Norfolk, VA - The Securities and Exchange Commission added the wife of a WexTrust Capital owner to its list of defendants in a complaint of securities fraud by WexTrust and two of the investment firm's owners. In an amended complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, the SEC named Elka Shereshevsky of Norfolk as a relief defendant, someone who received ill-gotten assets through the actions of...

Ste. Agathe, Canada - After a week of bad publicity over anti-Semitism in this Laurentian resort town, a Hasidic couple is getting married here next week in an outdoor ceremony, and the whole town is invited. Not only that: The local council is providing the wedding location (an arts centre by the lake that is normally used for exhibits and concerts); The bride is printing up a manual for...

Monticello, NY - Sullivan County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested three teens and charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime, gang assault in the second degree, aggravated harassment and disorderly conduct. Charged were William Harrison, 18, of Livingston Manor, Sean Gadsen, 16, of Youngsville, and Matthew Alcivar, 17, of Queens. The three are charged with beating several victims...

South Fallsburg, NY - After a story in the Times Herald-Record that allegedly misquoted South Fallsburg, NY police chief Simmie Williams, resulting in several disparaging comments on VIN News, the chief himself has personally reached out to Vos Iz Neias to set the record--and the Times Herald-Record--straight. In a phone call with VIN News, Williams said he was "personally hurt and offended"...

Borough Park, NY - Hospital Compare, the U.S. government web site that helps the public review the quality of care in hospitals, has just published the most recent data on mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients. Of nearly 5,000 hospitals in the nation, only nine performed better than the national rate in treating heart attacks, 41 in treating heart failure, and...

Postville, IA - The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and assisting agencies executed a search warrant today at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. Bob Brammer, spokesman for Iowa Attorney General's Office said no arrests were made today and no further information was available. The office is serving as the prosecutor in the enforcement of state laws in connection with...

Sandy Springs, GA - Homeowners in a Sandy Springs neighborhood surrounding the private Epstein School have voluntarily taken down signs protesting the school’s proposed expansion, an attempt to ease tension on the debate. Ann Feldman, president of the Mountaire Springs Neighborhood Association, said the move was intended to show goodwill. More than 100 of the small signs – reading...

Brooklyn, NY - Hatzolah responding to 1333 51st Street between 13th and 14th Avenue's for a fire on the 5th floor of a 6 story 100x50 multiple dwelling. Fire Department operating on the scene. U/D: 11:51am Fire is out at this time, all searches are negative...

New York - According to Fox News first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been chosen as John McCain's running mate for vice president. Palin, 44, is a first-term governor and will become the first person on the GOP ticket who is not a white male. In picking her, McCain went outside of a short list of candidates that included former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim...

New York, NY - New York City ambulance companies are sending trucks and crews down to the Gulf Coast as the region prepares for a possible hurricane three years after Katrina. Citywide Mobile Response Corp. spokesman Isaac Newman says his company dispatched five ambulances along with 15 crew members early Friday from its headquarters on Stillwell Avenue in the Bronx. They left about 6 a.m. and...

Kiryas Joel, NY - State police Sgt. Warner Hein's legacy of diplomacy under difficult circumstances was on display Wednesday in Kiryas Joel where the potentially combustible anniversary of the death of Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum passed without trouble. The only person who got hurt was a guy who suffered some scrapes and bruises when he tried to stop his car after it slipped out of "park," a good...

Brooklyn, NY - A Brooklyn neighborhood group wants the arty Waterfalls installation shut down early because they're destroying plants along the Promenade and in gardens. "We're very upset. We have lost shrubs, trees and plenty of plants on the Promenade," said Brooklyn Heights Association President Judy Stanton. "They have been...irreversibly damaged by the salt coming from the...

Brooklyn – Council Member Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) announced that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will hold a recycling event in Brooklyn on Sunday September 7th at Keyspan Park in Coney Island, between 8am and 2pm. Participants will have the opportunity to recycle electronics and donate gently used clothing to Goodwill. The first 100 people to drop off electronics will receive a $5 Best...

New York - The state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, is asking the state Thruway Authority to post online details of gas prices at every rest stop along the highway. Mr. DiNapoli is auditing Thruway gas prices to determine if fueling stations are overcharging motorists. He says he wants to be sure the Thruway stations aren't jacking up prices to make up for decreased traffic after fuel prices...

Makhachkala, Russia - Jewish community members discovered that vandals struck two Jewish cemeteries in Makhachkala, Russia in the Republic of Dagestan, damaging more than 80 gravestones over the course of two nights. The head of the local Jewish community, Shimi Dibiyaev, said that because of inadequate funding, local Jews have been unable to build a more secure fence around the cemeteries to...