Franklin Avenue in Williamsburg was the scene of heavy police activity on Wednesday night, after an armed robbery with a vehicle pursuit ended with a car crash and the suspects bailing on foot. It unfolded at around 5:00PM, when the five suspects armed with a gun robbed a cellphone store on the East Side of Manhattan. The NYPD was pinging the getaway car, and chased them into Williamsburg, where they eventually crashed at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Park Avenue. All occupants bailed from the vehicle, and a foot pursuit and a perp search was underway. Two suspects were taken into custody a few minutes later, while two (possibly three) others managed to get away. A short while later another two suspects were taken into custody.

A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve was intent on committing a jihad against government officials and shouted “Allahu akbar” before striking one officer in the head and attempting to grab another officer’s gun, prosecutors said Wednesday. Trevor Bickford, who was shot by police during the confrontation, was arraigned by video from a Manhattan hospital and ordered to be held without bail. He did not enter a plea and has another court appearance scheduled for Friday. Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine, is charged with attempting to murder police officers, assault and attempted assault. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence.

Border Guard commanders were suspended after a female Border Police officer was apparently mistakenly left alone in the Arab village of Al-Ram, near Ramallah, on Tuesday. A video that circulated on social media shows the Border Police officer walking alone on a street in the village following an operation in which Border Guard forces arrested three Palestinian suspects. According to regulations, Border Police officers must always operate in pairs. Following the circulation of the video, a statement from a Border Guard spokesperson claimed that “in the video circulated on social media, it appears that the Border Guard officer is alone in the field.

Orthodox Jews have been the target of more than a dozen misleading and one-sided portrayals of their community in the pages of The New York Times for the last four months. It has become abundantly clear that Orthodox Jews must respond to protect their physical security and to depict Orthodox Jews without a jaundiced eye. That’s why advocates have launched KnowUs: an initiative to combat negative stereotypes advanced by the The New York Times and others and provide an inside look into the lives of Orthodox Jews. KnowUs just erected three prominent Midtown Manhattan billboards, kicking off the campaign. Already garnering attention, the billboards direct viewers to KnowUs.org, a growing informational website, buttressed by a digital campaign, which rolled out today.

House Republicans will open the second day of the new Congress much like the first — with leader Kevin McCarthy trying to become House speaker despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new GOP majority into chaos. It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred. Instead, he vowed to fight to the finish, encouraged, he said, by former President Donald Trump to end the disarray and pull the Republican Party together. The House is scheduled to convene Wednesday after the stalemate essentially forced all other business to a standstill, waiting on Republicans to elect a speaker. “Today, is that the day I wanted to have?

Mirel Duzlovosky, the Chareidi mother of 11 who was severely injured in a protest last month, was released from the ICU to a regular ward on Monday evening. B’Chasdei Hashem, Duzlovosky’s condition has significantly improved. The doctors removed her from the respirator and transferred her to a regular ward for continued medical treatment for the wounds she sustained in the incident. Her condition is now categorized as mild. Earlier on Monday, a Jerusalem court extended the arrest of the minor who was detained for his alleged involvement in the incident for four days. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

In the wake of the fall of a Sefer Torah on Shabbos morning in Yeshivas Ponevezh, the Roshei Yeshivah established a day of teshuvah and hissorerus on Thursday as outlined in a letter published in the yeshivah on Tuesday morning. B’Chadrei Chareidim reported that prior to the publication of the letter, Rosh Yeshivas Ponevezh HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein sent the Nasi of the yeshivah, HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Kahaneman, to the Posek HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shaul Klein, asking about the opinion of the late Posek HaDor, HaGaon Harav Shmuel Wosner, z’tl.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was dealt a historic defeat in first-round voting Tuesday to become House speaker, vowing to try again but sending the new Congress into opening day tumult as conservative colleagues opposed his leadership. McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it takes to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel from his fellow party members on the initial vote. McCarthy strode into the chamber, posed for photos, and received a standing ovation from many on his side of the aisle after being nominated by the third-ranking Republican, Rep.

After years of much hard work and perseverance, Hatzalah of Waterbury has received full EMS licensure in the state of Connecticut. The license allows the organization to operate ambulances and provide basic life support from EMTs as well as advanced life support by Paramedics. With much support from State and City leaders including Senator Joan Hartley, State Representative Ron Napoli Jr, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and Adam Rinko, Director of Emergency Management, the all volunteer agency worked together with legislators and Raffaella Coler, Director Connecticut Office of EMS to incorporate Hatzalah into the State’s emergency medical service and first responders.

The Rav of Jerusalem HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Amar published a sharply worded letter of protest against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following his visit to Har HaBayis on Tuesday morning. “Many approached me saying that today a minister went to daven on Har HaBayit and asked what I thought,” HaRav Amar wrote.