New York - The Jewish Community Relations Council [JCRC of NY] has sent sent out the following urgent advisory to the Jewish community that live in Fire Island, Long Island, near the sea and surrounding areas, regarding to the storm Hanna that is moving into the NY area this evening, and Shabbos afternoon into Sunday Tropical storm Hanna is located north of the Bahamas this morning and is...

New York - Gov. David Paterson said today he has signed legislation to let pharmacists administer flu and pneumonia shots, a change expected to boost the number of adults getting vaccinated statewide. New York pharmacists who complete state training and certification will be permitted to give the shots with a prescription from a physician or nurse practitioner starting Dec. 4. Three-year...

Postville, IA - After an article appeared today in the NY Times by Julia Preston, where it accuses Agriprocessors of inhumanly slaughter tactics showing an undercover video released by Peta, we got a Letter that was submitted to the NY Times by Menacham Lubinsky who represents Agriprocessors and was quoted in the article. See Below Dear Julia: I was terribly disappointed in your piece...

New Jersey - A small, single-engine plane made an emergency landing on the Northbound side of the Garden State Parkway. The plane landed near in Monmouth County at mile marker 102.5 on the parkway. U/D The small plane is being removed, no injuries everything back to normal. To see video click here...

New York, NY - New data from the Health Department show that the city’s infant mortality rate fell reaching the lowest level ever recorded. The 2007 rate – 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, down from 5.9 in 2006 – marked the sharpest one-year decline since 2001, when the city’s rate declined to 6.1 from 6.7 per 1,000 live births. Of the 128,961 babies born in New York City in 2007...

Chicago, IL - It is quite a swipe at the organized Jewish community that the Jerusalem Post is reporting Senator Biden has launched against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. "I take a backseat to no one — including Aipac — when it comes to supporting Israel," the Post quotes the Delaware Democrat just chosen as Senator Obama's running mate as saying. "They don't speak for the...

New York - A published report says Rep. Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns. The New York Times says in Friday editions that documents and a lawyer for Rangel confirm that the congressman profited from the resort, but didn't pay taxes over several...

Hallandale Beach, FL - It's part of a Jewish religious duty for married women — a monthly bath. Yet in Hallandale Beach, Rabbi Raphael Tennenhaus was hearing whispers that some orthodox women hadn't been participating in the mikvah. The ones who have multiple sclerosis or other forms of paralysis found that getting in and out of the bath, which is shaped more like a sunken whirlpool than...

New York, NY - Former Public Advocate Mark Green is forming a coalition of civic and labor leaders to block Mayor Bloomberg from changing term limits. Green described Bloomberg's attempt to serve four more years by getting the City Council to pass a bill as "a Putin power grab," referring to Russian iron-willed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "After seven years agreeing to a two-term limit...

Postville, IA - A new PETA undercover investigation has caught AgriProcessors—the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse, which is located in Postville, Iowa—cruelly hacking holes in cows' throats. Dr. Temple Grandin, the world's foremost expert on slaughter methods, has stated that these gouging, circular cuts cause the cows pain and suffering. This isn't the first time AgriProcessors has...

Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn residents of all races and genders — and even species — are invited this weekend to Celebrate our Diversity Day, an event organized by state Senator Eric Adams. The day is designed to "observe and honor the multiplicity of ethnicities, cultures, religions, and lifestyles that make up our great borough," Mr. Adams said. It will bring together residents for a...

Mendota Heights, MN - Leaders of the Conservative movement’s ethical-kashrut certification program are seeking to take their campaign to the next level. They are inviting Conservative rabbis to sign onto the Hekhsher Tzedek initiative, are meeting with at least one Orthodox kosher certification agency and are making initial overtures to selected kosher food producers that might seek the new...

St. Paul, MN - Sen. John McCain of Arizona accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday night with a dual message: Sen. Barack Obama does not have the judgment to govern the nation, whereas he himself can reach across party divisions to “get this country moving again.” In an address at the party’s national convention in St. Paul, Minn. — briefly interrupted when three...

Dairyland Park, NY - State Police said that a traffic stop led to the arrest of a Brooklyn man who police say stole two diamond rings from a Jewish summer camp. Police said Timothy D. Best, 42, was stopped at night on Route 209 and was arrested and charged with DWI. When police searched him, Best had in his possession two diamond rings worth $4,700, which police said he stole from Camp Rav Tov...

Israel - The Orthodox Beit Yaakov school in Elad is refusing to accept girls into its first-grade class if they attended the Agudat Yisrael preschool, where most of the children are from Sephardi families. The school belongs to the Ashkenazi independent school system that is funded by the Education Ministry but has broad pedagogic freedom. The parents of one of the girls filed an...