Pasadena, CA - Banking regulators seized IndyMac Bancorp, one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, on Friday evening. The bank, a star in the subprime era, is the second largest ever to fail and the first major bank to shut its doors since the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. The bank collapse came after a frenzied week as IndyMac’s executives tried — and failed — to...

Queens, NY - Federal Aviation Administration officials say two airborne planes came within 600 feet of colliding today at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was the second incident of its kind in a week. The FAA moved quickly to change takeoff and landing procedures at JFK on perpendicular runways -- the kind of runways involved in both incidents. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said...

New York - Many of Iran's claims related to missile tests during "Great Prophet III" war games -- appear to be smoke and mirrors! The missiles tested DID NOT not have 2,000-kilometer range, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report on Saturday. Iran DID NOT launch a Shahab-3 missile, able to reach Israel. It was an older missile that was out of production, newsroom sources tell...

New Jersey - Basic phone service for Verizon customers in New Jersey is going up. For the first time since 1985, a state utilities board has approved increasing the rate. The board says caps on the rates will enable poor people and elderly customers to keep phone service. The total monthly cost for basic residential service could rise from $18 to $27 over the next three years. Basic...

Monticello, NY - Hatzolah on the scene at Ichud Bungalow Colony at 245 Forestburgh Road on Rt 42 for a child that was pulled from the pool and is in respertory arrest after falling into the pool. Chopper Life Net-75 being launched at this time. ...

Monsey, NY - A 15-year-old bicyclist collided with a car while riding across Grandview Avenue. Daniel Leibowitz of Wesley Hills was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla by Chevra Hatzoloh of Rockland. Leibowitz's injuries were not considered life-threatening, but he did hit his head, Ramapo Lt. Mark Emma said. Leibowitz hurt his hip, back, elbow and head, Emma said. Emma didn't...

Wurtsboro, NY - A motor vehicle accident on Rt 209. And Rinna Road with a car that crashed into a utility pole with wires down causing a power outage in the area...

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine - Workers conducting infrastructure improvements near Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine’s central Golden Rose Synagogue discovered a World War II-era artillery shell, prompting the evacuation of personnel. Police sappers immediately responded. They determined that the 122-mm. shell was severely damaged by rust and was missing part of its fuse. After a brief investigation, the...

Manhattan, NY - The city will close two lanes to cars on Broadway in midtown to make way for a bike lane and a pedestrian walkway with cafe tables. The esplanade, called Broadway Boulevard, will run from 42nd Street in the Times Square area eight blocks south to Herald Square, site of the Macy's flagship department store. When it opens in mid-August it will change that section of Broadway from...

New York City - Representative Charles B. Rangel held a 20-minute news conference in Harlem on Friday afternoon after The New York Times reported that he had four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, at a time when the city is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. At one point angry residents accosted the congressman, the dean of Harlem politics, in an unusual sidewalk confrontation, as Mr...

Tel Aviv, Israel - Guests at an Israeli wedding hall can now insert a credit card into a machine at its entrance, tap in a sum and leave a gift for the bride and groom. "It's new in Israel and the world," Aya Alon Kaufman of the Gan Oranim hall in Tel Aviv said. "It's very convenient ... guests can give a gift even if they forget their chequebooks." She said couples pay $155 to rent the device...

New York City - Ronn D. Torossian CEO of 5WPR has Released the following statement to VIN News in regards to the controversy that we posted yesterday While traveling earlier this week with my family out of the country, my IT department investigated accusations which we have now learned to be true. A senior staff member failed to be transparent in dealing with client matters. He has taken...

Monticello, NY - Hatzolah EMS responding to Ichid Satmar Bungalow Colony for a child that was hit by a golf cart. ...

New York City - The Dow industrials dropped below 11000 for the first time in nearly two years after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he sees no bailout on the horizon for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Another $5 surge in oil prices fanned the market flames. The Dow industrials were down about 120 points in the first hour of trading, then shaved off another 50 points after Paulson's...

New York - Many Jewish family names are those of cities in Europe, often with a suffix that means ‘a resident of.’ For example: Berlin-er, Frankfurt-er, Minsk-y, Pinsk-y, Slutsk-y, Posnan-ski, Smolensk-y, etc. But surely these families weren’t known by the names of their cities while they were living there: They must have acquired them when they moved elsewhere, just as El Greco was known...