The NYPD is investigating a hate crime in the Hasidic community of Williamsburg. Sources tell YWN that residents at 580 Whyte Avenue found numerous doors scrawled with hateful messages such as “[expletive removed] the Jews”. Multiple Mezuzas were defaced as well. Williamsburg Shomrim and the NYPD were called, and all security camera footage was being analyzed. The NYPD Hate crimes Task Force is investigating this troubling incident. If you have any information that can assist in this investigation, please call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and Williamsburg Shomrim’s 24 hour emergency hotline at 718-237-0202. All calls are strictly confidential.

After a three hour search, a missing man was located in a forest near Monsey. Sources tell YWN that the 40-year-old man was on a hike in the Kakiat State Park, when he went missing. Rockland Chaveirim responded with dozens of special-trained search and rescue personnel and working with local and state authorities to locate the man. They were assisted by Kiryas Joel Chaveirim Volunteers. Thankfully, the man was B”H in good condition. As of 9:00PM, he was located and would take approximately 20 minutes until he would be out of the woods. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Thousands of #JewsForTrump are joining one of the many vehicle convoys to be travelling around NYC today in support of President Trump’s reelection. Last Sunday more than 1,000 vehicle participated in the event, but this Sunday organizers are aiming for many non-Jews to be joining the convoy’s. The group plans on having a rally this afternoon at an undisclosed location. No location has been given to avoid any issues with counter-protesters. JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Firefighters were battling multiple homes on fire on Sunday morning, after a an apparent  gas explosion in Meadowmere – located near JFK Airport. The explosion was reported at 15 West Avenue at around 6:00AM. It was not yet clear how many injuries were reported, but it appeared that some people did need medical attention. On person – possibly a firefighter was airlifted (see video below). Several surrounding agencies responded, including the FDNY, to quickly put out the flames. Several homes were reduced to rubble. Rockaway Turnpike is closed in both directions between Brookville Boulevard and Peninsula Boulevard. JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status.

A driver who drove while drunk and high, setting off a 2018 multi-car pileup that killed a man and injured others, was sentenced Friday to six to 15 years in prison. Alex Elicier, 31, of Brooklyn, had pleaded guilty in July to aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges stemming from the August 2018 crash on the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens. Prosecutors said he was weaving through early morning traffic when he crashed into the back of an Acura at more than 80 mph, sending it into the guardrail and then airborne before it landed and was hit by another car. A passenger and two dogs in the Acura were killed. Prosecutors said seven cars were either hit with debris or crashed in the incident.

New York is now requiring travelers from non-neighboring states to get a coronavirus test before, and potentially after, they arrive in the state. New York for months had attempted to maintain a list of states with high COVID-19 infection rates, where travelers from those states would be required to quarantine 14 days upon arrival. It is now scrapping that effort. Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday travelers from all non-neighboring states must test negative for COVID-19 no more than three days before they enter New York. Individuals arriving without proof of a negative test won’t be stopped from entering the state, but will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

A federal judge in upstate New York on Friday upheld the state’s restrictions on religious gatherings in coronavirus hot spots. The decision by U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe in Albany followed two other similar rulings earlier this month that also refused to block Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s limits on areas in the state that are deemed COVID-19 hot spots. The rules limit indoor prayer services to 10 people in areas where the virus is spreading fastest. In other areas within hot spots, indoor religious services are capped at 25 people. The plaintiffs asking for the rules to be blocked include two Catholic priests who aren’t currently in virus hot spots, as well as several Catholic and Jewish residents of parts of New York that had been designated as such.

For all the drama around the 2020 election, one thing isn’t at stake: Democratic control of New York’s state legislature. But while the party isn’t in danger of losing its grip on Albany, Tuesday’s election could bring subtle shifts in a political landscape where Gov. Andrew Cuomo often calls the shots. Democrats could gain a veto-proof majority by winning just two more seats in the 63-seat Senate, which the party won in 2018 after decades of Republican control. New York would join California, Hawaii and Rhode Island as states where Democrats control the governor’s office and two-thirds of the seats in both legislative chambers.

Schools in New York state’s “red zones” and “orange zones” will be allowed to resume in-person learning if they test all students and faculty members for COVID-19 first, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. Cuomo on Oct. 6 announced that schools in areas deemed red zone “clusters” or orange zone “warning zones” would have to shift to remote learning for at least two weeks. In a teleconference Friday afternoon, the governor said the state has been working with schools in those zones to “try to find ways to keep people safe, but allow children to go to school.” “Basic rule is, before you open a school, all the people who go into the school, students or teachers, will be tested,” he said.

In heartening news regarding its ongoing litigation on behalf of shuls in New York State, Agudath Israel of America announced today that four amicus curiae (friend of the court” briefs) have been filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit supporting Agudath Israel’s position defending religious freedom. The Agudah’s lawsuit filed on behalf of itself and several synagogues against Governor Cuomo’s executive orders effectively closing houses of worship in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in New York will be heard by the court next week. Generally, the briefs argued that the State of New York’s targeting of the Orthodox Jewish community was unconstitutional.