Indoor dining in New Jersey will resume Friday with limited capacity, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. Restaurants will only be able to have 25% capacity under the new rules, which includes maintaining social distancing between tables. Masks must be worn except when eating or drinking. “Reopening responsibly will help us restore one of our state’s key industries while continuing to make progress against #COVID19,” Murphy wrote in a tweet Monday announcing the updated regulations. The announcement comes five months after the state shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The development comes as the state is in the second of three stages of reopening. Murphy delayed reopening indoor dining, citing health concerns about the spread of the virus inside.

Two men were killed in Brooklyn and at least a dozen other people have been wounded in a spate of shootings across the city this weekend. No arrests have been made in either of the killings, police said. At least a dozen other people were wounded in eight shootings across the city this weekend, according to police. As of Friday, the NYPD said they had responded to about 980 shootings in 2020, compared to 530 during the same time last year. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A fast-moving fire left a Jewish-owned home in Monsey totally destroyed on Sunday afternoon. The fire department was on the scene at the fire on Carlton Lane in the Viola neighborhood at around 12:30PM. The fire spread quickly through the home. Bichasdei Hashem, no residents were injured in the blaze. Rockland Hatzolah was on the scene standing by in case their services were needed. Rockland Chaveirim were on the scene bringing cold drinks to the firefighters. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York City youth sports teams will soon be able to get back on the field after being sidelined for months by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. The city will start granting permits for baseball, softball, soccer, flag football, non-contact lacrosse and cricket leagues to play in city parks beginning in mid-September, de Blasio said. Teams must adhere to virus mitigation guidelines, such as having players wear masks when possible, maintaining distance when not playing and limiting spectators. Leagues that violate the rules will be subject to a “three strikes and you’re out” policy, de Blasio said, and sports activities could be suspended if the city sees a spike in COVID-19 cases.

A New York man has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property after sheriff’s deputies say he stole a school bus in Pennsylvania to drive home. Justin Preedom stole a school bus and drove back to Avon, New York, on Monday, according to a statement from Livingston County Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty. Preedom was arraigned and released on his own recognizance Thursday. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a suspicious condition complaint for a bus with Pennsylvania license plates. Authorities contacted the bus company in Sarver, Pennsylvania, to confirm if the bus was supposed to be in Avon; it was not. Authorities said there could be additional charges filed in Pennsylvania. (AP)

Nurses on the front lines of New York’s COVID-19 pandemic are calling for the state to enact minimum staffing standards ahead of another wave of infections. Health care industry leaders, though, warn that passing such a law would saddle facilities with billions of dollars in extra costs they can’t afford. Under legislation now before a legislative committee, the state would for the first time set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, including a standard of one nurse for every two patients in intensive care units. California now has such a law. Other states don’t. Supporters say the legislation would boost the quality of care, reduce staff burnout and let the state hold health care facilities accountable for inadequate staffing.

One of the State University of New York’s campuses will shut down for two weeks after more than 100 people in the college community tested positive for the coronavirus, officials announced Sunday. The positive cases at SUNY Oneonta represent about 3% of the students and faculty on campus this semester, said Jim Malatras, the chancellor of the state university system. Malatras, who joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a conference call, said five students have been suspended because of large parties that were held last week. He said three rapid-result testing sites will be set up in Oneonta starting Wednesday.

Nationally, in recent days and weeks, Agudath Israel of America has received concurrent reports of an uptick in COVID-19 cases in communities in Lakewood, Cleveland, Rockland County, Five Towns, Brooklyn, Passaic, and Baltimore. With yeshivos imminently reopening for the school year, it is critical to bring this trend under control. For months, COVID-19 rates in many areas have, boruch Hashem, been low. But our communities are tight-knit and closely linked. Therefore, trends within our communities must be closely and holistically monitored, and every community must remain vigilant to protect all our communities. Kol Yisroel areivim zeh ba’zeh. Many of the cases nationally have been traced to large simcha gatherings.

Authorities are on the hunt for a vandal they say has smashed hundreds of windows on New York City subway trains. More than 400 windows have been damaged since May, costing nearly $400,000 to fix and all but exhausting supplies of replacement windows, the city’s transit agency said. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the police department this week announced a $12,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. On Wednesday, police released photos and video of a possible suspect — a man wearing a white tank top, gray pants, beige hat and blue surgical mask. Most of the damage has been on the 7-line linking Queens and Manhattan. Windows on 2 and 3 trains have also been smashed, police said.

Three of the four residents of New York City public housing whose criticisms of Mayor Bill de Blasio were used in a video at the Republican National Convention said they were never told their comments were to be showcased in that manner. The New York Times reported Friday that Claudia Perez, Carmen Quinones and Manny Martinez didn’t know that their comments from an interview with Lynne Patton were going to be used in support of President Donald Trump. Quinones, a Democrat, told the Times that Patton — a Trump administration appointee with the Department of Housing and Urban Development — had called her and asked her to bring together some people to speak about the city’s housing authority and their concerns, but that she was never told it would be part of the convention.