Queens, NY - A Jet Blue baggage handler at Kennedy airport reportedly admitted stealing an NYPD sergeant's gun from her luggage and then throwing it away in a Queens sewer when he came under suspicion. Port Authority police arrested 21-year-old Tamarcus Hines of Rosedale after he allegedly confessed to stealing the sergeant's .9mm handgun, which had been packed in a locked gun box inside her...

Brooklyn, NY - A New York man who told investors he was president of a hedge fund called ARC was really a hired driver, according to court documents on Friday in which he and two others were charged with fraud. The self-described president of ARC, A.. and D.., a purported manager at the fund from 2002 until it closed in February 2006, were arrested on Thursday night. The third accused, A...

Stamford Hill, London - A strictly Orthodox family may be forced to tear down an extension to their Hackney home after a High Court judge rejected their bid to save it. Matilda Schlesinger argues that the large loft extension at Lynmouth Road, Stamford Hill, is essential to provide enough room for her family, which includes 10 children, ranging in age from two to 18. But Hackney Council and...

Monticello, NY - Gov. David Paterson is urging the interior secretary to approve two Indian casino projects in Sullivan County. In a letter, Paterson urged Secretary Ken Salazar to reverse a January 2008 decision by the Bush administration rejecting the St. Regis Mohawk and Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican proposals in the Town of Thompson. Both tribes have reached local impact deals with...

Jerusalem - The State of Israel is going all out in honor of the Pope’s upcoming visit to Israel. Some say it's going too far. The State of Israel has issued new stamps of churches in honor of the visit, a website featuring a video all but endorsing Christianity, and more. Pope Benedict XVI, 82, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday, May 11, and will leave on Friday, May 15, after...

Ottawa - A controversial British MP barred from entering Canada for a speaking tour earlier this year said Friday he has informed federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and the heads of two Canadian Jewish groups that he intends to file a libel suit against them. British MP George Galloway, left, seen handing stacks of money to Hamas official Ziad al-Zaza in Gaza City in March, was barred...

Washington - Sales of kosher foods through grocery stores in the US have risen to over $200 bln in 2008 from about $150 bln in 2003, showing yearly growth rate twice that of the overall food market, according to Packaged Facts' new study, "Market Trend: Kosher-and Halal-Certified Foods in the US." "US consumers who are not followers of Judaism or Islam are largely unaware of the specific...

New York - The station, which launched its helicopter coverage in 1995, and was the first in town with one, is now sharing chopper services with WNYW/Ch. 5. "It's been tough, I never though there'd be a day when I wouldn't be in the air," Dan Rice, Ch. 4's former chopper correspondent, told the Daily News. Rice, who is married to Ch. 7's chopper ace Shannon Sohn, told The News he'd learned...

Dear Mr. Vice President, If you're so concerned about the health of New Yorkers, do us a favor and cover your mouth before you talk again. We're all a little uneasy about swine flu -- and for good reason -- but your suggestion that straphangers cut up their MetroCards and cower in their apartments is reckless and stupid, damaging to our economy and our psyche. This is the city that...

Cleveland, Ohio - A US appeals court has denied a stay of deportation to alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk, who is wanted in Germany on war crimes charges. The ruling allows for the 89-year-old Ohio resident to be deported - although the appeals process is not exhausted. A stay of deportation was granted earlier in April after federal agents briefly removed him from his...

New York - Elie Wiesel called him a "God." His investors called him a "genius." But, proving correct that old adage from the country and western song, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. Bernie Madoff, for at least 20 years, ran a Ponzi scheme on thousands of clients, among them the people you and I would consider the best and brightest. Business leaders, celebrities...

Washington - By allowing a New Jersey woman to sue a company over the mercury poisoning she allegedly suffered from eating the company's canned albacore tuna, the U.S. Supreme Court may have opened a can of legal worms, one observer said. On Monday, the nation's highest court allowed a lawsuit to move forward that was filed by Deborah Fellner, of the state of New Jersey whose diet consisted...

Sydney, Australia - First he refused to go quietly when his synagogue tried to make him redundant. Now the intransigent Rabbi Moshe Gutnick refuses to go overseas to have his employment dispute heard by an independent tribunal. The Bondi Mizrachi Synagogue, which says it can no longer afford Rabbi Gutnick, asked the Supreme Court to send the dispute to the London Beth Din, saying there was...

Washington - The Obama Justice Department moved Friday to drop all charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists who had been charged under the Espionage Act with improperly disseminating sensitive information. The move by the government came in a motion filed with the federal court in Alexandria, Va. which was to be the site of the trial that was scheduled to begin June 2. The...

Washington - With reports that Justice David H. Souter intends to retire from the U.S. Supreme Court after 19 years, it is time to take a quick look at his legacy on education issues. Souter has been a reliable liberal vote--in dissent from the court's conservative majority--on such major recent cases as voluntary school racial diversity and student free speech. But Souter has done his most...