In his capacity as chairman of the Committee of Religious and Independent School Officials of the City of New York, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israel of America’s executive vice president, voiced strong opposition to a New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan to phase out student fare discounts. The MTA has been holding public hearings this [...]

Albany, NY – Gov. David A. Paterson will be governor on Friday. After that? He will not say. As Mr. Paterson ducked out of a side entrance to the Yale Club in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, he offered a simple “yes” when asked if he would still be governor on Friday. But when asked whether he [...]

Rock-throwing attacks against Israeli motorists on the Tunnel Highway in Gush Etzion near the Minharot Checkpoint. **Thursday afternoon rock-throwing attack near N’vei Tzuf in the Benjamin Regional Council area of Shomron. **About 30 Arabs threw paint at soldiers and burned tires at the Kalandia Ckpt in northern Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Stamford Hill, London – After a 110-year absence, the appearance of Yiddish in the 2011 Census has provoked controversy among the strictly Orthodox Stamford Hill community – who would prefer it to be Hebrew. Stamford Hill community leaders Rabbi Avraham Pinter and Ita Symons decried the measure, achieved after a lengthy consultation process between the Office [...]

Driver killed in apparent crime-related blast, several treated for shock.

Williamsburg, NY – A dolphin was just spotted again near the Brooklyn Navy Yard where fireboat captain Bill Hannan spotted two dolphins Tuesday. “It’s heartbreaking to see such a beautiful creature in such terribly polluted water,” said John Lipscomb, a patrol boat captain for environmental group Riverkeeper, who said the dolphin was likely sick and disoriented. “We [...]

US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell is returning to the region over the weekend. Since his last departure, reports indicated that he tried to submit his resignation to the White House, but President Barak Obama rejected it. Mitchell will once again engage in shuttle diplomacy between Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority) in the hope of [...]

Brooklyn, NY – A suspicious white powder sent to a Brooklyn judge Thursday forced the evacuation of the 24th floor of the Supreme Court building. The powder, which is still being tested, was sent to Justice Abraham Gerges, the judge who last week signed off on the controversial Atlantic Yards redevelopment project. On Thursday, Gerges was presiding [...]

New York, NY – Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg rolled out a roster of longtime loyalists, educators, political operatives and community leaders to serve on a 15-member charter review commission that is expected to alter the city’s term limits law. The charter commission is the fourth that Mr. Bloomberg has appointed, but the first since 2004. The [...]

Barcelona, Spain – The Mediterranean was heaving as the 68-year-old Italian stood in the cruise ship lounge. A moment later a monstrous wave shattered the windows and sent shards into her head, leaving her bleeding on the floor and calling out for her husband. Torrents of water gushed into the Louis Majesty, pouring through several floors [...]