Yeshiva World News

Excerpts from a NY Post exclusive:

Assemblyman Vito Lopez bullied and cajoled eight little old ladies during an arm-twisting session aimed at getting them to back his candidate in a Brooklyn judicial race, a shocking audiotape obtained by The Post reveals.

“I’m not a fool or stupid, all right?” the Democrat railed at the elderly community leaders. “I can’t always give and get smacked, give and get smacked . . . I am the political leader.”

The May 2005 conversation, captured on a hidden recorder, not only exposes the 69-year-old Lopez’s heavy-handed tactics in dealing with his core elderly supporters but also offers a rare glimpse into the backrooms of bare-knuckle Brooklyn politics where Lopez reigns.

“I’ve been around a long time,” Lopez tells the women. “And the only thing that’s worth credibility — the only thing I have that’s worth something — is the politics. That’s how I get the money.”

Lopez called the hourlong meeting at his district office to get the women to support civil court judicial hopeful Richard Velasquez — once a lawyer for the senior-center nonprofit empire Lopez founded — in his race against lawyer Marty Needelman. The election was seen as a leadership test for Lopez, who was on the verge of becoming the Democratic Party boss for all of Brooklyn.

He explosively references this power play — and the competition between Hispanics and Hasidim in the area over housing — at one point blurting, “If no one respects my leadership, how do I fight the Hasidim?”

The Spanish-speaking women all came from South Williamsburg, where Needelman was popular with Hispanics. Lopez explains he needs Velasquez to win because “I made a pledge to people that the next [judge] would be Hispanic, right? To balance it.”

The women aren’t swayed, telling Lopez that they like Needelman and that voters don’t care about race or, for that matter, the fact that Lopez is “Italiano.”

Lopez uses strong-arm tactics, repeatedly mentioning two upcoming taxpayer-funded trips he hosts, suggesting only supporters can go.

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(Read More: NY Post)

Bedbugs have infiltrated yet another NYC apparel giant — this time it was Niketown, the company’s flagship store on East 57th St., that was forced to close Saturday.

Disappointed shoppers were greeted with locked doors and windows covered in brown paper as the store prepares to exterminate the pesky critters.

Niketown is just the latest in a series of high-profile infestations that include clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office and the Time Warner Center.

Nike has not yet commented on the extent of the bedbug problem.

Pest control company Terminix ranks New York City as the number one most bedbug-infested city in the country.

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(Source: WPIX)

Starting this Sunday and stretching through the winter of 2015 the Hudson Street entrance to the Holland Tunnel will be closed for improvements to the infrastructure.

Drivers heading to New Jersey on Sundays will have to find a new route as the New York City Department of Design and Construction plans to block the entrance while retrofitting water pipes in TriBeCa.

Hudson Street is a direct portal for New Jersey-bound drivers who will now be diverted to the Canal, Varick or Watts Streets entrances.

Drivers entering the city from New Jersey may also experience longer waits as congestion is expected.

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(Source: WPIX)

The tornado that blew through New York City Thursday, knocking down thousands of trees and limbs has doubtless sent many people scurrying to their insurance papers to find out whether they’re covered for downed tree limbs damaging homes and cars.

The Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group, said people whose homes are damaged by trees or flying branches should file a claim whether or not the tree came from their yard. Policies cover tree-removal costs in cases when downed trees or limbs cause damage, but won’t cover removal for trees that fell without striking any structures.

Cars damaged by falling trees or other objects are covered under the comprehensive portion of auto insurance policies. That coverage is optional, so not everyone will be able to recover the cost of the repairs.

STATEMENT FROM THE INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE

With the wild weather that struck much of the northeast last night, many people now have fallen trees and branches on their homes and cars, as well as questions regarding their insurance coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)

(Source: WSJ)

The Pope told a Mass attended by more than 50,000 in England on Sunday that the world felt “shame and horror” at suffering inflicted by his German homeland in World War Two and recalled a key air battle that saved Britain from invasion.

On Sunday Britain commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the summer and autumn air conflict which prevented Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain.

“For me as one who lived and suffered through the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, it is deeply moving to be here with you on this occasion, and to recall how many of your fellow citizens sacrificed their lives, courageously resisting the forces of that evil ideology,” he said.

“Seventy years later, we recall with shame and horror the dreadful toll of death and destruction that war brings in its wake, and we renew our resolve to work for peace and reconciliation wherever the threat of conflict looms,” he said.

During the early 1940s, the former Joseph Ratzinger was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth when membership was compulsory. During the war, he was assigned to an anti-aircraft battery in Bavaria and then sent to Austria.

After returning to Bavaria, he deserted. At the end of World War Two, he was a U.S. prisoner of war. The pope has said that as devout Catholics, his parents rejected Nazi ideology.

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(Source: Montreal Gazette)

Iran’s loopy dictator, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is headed to the Big Apple this week for the meeting of the UN General Assembly.

In the spirit of “peace” in his region, Ahmadinejad said from Syria yesterday that Middle Eastern countries will “disrupt” American and Israeli peace efforts.

Ahmadinejad met in Damascus with Syrian leader Bashar Assad, who earlier with American officials had discussed possible peace talks between Syria and Israel.

Iran’s Holocaust-denying, Zionist-hating leader also called for the release of eight of his “illegally arrested and detained” countrymen.

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(Source: NY Post)

President Obama is preparing to seek Congressional approval for a huge arms sale to Saudi Arabia, chiefly intended as a building block for Middle East regional defenses to box in Iran, according to administration and Pentagon officials.

The advanced jet fighters and helicopters for Saudi Arabia, long a leading customer for these weapons, could become the largest arms deal in American history, and one significant enough to shift the region’s balance of power over the course of a decade.

The key element of the sale would be scores of new F-15 combat aircraft, along with more than 175 attack and troop-transport helicopters and, if subsequent negotiations are successful, ships and antimissile defenses. The deal has been put together in quiet consultations with Israel, which has sought assurances that it will retain its technological edge over Saudi forces, even as Saudi Arabia improves its ability to face down a shared rival, the Iranians.

“We want Iran to understand that its nuclear program is not getting them leverage over their neighbors, that they are not getting an advantage,” a senior administration official said Friday, describing the Saudi sale as part of a broader regional strategy in which the United States has bolstered antimissle defenses in Arab states along the Persian Gulf. “We want the Iranians to know that every time they think they will gain, they will actually lose.”

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(Read More: NY Times)

With praise and thanks to Hashem, the Jewish community of Northeast Philadelphia is happy to announce the formation of Philadelphia Hatzolah. The program has been formed utilizing a core of trained multilingual volunteers that include all state certified Paramedics, EMTs, and First Responders. All members are equipped with all necessary medical equipment and radio communication devices.

Hatzolah’s emergency hot line telephone number is 215-914-1600 and the area of coverage is currently available in the Bustleton/Somerton and Rawnhurst areas of Northeast Philadelphia (Zip Codes 19115 & 19116).  At this time Hatzolah has teamed up with Patriot Ambulance and local municipal EMS services to provide the transports.

Philadelphia Hatzolah is on a 100% volunteer basis and is under the rabbinic auspices of the local Rabonim. Our goal is to promote and expand our services throughout the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

A special note of gratitude is due to the administration of Patriot Ambulance for their ongoing and continuous efforts on behalf of Philadelphia Hatzolah with their financial assistance, training, and medical guidance to ensure the continuity of excellence in patient care.

Anyone interested in helping provide manpower or monetary support can contact Philadelphia Hatzolah at info@PhiladephiaHatzolah.org. There are dedication opportunities available for anyone interested, and additional training programs are forthcoming.

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(YWN Desk – NYC)

A horrific traffic accident in Orange County has left at least six people dead. Seven other people were critically injured. It happened on the New York State Thruway, not far from the popular Woodbury Common Premium Outlets shopping center.

Police say a church van blew a tire while it was traveling in the northbound lane of the Thruway in Woodbury. The van overturned and the people were thrown from it. The van had been carrying fourteen people.

(Source: WPIX)

The sudden blast of Mother Nature’s fury on Thursday lasted just minutes, but left a path of destruction across the tri-state area.

The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that two tornadoes and a microburst struck the New York City area on Thursday evening.

The weaker of the two, with gusts up to 80 miles per hour, was in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The other tornado touched down about two miles south of Flushing, Queens, north of Bayside with winds of 100 miles per hour.

But most of the damage in Queens was caused by a macroburst. It packed winds of 125 mph, hitting Middle Village and Forest Hills.

The NWS said the macroburst was a mile wide.

The city estimates more than 1,000 trees were destroyed and dozens of buildings damaged. The fury of wind and rain that pummeled the area was New York City’s ninth and tenth tornado since 1950, the National Weather Service said Friday night.

Kyle Struckmann, a meteorologist with the agency, said it was amazing that only one person died.

“It’s practically a miracle considering the population that was affected by this,” he said.

On Friday, Gov. David Paterson asked Federal Emergency Management Agency to send crews to assess the extent of the damage.

Whipping winds snapped trees like twigs, toppling them onto cars, homes, power lines, and anything else in the way.

Thursday’s fast-moving storm tore through Queens, where three neighborhoods seemed to have been hit particularly hard – Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, and Kew Gardens Hills.

Trees were toppled onto cars and homes, and workers were assessing the damage and clean-up on Friday.

YWN PHOTO LINK: Photos of storm damage can be viewed by clicking HERE.

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(Source: WCBSTV)

The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that a tornado did indeed touch down in Ocean County, New Jersey during a severe storm that ripped through the area Thursday evening.

According to the weather service, the F-1 tornado cut a path two miles long, 250 yards wide with winds of up to 90 mph.

Extensive damage was reported in the area — including trees that were completely uprooted and snapped telephone poles which toppled onto several houses. Most of the damage was contained to Long Swamp Road, Colliers Mills Road and County Route 539.

In addition, National Weather Services crews are investigating other locations in New Jersey — specifically areas in Monmouth County.

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(Source: WPIX)

To our loyal readers, supporters, and dear friends: With the world in its most uncertain and unstable times, we would like to wish all of you a Gmar Chasima Tova, and may we all be inscribed & sealed in the books of life, peace, health, and prosperity.

May this I”H be the year that Hashem will fulfill Kol Mishalos Libeinu L’tovah, Amen!

YWN Editor, and Staff.

Hamas on Friday threatened retaliation over the killing of Iyad abu Shilbayeh, formerly a senior operative in the organization, who was killed during an IDF raid east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem overnight.

Hamas accused Israel and the Palestinian Authority of conspiring to kill Shilbayeh, who they claimed was imprisoned and tortured by the PA several times.

Hamas military spokesman in Gaza Abu Obeida confirmed Shilbayeh was a member of the group’s armed wing: “The blood of our martyr will be a curse that will follow the occupation and the traitors,” he said, referring to Hamas’ rivals in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has ruled only the West Bank since losing control of the Gaza Strip, to Hamas militants in 2007.

(Source: Ynet)

Investigators in Britain arrested five men on suspicion of terrorism Friday and promptly reviewed security arrangements for the Pope’s trip to the island, authorities said.

Some news reports said the arrests involved a potential threat to the pope, who began a visit to Great Britain Thursday, but the Metropolitan Police declined to say whether the case was linked to the pontiff’s visit.

Authorities reviewed policing arrangements for the pope’s trip to London on Friday after they arrested the men and said they are satisfied the current plan remains “appropriate,” and the pope’s itinerary did not change.

The men were arrested at around 5:45 a.m. (12:45 a.m. ET) at a business on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism, police said.

The men are aged 26, 27, 36, 40, and 50, and were taken to a central London police station to be interviewed by detectives.

Searches were being carried out at a business in central London and at residential locations in north and east London, police said. Initial searches have not uncovered any hazardous items, they said.

“Today’s arrests were made after police received information,” police said. “Following initial inquiries by detectives a decision was made to arrest the five men.”

Police added there was no change to the threat level in the United Kingdom as a result of the arrests.

The pope is in London on the second day of a historic four-day state visit to Britain.

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(Source: CNN)

An unhinged man was nabbed for hatching a plot to rob a Brooklyn synagogue and then fight off cops with pipe bombs and guns, authorities said.

Elias Narvaez, 21, allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks as he crafted his plan, explaining he was targeting an Orthodox synagogue on Montgomery Street in Crown Heights because its gold-colored front doors suggested the congregation was wealthy.

“He wanted to rob Jews,” a law-enforcement source told The Post.

Narvaez’s idea was to use a bomb to knock out the lights, and then enter the darkened building to hold up the congregation with a Glock semiautomatic pistol and a revolver.

Narvaez reportedly believed the darkness would help him ambush responding cops.

“When they come, we will start shooting at them,” he told an informant. “I’ll throw a pipe bomb at them . . . If I die, I’ll die.”

A law-enforcement source said of the plot, “It was taken very, very seriously.”

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(Source: NY Post)