Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid arrived in Morocco on Wednesday to kick off a bid to strengthen ties with the North African country nearly a year after the two nations signed an accord to normalize relations. The centerpiece of Lapid’s face-to-face diplomacy was to be the inauguration of Israel’s mission in the capital, Rabat. His two-day visit is the first to the country by an Israeli minister since 2003, and the first such meeting in Morocco since the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords with four Arab states: Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. Israel and Morocco share a long history of formal and informal ties. Many Israelis have lineage that traces back to Morocco, which is still home to a small community of several thousand Jews.

Shoppers were startled last weekend to see a bear cub browsing the offerings at a Los Angeles supermarket. Video aired by CBS 2 shows the small bear strolling the aisles on Saturday at the Ralphs store in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley. After sniffing around inside, the bear eventually walked out the front doors. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife found the 120-pound (54-kilogram) animal hiding under a trailer at a construction site behind a nearby Walmart. The bear was tranquilized and released into the Angeles National Forest, the department said. (AP)

The White House has weighed in on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment allegations. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that President Joe Biden did not speak with Cuomo before his resignation and Cuomo did not give the administration advance notice. Biden and Cuomo were once close allies. But the president called for Cuomo to step down last week in response to an independent investigations’ findings. Psaki said those views “stand” and that “this is a story about these courageous women who came forward.” Psaki said that Biden has yet to speak to Kathy Hochul, who will take over in two weeks. But Psaki added that the administration looks forward to working with her. (AP)

The first Selichos tefillah for Sephardim was on Monday night although the large crowd that gathered at the Kosel was comprised of Jews from all stripes. Sephardim begin reciting Selichos at the beginning of Elul in order to recite them for a period of 40 days, the same period of time that Moshe Rabbeinu was on Har Sinai. Ashkenazim begin reciting Selichos on the Motzei Shabbos (or Sunday morning) before Rosh Hashanah, but if there are less than four days between the beginning of Selichos and Rosh Hashana, then Selichos begins on the previous Motzei Shabbos. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

President Yitzchak Herzog visited the city of Bnei Brak on Monday in honor of the opening of the new school year, visiting chadarim, yeshivos, the homes of Gedolim, and the Ezra Hamarpeh organization. He was accompanied on the tour by Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein. Herzog, who is the grandson of HaRav Yitzchak HaLevi Herzog, z’tl, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, has always expressed great respect and support for lomdei Torah and the Chareidi community. Herzog started his visit at the Karlin-Stolin Talmud Torah, where the 2nd-grade boys greeted him with singing. He then proceeded to a first-grade classroom, where he participated in the boys’ first lesson.

A Brooklyn woman was gunned down by another woman who got out of a car and shot her in the back of the head, police said. Surveillance video of the shooting Wednesday night released by police shows a woman in black leggings get out of a double-parked white sedan and casually shoot Delia Johnson in the head as she chats with a group of people by a stoop in the Crown Heights neighborhood. NYC: We need your help identifying this individual. On 8/4 at 9:41 pm, near 697 Franklin Ave in the @NYPD77Pct she shot a female in the head & leg then fled in a white vehicle. The 42-year-old victim died at a nearby hospital. If you have info, contact @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS.

Catskills Hatzolah was on the scene of a two car crash in Monticello, Sunday afternoon. It happened at the intersection of Fraser Road and Anawana Road at around 2:00PM. One person was transported to the hospital. The Monticello Fire Department was on the scene as well assisting Hatzolah.
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As YWN reported on Wednesday, a serious crash on Route 17 left two people dead. Today, the NY State Police has provided YWN with details of the crash. Following is the NY State Police unedited statement: On August 4, 2021 at approximately 7:10 p.m. the State Police responded to a fatal crash on State Route 17 eastbound at the Sands Road Overpass near exit 119 in the Town of Wallkill. The crash involved a 2005 Ford Escape operated by Anthony K. Jones, age 24 of Walden, NY and a 2004 Toyota Sienna, operated by Nelson Vivarcampoverde age 48 of Middletown, NY. Jones was traveling alone while Vivarcampoverde’s vehicle was occupied by 7 additional passengers. The Toyota Sienna was traveling in the passing lane of State Route 17 parallel to the Ford Escape that was in the driving lane.

The Hezbollah terror group said it fired a barrage of rockets into Northern Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon a day earlier. The Israel Defense Forces said 10 projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and six landed in open around Mount Dov. Another three rockets failed to clear the border and landed in Lebanese territory, according to the military. Israel said it was firing back after 19 rockets were launched from Lebanon, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett swiftly convened a meeting with the country’s top defense officials. “We do not wish to escalate to a full war, yet of course we are very prepared for that,” said Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.

Officials in a Florida town released body camera footage Tuesday from the first police officers who responded to the collapse of a condo building that left 98 people dead. Officers in Surfside arrived just minutes after the east side of Champlain Tower South pancaked in the early morning hours of June 24. Each video lasts about 18 minutes. Clouds of dust billow as the officers make their way past the massive wreckage. The officers can be seen calling for survivors and escorting residents away from the part of the building that was still standing. Officials are still working to determine the cause of the collapse. Rescue workers spent about a month searching the site for remains.