'August 31 Pinned News' Brooklyn, NY - Rabbis in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic communities are taking a hard look at an annual religious ceremony in which the faithful swing live chickens over their heads. Called kapparot, the fowl-whirling event occurs each year between Rosh...

New York, NY - US markets traded higher on Friday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke described the recent housing downturn as "sharp" and added "that further declines in homebuilding are likely" in a highly anticipated speech Friday morning. But he also hinted that the central bank was prepared to cut rates if necessary, news that may soothe jittery investors. As well comments by...

Cleveland, OH - Four more bomb threats forced evacuations at stores in northeast Ohio early Friday, adding to a series of similar threats across the country this week, the FBI said. The latest threats were phoned in to a Wal-Mart in Mentor and Giant Eagle grocery stores in Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake and Green, authorities said. The stores were temporarily evacuated, but each reopened within...

New York - NY state will receive more than $11 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, to encourage and enforce seat belt use.New York was the first state to enact a mandatory seat belt law. New York is also a "primary enforcement" state, meaning law enforcement officers can stop a vehicle and issue a citation if he or she observes an unbelted driver or...

Tampa, FL - Two Tampa, Fla. men Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed, 24, and Yousef Samir Megahed, 21 have been indicted on terrorism charges after the FBI said they carried explosives across state lines into South Carolina. The men, who are engineering students at the University of South Florida, were previously charged with possession of incendiary devices after officers pulled them over for speeding...

Tallinn, Estonia - The Synagogue in Tallinn hosted a ceremony and celebration for the inauguration of its new Mikvah. This event holds special significance for the Jewish community of Estonia, since the republic has been without a Mikvah since World War Two. This, no doubt, represents an important stage in the revival of Jewish life in Estonia. The event involved many guests and a full...

New York - More than 6 million children have been diagnosed with asthma, the most common chronic condition among kids. But a new study suggests that many may have another condition and need different treatments. Dr. Karen McCoy of Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio said emergency room doctors see a child with breathing problems and immediately assume asthma and admit the patient. But McCoy...

New York - Teen smoking in New York State has been reduced by nearly 45% since 2000, according to a report released by the state Department of Health.The state began using a comprehensive tobacco control program in 2000, and officials attribute the drop in youth smoking to those efforts. [AP...

Redmond, WA - Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. vaulted to a record in U.S. trading on speculation that the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry handheld device could be bought by Microsoft Corp. Although the chatter was met with much skepticism, a number of wire stories and market blogs mentioned the rumours. A RIM spokeswoman said in an e-mail that the company does "not comment on rumours or...

New York, NY - In a lengthy article in the prestigious newspaper the wall street journal today's edition they write on the issues of charters schools, that has received a lot of media attention with the Hebrew school in Florida, and the Arabic school in NYC. Part of the article The success of an Arabic school called Tarek ibn Ziyad, and its adoption outside of Minnesota, heralds a potentially...

San Bruno, CA - An unlicensed locksmith who's been the subject of investigation has entered a no contest plea to a charge of identity theft. As part of that plea, Moshe Mizrachi now faces up to 6 months in the county jail. Prosecutors had hoped to get up to one year. However, our sources tells us this investigation remains open. San Bruno police arrested 29-year-old Moshe Mizrachi in June as...

Idaho - After allegations that has been swirling for a few weeks for US Sen. Larry Craig a republican from Idaho for disorderly conduct at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, VIN News has learned that Sen. Craig will resign today...

London - Plans for a four-star kosher hotel on Golders Green Road in North-West London have been approved by Barnet Council in the face of protests from residents and a Jewish councillor.The 60-room building will include Shabbat-friendly door keys and lifts, meat and milk kitchens and mezuzot on all doors. Conservative councillor Melvin Cohen and local residents claimed there was no demand for...

Israel - Israel faces pressure from observant Jewish communities to ease a blockade of the Gaza Strip so they can import food and thus remain faithful to the tradition of Shmita (not growing or consuming food cultivated on Jewish land once every seven years). Since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June, nothing has been exported from Gaza Except for humanitarian shipments. Israel's...

Brooklyn, NY +NYPD Officer Shot+ NYPD are calling for a Level 3 mobilization for an officer that was shot in the arm from the rooftop of an housing complex at Bainbridge and Patchen Avenue at the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. MOS is being transported to Kings County Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Perimeter has been set up, NYPD ESU, K-9, Aviation all responding. No...