Albany, NY - VIN News was contacted by former teacher Rabbi Yaakov Weiss who requested that we disseminate his response to the serious accusations of child abuse leveled against him in the media. It behooves all of us to be mindful that although we are determined to put an end to child abuse, it is also possible for an innocent person's life and reputation to be destroyed by false...

Nashville, TN - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) & Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) met in Nashville, TN, for the second of three presidential debates. This Town Hall format debate was moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw, with the questions from a group of uncommitted voters in the audience and via e-mails to see the entire debate click on below ...

Albany, NY - New York Gov. David Paterson says he will run in 2010 for a full term in the office he has held since Eliot Spitzer resigned. Paterson today also launched a new political Web site that solicits campaign donations for New York's first black and first blind governor. The site highlights Paterson's work since he took office March 17. That's when Spitzer resigned after being named...

Baltimore, MD - Two men and a boy were arrested today after anti-Semitic spray-painted messages were discovered on the exterior signs of two Jewish institutions in Pikesville over the weekend, Baltimore County police said. One of the men is a member of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in the 5500 block of Slade Ave,. where the word Nazi and a swastika were spray-painted on signs, said Cpl...

Albany, NY - Another child has accused a local teacher of sexual abuse, city police said today. Police spokesman Det. James Miller said the 13-year-old boy was identified as another alleged victim of Mr. Yaakov Weiss, 28, of Loudonville, during the initial investigation of a referral from the New York State Child Protection Agency. Weiss, a teacher at Chabad of Colonie and founder of the...

Queens, NY - A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck at 156th Street and 71st Avenue. Hatzolah paramedics responded to the scene for elderly male victim that has sustained very serious injures. NYPD Highway A.I.S. requested, Chesed Shel Emes crew also responding...

New York City - U.S. stocks fell for a fifth day, with the Dow falling as much as 508 points, as the Fed's plan to loosen credit markets failed to counter investor pessimism about the government's ability to rescue the markets. Ben Bernanke's dour economic outlook in an early afternoon speech added to the day's weakness. And a report showed consumer borrowing in August fell for the first time...

New York - Shares of Ford Motor Co. slid to their lowest price in nearly 23 years Tuesday, as investors remained jittery over the Federal Reserve's decision to buy up corporate debt and Fitch Ratings cut the automaker's credit rating. Ford shares fell 71 cents, to $2.98 in late afternoon trading. a trade not seen since November 1985, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices at...

Wilkes-Barre, PA - Nora Rynkeiwicz, the young woman accused of vandalizing a Wilkes-Barre synagogue by spray-painting anti-Semitic words and symbols in March, pleaded guilty today to charges including criminal mischief and ethnic intimidation. Rynkeiwicz, of Factoryville, and a juvenile co-defendant, allegedly targeted the Ohav Zedek Synagogue at 242 S. Franklin St.,  and spray-painted another...

New York, NY - Legislation to change the city's term limits law was set to be introduced to the City Council today, (as was reported here on VIN News), but at a news conference this afternoon, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that she would not address the issue until it was discussed further. Quinn said that even though the council caucused on the issue behind closed doors for hours...

Russia - A hotline set up by Russia's largest Jewish organization for Jews suffering from antisemitism is yielding results, according to a new report. The report briefly listed some of the typical calls the hotline received over the course of September, including a teacher forced out of her job because she didn't want to teach on Saturdays, a young man assaulted by antisemitic police officers...

Chicago, IL - The Obama campaign returned $33,000 to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who purchased a large quantity of campaign T-shirts. The revelation arises out of a Republican request to the Federal Election Commission to investigate thousands of small donations to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Republicans claim that some of the donors are from overseas, which is...

Manhattan, NY - The vacancy rate for top-class New York City office space rose to 7.7 percent in the third quarter, a 43 percent jump from the same period last year, as Wall Street firms laid off workers and sought tenants for space they no longer need. The market, in which rents have continued to rise, has reached an ``inflection point,'' where rents will begin to fall, said Kenneth...

Washington - Children under 4 should not be given cough and cold medicines, companies that make those products said Tuesday in announcing new guidelines for their use. The industry has been criticized by pediatricians for marketing over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for children under 6 despite a lack of evidence that they work, and reports of safety problems. Linda Suydam, president...

Monsey, NY - Since the news broke about the arrest of a heimishe man, for repeatedly doing unspeakable things to a girl/young woman over many years, people have been asking me the same question again and again, “Could this possibly be true?” To all worried parents and community members who are asking this question; my unequivocal answer is, “YES.” Period. Exclamation point. I do not...