Postville, IA - The U.S. Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. is taking over a lawsuit filed against people who ran troubled meat packer Agriprocessors in connection with a loan made by a failed bank. Omni National Bank of Georgia had loaned $300,000 to Nevel Properties in November 2007. Nevel Properties is a rental business in Postville run by former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin...

Miami, FL - Memory impairment was reversed in aged mice, bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, after they were given caffeine, U.S. researchers said. Researchers at the University of South Florida said back-to-back studies show caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer's disease -- both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting...

Brooklyn, NY - The scandal-plagued court system gets a new black eye in a scathing audit that found the borough's public administrator's office riddled with "mismanagement and laziness." The city controller's office uncovered shoddy recordkeeping, suspicious real estate deals and auctions run by a shadowy company that vanished when auditors started asking questions. "From the time my auditors...

Seattle, WA - Microsoft Corp. has taken the rare step of warning about a serious security vulnerability it hasn't fixed yet. The vulnerability disclosed Monday affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating software. It can allow hackers to remotely take control of victims' machines. The victims don't need to do anything to get infected...

New York - New York's Sen. Charles E. Schumer has introduced a bill that would close a loophole that prevents child care groups from gaining access to job applicants' criminal records from other states or the FBI. Schumer said Monday that current law allows such organizations as camps and day care centers to review only records kept by New York state. He says his proposed Child Protection...

Postville, IA - No other bidders stepped forward today to challenge a Canadian businessman’s bid to buy the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville. The troubled plant was the subject of an auction in bankruptcy court this afternoon. No one made a higher offer than the bid announced last month by Hershey Friedman and his partners. Friedman, who lives in Montreal, leads a group...

London - How can an airline pack 40 percent more passengers onto a plane, trim costs by 20 percent and lower airfares for its customers? Or completely give it away for free? By offering "standing" seats. Seriously. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary told Sky News the low-cost airline was considering ripping out the back few rows of seats on some flights. Passengers would be able to sit on...

Albany, NY - A Queens Assemblyman says he's found a magic bullet to end the five-week-old Senate stalemate. Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gianaris and two good government groups said Gov. Paterson can appoint a lieutenant governor under an obscure provision of the state's Public Officers Law. That would give the Senate a new presiding officer to break the 31-31 tie that has paralyzed the June...

Jerusalem - A privately owned fund is offering low rental huge apartments to Jewish families to encourage them to move to the predominantly Arab part of east Jerusalem. A report in Maariv today said the Israel Lands Fund is searching for Jewish occupants to rent a five bedroom apartment in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, for $400 a month. The apartment is in a four-story...

Williamsburg, NY - The city broke ground today on the first phase of Bushwick Inlet Park on Kent Avenue between North 9th and North 10th Streets in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Mayor Bloomberg said the 28-acre park is part of a broader effort to transform the city's waterfront. "Across all five boroughs we're working to bring our waterfront back to life, and...

London - Two Airbus crashes last month -- killing 380 people -- have raised new questions about how the Euro-built jets are built, maintained and flown. A London law firm representing passengers in the June 1 Air France Flight 447 disaster over the South Atlantic has suggested that long-range Airbuses be grounded until the crashes are fully probed -- but no such action has been...

Jerusalem - Rav Aaron Leib Steinman has written a letter for teachers and parents, warning them about improper treatment of students and children. He says that the letter was prompted by the many tragedies and illnesses which have hit the frum community. Many Torah scholars suddenly require yeshuos of one kind or another -- children who can't make a shidduch or aren't blessed with children, or...

New York City - He is rarely on television. He has not begun to advertise. He is far behind in the polls, yet seems in no rush to get going. The all-but-invisible mayoral candidacy of William C. Thompson Jr., the city’s comptroller, is baffling even to those who wish to see him elected. He has raised $5 million but has been so low key, some Democrats wonder if he is actually running. And...

New York - At what age do we go gray, or better yet, when do we go white? This is not just a theoretical discussion; it has practical halachic significance. There is a mitzvah in the Torah to rise before an older person and to respect Torah scholars. The mitzvah (see Sefer HaChinuch #407) includes rising in their presence. The source for this mitzvah is in Vayikra (19:32), “Before a saivah you...

New York, NY - Retailers are overcharging New Yorkers for milk, City Councilman Eric Gioia charged. The Queens Democrat, a public-advocate candidate, said the state Department of Agriculture is failing to monitor the price of milk in the five boroughs, allowing prices to reach up to $6 a gallon in Manhattan. A survey of milk prices in each borough found prices by the gallon ranging from...