Syracuse, NY - Yossi Levy didn't notice the truck in front of him last week Thursday morning until concrete and dust from the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 690 [Syracuse-area highway] rained down on his car. "It was like an explosion," said Levy, (W39) a volunteer EMT wit Hatzolah Volunteer Ambulance from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The truck in the right lane continued down the highway a bit...

Israel - The adult daughter of a 54-year-old Ramat Beit Shemesh woman on trial for abusing her 12 children said today that her mother is a "moral woman," and innocent of all the charges she is facing. "None of the things described in the indictment actually happened," she said. The woman's daughter arrived with three of her adult brothers to testify at her mother's trial in Jerusalem District...

Jerusalem - Democrats living in Israel on Thursday criticized New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a party member, for endorsing Republican Mike Huckabee during a visit to Israel this week. One activist said the ties between Huckabee, a potential vice presidential nominee with Hikind, a former follower of Jewish extremist Meir Kahane, puzzled her. At a Jerusalem press conference on Tuesday, Hikind...

New York, NY - The number of accidents involving New York City Police Department patrol cars has been steadily rising the past few years, the NYPD confirmed today. There were about 400 more accidents last year than in 2005 –ranging from minor fender benders to totaled cars. However, serious injuries are down. Only 23 officers were badly hurt in patrol car accidents last year, compared to...

Jerusalem, Israel - A 29-year-old man affiliated with Jerusalem's haredi Mishmeret Tzniut, roughly translated as "modesty squad," has been indicted in a Jerusalem court for allegedly assaulting a 31-year-old woman in her apartment, together with six other men, after they suspected she had carried out "improper" relations with other men, court documents released today show. The suspect, Elhanan...

Queens, NY - More than 1,000 volunteers went through airport security but didn't fly anywhere when JetBlue held a dress rehearsal for its new terminal at Kennedy Airport. The run-through was part of a series of tests to prepare for the new terminal's opening on Oct. 1. The new terminal is connected to the landmark Trans World Airlines terminal, which was built in 1962 and closed when TWA...

New York City - Early last Tuesday, 5-year-old Jacob Neuman plunged 10 stories to his death while trying to climb out of a stalled elevator in a Williamsburg housing project. A year earlier - on Aug. 20, 2007 - Lillian Milan died at another Brooklyn project partially because of faulty elevators. Shockingly - as the city mourns Jacob and demands accountability - residents of the Bushwick...

New York - The kashrut certification industry is being galvanized by a provocative, innovative initiative called Hekhsher Tzedek (i.e., justice certification). The brainchild of Rabbi Morris Allen of St. Paul, Minnesota, Hekhsher Tzedek is a supplement to current kashrut certification. Kashrut certification today declares that the food establishment adheres to the kashrut standards and...

New York - Orange County may no longer be one of the 10 counties in New York State without a hotel room tax. County Executive Edward Diana was successful in getting the measure through the legislative Rules and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. If adopted by the Ways and Means Committee, and then on the floor, a letter requesting a five percent hotel room tax will be sent to the state...

Postville, IA - As governor, I have worked to attract and to grow businesses large and small throughout Iowa. By taking what might be called the "high road" to economic development, we are showing that investment in Iowa's work force is a good value to Iowa taxpayers, and we are creating good-paying jobs as a result. So, I'm proud to say Iowa's business climate is strong, and it's getting...

Israel - Nature reserve rangers from the Ein Gedi resort were attacked by approximately 100 yeshiva students from Bnei Brak, today. The boys were lighting bonfires, against nature reserve regulations. When the rangers asked the yeshiva students to turn out the bonfires, the young men attacked them with stones. No casualties were reported but the rangers' car was damaged. Israel's Nature...