Startling footage has emerged of a truck carrying hundreds of propane tanks bursting into flames following a crash early Tuesday morning in New York City. Investigators told the New York Post that the truck likely overturned on the Long Island Expressway around midnight after passing over black ice. The truck was carrying 294 propane tanks and its driver told police that he lost control while attempting to avoid another vehicle that had cut him off, according to WABC. It reportedly took hours for firefighters to extinguish the massive blaze caused by the wreck. The driver is said to have refused medical treatment at the scene and there were no other reports of injuries.

A “hilltop youth” was killed in a car crash in Gush Etzion on Monday while being chased by the police. The youth, who was later identified as Ahuvya Sandak, 16, from Bat Ayin, was part of a group of hilltop youth who were allegedly throwing rocks at Arab vehicles near the yishuv of Kochav HaShachar on Monday. Israel Police arrived at the scene and the group of boys jumped into a car and fled the scene. The police pursued the car and according to the police, the driver of the youths’ car lost control during the chase and the car flipped over, killing Sandak and lightly injuring four other passengers.

During his final shiur on Chanukah, Rabbi Yosef Dovid Teitelbaum, otherwise known as the Sassover Rebber, raised a number of tough questions with regard to the distribution of the Coronavirus vaccinations that are now being administered in Israel and other countries. “It is not easy for me to say this. I thought a lot about whether to speak and I know I will be criticized for it. The Gedolim have stated their opinion regarding vaccinations and I am like dust before them but even dust can say its opinion.” “I had the good fortune to be partly responsible for saving the lives of 30,000 people who received the Matan Chaim drops. I gave these drops in America as well.

The Justice Department announced new charges Monday against a Libyan bombmaker in the 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, an attack that killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground. The charges were announced on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing and in the final news conference of Attorney General William Barr’s tenure, underscoring his personal attachment to a case that unfolded during his first stint at the Justice Department. He had announced an earlier set of charges against two other Libyan intelligence officials in his capacity as acting attorney general nearly 30 years ago, vowing that the investigation would continue. Though Barr had not appeared at a press conference in months, he led this one two days before his departure as a career bookend.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he has asked airlines flying into the state from the United Kingdom to make all passengers take a COVID-19 test before they get on the plane. The Democrat said at least one airline, British Airways, had already agreed to comply. He is awaiting an answer from others, including Delta and Virgin Atlantic, but was hopeful they would also agree. Cuomo has been calling on the U.S. government to temporarily halt all flights from the U.K. because of the emergence there of a new strain of the coronavirus. Numerous nations have already taken that step out of concern that the newly identified strain might be more easily transmitted.

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, who flew to the UAE on Thursday on a historic visit of Israel’s first Chief Rabbi to visit an Arab country, spent Shabbos with the Jewish community in the UAE, as well as with about 400 Jewish tourists, mostly Israelis. HaRav Yosef delivered several shiurim over the course of Shabbos. On Motzei Shabbos, HaRav Yosef participated in the writing of the first Sefer Torah to be written in the Emirates. JCC DUBAI pic.twitter.com/7Vty9upiUh — Naum Koen (@KoenNaum) December 19, 2020 HaRav Yosef davened Shacharis on Sunday in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. There he met with about 20 Teimani Jews, who settled in the UAE after fleeing Yemen several months ago.

A Palestinian carried out a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday evening. According to initial reports, it happened at around 7:00PM IL, when the terrorist was witnessed carrying a Carlo machine gun at the Lion’s Gate in the Old City. Security Forces opened fire and neutralized the terrorist. One person was being transported to the hospital with minor injuries. ADDITIONAL DETAILS WILL BE PUBLISHED AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE TO US 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 Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

PM Boris Johnson says ‘there is no reason to believe the new variant of COVID19 is anymore dangerous than the existing strain’. “I want to stress we in the UK fully understand our friends’ anxieties about the new variant. But it’s also true that the risks of transmission sitting alone in the cab is very low. So we hope to make progress,” Johnson says. “We want to work with our colleagues to develop new treatments and new vaccines as we have”. Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance adds ‘the vaccine should be as effective’ on the new variant. Alarmed by a mutant strain of the coronavirus, many countries are banning travel from Britain, where it appears to be spreading widely. European markets plummeted and U.S.

At least 6 people were treated for injuries after an FDNY Engine crashed into a storefront on Sunday night. It happened just before midnight, when FDNY Engine 254 was responding to reports of a structural fire on Bay Parkway when it struck a vehicle, according to authorities. The apparatus then struck a closed commercial building on Avenue U and East 4th Street, police told YWN. One civilian and five firefighters were taken to the hospital. FDNY EMS and Flatbush Hatzolah treated the victims. Thankfully, there were no life-threatening injuries reported. PHOTOS FOR YWN BY M.G. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The duet of Jewish music superstar Avraham Fried and Tel Aviv rock star Aviv Geffen – “Batzoret” (Drought)was released on Sunday morning. How did this unlikely collaboration of Fried and Geffen come about? It all started with a video that Fried’s friend sent him. “It could have just been another evening of the coronavirus routine in my home in Brooklyn,” Fried said. “But a video that a friend in Israel sent me left me in tears. When I saw the video of Aviv crying during an interview and pleading to stop the hateful discourse…I couldn’t continue to stand by and I answered his call.” “I never met Aviv Geffen,” Fried continued, “and meeting him was never on my agenda.