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August 17, 2017 at 9:08 pm
Imran Awan, a former IT aide for Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was indicted Thursday on four counts including bank fraud and making false statements.
The indictment also includes his wife Hina Alvi.
The grand jury decision in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes roughly a month after Awan was arrested at Dulles airport in Virginia trying to board a plane to Pakistan, where his family is from.
Awan and other IT aides for House Democrats have been on investigators’ radar for months over concerns of possible double-billing, alleged equipment theft, and access to sensitive computer systems. Most lawmakers fired Awan in February, but Schultz had kept him on until his arrest in July.
The indictment itself, which merely represents formal charges and...
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August 17, 2017 at 9:05 pm
Police in Spain announced early Friday they killed several people in an anti-terror operation in Cambrils, hours after a van rammed into a crowd about 70 miles away in Barcelona, killing at least 13 people.
Police confirmed they fatally shot four people suspects after police suspected they were planning a second terror attack.
The suspects may have been carrying suicide explosive belts and attempted to carry out a similar attack to the one in Barcelona, by driving a vehicle into pedestrians, according to state-run broadcaster RTVE. It said seven people were injured -- two seriously -- by the suspects.
Meantime, authorities were on the hunt for the van driver that killed at least 13 people and injured more than 100. It was not immediately clear how the suspects killed in Cambrils may hav...
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August 17, 2017 at 5:45 pm
The Israeli Air Force successfully intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during a test of its Patriot missile air defense system against new threats.
The interception was part of a larger exercise planned in advance for 2017, according to the IDF Spokesperson Unit.
Lt. Col. Raz Nahum, a Patriot battalion commander, said, "During the course of the training exercise, several Patriot missiles were fired at targets designated as threats. This drill is a direct continuation of attempts in recent years to violate the sovereignty of the state of Israel.”
"There is no doubt that after the drill we conducted we improved the awareness of our personnel and the effectiveness of the system."
The Patriot missile defense system was first given to Israel by the United States in 1991 to de...
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August 17, 2017 at 5:06 pm
Barcelona’s main synagogue is closing for a minimum of 24 hours following Thursday’s deadly terrorist attack in the city, in which at least thirteen people were murdered and dozens more wounded.
Barcelona Rabbi Meir Bar Chen said that all “community institutions” had been closed in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity. Bar Chen confirmed that “this was not a terrorist attack directed against Jews,” following initial reports that a kosher restaurant on the Las Ramblas thoroughfare along the path of the terrorists’ van had been their primary target.
In an interview with The Algemeiner on Thursday, a prominent Catalan journalist highlighted the vulnerabilities confronting the Spanish authorities in confronting terror...
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August 17, 2017 at 5:02 pm
A 25-ton, bronze sphere damaged by the collapsing World Trade Center is finally being returned to a spot overlooking the rebuilt site.
Workers on Wednesday began hoisting sections of the Koenig Sphere into its permanent home at the new Liberty Park overlooking the 9/11 memorial.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last year approved plans to move the sculpture from its temporary place in Battery Park at Manhattan’s southern tip.
The sphere once stood between the trade center’s two towers.
The late German artist Fritz Koenig created the work commissioned by the Port Authority, which lost 84 employees. It was dedicated in Battery Park in 2002, with an eternal flame honoring the more than 2,700 people who died at the trade center a year earlier.
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August 17, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Shas party leader Minister Aryeh Deri interviewed on Wednesday evening 24 Menachem Av with Kol Chai Radio host Avi Mimron, speaking on a number of current issues including the situation in Syria, the sale of the party-affiliated Yom L’Yom newspaper, opening a new newspaper in response, giyur, the Sanhedria Talmid Torah machlokes and more.
Deri began by addressing the situation along the northern border, speaking as a member of the Security Cabinet. “The situation in Syria is very sensitive, I do not want to pressure the public, but I need a lot of tefilos. The prime minister is under very heavy pressure and he is the best person to deal with such issues,” he said. I wish him and his wife the best and that they should pass this difficult period in peace.”
Deri then...
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August 17, 2017 at 4:54 pm
Baltimore, MD – Aug. 17, 2017 – It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Nellie Bienenstock, a'h, mother of Rabbi David Bienenstock and Mrs. Chaya Statman.
The levaya and kevurah will be held tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 at 11:00 AM at New Mount Zion Cemetery in East Rutherford, NJ.
Shiva will be observed at 6607 Greenspring Ave. Baltimore, MD 21209 from Motzei Shabbos through Thursday morning, Aug. 24, after Shacharis.
The family requests no visitors 12:00-1:00, 6:00-7:00, or after 10:00 PM.
Minyanim
Shacharis Sunday: 8:30 AM
Monday-Thursday: 7:00 AM
Mincha/Ma'ariv: Sunday-Wednesday 7:40 PM
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
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August 17, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Islamic terror group says terrorists responsible for Barcelona attack were affiliated with organization.
The ISIS terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the ramming attack in Barcelona Thursday which left at least 13 people dead and roughly 80 injured.
The terror group claimed responsibility via the ISIS-aligned Amaq media outlet.
It is unclear whether ISIS directed the terror cell responsible for the attack or if the terrorists were simply ISIS-inspired.
American security officials warned Spain two months ago about the possibility of a terror attack in Barcelona at the hands of an Islamic terror organization like ISIS.
Thursday’s attack is the first successful terrorist attack on Spanish soil since the 2004 Madrid train bombings which left nearly ...
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August 17, 2017 at 4:38 pm
CIA warned local police Barcelona could be hit by Islamic terrorists two months before attack left 13 dead, 32 injured.
American security officials warned Spanish authorities two months ago that Barcelona’s La Rambla pedestrian mall could be hit by Muslim terrorists.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Peridoico, Spanish officials received a specific warning regarding the popular tourist hotspot in Barcelona two months ago.
Central Intelligence Agency officials reportedly warned Spain that the La Rambla area could be targeted by Muslim terrorists in the same kind of car ramming attack used against Germany, the UK, France, the US, and Israel.
The report comes just hours after a white Fiat van rammed into a crowd of pedestrians near La Rambla, killing at least 13 ...
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August 17, 2017 at 4:28 pm
Maine’s governor says taking down statues of Confederate figures is “just like” removing a monument to people who died in the 9/11 attacks.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage made the comments during an appearance Thursday morning on WGAN-AM when asked for his reaction to the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.
LePage says he condemns “both sides” that demonstrated. He says he finds white nationalist and far-left protesters “equally as bad” and “disgusting.”
LePage says left-wing protesters who want to remove Confederate statues are ignorant of history and want to erase it. He compares them to “the Taliban in Afghanistan” in their desire to remove monuments.
LePage says he didn’t find out about...
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August 17, 2017 at 4:22 pm
In a rare statement unrelated to Israel or the Middle East, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee implicitly rebuked President Donald Trump for seemingly drawing an equivalence between the sides in the Charlottesville clash last weekend.
“AIPAC shares the outrage and deep concern of our fellow Americans about the inexcusable violence and sickening displays of racism and anti-Semitism in Charlottesville this weekend,” the prominent Israel lobbying group said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“The vile hatred expressed by neo-Nazis, the KKK and white supremacists must be categorically and unambiguously rejected. We urge all elected officials to reject moral equivalence and oppose between those who promote hate and those who oppose it. There must be no qua...
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August 17, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Tel Aviv, Israel - Aug. 17, 2017 - Tel Aviv, first city in the world lit up in colors of Spanish flag to pay tribute to the victims of the attack in Barcelona.
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August 17, 2017 at 3:44 pm
Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week, as the number of people seeking benefits remained close to historic lows.
THE NUMBERS: Weekly unemployment applications fell by 12,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 232,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The less volatile four-week average slipped 500 to 240,500. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits has fallen 9 percent over the past 12 months to 1.9 million.
THE TAKEAWAY: The job market appears solid as the U.S. enters its ninth year of recovery from the Great Recession. Employers are holding onto workers with the expectation that business will continue to improve. Jobless claims, which closely track layoffs, have come in below 300,000 for 128 weeks in a row. That’s the longest such stretch since 1970, when the U...
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August 17, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Another bein hazmanim accident, this one occurring on Wednesday night in Tiveria at about 1:30AM. A 19-year-old chareidi female was struck by a taxi and taken by chopper in serious condition to the trauma unit of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The woman is reported to be a resident of Mevasseret Tzion, who was visiting family in Tiveria.
The injured woman was walking with a cousin when she was struck. Her cousin was in shock but did not sustain physical injuries B’chasdei Hashem.
Yossi Uknin of United Hatzalah Tiveria was among the first on the scene, describing the victim’s serious head injuries and facial trauma, confirming she was taken by chopper to the northern region trauma center.
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August 17, 2017 at 3:41 pm
An Australian senator provoked an angry backlash from lawmakers by wearing a burqa in Parliament on Thursday as part of her campaign for a national ban on Islamic face covers.
Pauline Hanson, leader of the anti-Muslim, anti-immigration One Nation minor party, sat wearing the black head-to-ankle garment for more than 10 minutes before taking it off as she rose to explain that she wanted such outfits banned on national security grounds.
“There has been a large majority of Australians (who) wish to see the banning of the burka,” said Hanson, an outspoken fan of President Donald Trump, as senators objected.
Attorney-General George Brandis drew applause when he said his government would not ban the burqa, and chastised Hanson for what he described as a “stunt” that of...
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August 17, 2017 at 3:41 pm
As has been reported, 13 people have been killed and around 50 injured after a white van jumped up onto a sidewalk and sped down a pedestrian zone Thursday in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district, swerving from side to side as it plowed into tourists and residents.
YWN was first to report that the attack occurred in front of “Maccabi“, which is a Shomer Shabbos, Kosher restaurant.
“It’s a terrible situation,” Rabbi Dovid Libersohn, director of Chabad Lubavitch de Barcelona, which provides kosher certification to Maccabi told Chabad.org.
“We pray for the injured and for the families of those who were killed, and we are grateful, thank G‑d, that nobody at the restaurant was harmed. As far as we know right now, members of the Jewish com...
