New York City - Not in our jails. Mayor Bloomberg said today that the city has launched an investigation into who allowed a wealthy inmate to host a lavish bar mitzvah behind bars for his son at the downtown lockup known as the Tombs. "Clearly, this is not something that should have taken place," Bloomberg said. The Post reported in an exclusive story today that Tuvia Stern, a...

Washington - CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Thursday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint operations with Pakistani forces will find him. Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters: "The last information we had, that's still the case." Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt...

New York - Suppose two men committed separate acts of extremist murder in the United States within a month. Suppose the gunmen attacked a church and a national landmark, motivated by politics and religious prejudice, targeting a nationally controversial figure and innocent civilians. Suppose there was a history of attacks by similarly motivated men in America, ranging from individual shootings...

Ulster County, NY - The county has received $4.7 million in federal stimulus money to replace a bridge in Kerhonkson. The money will cover 100 percent of the construction costs to replace the Main Street bridge over the Rondout Creek. The deficient bridge has been closed since Dec. 19, forcing local residents and emergency service vehicles to take a detour. The county said it would soon...

Brooklyn, NY - Charles J. Hynes is the District Attorney for Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Hynes sat this week for an exclusive interview with Rabbi Yair Hoffman for VIN News new program Velt News and Views, to address areas of concern to the Jewish community. Among the areas covered in the interview are the new Kol Tzedek program launched by the District Attorney's office to address the...

Paris, France - The trial of 26 men accused of torturing and murdering a Jewish man in 2006 was suspended today after their leader threw his shoes at the victim's lawyers, witnesses said. Youssof Fofana, who has said he killed 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, hurled his shoes across the courtroom at the legal representatives of the victim's family. Throwing shoes at someone is a powerful insult in the...

Jerusalem - The world was in shock after it learned that Korea carried out another nuclear underground test on May 25, the second time in 3 years. This development is a direct challenge to the leader of the world's remaining superpower, Barak Obama, who proclaimed to his citizens: "I strongly condemn their actions. N. Korea's actions endanger the people of Northeast Asia, they are a blatant...

Brooklyn, NY - He's never even seen her face, but a complete stranger is about to give Anthony Cottman his life back. Cottman will soon be able to return to work, go on vacation and walk up subway steps thanks to a woman who agreed to give the Brooklyn man her kidney. "She is giving it to me for no other reason than I need it," Cottman said. The 45-year-old has been undergoing dialysis...

Albany, NY - A state Supreme Court judge in Rensselaer County has refused to block takeover of the state Senate and has ordered more legal arguments. Democrats filed the injunction this morning, claiming that the newly formed coalition government illegally seized control of the Senate majority on Monday. At the same time the judge denied that request, Republicans and the two dissident...

Jerusalem - An innocent comment on Facebook may end up depriving a woman of the high alimony she was seeking from her estranged husband. A couple who married in 2005 and were living in Rishon Lezion, separated two months ago. The husband left the home and moved into a housing unit adjoining his parents' home, and their two children remained with the wife who held onto the rented...

New York - They’ve ruined dates and disrupted business meetings, and they’ve made driving a car more dangerous and riding a train insufferable. Now the BlackBerry is being blamed for a coup d’état. Tom Golisano, a billionaire businessman who spent heavily to ensure Democratic control of the New York State Legislature for the first time in decades, says it was a meeting with Malcolm...

Geneva - World Health Organization has declared swine flu a pandemic, the first one in more than 40 years. Although most of the cases have been mild, the WHO is concerned about the spread of the virus to 74 countries. Raising the alert level to Phase 6, the highest level, will speed up production of a vaccine and force governments to be more aggressive in trying to contain suspected...

Jerusalem - The recent Shabbat protests in Jerusalem quickly turned into “Shabbat battles.” The battles and wars led to a flare-up – with headlines such as “The haredim set the capital on fire” – and this flare-up again classified the ultra-Orthodox community as a mob of violent, provocative individuals. Meanwhile, the regular, normal haredim watched on with sadness. After all, the...

Albany, NY - A lawyer for Sen. Malcolm Smith appeared this morning before state Supreme Court Justice George B. Ceresia, seeking a temporary injunction, hoping to "prevent Senate Republicans from conducting illegitmate business under the pretense of the Senate majority." Ceresia received a phone call last night at 10 asking for the emergency hearing, which he conducted with lawyers for Smith...

New York City - Council Members James Vacca (D-Bronx) and Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) will hold hearings today in City Council Chambers at 11:00 AM to advocate for a bill that would require traffic enforcement agents to photograph parking violations and attach a copy of the photograph to the each ticket. The bill, Intro 886-A, is intended to end the he-said-she-said battles that clog our traffic...