Monticello, NY - The market for second homes in Sullivan County remains strong, but its future could depend on improving services like cell phone coverage and health care, and marketing to a new generation of buyers, according to a study by the county’s planning division. The study surveyed 1,379 second-home owners last year - 10,085 own second homes here - asking them myriad questions about...

Nashville, TN - The family of Walter Westfeld, a Jewish art dealer killed at Auschwitz, is suing Germany in the U.S. for damages incurred by the Nazis' confiscation of his collection, including paintings by El Greco and Pissarro. The family representative is Fred Westfield of Nashville, Tennessee -- the Westfelds anglicized the name -- who was celebrating his 12th birthday when he last saw his...

New York - meltdown threatened entire countries such as Hungary and Iceland, one voice was in demand above all others to steer us through the gloom: that of Dr Doom. For years Dr Doom toiled in relative obscurity as a New York University economics professor under his alias, Nouriel Roubini. But after making a series of uncannily accurate predictions about the global meltdown, Roubini has...

Denver, CO - Back in the city where he claimed history, Barack Obama presided Sunday over a Colorado rally so enormous and energetic that even he seemed surprised at his following. "Goodness gracious," Obama said as he took the stage and peered at the human mass in Civic Center Park. People packed in all the way up the steps of the Capitol, off in the distance. The Obama campaign released...

Sana'a,Yemen - Rabbi Fayez Al-Garadi, head of Shebzi Jews, requested President Ali Abdullah Saleh to appoint him as advisor for the Jewish Yemeni Community in America. Al-Garadi revealed that he sent an official letter to President Saleh in this respect; however, he has received no reply. As early as 2001, Al-Garadi played important roles during the local elections in his homeland, Amran's...

New York - Republican John McCain continues to gain on Democrat Barack Obama, reducing Obama’s lead to 5.3 points with just over a week to go before Election Day, the latest Reuters/C–SPAN/Zogby national daily tracking poll shows. The race now stands at 49.4% to 44.1% in favor of Obama. Obama led McCain by 9.5 points in yesterday’s report. “There is no question that this race...

Germany - A leading German economist compared the criticism of bankers over the global financial crisis to anti-Semitism in 1930s Germany, according to a newspaper interview released on Sunday. "In every crisis, people look for someone to blame, for scapegoats," Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the Munich-based Ifo economic research institute, told the newspaper Tagesspiegel. "Even in the...

Beijing - When Israeli Dvir Bar-Gal arrived in Shanghai some seven years ago, there were roughly 300 Jews in the city. That community is now seven times larger. Jewish communities in China are expanding in a way that matches the frenetic expansion of the enigmatic land in which they live. "The Jewish community of China is one the fastest growing Jewish communities in the world," said...

Germany - Unlike most people whose relatives fled Nazi Germany without leaving a trace, Roy Gonsenhauser can stand in front of his relatives’ home in Bad Berleburg, Germany. He can even visit the nearby cemetery, where many of his ancestors are buried and stop at the synagogue where they worshipped. The Bentleyville resident recently returned to the town north of Frankfort, at the invitation...

Washington - Western intelligence experts believe that Iran's nuclear facilities are so deep underground that it would be difficult for Israel to wipe them out, or even significantly damage them, with a quick airstrike. In order to deal a serious setback to Iran's nuclear program, at least four key sites inside Iran would have to be hit, said one Western official, who asked for anonymity when...

Washington - Some of Barack Obama's advisers have talked publicly of keeping on Robert Gates as secretary of defense in a Democratic administration. Gates, who has been widely praised for his pragmatic stewardship of the Pentagon, says firmly he wants to go home to Washington state. But he agreed to talk to NEWSWEEK's John Barry about the national-security challenges he sees ahead...

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to exhaustion brought on by his heavy workload, the state-run news agency reported quoting a close associate. The announcement comes as doubts have surfaced over whether Ahmadinejad, who faces strong criticism from opponents, will seek re-election next year. Parliament member Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, an ally of the president...

Melbourne, Australia - It's not your most conventional airline luggage, but Caulfield's Erwin Lamm has been travelling to the Gold Coast with wife Ilse for about 40years with a supply of kosher meat. He has never hit a snag until he flew Tiger Airways. When checking in at Tullamarine, a staffer abruptly told  him he couldn't take the meat that was packed in a cardboard  box and hurried him...

Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg residents woke up on Saturday morning in shock and disbelief that the Department of Transportation has changed the signs on Kent Ave. from Broadway-Williamsburg West from “Alternate Side” to “No Standing any Time” without any notice to the area residents. “Not only did DOT change these signs without any notification to the area residents in advance, they...

Philadelphia, PA - Pennsylvania Republicans are disavowing an e-mail sent to Jewish voters warning of a second holocaust it they vote for Barack Obama. Democratic officials blasted the GOP e-mail sent to Jewish voters in Pennsylvania. The e-mail also alleged that presidential candidate Barack Obama taught members of a community group "to commit voter registration fraud." Pennsylvania...