Borough Park, NY - The bank branch-building boom is long over in most parts of the city—but not in Borough Park, Brooklyn, one of New York's largest Orthodox Jewish communities. Just as people in Manhattan find a Starbucks almost every few steps, so those on Borough Park's main strip—10 blocks of 13th Avenue starting at 45th Street—encounter no fewer than 14 banks. And more are coming...

Goshen, NY - A new religious land-use law proposes to expand the number of areas in the village where churches, synagogues and other religious institutions can set up, while also offering guidelines to ensure these houses of worship don't hurt their neighbors. Requests for the law came several years ago when churches in downtown Goshen found they were located in areas not zoned for their...

Washington - Reporting from Dresden, Germany — The clock at Buchenwald was stuck at 3:15. The White House advance guy noticed, and put it on the list of things to fix. The 23-year-old laughed at himself when he learned the clock's hands were deliberately frozen, marking the exact time the concentration camp was liberated in 1945. During the week Josh Lipsky spent getting Buchenwald ready...

Israel - Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat slammed the violent behavior of ultra-Orthodox residents of Mea Shearim as riots continued in protest of the city's decision to open a municipality-owned lot on Shabbat. The clashes, which began Saturday night, were held under the banner of 'The Battle for Jerusalem'. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men tried to storm the lot in Safra Square, many of whom threw...

Manhattan, NY - New Yorkers strolling through Central Park later this month will be surprised to find the iconic park pulsating to an Israeli beat. On June 21st, truckloads of sand from Tel Aviv will be poured across sections of the park, bringing the Tel-Aviv beach to Manhattan. During the day-long project, called "Tel Aviv Beach", "bathers" will be given popsicles and the ping-pang of...

Eleele, HI - Hawaii resident Curt Carish boasts a timely fish tale: a 10-inch reef fish he caught by hand in shallow water coughed up a ticking gold watch. Carish says he was enjoying a picnic Wednesday on Port Allen beach when he saw the nenue fish awkwardly swimming close to shore. He says a friend gave him a bamboo stick and told him to get the fish. So he jumped into the waist-high...

Crown Heights, NY - A new civilian watch group in Crown Heights is bringing together blacks and Jews in a neighborhood once synonymous with racial tension. If all goes as planned, a Caribbean-American pastor could share a car with an Orthodox Jew on the NYPD Civilian Observation Patrol - or blacks might volunteer for Friday night shifts, when their Jewish neighbors can't work. "It's a quantum...

Lakewood, NJ - The Lakewood Township Transportation Safety Board has issued a warning reminding the public to use only licensed taxicabs. Unlicensed taxicabs may not be inspected or insured. The driver of an unlicensed taxicab may not have the proper license. Residents are urged to use taxicabs with the proper licensing. Lakewood Township and the State of New Jersey inspect taxicabs twice a...

Haifa, Israel - Prosecutors on Sunday filed 12 indictments in a Haifa court against Shfaram residents suspected of taking part in the 2005 lynching of Jewish terrorist Eden Natan-Zada. Natan-Zada, an AWOL Israel Defense Forces soldier, murdered four Israeli Arabs on a bus in the northern town of Shfaram in August 2005, days before Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. He was beaten to death...

France - Reporting from Normandy, France -- Standing on the shores of the historic Omaha Beach landing, President Obama paid tribute Saturday to the thousands of servicemen who gave their lives in the D-day invasion 65 years ago and cast it as inspiration for the struggles of today. Obama recalled the German fire that rained down on the troops as they took the beaches of Normandy, which he...