Part of Empire Boulevard Roadway Collapses

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — Late afternoon a large crater formed in the west-bound lanes of Empire Boulevard. The sinkhole was approximately 10 feet in diameter and roughly 4 feet deep, and thankfully formed while there were no cars traveling above the spot.

More in the Extended Article.

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Cooper City Reaches $800,000 Settlement with Chabad in Discrimination Case

By Susannah Bryan for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

COOPER CITY, FL — Nine months after losing a federal discrimination lawsuit, the city has reached an $800,000 settlement with an Orthodox Jewish synagogue that claimed Cooper City used zoning laws to kick out the Chabad of Nova Outreach Center.

“It’s time for Cooper City and the Chabad to mend their fences and move on. And hopefully no other religious [groups] will have the same problems Chabad did,” said attorney Franklin Zemel, who led the two-year legal battle against the city.

In 2005, Rabbi Shmuel Posner was forced to close his center after city officials told him it was not allowed in the city’s business district. Posner filed suit in May 2007.

Amid Swine Flu Panic, Chabad in Mexico Remains Open

CANCUN, Mexico — A deadly strain of the Swine Flu, originating in Mexico and erupting in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, has caused death, illness, and travel restrictions across the globe. Though public events and schools have closed throughout the country, two Mexican Chabad centers remain open, and alert.

New Kosher Restaurant Opens in Russia

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia [FJC] — On April 12 in Nizhny Novgorod, the banquet hall of the Synagogue was filled with joy and vibrancy, as Jews gathered to celebrate – eating, singing and dancing. More than 90 people came out to mark the grand opening of the “Shalom in Gruzinskaya” kosher restaurant, the inauguration of which was well-timed to coincide with the Passover holiday.

Thousands Attended Historic Ceremony in Moscow

MOSCOW — With the surrounding streets blocked off to accommodate the swelling crowd, thousands of people turned out for the historic Blessing of the Sun ceremony earlier this month in Moscow. After praying in the Marina Roscha synagogue at the crack of dawn, the crowd moved outside to a large square abutting the Shaarei Tsedek Charity Center for the once-in-28-years ceremony.

More pictures at Chabad.org

‘BAD COP’ Suit$ Cost the City a Half-Billion

NY Post

NEW YORK, NY — The city has coughed up $540 million in payouts related to improper police actions since 1998 — and taxpayer cost for such cases hit a record high last year.

In 1998, the city paid lawsuit settlements or judgments to 571 claimants who accused the NYPD of bad behavior. That figure more than doubled to 1,265 in 2008, according to Law Department data.

Rabbi Ovadia: Bochurim Smoking Should be Slapped

By Kobi Nahshoni for Y Net News

ISRAEL — Shas’ spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, called on parents and teachers to act to prevent smoking among youth, a phenomenon which he referred to as “a breach which must be thwarted.”

Speaking during his weekly sermon Saturday evening, the rabbi said that “if a person sees his son smoking a cigarette, he should shout at him and defend him and stop him from doing it… A yeshiva head who has a meeting and sees his student smoking, should slap him in the face. What are you smoking for?”

Stats Say Crime Low Despite Economic Downturn

NEW YORK [CBS] — The economy may be dismal, but the recession doesn’t seem to be driving New Yorkers to commit crime.

The New York Police Department says the crime rate for the first three months of the year is the lowest since comparable record keeping began in the 1960s.

Tonight! Global Webcast – Maintaining Your Inner Identity During Stressful Times


Tonight, Monday, April 27, 2009, at 8:30pm, Rabbi YY Jacobson will deliver a live Parsha webcast: Maintaining Your Inner Identity during Stressful Times — What a Talmudic law on fruits teaches us about psychological serenity & historical endurance. The class will have an accompanying curriculum which you can download.

To watch, please visit www.TheYeshiva.net
To listen via telephone, please call: 1-616-347-8000. Access code: 1007852#