New York, NY - A federal jury has awarded more than $700,000 to a former Queens-Midtown Tunnel employee who said his bosses denied him a promotion and penalized him for taking sick days because he was Jewish. The jury, in United States District Court in Manhattan, decided that the former employee, Gregory Fishman, should get $235,000 for emotional pain and $500,000 in punitive damages. Mr...

New York City - The day after a video emerged of a cop knocking a cyclist to the ground, a second video alleging police brutality surfaced today in which an NYPD officer is seen whaling away at a man's legs with a baton. The footage - shot on July 4 on the Lower East Side - shows Officer Maurice Harrington repeatedly hitting Michael Cephus, 46, on his legs with a collapsible metal baton as he...

Washington - A conservative US senator on Tuesday alleged that Chinese authorities plan to spy on foreign guests staying in hotels during the Olympics next month in Beijing. Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas, said that lawyers representing international hotel chains have provided his office with documents ordering hotels to install monitoring equipment. "In short, the government...

Queens, NY - Emergency crews on the scene have confirmed that a plane with a blown rear tire has made a safe emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Delta Air Lines plane dumped excess fuel and circled the Queens airport before the only plane landing at runway 22-R. All passengers will be exiting the plane on the tarmac and will be shuttled to the terminal. The...

Jerusalem - A brief course offered by the Chabad Hassidim about the Temple endangers the Aksa Mosque, Islamic Movement spokesman Zahi Nujidat said Tuesday. The three-part seminar, which is being held this week and next week at some 200 Chabad Houses throughout the country, comes less than two weeks before Tisha Be'av, which marks the destruction of the Temple. "We view this as a serious and...

Jerusalem - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign seems to have purposely leaked the contents of the note that he placed in the Kotel, web magazine Israel Insider wrote Tuesday. While Israel's Hebrew newspaper Maariv came under fire for publishing the note, "it now appears that Maariv had collaborated with the Obama campaign in getting the 'private' prayer, with its 'modest'...

New York - EL AL, Israel's national airline, announced today that beginning September 2, 2008 EL AL and American Airlines passengers will soon have many more options to fly between 25 additional cities in North America and Israel. The first group of passengers to benefit from the new code share agreement can fly from Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft Worth, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington, DC...

Philadelphia, PA - A group of Russian-born immigrants made $3 million helping 380 asylum-seekers file bogus applications over a four-year period, federal authorities charged Tuesday. David Lynn, 33, posed as an immigration lawyer and coached natives of eastern Europe on how to claim persecution on religious, sexual orientation or other grounds, prosecutors said. He charged $8,000 per person...

New York City - Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced increases to some of its domestic and international baggage fees to help offset record fuel prices. The fee to check a second bag for domestic flights will rise from $25 to $50, and fees for items that require special handling -- such as surfboards or ski equipment -- also will increase on domestic and international flights. These changes...

New York City - The stock market Tuesday gained back all of its lost ground from the previous session - and surged further - as investors cheered strong financial reports, a rise in consumer confidence and oil falling to its lowest level since early May. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 266 points at 11,397 ...

Baku, Azerbaijan - According to the head of Azerbaijan's Mountain Jews Semen Ikhiilov, the community is looking for a site for the construction of a new synagogue. He noted that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev suggested him to find a site for the synagogue, promising to build it. Ikhiilov said the synagogue should be constructed in the quarters of compact settlement of Mountain Jews in...

California - A strong earthquake has shaken Southern California. The late Tuesday morning jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas. According to the USGS, the earthquake was measured at 5.8. Officials said the quake lasted about 20 seconds. U/D: Los Angeles Fire Department urging all residents to stay indoors, off roads. Los Angeles Hatzolah set up their...

New York City - “Rotting wood separating from the platform; dangerous gaps between the train and the platform; metal beams breaking away from deteriorating concrete, jerry-rigged with thin metal struts – systemwide, the subway infrastructure is not being properly maintained and people are getting hurt. Someone has to answer for this inexcusable incompetence,” Assemblyman Dov Hikind...

London - The root cause of Britain's broken society is the loss of religion, the Chief Rabbi said today. Sir Jonathan Sacks pointed to the collapse of faith as the key factor behind the failure of relationships, the weakness of marriage and the fragmentation of communities. He said declining religious belief has led to the spread of depression, stress, eating disorders and drug and alcohol...

Brooklyn, NY - NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today announced the second set of 135 public and private schools to be targeted for far-reaching street safety enhancements under the DOT’s Safe Routes to Schools program. The program has already completed short-term improvements at the first set of schools across all five boroughs, bringing improved...