New York, NY - Verizon Wireless asked a federal court today to rule that claims it makes in advertisements, including its position as "America's most reliable 3G network," are truthful and accurate. Verizon Wireless is striking back at AT&T Inc., which challenged Verizon's advertising with the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus on July 1. AT&T said...

Petach Tikva, Israel - Biometric machines were recently installed by Skverrer Chassidim at the entrance to a Petach Tikva mikveh (ritual bath). Men who use the mikveh on a daily basis who previously swiped a magnetic card to enter the mikveh can now have a machine read their fingerprint to gain entrance to the mikveh. Officials from the Skverrer community stated that the biometric machines...

Deal, NJ - Upon further investigation of an earlier report posted by VIN News claiming that Rabbi Issac Dweck has renounced his son Solomon Dweck, VIN has verified that it's not true. This rumor started a few days ago in Israel by a few irresponsible Hebrew-language news sites, and was for the first time reported today in English by a credible New Jersey news site. We contacted the New...

Israel - A new bill was proposed today by Shas MK Nissim Zeev that stipulates that Israeli paper money will be emblazoned with the sentence: "We believe in the Creator." "Money and bills are the center of our life, and it is befitting that the money issued by the State of Israel will be a reminder of Jewish faith," explained MK Zeev. "Even those who don't uphold the mitzvoth will be reminded...

New Jersey - In an ironic twist, one of the men accused of money laundering in the FBI sting that netted 44 New Jersey public officials and others conducted his business above a Laundromat. The man described as a real estate developer in Hudson County, worked out of an office above JP Laundromat, at 2410 Central Ave. in Union City. In the criminal complaint, the man even jokes about it. When...

Queens, NY - Newly painted vertical parking opposite to the flow of traffic causes difficulties. Calling it a safety improvement, the city Transportation Department is flipping parking lines on some wide streets to encourage drivers to back into angled curbside spots. "It's safer to back into an empty parking space than back out of one into oncoming traffic," DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow...

Deal, NJ - Rabbi Issac Dwek, the spiritual leader of the Sephardic Jewish community in the wealthy Monmouth County suburb of Deal, took to his pulpit on Saturday to cite the Talmudic Law of Moser that prohibits a Jew from informing on another Jew to a non-Jew. CORRECTION TO THIS STORY HERE Rabbi Dwek then renounced his son, Solomon Dwek, the failed real estate developer whose 2006...

London - Hospitals will be banned from using NHS organs in private transplant operations under new rules being drawn up by the Government. The move follows a Mail on Sunday investigation last year which found that surgeons were making up to £20,000 a time by operating on private patients from abroad, despite a critical shortage of organs to save the lives of desperately sick people on the...

New York - The federal stimulus bill will be helping stimulate some appetites – and helping alleviate the economic crunch – in 74 New York State yeshiva sites in coming months. Nearly a sixth of $6 million the state will be receiving for “equipment assistance” to elementary and secondary public and nonpublic schools will assist yeshivos. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of...

Ramapo, NY - The sponsors of a proposed yeshiva and dormitory on Camp Hill Road are suing the town over its rejection of the plan. While the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-2 in favor of the project on June 18, representatives of the Town Attorney's Office and the Department of Building and Planning declared that a supermajority, or a majority plus one, was needed to overcome the county's...

Bayonne, NJ - Solomon Dwek mostly talked about his five kids when Bayonne Democratic Party Chairman Jason O'Donnell met with him last year in the lead-up to the Bayonne mayor's race, O'Donnell recalled. But Dwek also mentioned his interest in building two towers in Bayonne, said O'Donnell, who at the time was working as the campaign manager for eventual winner Mark Smith. When they later...

Pisgat Ze'ev, Israel - Six Torah scrolls that were stolen from the Or Hachayim synagogue in the northern-Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev were returned to officials of the synagogue this evening, after they were found in the nearby Palestinian Authority Arab village of Hizme. Thieves broke into the synagogue six months ago, stealing the scrolls, along with shofars, ornamental cups and...

Ferndale, NY - State police are investigating an assault at Camp Kavunas Halev on Rt. 55 and Ferndale Road in Liberty. Troopers say around 10 PM. Sunday, Rabbi Mordchai Zev Wosner, Rosh Yeshiva of Chernobel (Boro Park). was assaulted by an unknown person and was left with injuries to the head and face. The attacker was described as a short white male with either blond or red hair. Hatzolah...

Washington - Got an old gas guzzler in the garage? Car shoppers can take advantage of new government incentives, which officially launched today, worth $3,500 to $4,500. Owners can scrap their clunker in exchange for a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, and lop off thousands of dollars from the sticker price. Congress approved the "Car Allowance Rebate System," or "CARS," program last month to...

Saarbruecken, Germany - A leading member of Germany's far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) has been charged with inciting racial hatred for calling Germany a "Jews' Republic" and attacking Turks in a speech earlier this year. State prosecutors in the southwestern city of Saarbruecken said today they had charged Udo Pastoers, NPD parliamentary leader in the eastern state of...