all the display jewelry gone and a hastily scribbled sign that read: "Closed for inventory."
Jordan Cohen, 22, of Dix Hills, shuttered his King Richard Jewelers in the Green Acres Shopping Center in Valley Stream in a midnight move that also shocked the landlord.

A supplier has already sued Cohen for $100,000, claiming he failed to return or pay for diamonds, rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings that were advanced on consignment.

Williamsburg. Brooklyn, NY +Unstable Scaffolding+

Williamsburg. Brooklyn, NY +Unstable Scaffolding+ NYPD of the 90th Pct requesting ESU to Harrison Avenue between Hewes Street and Penn Street for an unstable scaffolding.

Nanuet, NY +Palisades Parkway Traffic Alert+

Nanuet, NY +Palisades Parkway Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident with some injured on the south bound of the Palisades Interstate Parkway near Exit 9W, State Police on the scene requesting Nanuet Ambulance Corp and Rockland medics to respond, expect delays on the south bound of the PIP.

Woodbury, NY - Election is Coming Up And So Are The Corrupted Tactics

Woodbury, NY - A letter with Kiryas Joel letterhead on it, circulating and hand-delivered to residence of the Village of Woodbury, is addressed "to our Woodbury Neighbors" and is asking village residence to vote for mayoral candidate Ralph Caruso. It praises Caruso for helping Kiryas Joel win grants through his work for state Senator William Larkin.

But Kiryas Joel officials say they had nothing to do with the letter, that purports to be an endorsement by their residents for the mayoral candidate Ralph Caruso. "We're not taking any position in this election," Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said.

Caruso is one of four candidates for mayor running tomorrow in the first Village of Woodbury election. Eight other people are running for four trustee seats.

Pikesville, MD +Fatal MVA+

Pikesville, MD +Fatal MVA+ A major serious accident and all services responded to the scene including four medics and MSP MedEvac to Park Heights Avenue and Starburts Drive for a motor vehicle accident with multiple aided that were seriously injured and one fatality, a woman Seattle that came to Baltimore for her grandsons sheva brachos.

New York, NY - City Medical Examiner IDs Another WTC Victim

New York, NY - The New York City Medical Examiner's office identified the remains of another Sept. 11 terror attack victim.
The identification wasn't due to new technology, but were made after new samples of DNA were obtained from family members, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner's Office.

They identified Douglas Joel Stone, 54, of Dover, N.H., who was a passenger on the flight, which terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center's north tower.
While existing technology was responsible for the identification, new technology is expected to yield new verifications in the near future.

Tel Aviv, Israel - Synagogue Vandalized in Anti-Semitic Attack

Tel Aviv, Israel - In the Sheinkin area an unidentified group of people smashed in the window panes of the Geulas Yisrael synagogue and sprayed graffiti on the wall warning the synagogue-goers that "If we don't march in Jerusalem – you won't walk in Tel Aviv."

Reports came into police of anonymous persons hurling rocks at the synagogue, police from the Yarkon district arrived at the scene and have opened an investigation into the incident. Searches are being conducted in the area for the vandals, who left behind considerable damage but no casualties.

Spring Valley, NY +NYS Thruway Closed Tonight+

Spring Valley, NY +NYS Thruway Closed Tonight+ Northbound traffic at the Spring Valley tolls on the New York State Thruway will be detoured tonight for road repaving.

The lanes will be closed from 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. tomorrow. Traffic will be diverted through the commercial toll lanes, located just north of Exit 14 (Garden State Parkway). Passengers cars and trucks will not be charged any toll.

If needed, the two left non-toll lanes will be closed from 5 to 6 a.m., and one left lane will be closed from 6 to 7 a.m., the state Thruway Authority said.
All lanes will reopen by 7 a.m.

San Jose, CA - PayPal Building Targeted In Explosion

San Jose, CA - An explosion shattered windows at an eBay building housing offices for the company's PayPal division, forcing the evacuation of dozens of employees.

PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires said that the company had not received any threats but declined to comment on the investigation. The blast hit the first floor of the company's network operations center. "We believe this is an isolated incident," she said. "We're working closely with local authorities. We have everything under control."

Business was not disrupted, but the complex is closed and cordoned off by police tape.
About 1,900 eBay and PayPal employees who work in buildings on the campus where the explosion occurred were asked to work from home or at another eBay campus in San Jose, Pires said.

No injuries were reported and no explosive device was found, but investigators determined the blast was deliberately set, Sgt. Nick Muyo said. Police had no suspects. Investigators from the San Jose police and fire departments, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were investigating.

Gaza - Israeli Strikes Palestinians, Soldier Killed

Gaza - Israeli forces backed by tanks killed eight Palestinians including at least five militants and one soldier was also killed in one of the heaviest Israeli raids into the Gaza Strip in months.

Israeli soldiers entered northern Gaza and fighting quickly erupted around the town of Beit Hanoun, followed by air strikes and tank shelling. They said the army, with air support, had surrounded the town.
The operation was one of the biggest since Israel launched an offensive in Gaza to press for the release of a soldier captured by Palestinian gunmen on June 25 in a cross-border raid and to halt militant rocket fire into the Jewish state.

Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was waging "all-out war", and called the operation "despicable".

Israel +Major Strike at Ben-Gurion Airport+

Israel - Workers employed at Ben-Gurion International Airport have walked off the job at this time. The strike sanctions are causing delays in departing flights.

The sanctions are intended to prevent the layoffs of 120 temporary airport workers, according to the airport labor union. Port Authority officials have said that the reason for the strike is the family connections between the union leaders and the workers slated to be laid off.

Montreal, Canada - Montreal Vaad Beefs Up Kashrut Supervision

Montreal, Canada - In the wake of the discovery that repackaged non-kosher chickens were being sold as kosher by a Monsey, N.Y., store, Montreal’s main kashrus certifying organization is immediately requiring full-time mashgiachs at all establishments under its supervision that handle meat.

Rabbi Saul Emanuel, director of the Vaad Ha’ir, said its mashgiachs will be present at all times at every phase of distribution from the slaughterhouse until the meat is in the hands of consumers, without exception.
The mashgiachs must be employees of the Vaad. Under the existing system, the supervised establishments pay the cost of the mashgiachs to the Vaad, which then pays the mashgiachs directly.

Jerusalem, Israel - Arabs Suspected of Shul Attack Arrested

Jerusalem, Israel - Three Jerusalem Arabs are under arrest for allegedly setting fire to a city synagogue.

The three, whose ages ranged from 15-20 and were all residents of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, are suspected of hurling flammable material at the 'Sha'are Rachamim VeSemcha' synagogue in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill, as well as setting fire to three private vehicles in the area.
The synagogue, which is located on the periphery of the neighborhood, was badly damaged during thenighttime attack.

The three suspects remand in custody by a Jerusalem court.
The suspected arsonists told police interrogators that they carried out the attacks for "nationalistic" reasons, police said.

Batesville, AR - Man Bought Pack of Cigarettes Using Bill Clinton $100 Bill

Batesville, AR - An Arkansas man who bought a pack of cigarettes using a phony $100 bill featuring Bill Clinton's name faces questioning by U.S. Treasury agents.

A convenience store clerk in Batesville, Ark., called Independence County, Ark., sheriff's deputies after a man paid for his cigarettes with the bil.
Deputy Nathan Stephens responded and said the bill was obviously phony. "The bill was unmistakably fake due to the fact that the ink was running on the bill," "and for the president's name, it had the name Clinton on it," Stephens said.
Ad man returned to the store while Stephens was there and said "I asked him if he knew the bill was fake and he stated no, he thought it was real."

Charges of counterfeiting were being prepared and the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to become involved.

Lebanon - Israel Buzzes Again German Ships

Lebanon - For the second time in less than a week, Israel Air Force aircraft confronted a German Navy vessel off the coast of Lebanon.

The German Defense Ministry said Israeli F-16 fighter-jets buzzed the Alster and fired over the intelligence-gathering vessel. No casualties were reported.

New Study Warns Against Linking Ethnic Identity To Breast Cancer

Genetic research over the past decade has linked Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity to an increased risk for hereditary breast cancer, so much so that certain gene mutations have become known as "Jewish ancestral mutations."
But a new study released in the issue of The American Journal of Public Health challenges this approach, warning that disparities in access to care and other unintended consequences can, and have, resulted.

The study, by Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons researchers, notes that while three recognized breast cancer mutations are present in 2-3 percent of the Ashkenazi Jewish population, similar prevalence studies have not been carried out in other ethnic groups.
In addition, the study finds that research linking the breast cancer mutations with Ashkenazi Jews has been beset by methodological problems that cast doubt on the use of ethnicity as the basis for genetic research on disease.

"The linking of Ashkenazi Jews to a deadly disease raises serious scientific and social concerns," said co-author Sheila M. Rothman, PhD, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Center for the Study of Society and Medicine. "Focusing genetic studies on a specific ethnic group confers disadvantages to that group and others. For Ashkenazi Jews it raises the risk of stigmatization and insurance or job discrimination. For other groups, it introduces a gap in access to testing and treatment.

New York, NY - City Bus Driver Stopped Bus Because of Rider That Coughed

New York, NY - The Transit Authority acknowledged something happened on the X10 Express bus from Staten Island, but two different stories are coming out.

Wall Street banker Michael Goga said that he cleared his throat and coughed. The driver told him he had to get off the bus because he didn't want germs spread. When Goga refused to leave, the driver took the bus out of service and ordered everyone off in Lower Manhattan.
Goga then called police to file a complaint.

Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said the driver only wanted Goga to cover his mouth, and the passenger than dialed 911. Police arrived and all passengers were ordered off the bus.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - No Trick or Treating in the Village

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Must have seemed like an easy target for kids bent on mischief for Halloween - a community of peaceful Hasidim with tons of densely packed homes to smack with eggs.

But the five high school students - three boys from Monroe-Woodbury and two girls from Washingtonville - who drove into Kiryas Joel with cartons of eggs got a scary surprise when angry residents stopped their car and got into an altercation with two who got out.
As a crowd gathered about 9:30 p.m. at Bakertown Road and Israel Zupnick Drive, the driver hit the gas and sped away, leaving his two buddies to fend for themselves, Investigator Christopher Quick of the New York State Police said. One headed for the hills, and the other was detained until state troopers arrived.

The stranded mischief makers, bruised and sore, came to the state police barracks in Monroe and got tickets for disorderly conduct, Quick said. They are due in court tomorrow morning.

Lakewood, NJ - Cheder Settle School Lunch Overcharge Case

Lakewood, NJ - The Lakewood Ceder School, a private Jewish school, has agreed to pay more than $1 million to the federal government in connection with allegations that it provided false information as part of the National School Lunch Program, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

According to the settlement agreement, Lakewood Cheder School submitted false information and statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the department's Bureau of Child Nutrition, with having more than 1,100 pre-school age children claiming for lunches at the ineligible and unapproved sites.

The Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph A. Filko, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. "This is an abuse of government funds that takes money away from other children who are truly in need and deserving of these resources," said Christie. "It is wrong, and we will continue to look for such misappropriations and recoup that money so that it can serve the intended recipients."

Monroe, NY +Car Service Driver Charged with Assaulting Teen

Monroe, NY - A taxi driver has been charged with assaulting a 17-year-old Monroe girl while driving her home from Woodbury at night.  

Osvaldo Romero, 22, was arraigned on a first-degree assault charge in Woodbury Town Court and sent to Orange County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.  
Romero, who drives for a Monroe-area car service company, had picked up the girl about 7:15 p.m. and was driving a short distance to her home when he stopped in a deserted, unlit area and assaulted her, state police investigators said. 

The driver and victim "had a previous relationship," but hadn't seen each other since May, investigators said. They didn't identify the cab company and declined to specify where in Woodbury the attack allegedly took place.

Pawling, NY - HQ for NYS Assembly Candidate Painted with Hate Messages

Pawling, NY - Workers at the campaign headquarters for Republican Assembly candidate Greg Ball arrived at the office to find someone had left messages of hate and swastikas all over the doors and walls.
The storefront in Pawling had the words "scum" and "fascist" spray-painted on the doors and walls, along with some orange swastikas.

Ball is running in the 99th state Assembly district, which covers parts of Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties. He defeated long-time incumbent Willis Stephens in a Republican Primary. He now faces Democrat Kenneth Harper.
But Ball doesn't think Harper had anything to do with the vandalism. Ball said, "This is the work of a sick and deranged individual who needs to get help." He also said, "Politics is a blood sport but there is no need for these types of actions."

Ball has taken a hard line on illegal immigration and day laborers in the Hudson Valley, but says he is not "anti-immigrant." He said he is just opposed to illegal immigration.

State police are investigating the vandalism.

Jerusalem, Israel +Fatal Accident+

Jerusalem, Israel +Fatal Accident+ An accident with a cement truck that fatally struck a pedestrian.

On Rechov Achinoam in the Sanhedria neighborhood, a elderly man was killed after a Cement truck struck him and rolled over him. The cement truck was backing into a construction area when the elderly man was struck. Hatzolah responded and started full CPR, MDA medics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Moscow, Russia - Mayor Bans Racist March as Nazi Show

Moscow, Russia - Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said he had banned a march in the Russian capital planned by far-right groups, to prevent another show by neo-Nazi groups and racists.

National Unity Day, which last year officially replaced the traditional anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, marks the 1612 defeat of invading Polish troops by poorly clad and barely armed Russian irregulars.
But the holiday, meant to demonstrate the unity of Russia's multiethnic nation, last year degenerated into a show of ultra-nationalist groups who marched through Moscow and other cities with swastikas and greeted each other with Nazi Germany's salute "Heil Hitler!"
"I have taken a decision to ban the so-called 'Russian march'," a stern-looking Luzhkov said.

Montreal, Canada - Rabbis Organize Protest Outside Home of Get Refuser

Montreal, Canada - Communal pressure on men who refuse to give their ex-wives a get was ramped up to an unprecedented level in Montreal, when rabbinical authorities organized a demonstration outside the home of a man, who has been civilly divorced from his wife for seven years.

About 20 people responded to the e-mailed invitation from Rabbi Michael Whitman, president of the Rabbinical Council of Montreal, that is affiliated with the Rabbinical Council of America, to participate in a “forceful yet peaceful rally” in front of the man's modest apartment building on Beaucourt Street in Cote des Neiges.
Rabbi Whitman said the action was taken after the man failed to respond to the imprecations of numerous rabbis over the years and repeated summons by the Beth Din. “Every kind of persuasion, everything imaginable, by everyone who knows him, has been tried, all to no avail,” he said.

The action was supported by the Vaad Ha’ir (the Jewish Community Council of Montreal) and the Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get.

The man, if he was home, did not respond to the protesters.

Brooklyn, +Power Outage+

Brooklyn, +Power Outage+ Con-Ed on the scene working on the problem of a large power outage in the area of Avenu "U" and Coney Island Avenue and East 15th Street, about 1100 customers are with out power.

U/D: 10:19
Con-Ed reports, all power has been restored.

Brooklyn, NY - Hitler Costume Controversy In Brooklyn School

Brooklyn, NY - A Brooklyn high school student caused a stir when he showed up for class dressed as Adolph Hitler for Halloween.

Walter Petryk, 16, defended his costume, insisting it was a satire of the Nazi dictator.
But some students and officials at Leon M. Goldstein High School were not impressed.
School administrators ordered the junior honors student to remove his beige coat bearing a red swastika armband or possibly face spending the day in the office.
Petryk refused, saying his parody was protected by his right to freedom of expression.

Petryk's stepfather, Howard Bloom, who is Jewish and lost relatives during the Nazi genocide, said that he was initially "very disturbed" by the costume but nonetheless defended his stepson's rights. "If he had wanted to advocate my genocide, I wouldn't have allowed" the costume, Bloom said. "That wasn't the spirit in which he was doing this at all."

In order to avoid a disruption on the way to school, Petryk disguised his Hitler getup as a costume of Charlie Chaplin, adding a bowler hat and cane.

The city's Department of Education discipline code allows for the removal of students from class if they wear clothing that causes a disruption.

Baltimore, MD +Serious MVA+

Baltimore, MD +Serious MVA+ A major serious motor vehicle accident on Mt Wilson Lane with one pedestrian that was struck at Woodholme Elementary School and is in serious condition, Medic 19 transported the aided.

Passaic, NJ +Bias Crime+

Passaic, NJ +Bias Crime+ Police are investigating a hate crime on Van Houten Avenue and Reid Avenue in Passaic, New Jersey, for three vehicles that were sprayed with anti-semetic graffiti.

Jerusalem, Israel - Haredim that Participate in Protest Detained

Jerusalem, Israel - Police have detained nine Haredim who participated in protesting a parade due to take place in Jerusalem next week and five who are suspected of attempting to block a main traffic route.

Four policemen were lightly wounded from rocks hurled at them during the riot.

Newark, NJ +Minor Plane Accident+

Newark, NJ +Minor Plane Accident+ Two planes one a Luftansa 747 and one a Continental 757 bumped each other at the Liberty International Airport, both planes have minor damage to their wings and the Luftansa also has engine damage but no fuel leak and no one injured, crash trucks are on the scene awaiting FAA.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+ Fire Department en route and Hatzolah responding with multiple unite for reports of a fire in a the kitche of 5420 15th Avenue and 55th Street Apt 3-B, also requesting medics to stand by.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Water Search+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Water Search+ NYPD of the 90th Pct, ESU, Aviation and Fire Department are all on the scene with an abandoned motorcycle with helmet on it on the Brooklyn bound of the Williamsburg Bridge.
Harbor Units searching the water for a possible jumper off the bridge.

U/D: 17:44
Aviation searched area of bridge with negative results.

Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of Haredim Protesting

Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of Haredi demonstrators have begun protesting in a central artery in Jerusalem.

The protesters blocked the roadway and were taken away by police, but they are continuing to protest at the scene.

Monsey, NY - Teens Arrested for Mischief and Attempt Robbery

Monsey, NY - Police arrested a 17-year-old boy with a paintball gun on an attempted robbery charge.

One Spring Valley teenager was one of four youths driving around Monsey and Chestnut Ridge firing air and paint ball guns at people, before Halloween. The other teenager branched off into a robbery on Maple Leaf Road, Detective Sgt. John Lynch said. The man robbed was unharmed. 
The teen was charged with first-degree attempted robbery, third-degree menacing and second-degree reckless endangerment, Lynch said.

Ramapo Justice Arnold Etelson sealed the youth's name during an arraignment. The youth was released after posting $10,000 bail pending a Justice Court hearing on Thursday. Police continued to investigate random paintball shootings. Anyone with information can call the Ramapo Police Department.

Israel - New Poll Shows Israelis Hate the Charedim the Most

Israel - 37% of Israelis say that the haredim are the most hated group in Israel, according to a new study.
Some 15% said the same of new immigrants from former Soviet Union countries, while about 13% said that settlers in the West Bank and the former Gaza Strip settlements were the most hated.

According to Aharon Rose, a researcher of haredi society and thought at the Hebrew University, the figures reflect in part haredi society's perception of itself as hated, and not necessarily the level of that hatred in non-haredi circles. "Many believe that the leadership of the haredi world is happy about this," Rose said following the publication of the study. "According to this view, the perception of being hated helps them to keep their society separate from the general culture."
As proof, Rose pointed to the fact that "haredi media love to quote incessantly those few who truly hate them. It makes it easier to keep the kids inside haredi society."

For Rose, however, there is much hatred in the general society that is reflected in the study. Rose doesn't believe that self-perception of the haredim is the whole story.
"I think the haredim are hated in part because they represent to secular Israelis a Jewish past that the secular world hasn't dealt with," he said.

Braunschweig, Germany - Volkswagen Pays Tribute to Jewish Member of Hitler Youth

Braunschweig, Germany - Volkswagen presented a commemorative tablet to Solomon Perel, 81, a Jew who survived the Holocaust by joining the Hitler Youth, they unveiled a plaque in the Volkswagen plant where he trained as a toolmaker during World War II.  

Perel's had an extraordinary escape, by adopting the name Josef Perjell and pretending to be an ethnic German from Russia.
After he was captured in 1941 by a German army unit he talked his way into a job as an interpreter.  As he was too young to conscript into the German Army, he was sent to a Hitler Youth school at Braunschweig, near his birthplace, and granted an apprenticeship at Volkswagen, which was then making military vehicles.

The plaque commemorating his ordeal was made by a club of Volkswagen trainees and retirees who research the company's history.
After the war, Solomon learned that his father had died of starvation in the Lodz ghetto, his mother was killed in a gassing truck and his sister was shot while on a death march.

Lawrence, NY +Animal Attack+

Lawrence, NY +Animal Attack+ Hatzolah responding to 91 Merrall Drive corner of Broadway for an aided that was bitten by a dog with injuries, PD also responding.

Newburgh, NY - Two Cops on Leave After Shooting that Killed Activist's Son

Newburgh, NY - Two City of Newburgh police officers have been placed on administrative leave after they were involved in the shooting that killed the son of an outspoken black community activist last night, inciting a volatile mob scene of anti-cop onlookers.  "They killed my son," said activist and father Omari Shakur, standing on the outskirts of the yellow police tape. 

Shakur said his youngest son, Antonio "Tony" Bryant, 23, was dead at the nearby Newburgh campus of St. Lukes Cornwall Hospital from a bullet wound to the head.

According to city police, a shootout began when Sgt. Frank Labrada tried to stop a red Jeep Cherokee in the area of City Terrace and Van Ness Street about 7 p.m. Bryant, dressed all in black with a black hood, jumped from the Jeep and fired shots at Labrada as he got out of his police car. Then Bryant ran south, toward Broadway. Another officer, William Lahar, had just finished a traffic stop on Broadway when he saw Bryant with a gun. Police said Bryant opened fire at both Labrada and Lahar. Officer Lahar shot back at Bryant, killing him.

The two police involved have been placed on administrative leave, the police department said this morning that both will be interviewed by the New York State Police Critical Review Team. 
Police Chief Eric Paolilli said that Bryant had fired first at Labrada and Lahar, and that Lahar’s shooting of him was “reasonable and justified.” In many police departments, placing officers on leave after they're involved in a shooting is standard practice.

New York, NY - New Signs on Major Roadways

New York, NY - New York City will be installing new signs on major highways. The signs will forecast real-time information from point-to-point computed from Easy Pass technology and displayed on thoroughfare message boards.

The duration of time between various points in the city will be based on the average time it took other drivers with Easy Pass tags to make the trip.

Beginning sometime around the new year, the program will be tested on the Staten Island Expressway. Later the Belt Parkway and the FDR Drive will be added before it is made available throughout the city's five borough's in about three years.

United Kingdom - British Scientists Grow Human Liver in Laboratory

United Kingdom - British scientists have grown the world's first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant.

The technique that created the 'mini-liver', currently the size of a one pence piece, will be developed to create a full-size functioning liver. Grown by Newcastle University researchers, the tissue was created from blood taken from babies' umbilical cords just a few minutes after birth.
As it stands, the mini organ can be used to test new drugs and preventing disasters.
Using lab-grown liver tissue would also reduce the number of animal experiments.

Within five years, pieces of artificial tissue could be used to repair livers damaged by injury, disease, alcohol abuse and paracetamol overdose. And then, in just 15 years' time, entire liver transplants could take place using organs grown in a lab.

The development provides fresh hope for so many in dire need of a new liver each year.

New York, NY - Council Members Suggest Jail for Building Code Violators

New York, NY - A City Council committee is considering legislation to boost fines for violators of certain sections of the building code - a push the Bloomberg administration endorsed during a hearing.

"Construction is just out of control in this city," Council Member Tony Avella of Queens said.
Several members of the Housing and Buildings Committee also urged the administration to enforce the building code with the help of police, and to seek jail time for the most flagrant violators. "Listen, I don't like to throw anybody in jail, to see anyone go to jail. But if that's what it's going to take to make these developers and contractors pay attention, to respect the community, then that's what we have to do," Council Member Domenic Recchia Jr. said.
Fining and jailing contractors who flagrantly violate the law would "give some teeth to the buildings department and some oomph to the penalties," Council Member Lewis Fidler said.

The prospect that contractors could face prison unnerved a lawyer for the New York City Demolition Contractors' Association, Irwin Echtman, who said criminal penalties could be unfair because violation notices are sometimes inadequately served. Mr. Echtman, who said members of the association handle about 80% of city demolition, urged committee members to change the way notices are served if they want to introduce criminal charges.

Monsey, NY - School for Developmentally Disabled Faces Eviction

Monsey, NY - A preschool for nearly 160 developmentally disabled children could soon be evicted from a former synagogue on Route 306.

An acting state Supreme Court justice ruled that the owners of the Monsey Jewish Center can evict the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. Academy lawyer Mary Marzolla said she has petitioned the Appellate Division to freeze the eviction until the academy's appeal of Justice William Nelson's decision can be heard.
The Monsey Jewish Center moved to evict the academy because it intends to sell the building and needs the money to build a synagogue in Montebello, said Joel Scheinert, the lawyer for the Monsey Jewish Center.
The academy contended that the synagogue breached an agreement to provide three months' notice prior to eviction on June 30, 2006, or later, Marzolla said. The academy claims it was never told that the lease would end on Aug. 31. Nelson dismissed the academy's lawsuit, saying the synagogue acted within the lease.
Supreme Court Justice Howard Miller stayed the eviction until the Appellate Division could consider the issue.

Scheinert, the lawyer for the Monsey Jewish Center, said the academy had a one-year lease and it wasn't going to be renewed because the building was being sold.

Congregation Birchos Yosef plans to buy the property to construct housing. Monsey Jewish Center. "As part of the deal, we have to get the place empty," Scheinert said. "The lawsuit has delayed the sale. The Monsey Jewish Center needs the money for a new building."

Perm, Russia - Partially Restored Jewish Cemetery Targeted by Vandals

Perm, Russia - Eight gravestones in the Jewish section of a cemetery in Perm, Russia were vandalized.

The Egoshikhinsky cemetery has been vandalized on several previous occasions and after years of neglect was in an appalling state.
Earlier this year, the local Jewish community organized a major effort to restore the tombstones and succeeded in restoring and repairing around 90% of the cemetery.
However, the city government has not provided any security for the cemetery to protect it from vandals, so the Jewish community will now hire guards until the local government steps forward to fill the security gap.

Brooklyn, NY +Armed Robbery+

Brooklyn, NY +Armed Robbery+ A armed robbery at gunpoint by four black teens at Sanford Street and Park Avenue, Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol and NYPD of the 79th Pct are operating, teens diplayed a silver handgun.

Brooklyn, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+ All lane lanes west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near the Flushing Avenue ramp are closed due to a motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer a coach bus and a yellow cab.

Beek, Netherlands - Jewish Graves Vandalized Again

Beek, Netherlands - Jewish graves were vandalized again in the southeastern Netherlands.

Police are investigating the crime that 15 out of 20 gravestone in the Jewish cemetery in Beek were pushed over.
The graveyard, which has been in use since 1846, had just been repaired following its desecration earlier this year.

Israel - Venezuela Refuses Visas to Israelis

Israel - Venezuela has ceased issuing tourist visas to Israelis, its embassy in Israel said, accenting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's harsh criticism of Israel.
However, a Venezuelan official claimed the halt was technical in nature.

Chavez had called Israel's Lebanon campaign "a new Holocaust" (they set the bar for new Holocausts pretty low these days, don't they? Not to mention the bar for world leaders too)

New York, NY +Trans Fat Ban+

New York, NY - The New York City Board of Healthu voted unanimously to ban the use of trans fats in cooking in any of NYC's restaurants, those who will not obey to it will pay hafty fines.

Riverdale, Bronx, NY +Pedestrian Fatally Struck+

Riverdale, Bronx, NY - A pedestrian was killed when she was struck by a city bus near the Henry Hudson Parkway in the Bronx.

The aided Rachel Levy, 51, from Schieffelin Avenue was hit on the parkway’s southbound service road around West 235th Street. She was declared dead at the scene.
The bus’s driver did not realize anyone had been hit and did not stop, the police said. No charges were expected, they said.

Washington, DC - FBI Considering New Program to Reduce Gun Violence

Washington, DC - The FBI is considering funding a nationwide program to install a technology that will help reduce gun violence in every major US city.

Its called a Shotspotter - a network of noise sensors - The Shotspotter can apparently identify and pinpoint gunfire and send an alarm to the local police station. This will allow police to respond more quickly when the inevitable happens.
But it is unlikely to save the lives of any of the tens of thousands of people who die as a result of gun violence in the US every year.

Police forces in a dozen or more cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, are installing Shotspotter sensors on some of their meaner streets.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on 11th Avenue and 56th Street, Hatzolah responding with a rush.

Manhattan, NY +Large Protest+

Manhattan, NY +Large Protest+ A large protest in front of 27 East 39th Street, NYPD of the 17th Pct are calling for a level one mobilization and ESU responding to unruly protesters that chained them selfs to a fence and are climbing the light poles, also requesting multiple EMS units for some injured mos.

Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Maple Terrace cornor of Maple. Hatzolah on the scene requesting Police to respond, but no one with serious injuries.

Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli Chain Fights to Save Image over Rotten Chickens

Tel Aviv, Israel - Tiv Taam, Israel’s only non-kosher supermarket chain is now fighting an image of selling rotten chickens to its consumers. The supermarket chain is launching a campaign to polish its tarnished image.
After being drubbed for being caught red-handed, selling chicken shwarma and
spicy nuggets that had been spiced to hide the fact that it was putrid, the chain is launching a major media campaign to control the damage.

Their butcher departments at three stores has been caught, processing old, bad chicken into spiced nuggets, and selling them.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - NYC Mayor Bloomberg Meets with Village Leaders to Get Their Support Republican Rep. Sue Kelly

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - NYC Mayor Bloomberg did a mighty big favor for Republican Rep. Sue Kelly, who faces a tough re-election battle, by setting aside time to meet with some of her Rockland County constituents.

"Sue Kelly made a personal request of the mayor," said one insider.
So Bloomberg agreed to chat with leaders of the Satmar Hasidic sect in Kiryas Joel who want to build a yeshiva in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on a site zoned for industrial use.
During the sit-down, Bloomberg said "nice things about Sue Kelly," according to the insider.

The Satmars are one of the most important voting blocs in Kelly's district.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fatal Fall+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fatal Fall+ Hatzolah transported to the hospital an 83-year-old woman from East 14th Street in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY in traumatic arrest, after she fell down a flight of stairs, she was pronounced dead in the hospital.

Brooklyn, NY +Teens Involved in Hate Crime Arrested+

Brooklyn, NY +Teens Involved in Hate Crime Arrested+ Late last night NYPD of the 70th Pct have arrested five teenagers for punching a Pakistan youth after they got involved in a fight at the Dunkin Dounut parking lot on Avenue "M" near Ocean Avenue and East 19th Street.

The aided was transported to the hospital with a broken nose and needs to have reconstructive surgery to his face, and the five teenagers were arrested, two of them minors were released to the custody of their parents and the other three were send to Central Booking and they are still waiting to see a judge.

U/D: 17:57
Crime was upgrade as a hate crime.

U/D: 20:54
All three were just released for $5,000 bail each.


U/D: 10/31/06 15:44
Judge ordered the two other under age boys also arrested and processed, they are now being brought into the 70th Pct.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - AG Eliot Spitzer For Funding Private Schools

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer said he favors funneling more state cash to private schools.

Spitzer, speaking to Orthodox Jews at a Boro Park, Brooklyn yeshiva, said it is unjust that private schools educate 15% of the state's students but get only 1% of the education budget. "We will work on that," promised Spitzer.
The Democratic front-runner does not support vouchers - public funds that can be used to help pay tuition at private schools, his spokeswoman Christine Anderson said. "He believes that measures such as the Child Tax Credit, which was enacted with his support last year, can provide relief for parents who choose to send their children to private school," she said.

The child tax credit gives parents up to $330 for each child between the ages of 4 and 17. The credit can be used to help offset private school tuition or paid tutoring programs.
It was Spitzer's opponent, Republican John Faso, who first sponsored the child tax credit legislation in 2001, when he was minority leader of the state Assembly. "If elected, Eliot will explore the feasibility of expanding such programs," Anderson said.
Spitzer also said his top priority is making public schools more accountable and securing more funding for them.

Jerusalem, Israel +Child Dies in Kindergartn+

Jerusalem, Israel - An 18-month-old baby died in a kindergarten on Zichron Ya'acov Street. The kindergarten teacher called the police when she found the baby in an unconscious state.

After investigating all possible reasons for the incident, including criminal, police declared that it was a case of a cot death.

Manhattan, NY +Fatal Train Accident+

Manhattan, NY +Fatal Train Accident+ Fire Department were on the scene and reported of an aided that jumped in front of the northbound #6 line local train at East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, aided was struck by the train and was confirmed DOA by NYPD, ESU was responding for body extrication and removel from under the 4th car, requested power to be shut off.

Invedtigation is ongoing, delays on the tracks.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Another Commercial Burglary+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Another Commercial Burglary+ NYPD of the 90th Pct have yet another commercial burglary in this neighborhood.
They are investigating and requested ECT for a confirmed burglary in the Hardware store at 173 Lee Avenue between Penn Street and Rutledge Street.

Scranton, PA - $500G Offer Complicates School Sale

Scranton, PA - Another prospective buyer has emerged for the closed East Scranton Intermediate School, which the Scranton School Board agreed two months ago to sell to a Jewish community from Brooklyn, N.Y.

A company led by city businessman Paul Mansour is willing to pay $500,000 for the Quincy Avenue building, $100,000 more than Nadvorna Hasidic group whose offer the board approved unanimously Aug. 28, attorney Matthew Barrett said. “We don’t perceive it as being late in the day,” Mr. Barrett said of the timing of Madison School Properties LLC’s proposal. “The opportunity is presenting itself. It’s a great building, and we think $500,000 is a great price for the school,” he said.

Whether the School Board can entertain the offer will likely fall to Lackawanna County Court.
District solicitor Harry McGrath said “My position is, we have an offer of $400,000 and acceptance by the board, so we have a contract,” Mr. McGrath said. To derail the sale, Mr. McGrath said, Madison School Properties would have to demonstrate $400,000 does not represent fair market value for the property, which the district had appraised a few years ago at $350,000 to $375,000.
Mr. Barrett said that’s precisely what his client will argue. “We don’t think that is a reasonable price,” he said of the $400,000 offer. “We would hope the court would take into account that my client is willing to pay more in determining whether that is a reasonable price.”

Mr. Mansour, owner of the Carlisle Group, a computer software developer, said he didn’t make an offer for the property earlier because he didn’t know it was for sale.

Atlanta, GA - Former Police Officer Gets 20 Years for Arson

Atlanta, GA - A former Chatham County police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on multiple charges of arson.

Christopher Mock, 45, of Atlanta, was found guilty by a federal jury on 14 arson counts. He also was ordered to pay $601,550 in restitution.  
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Mock - who was then a cab driver - set a series of fires, primarily in the stairwells of 2- to 3-story brick apartment buildings in metro Atlanta. Some of the fires forced residents to jump to safety.

"Mock showed a callous disregard for human life when he used gasoline to set fires in the stairwells of several occupied apartment buildings during the early morning hours, when residents were asleep," David E. Nahmias, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said Thursday. "Mock also targeted one apartment building because of his animosity toward Jewish people. Given these aggravating circumstances, the long sentence imposed on Mock today was entirely appropriate."

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck in front of 976 58th Street, Hatzolah responding.

Brooklyn, NY +Jumper Up+

Brooklyn, NY +Jumper Up+ NYPD responding to a jumper up at Maimonides Hospital at 48th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway. ESU also responding.

U/D:
This wasn't a jumper, a FDNY member called a verbal alarm for a male hanging from the building, but it was a scaffolding rescue.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Fire+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Fire+ Fire Department responding to a commercial fire in the Matzoh Bakery at 32 Lynch Street between Bedford Avenue and Lee Avenue.

U/D: 14:32
Fire under control at this time.

Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Traffic Alert+

Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Traffic Alert+ The FDR Drive north bound is closed all lanes are being blocked at the FDR Drive at 42nd Street due to an over-hight tractor trailer that's being backed off the highway.

Manhattan, NY - J.P. Morgan's Old Haunt To Become Manhattan's New Ashkenazi Synagogue

Manhattan, NY - A new Orthodox synagogue is planned for Midtown Manhattan, not far from Bloomingdales and many luxury hotels.

The ambitious project will be the first new Ashkenazi, Orthodox synagogue to be created in Manhattan for decades. While Brooklyn and Bronx both have large concentrations of Orthodox Jews, in Manhattan Orthodox rabbis have grown accustomed to dwindling numbers of worshipers.

‪The financial undertaking of such a project is also nearly astronomical in the frame of reference of the Orthodox community. The total cost of the new synagogue is estimated at about $35 million: $21 million to purchase the six-story building on East 58th St. in which the New York Synagogue has been renting space since 2003, and the remainder to pay for the renovations. "It's a famous building built by the legendary American banker J.P. Morgan, which is considered to be part of the history of Manhattan," Rabbi Marc Schneier of the New York Synagogue explained. "The plan is to preserve the original facade, which is an architectural treasure, but to gut the inside and rebuild it into a beautiful synagogue."
The proximity of the building to some of the most famous luxury hotels in Manhattan is important to Schneier. The synagogue is also intended to serve its affiliate, the members of Schneier's Hampton Synagogue, Orthodox Jews working in Midtown and tourists staying at neighborhood hotels.

But Manhattan's Orthodox community is not happy about Schneier's plans. His temporary synagogue in the building has funneled worshipers, especially young ones, away from older synagogues in the area, with its extensive schedule of worship services featuring well-known cantors.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+ Fire Department calling all hands for a fire in the basement of a two story 20x40 at 4915 16th Avenue and 50th Street, fire is D/W/H

Lebanon - Report: Israel Used Uranium Bombs

Lebanon - A media report is claiming that Israel used uranium-based munitions, including uranium-tipped bunker-buster bombs, during its war against Hizbullah in Lebanon this summer. According to the report in a British newspaper, scientists found two soil samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs that showed "elevated radiation signatures."

"Scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbullah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon," it said. "The weapon was [either] some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (e.g., a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ...[or it] was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium," Dr. Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, said.
A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium.

The Israeli military denied the report by the British newspaper. "The military Spokesman's Office wants to make it clear that no munitions containing uranium were used in the war in Lebanon," an Israeli military spokesman said.

Kansas - NYPD Officer Complains for Being Pulled Over

Kansas - NYPD officer John McNeeley's was surprise when he was pulled over in Kansas, and wrote to them a letter of complaint.

"I pulled over, gave the officer my driver's license and my NYPD identification card. I was polite and I did everything I was supposed to do," McNeeley wrote in the letter. "About five minutes later, he brought back a summons to me and thanked me for my cooperation. I was dumbfounded. I then tried to ask him why a cop would write another cop a ticket. He would not answer."
"... I just hope that one day that I get the opportunity to pull over a Kansas Highway Patrolman who is visiting our city, and let him or her know what their fellow officer did to me."

Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Boro Park section of Brooklyn with a child that was struck on 15th Avenue and 42nd Street, Hatzolah on the scene requesting ambulance to respond.

Waterbury, CT - Building Code Conflict over Yeshiva Student Housing

Waterbury, CT - Almost a dozen homes are at the center of a building code conflict, because of a rabbinical school that has been turning single homes into dorms, and for a long time the violations have been overlooked. Now officals are upset and they say that violations of the law will not be overlooked.

This isn't just a stop for this school bus. The whole bus got off and went in one of two nondescript houses on this residential block. What's going on? "They're being used essentially as high density dorms," says Republican Alderman Dennis Odle. "This is being done in about 11 different boarding houses now."
Alderman Odle represents the area and he says the dorms are for students of a yeshiva, a rabbinical school, but they're in areas zoned residential. Running what is essentially a boarding house here is illegal.
"It's a matter of maintenance, it's a matter of traffic in the area, it's a matter of noise," Odle said.
Odle says Waterbury has welcomed the Yeshiva and the growing Orthodox Jewish community, but the law is the law. "The idea that we're not going to enforce zoning at all or not going to enforce it for some groups or another is completely out of bounds," Odle said.

Messages left at the yeshiva office were not returned, and a couple of the yeshiva students said that this is just a temporary problem and the yeshiva is going to build actual dormitories on the campus in a year or two.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +More Commercial Burglaries over Shabbas+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +More Commercial Burglaries over Shabbas+ NYPD of the 90th Pct are on the scene with multiple commercial burglaries that happened over Shabbas in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

A Hardware store at 517-519 Flushing Avenue with 10 to 15 offices in that building were burglarized over Shabbas, when all commercial establishments in this area are closed, taken was computers and laptops.