Yeshiva World News

Iran has begun injecting uranium fuel rods into the core of Bushehr’s nuclear power plant, the Islamic Republic’s Press TV reported Tuesday.

Some 163 fuel rods are being loaded into the core, and once the process is finished, it will be rendered fully operational. Tehran said it expected the plant to begin generating electricity in early 2011.

The Bushehr nuclear facility operates under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The construction of the Bushehr plant started in 1975 when Germany signed a contract with Iran. Germany, however, pulled out of the project following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran then signed a deal with Russia in 1995, under which the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, but completion of the project was repeatedly delayed. The nuclear power plant was finally finished with the help of Russia following a three-decade delay.

The reactor was launched in August amid a standoff with the United States and its allies over allegations that the Islamic Republic is following a military nuclear program.

Iran also started loading fuel into the Bushehr nuclear plant on Tuesday.

Iran says the Russian-built, 1,000-mw nuclear plant will start producing energy in early 2011 after years of delays and that its launch shows the West is wrong to accuse it of seeking to develop atomic bombs.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: Ynet)

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg thinks that being able to serve three terms in office is a good idea — just not for anyone else.

On Monday, in an unexpected confession, Mr. Bloomberg said he wanted to reverse the changes to the city’s term-limits law, which he successfully campaigned for in 2008. Those changes are now the subject of a little-publicized ballot initiative on Election Day.

The mayor said he would vote to restore a limit of two terms, down from three, and to ban the City Council from rewriting the rule for sitting elected officials, closing a legislative loophole that Mr. Bloomberg exploited in his quest to remain in office beyond eight years. The results of the ballot initiative would not affect Mr. Bloomberg, but would affect his successors.

During a news conference, the mayor said that the term-limits initiative, which will appear on the back of the paper ballots on Nov. 2, was imperfect and badly designed, but that he would support it anyway.

“It’s better than what we have now,” Mr. Bloomberg said, without explaining why or acknowledging that his administration had written the existing law and heavily advocated for it.

It was the latest installment in the story of Mr. Bloomberg’s ever-evolving relationship with term limits. An outspoken supporter of two terms, he once called Council members who proposed extending them “disgraceful.” Then, as his own time in office wound down, he reversed himself and advocated for three terms, saying they offered voters greater choice.

“You can make that case for two terms or three terms,” he said at the time. “In this case, after listening to everybody, I’ve been convinced that three terms is right.”

Now he seems to have settled on something of a compromise: three terms for him, and only him.

Mayoral allies pointed out that Mr. Bloomberg had kept his word by bringing the issue back to voters, who originally passed the two-term limit in a 1993 referendum, only to watch it be dismantled by the mayor and the Council.

Mr. Bloomberg’s sudden support for two terms puts him in line with most New Yorkers. A New York Times poll, conducted in August, found that nearly three-fourths of city voters favored undoing Mr. Bloomberg’s 2008 actions.

The mayor’s change of opinion will avert a showdown with a fellow billionaire, Ronald S. Lauder, the father of the city’s original 1993 law, who has opened his wallet to sponsor a commercial urging New Yorkers to vote for a return to two terms.

The advertisement, which will be broadcast over the next few days, instructs voters — with a wry tagline — to turn over their ballots to find the term-limits question and vote yes. “Flip over the ballot,” a narrator says, “and flip off the politicians.”

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: NY Times)

A combination of strong thunderstorms, followed by violent and destructive winds, will make for one of the Midwest’s most dangerous storms in 70 years.

When Tuesday morning comes around, the Chicago area will be slammed with furious thunderstorms as a cold front passes over the area.

Damaging winds will likely be a component of the thunderstorms, and there is a risk of tornadoes, CBS 2’s Mary Kleist reports.

The severe storms are expected to sweep into the area between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday, coming in the form of a squall line, which often means strong straight-line winds. The storms will be at their heaviest during the Tuesday morning rush.

The rain and severe storms will pass out of the area by midday, but at that point, high and dangerous winds will roar into the area.

The winds will maintain a sustained speed of 35 to 40 mph, and may gust to 55 mph or more. They will be most severe north of Interstate 88, particularly along the Wisconsin border, Kleist said.

Over Lake Michigan, hurricane-force winds are possible.

After sundown Tuesday, the winds will die down a little bit, only to pick up again after sunrise Wednesday morning.

The National Weather Service advises unsecured objects may become airborne. Falling tree limbs and sporadic power outages can be expected. Travel may become difficult with high profile vehicles becoming difficult to control.

The severe weather system is coming in the form of a cyclone, a low-pressure system of closed, spiraling motion. The system is, in fact, being dubbed the “Great Lakes Cyclone.”

The low barometric pressure in the system is contributing significantly to the severity of the storm. CBS 2’s Megan Glaros says the minimum pressure in the system could drop to an extraordinarily low reading of 960 millibars.

As the storm passes, the temperatures will drop quickly. The forecast high for Thursday is a mere 49 degrees.

The National Weather Service reports that based on its records, this will probably be one of the most powerful storm in 70 years.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: CBS Chicago)

The New York City Police Department announced that it will be cracking down enforcement on drivers using their cell phones behind the wheel in the city.

The New York Distracted Driving, Talking and Texting law, passed in December 2001, was most recently updated in July 2009, makes it illegal for motorists in the state of New York to use a cell phone while driving, unless the phone is hands-free.

The crackdown will be 24 hours, beginning at midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 26. It is part of a department-wide initiative that has been investigating and trying to prevent auto accidents that result in fatalities. Distracted driving, the department said, has been a huge problem on that front.

“The NYPD reminds all New Yorkers that the use of a hand-held cell phone while driving a vehicle is illegal,” the department’s communications office said in a statement. “In addition, driving while texting or talking on a cell phone is dangerous and endangers both drivers and pedestrians.”

Fines for distracted driving — specifically using a cell phone or portable electronic device behind the wheel — can be up to $130. Last year, the NYPD issued more than 600 summonses a day to drivers who were violating the law. On July 22, 2009, during a crackdown initiative nearly identical to the event planned for Tuesday, more than 6,000 tickets were handed out. The event will begin Tuesday at 12 a.m. and last until 12 a.m. on Wednesday.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: Patch)

3:17PM EST: Boro Park Hatzolah is on the scene of a Frum person stabbed in a warehouse at 63rd Street near 15th Avenue.

Arriving BLS Units are requesting that Paramedics expedite their response. The victim was reportedly stabbed in the neck.

UPDATE 3:25PM EST: Hatzolah is transporting the victim to Lutheran Trauma Center in serious condition.

UPDATE 3:45PM EST: Sources tell YWN that stabbing was a result of a dispute between two employees.

UPDATE 4:12PM EST: The suspect has been arrested by the 66th Pct.

YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos taken by BBuser for YWN.

Further details will be posted as they become available to us.

(YWN BBRY Group – 3 / BBuser)

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is asking for the community’s assistance in solving a hate crime. Yesterday, Hikind was informed by an askan that two Polish men were shouting “Heil Hitler!” at Jewish individuals on the corner of 49th Street and 12th Avenue.

Assemblyman Hikind contacted the 66th precinct, and officers responded in a matter of minutes. The perpetrators were eventually caught at Ft. Hamilton Parkway between 51st and 52nd Streets. Unfortunately, because no victims remained at the scene, the police were unable to arrest these two men. The police have advised that if even one person who was verbally assaulted comes forward to press charges, the police can proceed with the arrests.

If you were a victim of this hate crime or know someone who was, please contact the Office of Assemblyman Hikind immediately at 718.853.9616.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(YWN Desk – NYC)