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February 17, 2018 at 7:56 pm
Russian officials had disdainful words Saturday for a U.S. indictment that charged 13 Russians with interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Children’s stories, the plot of a preposterous Hollywood movie and “just blabber” were a few of the glib analogies they pressed into service.
The language, while dismissive, suggested that Russia feels cornered by the unrelenting allegations that the Kremlin had a role in President Donald Trump’s election. Repeated denials and hope that the intrigue would fade away have been Moscow’s strategy for maintaining the popular expectation that its ties with Washington would improve under Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have deflected the suspicion that Trump colluded with Moscow and the ...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:52 pm
Top Russian and American officials exchanged barbs Saturday in Germany over the U.S. indictment of 13 Russians accused of an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.
H.R. McMaster, President Donald Trump's national security advisor, said at the Munich Security Conference that the federal indictments showed the U.S. was becoming "more and more adept at tracing the origins of this espionage and subversion."
"As you can see with the FBI indictment, the evidence is now really incontrovertible and available in the public domain," McMaster told a Russian delegate to the conference.
Just minutes before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had dismissed the indictments as "just blabber," according to remarks through an interpreter. "I have no response," Lavrov...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:36 pm
President Donald Trump traveled to Broward County, Fla., on Friday to visit with victims who were injured in the grisly school shooting in Parkland this week.
A series of images posted on Instagram shows the president and First Lady Melania Trump, who were scheduled to be at Trump’s Florida resort Mar-a-Lago this weekend, speaking with victims and their families at the hospital and posing with medical staff.
“Our entire Nation, with one heavy heart, continues to pray for the victims and their families in Parkland, Florida,” reads a lengthy caption accompanying the post.
The pair also used the trip to meet with local law enforcement officials, in an effort to “learn everything we can” and “secure our schools, and tackle the difficult iss...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:32 pm
Outgoing Chief State Archivist Dr. Yaakov L.M. Fattal warned that most of Israel’s archives are closed in the name of national security concerns and will never be opened, Haaretz reported.
The hidden material includes material potentially embarrassing to the state, such as human rights violations, he explained.
He complained that the archive is not handled in a manner befitting a democratic state; even released material is subject to unreasonable restrictions. For example, why were the minutes of meetings of the inner cabinet from just before the Six-Day War only released now after 50 years?
500,000 people used the State Archives in 2017. 19 million of its 400 million pages are available on the department’s website.
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February 17, 2018 at 7:30 pm
The alleged scheme was run by the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm based in St. Petersburg, Russia
Friday's election-interference indictment brought by Robert Mueller, the U.S. special counsel, underscores how thoroughly social-media companies like Facebook and Twitter were played by Russian propagandists.
And it's not clear if the companies have taken sufficient action to prevent something similar from happening again.
Thirteen Russians, including a businessman close to Vladimir Putin, were charged Friday in a plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election through social media propaganda. The indictment said the Russians' conspiracy aimed, in part, to help Republican Donald Trump and harm the prospects of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The all...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:30 pm
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Friday he is very close to striking a deal with the FBI over releasing his classified countermemo that offers a point-by-point rebuttal of the GOP surveillance memo released earlier this month.
“I think we’re very close to reaching an agreement on it,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said during a Center on Foreign Relations event.
Read more at The Hill.
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February 17, 2018 at 7:26 pm
Jerusalem, Israel – Feb. 17, 2018 – A fire in the dirah of Mir bachurim in Yerushalayim, presumanly caused by an overloaded electric panel, destroyed their possessions, but, b’Chasdei Hashem, there were no injuries.
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February 17, 2018 at 7:11 pm
The public soon will learn who's been visiting key White House agencies.
Public Citizen says the U.S. Secret Service has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the consumer advocacy group over visitor logs for four White House agencies.
The agencies are the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality.
Public Citizen alleged in the suit that the Trump administration was violating the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to release information about visitors to these agencies.
Under the settlement, visitor records from the past year will be available for review in the agencies' online reading rooms on a monthly basis.
Public Citizen says th...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:08 pm
Major General Yoav Mordechai urges Gaza residents 'not to let Hamas lead them to hell,' says attack on IDF soldiers 'sign of cowardice.'
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Yoav Mordechai posted a message to Gaza's citizens on his Arabic-language Facebook page.
"Like we promised - we keep our word!" he wrote. "We attacked important terror targetsbelonging to Hamas, who is responsible for Gaza. Gaza residents, stay away from the border and do not allow Hamas to take advantage of you. Your hope is not with disturbance of order near the security fence on the Gaza's border."
"Unfortunately, your money, which could have been a source of hope for you, is being invested in Hamas' tunnels and milita...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:08 pm
IDF forces shoot Gazans attemptin
The IDF on Saturday night attacked a cell of at least four terrorists attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from Rafah in southern Gaza.
An IDF tank shot at the suspects, and Arab media claims two were injured and the other two were killed.
Earlier on Saturday evening, a rocket fired from Gaza hit an Israeli home in Sha'ar Hanegev. The rocket hit the building's roof, damaging the structure.
By a miracle, the rocket did not explode, and the family members, all of whom were at home at the time, were not injured.
The IDF also attacked six Hamas terror targets, including terror tunnels running from the Zeitoun area into Israeli territory.
g to illegally cross into Israel.
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February 17, 2018 at 7:07 pm
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A powerful magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook south and central Mexico Friday, causing people to flee swaying buildings and office towers in the country's capital, where residents were still jittery after a deadly quake five months ago.
Crowds gathered on Mexico City's central Reforma Avenue as well as on streets in Oaxaca state's capital, nearer the quake's epicenter, which was in a rural area close to Mexico's Pacific coast and the border with Guerrero state. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
"It was awful," said Mercedes Rojas Huerta, 57, who was sitting on a bench outside her home in Mexico City's trendy Condesa district, too frightened to go back inside. "It started to shake; the cars were going here and there. What do I do...
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February 17, 2018 at 7:05 pm
Explosives detonate near IDF forces patrolling Gaza border, severely injuring four soldiers.
A hidden roadside bomb detonated Saturday afternoon near IDF Golani Brigade forces patrolling the Gaza-Israel border fence.
The soldiers approached a flag attached to the fence, setting off the bomb, which seems to have been buried there during Arab protests, which acted as cover, on Friday.
An IDF source said the detonation occurred at 3:40p.m. In a statement, an IDF spokesperson confirmed that two IDF soldiers were severely injured in the blast. A third IDF soldier was lightly injured in the blast, and a fourth was moderately injured.
All were transferred to Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva for medical treatment, where the two severely injured soldiers underwent surgery. All the soldiers'...
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February 16, 2018 at 4:23 pm
The Dow extended its winning streak Friday, though stocks ended the day mixed after authorities revealed indictments related to the investigation of Russia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 19 points, or 0.08%, to 25,220. The S&P 500 added 1.02 points, or 0.04%, to 2,732. The Nasdaq Composite fell 16.96 points, or 0.23%, to 7,239.
Stocks have mounted a six-day rally in the wake of last week’s broad sell-off, bringing all three major indexes back into positive territory on the year. Concerns over rising inflation were subdued this week, even as the Labor Department reported a stronger increase in consumer prices than expected.
Wall Street briefly erased its gains Friday after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals on charges of committing &ldq...
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February 16, 2018 at 4:23 pm
Facial hair is trendy worldwide these days, but in Jerusalem beards have never gone out of style, projecting religious mysticism, nationalism and ideals of masculinity.
For men of all faiths in the holy city, a beard can be an important statement of religious devotion, connecting past generations to God through the tangled strands of history. Facial hair also reflects social mores in many communities. In some cases, it can even reflect one's political views.
Nowhere is this more visible than in Jerusalem's Old City, where bearded ultra-Orthodox Jews, Christian clerics and devout Muslims all come into contact in a densely packed mix of some of the world's most sensitive holy sites.
For Eitan Press, 40, growing a beard is a spiritual journey that embodies ancient concepts o...
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February 16, 2018 at 4:17 pm
From an early morning shacharis in Virginia, to the Capitol, to a White House briefing and then back to the Senate Russell Office building, the second day of Agudath Israel of America’s leadership mission to Washington D.C. was packed with opportunities for participants to discuss the Agudah’s 2018 federal agenda with influential elected officials and politicians.
The first session of the day, chaired by the Agudah’s national director for state relations, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, began at 9 AM at the U.S. Capitol House Visitor Center and addressed crucial issues including Israeli security, a high priority agenda item that has been enjoying bipartisan support, concerns about Iran, BDS, anti-Semitism, school choice and religious liberties. The mission was addressed by...
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February 16, 2018 at 3:15 pm
Jerusalem - Ben-Gurion Airport opened the fourth passenger wing in its main terminal on Thursday, a sign that Israeli air travel continues to expand amid a growing economy and calmer security.
The new extension in Terminal 3, Wing E, will accommodate up to 1,800 more passengers per hour, allowing for dozens of additional incoming and outgoing flights daily. That should reduce the load on the other congested wings and improve service provided for passengers.
Wing E was designed by Israeli star architect Moshe Safdie and assisted by architect Irit Kochavi.
“As part of a fruitful cooperation with the Israel Airports Authority, the fourth wing that my office was responsible for designing will enable the expansion of the capacity of those departing and entering Israel, thus further ope...
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February 16, 2018 at 3:14 pm
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Wisconsin woman running to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind has been charged with scamming a jewelry store in New York City.
Thirty-six-year-old Juliet Germanotta was charged with grand larceny Wednesday. Investigators say Germanotta bought a ring online from Manhattan's Diamond District worth $4,800 -- then returned a fake ring for a full refund from the jeweler.
Germanotta told the New York Post on Thursday she acknowledges sending back a fake ring, blaming the decision on personal issues clouding her judgment. She contends the charges are a misunderstanding.
She is due back in court April 2.
Germanotta, who lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin, says she is running in the Democratic primary against the incumbent Kind.
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February 16, 2018 at 2:58 pm
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP/WFLA) — Florida Governor Rick Scott is calling for the resignation of FBI director Christopher A. Wray following news the agency failed to investigate a tip regarding the suspect in the Florida school shooting.
The FBI received a specific report last month that Nikolas Cruz had a “desire to kill” and access to guns and could be plotting an attack, but agents failed to investigate the tip, the agency said Friday.
A person who was close to Cruz called the FBI’s tip line on Jan. 5 and provided information about Cruz’s weapons and his erratic behavior, including his disturbing social media posts. The caller was concerned that Cruz could attack a school.
In a statement issued Friday, the agency acknowledged that the tip should have been s...
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February 16, 2018 at 2:57 pm
Washington - U.S. President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting at the White House on March 5, two U.S. officials said on Friday.
“The president has a great relationship with the prime minister and looks forward to meeting with him,” a White House official said.
The meeting comes as Netanyahu faces a political firestorm. Police have said they had found sufficient evidence for the prime minister to be charged with bribery in two corruption cases. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing.
