Jerusalem - Members of the capital's ultra-Orthodox community are preparing for another weekend of protests against the opening of a municipal parking lot at city hall - free of charge and staffed by a non-Jew - on Shabbat. Last Saturday, thousands of ultra-Orthodox men clashed with police, first near the Kikar Safra parking lot, and then at the entrance to the Mea She'arim neighborhood...

Jerusalem - The race to become one of Jerusalem's two chief rabbis is shifting into high gear, with the parties in various sectors of the community working to have their favored candidate installed. The Shas party, which is directing the process, is determined to have Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (the son of the party's spiritual leader, Ovadia Yosef) named chief Sephardi rabbi in the capital. His...

Lakewood, NJ - To any visitor to their Lakewood, N.J., home, Abraham and Zvia Chen display all the signs of loving and generous parents. Since they and their six kids moved from Midwood, Brooklyn, last year, their attractive, modest house has become comfortably settled in. On a typical weekday evening, the children surround their father with news and questions as he walks in from a day’s...

Venezuela - The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health. The decision follows a wave of nationalizations and increased scrutiny of businesses in South America's top oil exporter. Health Minister Jesus Mantilla said the zero-calorie Coke...

Jerusalem - You may have davened while driving—but have you ever tried praying on the Information Superhighway? Now, a Jewish-owned tech company allows you to do just that. KotelNotes is an iPhone app that allows you to compose and send electronic tefilah missive to the most heavenly of IP addresses: Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where they are printed out on small paper slips, recited at...

New York, NY - New data shows the number of civilian complaints made against New York City police continues to rise. The number of complaints made to the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board in the first half of 2009 rose 11% from this time last year. That's an increase of more than 300 complaints. Complaints range from problems with an officer's conduct to allegations of abuse and...

Washington - Jews vexed by Obama cooling his heels on the Oval Office desk whilst chatting with Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu—exposing the sole is a grave insult in Middle Eastern culture—can take it easy, and not because Jews are not Muslims or Arabs and therefore have no reason to get all bent out of shape in the first place. It’s because Israel’s ostensibly best friend in the...

New York City - During the 19th century, infectious disease — like cholera, yellow fever and tuberculosis — was rampant in cities like New York City. Raw sewage, garbage and dying animals (like horses) cluttered streets. But public health theories — some ultimately inaccurate — shaped urban planning to combat disease and other maladies. Drinking water and sewage systems were developed...

Manhattan, NY - News Corp. has agreed to form an external diversity council after meeting with civil rights groups about a New York Post cartoon that critics said likened President Barack Obama to a dead chimpanzee. The company will form a "diversity community council" in New York City that will meet with senior company executives twice a year, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous...

New York City - Letters from 30,000 Orthodox Jewish parents were delivered by Agudath Israel community activists to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg this afternoon. The missives make the case for preserving a city program than benefits needy parents, the large majority of them in the city’s Orthodox community, to the tune of approximately $15 million a year. The program provides...

Washington - The security guard involved in today’s shooting attack at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. has died of his wounds. According to a source, the guard, who has been identified as 39-year-old Stephen Tyrone Johns, actually stood in the assailant’s line of fire to take at least one bullet before drawing his own firearm to fire back. He apparently did so to...

New York - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement with computer security software vendors Symantec and McAfee after the companies renewed customers’ software subscriptions without the customers’ knowledge or authorization. Under the Attorney General’s settlement, both companies will make detailed disclosures to consumers about subscription terms and renewal, and each...

Houston, TX - On June 10, the City of Houston District Attorney’s office dismissed all charges against Rabbi Maccabee Avishur, The Emery/Weiner School’s Director of Judaics. Rabbi Avishur was arrested [Reported by VIN News] after coming to the aid of an EWS 10th grade student during a traffic stop last Wednesday, June 3. This student, while on her way to her final exam, had just been...

Manhattan, NY - Verizon is launching a guerilla campaign in NYC which includes 99 cent cab rides and 99 cent Mr. Softee ice cream cones to tout the 99 cent daily usage fee in Verizon’s prepaid cell phone plans. The 99 cent taxi rides are being offered today for passengers of 40 Verizon-branded cabs leaving from Penn Station and Grand Central in the morning, and from various points in the...

Albany, NY - Malcolm Smith just put out a statement saying he plans to file for a temporary court injunction seeking to keep the Republicans from going into session at 3 pm. Here’s the statement from Smith spokesman Austin Shafran: “The Temporary President and Majority Leader, Senator Malcolm A. Smith, was elected to a two year term pursuant to a resolution passed by a majority of...