New York - The New York Times inadvertently published digitally manipulated photographs in the latest issue of its Sunday magazine, the newspaper said Thursday. In an editors note, the Times acknowledged that Edgar Martins, a 32-year-old freelance photographer based in Bedford, England, digitally altered the photos. The shots have been removed from the newspaper's Web site. Readers...

New York - Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff has decided against appealing his 150-year sentence for a multi-billion dollar fraud. Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said Thursday that there will be no appeal of the sentence. He declined to say why the decision was made. Madoff was sentenced last week. He pleaded guilty to charges that he bilked thousands of investors out of billions of...

New York City - The city wants to make it easier for property owners to deal with graffiti. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council are working on legislation that would place the burden with the city. Now, owners must allow the city to clean up graffiti on their property. The new legislation would give the city authority to remove graffiti unless a property owner says...

New York City - Wall Street bad boy Ross Mandell was nabbed Wednesday in a $140 million global boiler-room scheme that stretched from Brooklyn to the United Kingdom. Mandell, who blamed his past troubles with regulators on a cocaine habit, is accused of bribing brokers and pressuring investors to pump up worthless stock in his Sky Capital Holdings. As Sky was losing millions, Mandell was...

New York City - The NYPD is warning retired cops they can't display the department shield on T-shirts or Web sites - drawing howls of outrage. Cease-and-desist letters were sent to nonprofit clubs run by ex-cops, accusing them of trademark infringement for using the badge in their materials. "What a colossal waste of manpower, going after a bunch of retired cops," said Richard Stone...

New York - During this period of the "Three Weeks" that begins this Thursday and will last until the day after Tisha B’Av we observe various aspects of mourning. In Hebrew the period is called Bain HeMetzarim, based upon the verse in Aicha (1:3) – All her oppressors have taken over her – Bain HaMetzarim – within the straits. During this time, both the first and the second Bais HaMikdash...

Vienna - In a shocking twist, A prominent Charedi millionaire Chaim M. Strulovitz was released from jail yesterday after an Austrian judge granted the 61 year old Strulovitz a conditional sentence allowing him to walk free. Strulovitz was arrested in the U.S. Lakewood, New Jersey in June 2008 for running afoul of the Austrian government, and was extradited back to Austria after being on the...

Belgium - Diamond trading, certification and polishing businesses in the Belgian city of Antwerp have reduced activities and temporarily laid off staff due to the economic crisis, as the industry is dependant on the cash-strapped banks to finance it. A handful of old men with typical black hats and long grey beards sit scattered across an immense hall, some playing chess, others simply...

New York - A condition known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, is easily treatable but frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed, leading to infertility and other "perplexing symptoms," the New York Times reports. CAH is a hormone deficiency that leads to excess production of androgens, which can hinder ovulation in women and cause low sperm count in men. It also can cause short stature...

Israel - A police unit and a Kfir Brigade force arrested a Palestinian woman carrying two commando knives at the Einav checkpoint in the northern Samaria region today. The security forces received information of the woman's plans prior to her arrival at the place. As the suspect arrived at the checkpoint by vehicle, the forces ordered her to step out of the car. During a routine search they...

Great Britain - Al Gore is now comparing the battle against global warming to the fight against Adolf Hitler in World War II. In a speech to students at Oxford, the former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate conceded that there is still work to do to convince political leaders that the threat of climate change is as urgent as that from the Nazis. The Senate is beginning debate on...

Mineola , NY - Authorities are offering a $6,000 reward to catch whoever spray-painted swastikas on a Long Island synagogue. The swastikas were left last week on the front doors of the Congregation Beth Shalom Chabad in Mineola, (reported here on VIN News). Rabbi Anchelle Perl calls it a "despicable'' deed that left worshippers feeling hurt, sad and violated. The police investigation...

Washington - Sen. Charles Schumer wants to give every child born in the U.S. a $500 savings account, courtesy of the federal government. The Democrat from New York plans to introduce legislation next week that would establish savings accounts for all newborn U.S. citizens and allow them to grow tax free, with the federal government donating $500 to start each account and, in some cases, making...

Israel - ‪Employees no longer have to wait in order to take care of their personal needs, a new law passed by the Knesset today said. All places of work are now required to have properly working bathrooms, and employees no longer have to ask for permission or wait until a scheduled time in order to use the facilities. According to a statement by the authors of the law, many employers have...

Albany, NY - Republicans say they've secured a court order suspending Gov. David Paterson's plan to appoint a lieutenant governor to preside over the gridlocked New York Senate. GOP Senate spokesman John McArdle said today that a judge in Nassau County issued the order overnight. He says it temporarily suspends Paterson's plan to have Richard Ravitch provide a tie-breaking vote and preside over...