City leaders voted Wednesday to slash the Los Angeles Police Department budget by $150 million, reducing the number of officers to a level not seen for more than a decade amid nationwide demands to shift money away from law enforcement agencies during America’s reckoning over police brutality and racial injustice. About two-thirds of the funding was earmarked for police overtime and will be used to provide services and programs for communities of color, including a youth summer jobs program. The City Council’s 12-2 vote will drop the number of officers from 9,988 as of last month to 9,757 by next summer, abandoning a goal of 10,000 officers touted by political leaders and only reached in 2013.

Every parent wants a pleasant and meaningful Shabbos table experience. But it can be hard to keep kids engaged without a plan and a lot of preparation. That’s why The Circle, a popular children’s magazine, has teamed up with Yeshiva World to create a free download with impressive and captivating content to help parents create a meaningful and entertaining Shabbos with their children. Circle Time: At Your Shabbos Table is an exclusive free download hosted right here and will be available every Thursday morning. Send us your feedback at circletime@circmag.com. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE ISSUE To sign up for a weekly email of Circle Time: At Your Shabbos Table go to www.circmag.com/shabbos.

A group of three teenagers fell into a well in Kedumim on Thursday evening. The incident took place near the Har Hemed neighborhood of Kedumim in Samaria. Firefighter, police officers, Search and Rescue Units, and United Hatzalah teams were on site. From initial reports, it appears that three teenagers who went out for a walk got stuck in the well. Two of them were able to get out of the well on their own and with the assistance of rescue forces who arrived at the scene. There is concern that another boy is still missing in the water. United Hatzalah reported “United Hatzalah EMS volunteers treated one of the boys who got out of the well for a light case of hypothermia.

A man was arrested for allegedly setting off fireworks that burned down a home in Brooklyn. Damien Bend, 36, is charged with arson in the fourth degree. On June 24, firefighters responded to the home on E. 51 St. for reports of a fire on the first floor of a two-and-a-half story home. It took 60 firefighters to bring the flames under control. The Fire Marshal said video footage obtained of the incident shows Bend igniting fireworks in the driveway of the home when a burst from one of them entered an open window on the first floor. The Fire Marshal said Bend continued to set off the remaining fireworks before entering his house to retrieve more. In the last nine days, Fire Marshals have arrested 17 people and confiscated approximately $36,700 worth of illegal fireworks.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe is very famous. That much is undisputed. But if you stop a Jew on the street (as a good Lubavithcer might) and ask him or her what makes the Rebbe famous, they might say the international network of shluchim, the legendary ahavas yisroel, the tireless effort on behalf of the Jewish people; a more well-informed Jew might mention his social and political activism. CLICK TO JOIN THE CLASS! But, to the frum world, the Rebbe’s Torah scholarship remains somewhat opaque and inaccessible. What are the transformative ideas that the Rebbe developed over forty years? How were they rooted in the deepest explorations of authentic lomdus? How are the Rebbe’s real-world legacy reflected in his intellectual legacy?

Many people received summonses in NYC this week due to confusion about the new alternate side parking regulations. NYC Councilman Chaim Deutsch gave YWN the following statement: “There has been substantial confusion from many New York City drivers about the new alternate side regulations that are in effect until Labor Day. The new regulations began on Monday, June 29, but unclear instructions from the administration have caused drivers to misunderstand where they can park. Many of my constituents received summonses after parking on a particular side of their street believing in good faith that they were permitted to park there.

Despite viral rumors on social media stating that a Federal Judge in NY ruled that summer camps would not be allowed to open, it is nothing more than “fake news”. The only update in the case is that “supplemental briefs” have been filed – both by the State of New York, as well as by the attorney representing the Association of Jewish Camp Operators (AJCO). The briefs were filed on Wednesday. At this point, there is no news other than waiting for a decision by the judge. That’s what happens when “news sources” publish news without even bothering to verify what they are posting – or even bother to read the date on a court document. STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

A man reportedly slashed a 2-year-old boy across the face as the child was being pushed in a stroller down a Manhattan street this week. The boy was with his babysitter near W. 110th Street and Morningside Drive in Morningside Heights around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when the man came up and pretended to play with the child, and then suddenly slashed the boy above his eye. It’s unclear what he used to slash the toddler. The individual then fled the scene on foot westbound on West 110 Street. The victim suffered a laceration above his right eye and EMS removed him to Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in stable condition. The individual is described as a male, approximately 5’6″ in height, with short black hair; last seen wearing a white shirt, dark colored shorts, black socks and black sneakers.

Lakewood collectively remembers BINGO’s famous children’s shoe sale last year. Thousands waited in line for the opportunity to purchase beautiful, top quality shoes, at the bargain price of $40 a pair. For many, this may have been the first time they’d seen a specially designed item for the frum market, of the quality our community is accustomed to, offered at below market value. At BINGO, this type of sale is an everyday occurrence. BINGO entered the American supermarket scene with the motto “No Shticks, No Tricks,” and they’ve remained true to their word. After their resounding success in servicing the Brooklyn community, BINGO turned their attention to Lakewood.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Moscow has never delivered weapons to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, countering U.S. allegations. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the claim by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Wednesday that he had repeatedly raised the issue during his talks with the Russians. “Russia has only supplied weapons to the legitimate government of Afghanistan, which is well known,” Zakharova said at a briefing.