Despite the ballooning scandal, Lopez won’t quit politics. He plans to run for the New York City Council.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn does not want Lopez in city hall.

Politicians of both parties say the Democrat assemblyman needs to just go away, now.

“As I said yesterday, there should be a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment and we must now send a clear message that this behavior is not tolerated”, said Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat. “Vito Lopez should not spend another day in office, let alone a whole month. He should resign effective immediately and if he does not, he must be expelled. ”

Republican Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb agrees

“Mr. Lopez’s removal from the Assembly Chamber is already long overdue”, said Kolb. “Anyone who read the report issued by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) should recognize that immediate action is required, not a prolonged exit from the halls of the Legislature. The process by which this has been handled has been riddled with delays, missteps and decisions that have eroded the public trust. June 20th is not good enough - the time for Mr. Lopez to leave is now.”

Although Israel has not publicly taken sides in the civil war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to topple him, Western and Israeli sources say it has launched air strikes in Syria to destroy weapons it believed were destined for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

In public remarks at the weekly meeting of his cabinet, Netanyahu made no direct mention of those attacks, but made clear Israel was prepared to take action in the future and said it was "preparing for every scenario" in the Syrian conflict.

Israel had set a policy "to prevent, as much as possible, the leakage of advanced weapons to Hezbollah and terror elements", he said.

"We will act to ensure the security interest of Israel's citizens in the future as well," Netanyahu added, describing his government's actions as "responsible, determined and level-headed".

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied reports it attacked Iranian-supplied missiles stored near Damascus this month that it believed were awaiting delivery to Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006 and is allied with Assad.

SUPERSONIC MISSILE

A Russian shipment of Yakhont anti-ship missiles to Syria was condemned by the United States on Friday, and Israel is also alarmed by the prospect of Moscow supplying S-300 advanced air defense missile systems to Damascus.

Netanyahu held talks in Russia on Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian crisis but gave no public indication whether Israel's concerns over the Russian weaponry had been eased.

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defence Ministry official, said on Saturday the S-300 and the Yakhont, weapons that could complicate any plans for foreign military intervention in Syria, would likely end up with Hezbollah and threaten both Israel and U.S. forces in the Gulf.

"Yakhont is a cruise missile that can hit targets at sea and strategic targets. (It is) a supersonic missile, (with) a range of 300 km, very sophisticated," Gilad said on Israel's Channel Two television on Saturday.

"The Russians sent it to Syria, beside the strategic defense system called the S-300. There are a number of versions, and they are sending them one of the good versions," he said.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday Russia's delivery of anti-ship missiles to Assad was "ill-timed and very unfortunate" and risked prolonging a war that has already killed more than 80,000 Syrians.

A spokesman for Putin, while not responding directly to assertions Russia had sent the anti-ship missiles, said Moscow would honor contracts to supply Syria, a long-time weapons customer. Reuters

And even though the disease has been practically eradicated, it can still be ruinous to people who decline the vaccination.

“There have been two hospitalizations, a miscarriage and a case of pneumonia as a result of this outbreak,” a Health Department spokeswoman said. “All cases involved adults or children who were not vaccinated due to refusal or delays in vaccination.”

Some parents, including many religious Jews, shun getting the vaccine, which prevents mumps, measles, and rubella, out of fear it causes autism, said Dr. Yu Shia Lin of Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park.

“We have to tell them it is a very contagious disease and that people can die,” Lin said.

The outbreak stemmed from a visitor from England who showed up in Brooklyn with the virus, which causes red splotches, fever and aches.

The disease spreads quickly in the Orthodox Jewish community, where family sizes are extremely large and many parents decline vaccinations for their children.

“One person gets it and the whole family can get the disease,” Lin warned.

Measles and mumps, like the common cold, is an airborne virus making it easy to catch. It plagued Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 2008, 30 cases were counted in the city. Followed by 18 cases in 2009, eight cases in 2010, 25 cases in 2011, and five cases in 2012, the Health Department said.

And mumps - linked to a child from Britain - hit dozens of families throughout Borough Park in 2009 as well.

Hasidic parents, out celebrating the holiday of Torah commemoration time of Shavout, said they were unaware that there was an outbreak.

“I am shocked to hear this,” said Moshe Fried.  Read more:

The agents arrived around 3:30 p.m., asked the staff to leave and refused to discuss the investigation, a town official confirmed.

Locals suspect that some of the sought-after files concern the Ramapo Local Development Corporation (LDC) and the controversial $38 million baseball stadium it runs. The Rockland Boulders' Provident Bank Park could wind up costing taxpayers as much as $60 million, the New York State Comptroller warned.

Rockland County Legislator Joseph Meyers who has been a long time opponent to Supervisor St. Lawrence said that about 65% of voters turned down a bond for the stadium, worrying that it would put the town in debt, but that it was built anyway.

"There's no other place in America where the voters would turn something down and the elected official would still do it," Meyers told the Daily News.

As LDC president and town supervisor, Christopher St. Lawrence has been targeted by local activists who claim that his dual duties result in an absence of adequate checks and balances, facilitating what they characterize as misallocation of government funds.

"He controls everything that goes on at Ramapo Town Hall," said Michael Castelluccio, editor of watchdog site Preserve Ramapo. "For the last 10 years, I've been personally convinced that there are indictable crimes spread throughout what is the Ramapo government."

"Every time we found something that was illegal, we sent it to them. Finally something happened with it," he said.

Critics say that the ballpark is merely the most prominent example of questionable finances, because of its size and press, insisting that the corruption runs far deeper.

"I'm delighted that the FBI has finally taken some interest and will bring some justice to Ramapo," activist from the Preserve Ramapo Group Peggy Hatton said. "I personally think the ballpark is at the tip of what they are looking at."

Hatton argues that St. Lawrence's financial decisions "destroyed" the East Ramapo School District. She said the school district is running a deficit of millions of dollars, "so you have to start looking into the finances."

Town Attorney Michael Klein said he has no response to these allegations at this time. NY Daily news

Each certificate has a sticker with a bar code and personal hologram guaranteeing that the eatery has been certified kosher by the Rabbinate of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Visitors can scan the code and check the certificate themselves using a “Kosher Checker” application available for download.

A 24-hour phone line provides a second option. Those who cannot or do not wish to use the application can call the local kosher hotline and give the bar code number of the establishment they wish to check, and will be told whether or not the certificate is genuine.

Religious Council member Eldad Mizrahi explained the new service, and said it is the most technologically advanced kosher certification service currently in existence. Arutz Sheva

Misaskim representatives began interacting with Mr. Bailey in 1986 – many years before the organization was officially established. Mr. Bailey has been a dear friend to Misaskim and to the community since then. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate families who have experienced a sudden and tragic lost. This included traveling back to his office after working hours on Motzei Shabbos or Yom Tov so that a levaya can be made on time.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of niftarim came to kvura in timely manner due to the intervention of Mr. Bailey during the past 25 years. He readily agreed to come back to the office after working hours to complete the proper paperwork so that a niftar can be buried right away. Mr. Bailey was always available regardless of the short notice he was often given. When families needed to catch a flight to Eretz Yisroel with a niftar, Mr. Bailey never hesitated to quickly process the paperwork at every hour of the day or night in order to ensure that no delays were incurred.  

In certain communities, when a levaya was scheduled on Yom Tov Sheni, Mr. Bailey did all that was needed to accommodate the family despite the fact that they were unable to sign the paperwork on Yom Tov.

In addition, Mr. Bailey never hesitated to intervene on Misaskim’s behalf when other offices or coroners were involved. Misaskim always cited the actions of the NYC Medical Examiner’s Office and Mr. Bailey’s actions during training seminars it conducted for medical examiners across the nation. They served as a role model of stellar community relations and sensitivity toward religious traditions related to death.

Misaskim is deeply humbled and grateful for the kindness and respect toward Jewish traditions that was continuously demonstrated by Mr. Bailey. Those who wish to join Misaskim in conveying our condolences to the Medical Examiner's Office can do so by clicking on the link below. http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mailocme.html

Rabbi Druckman, head of the Ohr Etzion Yeshiva in Gush Etzion, proposed the plan several weeks ago. Rabbi Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, is considered one of the most important rabbis in the Religious Zionist movement. His candidacy is opposed by most hareidi rabbinical leaders, and ss such, Rabbi Yosef, considered hareidi himself, is in disagreement with his colleagues. Many members of secular parties, as well as several Bayit Yehudi MKs, support Rabbi David Stav, the head of the Tzohar organization, for the post of Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi. On Monday, Labor officially endorsed Rabbi Stav for the post.

The appointment of Rabbis Amar and Ariel would require adjustments in current laws on who can serve as Chief Rabbi. Currently, rabbis who served a term as Chief Rabbi - Rabbi Amar is currently Chief Sephardic Rabbi - cannot serve a second term, and individuals over 70 years of age - as Rabbi Ariel is - cannot serve either.

Despite the endorsement, the election of Rabbi Ariel – and Rabbi Amar – is not assured. The Bayit Yehudi party is said to be in favor of legislation to expand the body that will choose the chief rabbis, which would increase the number of public officials who could make the recommendations. The legislation was proposed by MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), in an effort to dilute the influence of hareidi rabbis on the choice of chief rabbi. But many hareidi and Religious Zionist rabbis fear that the legislation could open the door to the inclusion of non-Orthodox rabbis on the panel.

Arutz Sheva learned that a group of rabbis met Sunday with Bayit Yehudi Party Chairman Naftali Bennett in an attempt to change the party's support for the legislation. The rabbis reiterated the message in a meeting with Knesset members Yoni Chetboun and Motti Yogev. Similar sentiments were heard during a meeting between Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba'-Hevron and Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, who was accompanied by Member of Knesset Zevulun Calfa. INN

O&R has fielded customers’ reports that the scam callers have begun calling area residents.

In the scam, the customer is told to purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak or an Instapay MoneyPak at a pharmacy or convenience store, use cash to put money on the card, and then provide the number on the card to the person who called them. Typically, after the customer provides the MoneyPak number, the scammer steals the customer’s money by transferring the funds to a prepaid card and then cashing it in at an ATM.

O&R urges anyone who is contacted in that fashion to break off contact and call the utility’s customer service at 1-877-434-4100.

A pressure cooker was used to set off the bombs at the Boston Marathon last month.

The man, Hussain Al Kwawahir, is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court this afternoon, the paper reported. He is believed to have removed a page from his passport and lied to a federal customs agent about why he brought the pressure cooker.

A court official with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan confirmed to TPM that an individual by that name was expected to appear for an arraignment Monday, but the official did not provide additional information.

On May 8, the Knesset’s Interior Committee, headed by Likud MK Miri Regev, debated the long-standing unofficial ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, revered as the site of both Jewish temples and currently administered by the Islamic Wakf. At the meeting, Elhanan Glatt, the director general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, said that his ministry was examining the possibility of revising the informal ban on Jewish prayer at the site.

Hamas deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouq on Sunday described the Knesset session as an Israeli decision to encroach upon Islamic worship at the site, known in Arabic as Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.

“What the Zionist Knesset authorized is very dangerous,” wrote Abu Marzouq on his Facebook page late Sunday night. “They talk about dividing the al-Aqsa Mosque as an expression of freedom of worship!”

The icon of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, erected by Muslim Caliph Omar at the end of the seventh century on the southern perimeter of the Temple Mount, has often served as a call to arms against Israel. A visit by opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was used as a casus belli to spark the Second Intifada, known in Arabic as the al-Aqsa Intifada.

Abu Marzouq warned that, if Israel has its way, the al-Aqsa Mosque will be partitioned into Jewish and Muslim areas of worship, as is the case in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

“For them, freedom of worship is dividing what you have and maintaining what they have. For them, freedom of worship is 10 percent for the Muslims and 90% for the Jews in the Cave of the Patriarchs,” continued Abu Marzouq.

“This ominous Knesset decision will not pass, irrespective of the sacrifices.”

Palestinian sensitivity surrounding the al-Aqsa Mosque was already at a peak this week, following the detention for questioning of Jerusalem Mufti Mohammed Ahmed Hussein on May 8 and police restrictions placed on Muslim worshipers entering the Temple Mount ahead of Jerusalem Day.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ensour expressed his government’s “deep concern” over the “Israeli violations against al-Aqsa Mosque,” as the Jordanian parliament voted in favor of expelling the Israeli ambassador to Jordan.

On Sunday, following a meeting of the PLO’s Executive Committee, PA President Mahmoud Abbas lambasted Israel for ostensibly creating facts on the ground in Jerusalem’s holiest site.

“An action like this cannot be ignored, and we shall not allow it to continue,” Abbas told WAFA news agency on Sunday. “If Israel dreams that through these daily attacks against the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque it will create facts on the ground, it is delusional.”

The statement issued by the PLO was even more harshly worded, asserting “the right of Muslim and Christian [Palestinians] … to protect the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque from the aggression of settlers and the dangers of Judaization, which the extremist Zionist organizations continue to impose under the auspices of the occupation authorities and with their blessing.”

At the Knesset meeting, Foreign Ministry official Freda Yuval warned that any change in the status of the Temple Mount will “arouse the entire world” against Israel.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved a decision to prevent MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) from visiting the Temple Mount for fear that it could spark violence and endanger Israel’s security.  Times Of Israel

Rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad are trying to carve a pathway from the Jordanian border through the southern province of Daraa, in what is seen as their best shot at capturing Damascus.

A few weeks ago, they scored significant gains, but have since suffered setbacks in a regime counteroffensive.

In recent days, regime troops and rebel fighters battled over Khirbet Ghazaleh, a town near the Damascus-Jordan highway.

Regime forces retook Khirbet Ghazaleh on Sunday and rebels withdrew from the area, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Troops reopened the highway, restoring the supply line between Damascus and the contested provincial capital of Daraa, he said. Regime forces were carrying out raids and searching homes in Khirbet Ghazaleh on Monday.

Damascus, still overwhelmingly under regime control, is the ultimate prize in a largely deadlocked civil war.

Rebels control large parts of the countryside in northern Syria, but those areas are further away from the capital than the Jordanian border.

Arab officials and Western military experts have said Mideast powers opposed to Assad have stepped up weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, with Jordan opening up as a new route.

The uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011 and escalated into a civil war. Over the weekend, the Observatory issued a new death toll, estimating that more than 80,000 Syrians have been killed, almost half of them civilians. In February, the U.N. said at least 70,000 Syrians were killed.

Western leaders are facing growing pressure to find a way to end the conflict — both because of the rising death toll and fears that neighboring Israel or Turkey could inadvertently get pulled deeper into it.

Turkey has blamed the Assad regime for twin car bombs Saturday that killed 46 people and wounded scores in a Turkish border town that serves as a hub for Syrian refugees and rebels.

Turkey signaled restraint Sunday, saying it won't be dragged into the quagmire, but tensions between the former allies are running high.

Earlier this month, Israel attacked suspected shipments of advanced Iranian missiles in Syria with back-to-back airstrikes. Israeli officials signaled there would be more such attacks unless Syria refrains from trying to deliver such "game-changing" missiles to ally Hezbollah, an anti-Israel militia in Lebanon.

For now, the West is placing its hopes on a diplomatic plan that ran aground in the past but now appears to have stronger Russian backing.

Last week, the U.S. and Russia agreed to revive the idea of negotiations between Syria's political opposition and members of the regime on a transitional government, accompanied by an open-ended cease-fire.

Through the conflict, Russia sided with Assad, sending him weapons and shielding him against Western attempts to impose international sanctions.

However, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested en route to a White House meeting with President Barack Obama that Russia is ready to find common ground with the West. Cameron met last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the new Syria initiative.

"While it is no secret that Britain and Russia have taken a different approach to Syria I was very struck in my conversations with President Putin that there is a recognition that it would be in all our interests to secure a safe and secure Syria with a democratic and pluralist future, and end the regional instability," Cameron said late Sunday. "We have got a long way to go, but they were good talks." (AP)

While thousands of Yidden participated at a kinnus in Borough Park's 18th Ave Park, Thousands More participated in a kinus at the Rockland Boulder's Stadium in Pomona NY.

"The Civil Administration has given the green light for 296 housing units at Beit El, but this is only the first stage of a process before actual construction can begin," he said, speaking on behalf of a unit within the defence ministry which administers the West Bank.

He explained that the construction plans were part of a compensatory measure for settlers who were evicted last year from Ulpana, an unauthorised outpost on the outskirts of Beit El which was evacuated following a High Court ruling.

The announcement came just two days after a report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had quietly ordered a freeze on tenders for new settler homes in a bid to give a chance to US-led efforts to revive moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.

Hagit Ofran of Israel's Peace Now settlement watchdog denounced the move.

"This initiative proves Netanyahu is deceiving the world," she told AFP.

"On the one hand, he lets us believe that he is putting the brakes on settlement and on the other, he gives the go-ahead for an enormous building project."

Direct peace talks broke down shortly after they were launched in September 2010 because of an intractable dispute over Israel's settlement building, which is widely accepted as a violation of international law.

The Palestinians say they will not return to negotiations unless Israel freezes construction on land they want for a future state. AFP

GSH has recently expanded its Emergency Department and are looking to serve the community more efficiently.

Pictured: Rabbi Yisroel Kahan, Hospital Liaison/ Office of the Pres. & CEO, welcoming Dr. Mao to the New Emergency Room

Those words led police to a house near downtown Cleveland where Berry and two other women who vanished about a decade ago were found Monday, elating family members and friends who had longed to see them again.

Authorities later arrested three brothers, ages 50 to 54. One of them, Ariel Castro, owned the home.

Police Chief Michael McGrath said he thinks Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were held in the house since they were in their teens or early 20s.