Crown Heights, NY - Homeless families who hit the jackpot by landing in luxury condos in Brooklyn shouldn't get too comfortable, Mayor Bloomberg recommended today. "We're not going to let people just sit there. This is a transition thing. We want to move them out," the mayor said of the spanking new unsold units in Crown Heights leased to a non-profit by desperate developer Avi Shriki, (as...

Manhattan, NY - Mayor Bloomberg said today that the city's plan to close stretches of Sixth and Seventh avenues to cars and convert them to pedestrian malls has actually helped traffic. "It is summertime in a down economy, so you've got to be a little bit careful and say if it works today will it work tomorrow?" Bloomberg said on his radio show. "I think the first numbers are traffic on Seventh...

Washington - A former State Department official and his wife have been arrested on charges of serving as illegal agents of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U.S. information to the Cuban government. The arrests were announced today by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the...

Washington - U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor hit a casino jackpot for more than $8,000 last year. Financial disclosure forms released Friday show the judge listed $8,283 in jackpot game winning on November 23. The forms do not say where or how Sotomayor won the money. It was listed under non-investment income. The White House said she won the money in a Florida casino while...

Brazil - An Air France memo says the airline is replacing equipment that helps measure airspeed on all medium- and long-haul Airbus jets. But the airline isn't commenting further, saying the memo was for pilots only. Investigators say incorrect speed readings may be a possible cause of Sunday's Airbus crash that killed 228 people...

Manchester, England - Police officers have been learning more about the issues affecting the Jewish community thanks to a special training session at a Manchester synagogue. Officers from Whitefield and Prestwich Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) joined a group of more than 30 officers from across the Bury division at the Manchester Great New and Central Synagogue in Salford for a day-long...

Palm Springs, CA - Raymond Lee Oyler has been sentenced to death for starting the 2006 Esperanza [reported by VIN News] fire in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains. The fire killed five firefighters, destroyed 34 homes and charred more than 41,000 acres. The jury had recommended the death sentence. Judge W. Charles Morgan could have sentenced Oyler to death or life in prison without...

Bronx, NY - The four men accused of plotting attacks on two Bronx synagogues and upstate New York military targets were secretly caught on videotape talking about their diabolical terror plot. At a court hearing in White Plains today, federal prosecutors said they taped nearly every move -- using an airplane and a helicopter -- to track the movements and operations of the four men. The...

Brazil - Ice damage to speed sensors made by Thales SA may have prompted incorrect readings on the Air France plane that crashed on June 1, contributing to the Airbus A330’s plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, which killed 228 people. Investigators will ask Thales to supply information because damage to the three external sensors is a possible cause of “incoherent” speed data transmitted by...

Russia - Moscow’s renowned Kosher Market.ru food store has launched an exciting new project that is certain to be a big hit with local Jews and even visitors to the Russian capital. This latest development makes Kosher Market.ru the first online kosher food store in Russia, offering customers the convenience of home delivery. The assortment of available foods includes fresh vegetables and...

Jerusalem - The IDF Rabbinate is hard at work on the development of a special touch screen that would make it possible to use vital computer systems without violating Sabbath, reports IDF magazine BaMachaneh (In the Camp). Operational considerations mandate the use of computer systems like ‘Masua’ or ‘Sheder Cham 400’ during the Sabbath. These systems inform their operators of the...

New York - "Kosher" covers for international music hits are not a novelty in Jewish music, and countless songs have already been "converted to Judaism" for the ultra-Orthodox sector. Admittedly, the genre may not represent creativity and originality at their best, but still there are times when a more professional product emerges. An example for this is the album "Second Impressions" by New...

Jerusalem - It was evening that will be remembered for years to come. Nearly a thousand Hatzalah lifesaving medics gathered in Petach Tikva for an evening of Chizuk. What transpired will affect the lives of people throughout Israel. The heartwarming Achdus of medics and organizations from across the country was met with the unwavering support and guidance of Gedolim from across the spectrum...

Germany - A sombre-looking US President Barack Obama toured the former Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald on Friday, accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and camp survivors Elie Wiesel and Bertrand Herz. The four visitors placed white roses at the memorial stone for all Buchenwald inmates, and another at the site of the Little Camp, a windowless sub-camp known as the 'hell of...

Cypress, CA - Vandals painted on the doors and walls of an O.C. Islamic center, and police are calling the act a hate crime on Thursday. A police officer on routine patrol noticed the messages at about 4 a.m., and the paint was reportedly still wet. One of the messages said, "Soldiers will avenge." Police said other hateful words were mixed with profanity. The vandalism comes right...