Jack Ciattarelli, the upstart Republican who came within a hairsbreadth of ousting New Jersey Governor Murphy, spurned calls from Murphy to concede the race. Speaking at his weekly press conference on Monday, Murphy said Ciattarelli should concede because it is now impossible for him to win. Separately, Murphy’s campaign earlier demanded that Ciattarelli concede the all-but-lost race. “Assemblyman Ciattarelli is mathematically eliminated, and he must accept the results and concede the race,” said Mollie Binotto, Murphy’s campaign manager. “His continuing failure to do so is an assault on the integrity of our elections.” The Ciattarelli campaign responded with a statement of their own, saying they won’t be conceding until every vote is counted.

A male suspect was hospitalized after being shot by NYPD officers in the area of Fort Washington Park and West 168th Street on Sunday night. According to a statement from the NYPD, officers were in the area searching for a possible shooter after receiving reports of shots fired, when they encountered an armed individual. Officers ordered the man to drop his weapon in both English and Spanish, but he instead raised the firearm and pointed it at the cops, who promptly fired their own weapons, striking the man’s torso. The cops, who were not harmed in the incident, provided medical treatment to the suspect at the scene before he was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)  

Charedi MK’s are demanding an investigation after a tweet showing video from Rav Shaul Alter’s visit to the United States was commented on by an Israeli blogger who suggested that everyone in the massive tent specially erected for the event should be gassed to death. The tweet by Moshe Weisberg showed thousands of chasidim singing and dancing on motzei shabbos with the Gerrer rosh yeshiva, on which an Israeli blogger, Noam Eyal, decided to chime in. “We need to exploit such opportunities to seal the tent and throw gas in,” Eyal wrote in a sickening tweet. Calling Eyal’s statement “sickening” and “reminicient of how Nazis murdered Jews in Europe,” Shas MK Moshe Arbel called upon Israel’s attorney general to investigate the incident.

Calling himself “conservative” on public safety, NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams said Sunday that he wants to end mask mandates in school upon becoming mayor, saying he’s concerned that masks are inhibiting children from engaging in social interactions and making friends. “If we can find a safe way to do it, I look forward to getting rid of the mask,” Adams told CNN’s Jake Tapper.  “Part of the socialization of a child is that smile. Not being able to see the smiles of our children has a major impact.” “But it must be done with the science so we don’t go back to closing our city down,” Adams added. Adams’ comments stand in stark contrast to current Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said just this past Thursday that there is no end in sight for the forced masking of children in schools.

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney is refusing to concede his stunning election loss to Edward Durr, a conservative Republican truck driver, claiming that “thousands of ballots” have recently been found that could tip the election in his favor. “The results from Tuesday’s election continue to come in, for instance there were 12,000 ballots recently found in one county,” Sweeney said. “While I am currently trailing in the race, we want to make sure every vote is counted.

Over 10,000 people were in Borough Park this Shabbos to join in the tefillos and tishen of the Gerrer Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon Harav Shaul Alter. A massive tent capable of holding thousands of people was hastily erected at 18th Avenue and 52nd Street on Friday as the number of expected visitors rose dramatically. Yet, despite the tent’s size, it was unable to hold all who wished to see Rav Shaul Alter. The festivities began Friday afternoon with a packed mincha followed by a short shiur from Rav Shaul’s brother, Rav Daniel, and then maariv. Friday night tish with the rosh yeshiva began at 10 PM; by 10:20, tish organizers had to lock the doors, as the tent simply could not hold any more people without posing a serious security risk.

The former head of New York City’s police sergeants union has been punished with a loss of 70 vacation days, which amounts to almost $32,000 in pay, after being found guilty by his own police department of improperly disclosing information and using inappropriate language on social media, police said Friday. Ed Mullins of the New York Police Department had already filed retirement papers last month and retired as president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association in the wake of federal agents raiding the union’s office and his home.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com There is a fascinating Kochvei Ohr written by one of Rav Yisroel Salanter’s top students.  It describes some activities of Rav Yisroel – Mitzvos of a sort that are not found in Shulchan Aruch, but were rather based upon the idea of imitating Hashem.

A judge has denied bail for a New York state trooper charged with murder after a pursuit on the Thruway ended with the death of an 11-year-old New York City girl. An Ulster County judge on Thursday ordered Trooper Christopher Baldner held without bail until his trial in the death of Monica Goods, whose family was traveling through the Hudson Valley on Dec. 22, 2020 when Baldner stopped them for speeding. Baldner pepper sprayed the vehicle during the stop and Monica’s father, Tristan Goods, drove off. Baldner pursued the SUV and rammed his police vehicle into the SUV twice. The SUV flipped over several times and came to rest upside down, according to prosecutors. Monica was ejected from the vehicle and died.

A truck driver who ousted the powerful New Jersey Senate president in the election previously posted online calling Islam “a false religion,” comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust and defending rioters at the Capitol. Republican Edward Durr apologized on Friday after media outlets highlighted the posts. His victory over Steve Sweeney, widely regarded as the second-most powerful Democrat in state government, in Tuesday’s election shocked the state’s political establishment. Durr spent a paltry sum on his campaign. On Thursday and Friday, media reports highlighted posts Durr had made on Twitter and Facebook, including some critical of immigrants, boasting of defying state COVID-19 mask mandates, and attacking female Democratic elected officials like Sen.