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UPDATE: More Similac Baby Formula Recalled After Infant Dies, FDA Says UPDATE: More Similac Baby Formula Recalled After Infant Dies, FDA Says
Update: More Similac Baby Formula Recalled After Infant Dies, FDA Says Abbott Laboratories voluntarily expanded its recall of certain Similac PM 60/40 cans and cases after a second infant who was given the powdered baby formula died, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Abbott had already recalled certain Alimentum, Similac and EleCare baby formulas made at the same company facility in Michigan after four infants were sickened by bacterial infections and one of them died. That baby's death, as well as the second one discovered on Monday, Feb. 28, could have been caused by Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria found in the formulas, which were distributed thro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow
NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow New York City's health chief "strongly" recommended Monday that everyone wear masks in indoor public settings at all times -- regardless of their vax status -- as concerns grows over the newest mutated strain of COVID. "Like at your grocery or in building lobbies, offices and retail stores,” Dr. David Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told reporters. “When you’re indoors, regardless of whether you’re fully vaccinated or not, everyone should be wearing a mask." It's not a mandate -- just an advisory at this point. Theaters, restaurants, clu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Kosher Markets Bounce Ben & Jerry's For Boycott Of 'Occupied Palestinian Territory' NJ Kosher Markets Bounce Ben & Jerry's For Boycott Of 'Occupied Palestinian Territory'
NJ Kosher Markets Bounce Ben & Jerry's For Boycott Of 'Occupied Palestinian Territory' Kosher markets across New Jersey have discontinued sales of Ben & Jerry's ice cream after the company announced it will stop selling in "occupied Palestinian territory." Ben & Jerry's fans have said that conducting sales in Israel flies in the face of its liberal image.  The Vermont-based ice cream giant agreed, announcing Monday that it's not renewing its license with the Israeli manufacturer after it expires at the end of 2022. "We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)," Ben & Jerry's…

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by Cecilia Levine
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'Share Your Spare': NJ Mom's Kidney Donation Saves Life Of 37-Year-Old Patient 'Share Your Spare': NJ Mom's Kidney Donation Saves Life Of 37-Year-Old Patient
'Share Your Spare': NJ Mom's Kidney Donation Saves Life Of 37-Year-Old Patient Linden's Naava Hess is part of loving family devoted to helping others in need.  She and her husband, Rabbi Joshua Hess, have encouraged their children -- Daniel, Akiva, Esti and Dalia -- to always look for opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. That opportunity for Naava would ultimately come through living organ donation. “I have a few friends and acquaintances that have been living donors, and it was always something that intrigued me,” said Hess said.  “When there was a member of our synagogue who was in need of a kidney, I signed up for a drive to test t…

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by Cecilia Levine
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NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary
NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary A New Jersey man living in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel has been accused of faking his religion to hide the fact that he is really a Christian missionary. Rabbi Michael Elkohen dressed in strictly-Orthodox clothes and had been living in French Hill with his five children and wife, Amanda, who recently died after a cancer battle, the Times of Israel says. Elkohen's family had reportedly been under surveillance for at least seven years, but it all came crumbling down last week, when his teen daughter told a classmate that Jesus  "accepts everyone, even if they are wr…

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by Cecilia Levine
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COVID-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says COVID-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says
Covid-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has released the first data on so-called "breakthrough" COVID-19 cases, meaning individuals who have become infected -- despite being fully vaccinated. So far, there have been about 5,800 such cases, the CDC told CNN.  At the time that data was collected, 77 million American adults had been fully vaccinated, meaning 99.992 percent had dodged the disease. The efficacy rates of the double-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both around 95 percent. "To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or v…

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by Joe Lombardi
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'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies 'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies
'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies He was the very definition of “class act,” a father figure and mentor to a multitude who made protecting others their mission. You couldn't help but love him. “Firefighting royalty” one colleague said Monday after learning that retired veteran fire chief and academy instructor Larry Rauch had died a week and a half shy of his 79th birthday. Rauch, the Bergen County Fire Academy’s head instructor for several decades, fought fires for nearly 50 years in Upper Saddle River. He lived there most of his life before moving to Manchester in 2019 with his beloved wife of 58 years, Sherry, who died…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud
Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud A Jersey Shore pain management doctor accused of running a $24.6 million fraud scheme billed insurance plans for more than 24 hours worth of services in a single day no fewer than 900 times, federal authorities said Monday. Morris Antebi, 68, of Long Branch, also billed Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies frequently on dates when travel records show he was overseas -- including trips to China, Israel, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and across Europe – and at other times when he was otherwise out of state, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Antebi, who specializes in pain ma…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme A Lakewood man who's currently believed to be in Israel orchestrated a rewards points resale scheme that cost credit card companies more than $8 million, an indictment returned Friday by a federal grand jury in Newark alleges. Aharon Lev, 33, had help from co-defendant Timothy Gibson, 43, of Lehi, Utah, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said after both were named in an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lev also is charged with separate wire fraud and aggravated identity theft counts. Lev used a string of aliases – among them, “Aaron Lev,” “David Gold” and “David Mo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s largest bank and a Swiss subsidiary agreed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to pay $874.27 million to the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the New York State Department of Financial Services to settle offshore tax-evasion charges. At the same time, Bank Hapoalim B.M. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., agreed to pay more than $30 million to the United States to resolve a federal investigation into their roles in laundering bribes and kickbacks to the world governing body for soccer. As part of the tax-evasion settlement, Bank Hapoalim B.M.&…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies
Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies One of two men critically injured when they were struck crossing the street outside a Teaneck synagogue Thursday night died Saturday. Sheldon Mermelstein, 75, passed away around 2 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Mayor Elie Katz said. “Our hearts are broken,” his daughter-in-law, Ayelet Schwartz Mermelstein, wrote in tribute. “May his memory be a blessing.” Mermelstein and Micah Kaufman, 41, both members of congregation Beth Aron on Queen Anne Road, were coming from Congregation Bnai Yeshurun when they were struck by a sedan while crossing West Englewood Avenue around 6:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap
Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap A 26-year-old Fair Lawn native was sentenced in Russia to 7½ years in prison for having a third of an ounce of pot in her bag, in what has become an international incident involving an alleged hacker held for the United States by authorities in Israel. Naama Issachar, who was born and raised in Fair Lawn before moving to Israel when she was 16, was returning there after a three-month trip to India this past April when police at the Moscow airport grabbed her as she boarded a connecting flight to Tel Aviv. Russian authorities prosecuted her on drug smuggling charges -- rather than simple pos…

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by Jerry DeMarco