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April 25, 2018 at 11:37 am
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was interviewed by the FBI twice while he was working as a political consultant for a Ukrainian political party – several years before he was named a top adviser to Donald Trump, newly filed court documents revealed.
The documents filed late Monday by prosecutors in the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, show that the FBI had interviewed Manafort in March 2013 and again in July 2014.
Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, who also held a top role with Trump’s campaign, was interviewed by the FBI in July 2014, the documents show.
Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort, declined to comment, citing a gag order imposed by the judge in Manafort’s case.
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April 25, 2018 at 11:35 am
Rav Avichai Rontzki, fifth army Chief Rabbi, who served from 2006 to 2010, passed away at the age of 66.
Born to a secular Haifa family in 1951, Rav Rontzki became religious during his army service. He then studied at Yerushalayim’s Merkaz Harav Yeshiva and served as rosh yeshiva in the Itamar Yeshiva until his passing.
In 2012, he, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and others founded the Yisraelim party which is now part of Bayit Yehudi.
Rav Rontzki revolutionized the army rabbinate. He increased the number of battalion rabbonim to the maximum, expanded the army’s Jewish Awareness Department and fought unsuccessfully to stop Army Radio from broadcasting on Shabbos.
Several MKs called for his resignation when he stridently opposed women takin...
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April 25, 2018 at 11:33 am
NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine (AP) — A Maine man killed a sheriff's deputy, stole his cruiser and robbed a convenience store early Wednesday, triggering an intensive manhunt in a heavily wooded rural town in Maine, officials said.
Somerset County Cpl. Sheriff Eugene Cole was killed at about 1:45 a.m. on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Bangor, state police said. His cruiser was driven to a Cumberland Farms store, which was robbed.
Aircraft and armored vehicles were seen around Norridgewock and schools were locked down as federal, state and local law enforcement officials searched for 29-year-old John Williams, of Madison, Maine, who remained on the loose after abandoning the stolen cruiser, state police said Wednesday.
"Many times we're able to s...
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April 25, 2018 at 11:27 am
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas mayor says a police officer has died a day after being shot at a home improvement store.
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April 25, 2018 at 11:23 am
Brooklyn, NY - New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) announced this morning that he will not be seeking another term of office.
Born June 30, 1950, Hikind grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where his father was a devout follower of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty. As a follower of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, Hikind spent the late 1960s and 1970s actively fighting against anti-Semitism, working to free Soviet Jews and Syrian Jews, and fighting to help Jewish poor. These early years of intense activism were mirrored throughout his storied career as an elected official. Hikind never limited his ‘job’ to local issues and the typical role of a legislator. He felt responsible for helping every Jew, no matter where they could be found.
Hikind was first elected to represent...
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April 25, 2018 at 11:13 am
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian journalist who was shot by Israeli troops while covering a demonstration on the Gaza-Israel border earlier this month died of his wounds on Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry announced.
With the death, Ahmed Abu Hussein became the second journalist to be fatally shot during weeks of Palestinian border protests.
Abu Hussein, 24, was wounded in the abdomen on April 13 at a protest near Jebaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. He was later transferred to a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank, and then to an Israeli hospital, where he died Wednesday.
Photos and amateur video from the scene show him far from the border and wearing a blue jacket and helmet marked "TV" when he was shot. The video shows him in a group of bystanders located some 5...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:44 am
Jerusalem - Israel’s intelligence minister said on Wednesday that a proposed new U.S.-European deal over Iran’s nuclear program might dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from abandoning the current agreement between world powers and Tehran.
The minister, Israel Katz, did not say, in a radio interview, whether Israel - which has called for the 2015 nuclear deal to be “fixed or nixed” - backed a separate arrangement put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron.
“President Trump’s inclination is not to extend the deal’s term - in essence, to return to the sanctions track - unless a European-backed proposal is placed before him, for an alternative agreement between the United States and Europe,” Katz said.
“(It would contain) complem...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:20 am
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slumping Wednesday after a steep drop the day before as investors continued to worry that growing costs for critical materials along with rising interest rates will affect profit growth for companies. Stock indexes in Europe and Asia are also taking losses. U.S. bond yields are rising again.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index tumbled 14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,619 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 137 points, or 0.6 percent, to 23,886. The 30-stock index has fallen for five days in a row. The Nasdaq composite declined 68 points, or 1 percent, to 6,939. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 11 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,541.
PAYING THE COST: Stocks slumped Tuesday after heavy machinery maker C...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:18 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister has thanked his visiting counterpart from Romania for her government's stand on possibly moving Romania's embassy to Jerusalem.
Benjamin Netanyahu met Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila who is on a two-day visit. Netanyahu's statement on Wednesday welcomed the "Romanian government's approval of a draft decision on initiating the transfer of the Romanian Embassy to Jerusalem."
Earlier this month, Liviu Dragnea of the Social Democratic Party which effectively runs Romania's government, said Bucharest is ready to follow the U.S. and move its embassy to Jerusalem.
But Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is in charge of foreign policy, later downplayed the announcement.
Palestinians claim eastern Jerusalem,...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:15 am
NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine (AP) — A sheriff's deputy investigating a report of a robbery at a convenience store in Maine was fatally shot on Wednesday morning, according to a county sheriff.
The deputy was killed Wednesday morning on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster told the Morning Sentinel .
Dispatch reports from the sheriff's office said a robbery was reported at a Cumberland Farms store at about 1:40 a.m.
Officers from multiple agencies responded to the scene within minutes.
A message seeking comment was left with the sheriff's office. Further information about the shooting was not immediately available.
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April 25, 2018 at 10:04 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has sentenced a border policeman to nine months in prison for the fatal shooting of a stone-throwing teenage Palestinian protester.
The Jerusalem District Court ruled Wednesday that Ben Deri unjustly opened fire during demonstrations in the West Bank four years ago. The shooting killed 17-year-old Nadim Nuwara, whom the court ruled did not pose an immediate threat to Deri's life.
The court ruled that Deri exhibited a "high degree of negligence" when he loaded his weapon with a live bullet rather than the rubber coated bullets typically used to disperse Palestinian demonstrations.
Deri agreed to a plea bargain that dropped the charge from manslaughter to causing severe bodily harm and death through negligence. He was also ordered to pay the vi...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:03 am
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police on Wednesday released a photo of one of the two alleged assailants who gunned down a Palestinian engineer over the weekend, and said they are believed to still be in the country.
Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group has described the victim, Fadi al-Batsh, as a "commander" in its military wing and accused Israel of being behind Saturday's shooting. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Based on eyewitness description, Malaysian police earlier released computer-generated images of the two suspects, believed to be from Europe or the Middle East.
National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said Wednesday that investigators found a motorcycle abandoned near the murder scene and were able to trace an actual photo of one...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:03 am
LONDON (AP) — Jewish groups say Britain's main opposition Labour Party is still failing to tackle anti-Semitism, despite a promise by leader Jeremy Corbyn to stamp out anti-Jewish prejudice.
Corbyn says a meeting with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council on Tuesday evening was "positive and constructive."
But Board of Deputies President Jonathan Arkush says the meeting was a "missed opportunity" because "there were no actions to go with the words."
Allegations of Labour anti-Semitism have grown since pro-Palestinian socialist Corbyn was elected leader in 2015. Some in the party say Corbyn, a longtime critic of Israeli actions against the Palestinians, has allowed abuse to go unchecked.
Several Labour lawmakers say they have been bombarded w...
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April 25, 2018 at 10:02 am
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's most powerful politician has missed a hearing on corruption charges — by going on a surprise visit to Israel.
Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, is charged with official misconduct. He was expected to attend court Wednesday, but Parliament confirmed just as the hearing began that he was in Israel at the invitation of Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
Premier Viorica Dancila also began a visit to Israel Wednesday.
Dragnea is accused of intervening to keep two women on the payroll of a family welfare agency, even though they were employed by the party. He denies wrongdoing.
Dragnea, who effectively controls the government, can't be prime minister due to a 2016 conviction for vote-rigging.
The court s...
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April 25, 2018 at 9:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — To the Trump administration, the recovered missile fragments were incontrovertible proof that Iran was illicitly arming Yemen's Houthi rebels. Yet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is brushing it off as little more than cheese puffs.
During a visit to New York, the Iranian diplomat accused U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday of displaying fabricated evidence that missiles lobbed by the Houthis at civilian areas in Saudi Arabia originated in Iran. Though Tehran supports the Shiite rebel group, it firmly denies giving them missiles. But Haley has invited journalists and U.N. Security Council diplomats to inspect missile parts recovered after strikes on Saudi Arabia, bearing what U.S. military officials said were Iranian marking...
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April 25, 2018 at 9:46 am
Amman - The Kingdom of Jordan began the process of revoking the Jordanian citizenship of about 30 Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials and their families, London-based Arabic language newspaper Raialyoum reported Wednesday.
The officials who are slated to lose their citizenship include Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Palestinian Authority negotiator Ahmed Qurei (“Abu Ala”).
The also stated that there would be major changes in the visa arrangements for entry into Jordan of the senior officials, granting them only temporary visitor’s rights.
Many Senior Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials, including Abbas and his two sons, were given Jordanian citizenship over a decade ago, a Jordanian official disclo...
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April 25, 2018 at 9:26 am
Prolonged acetaminophen use during pregnancy linked to increased ASD, ADHD risk
A first-of-its-kind meta-analysis
Jerusalem, April 25, 2018 – A study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds new light on the possible relationship between prolonged use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) during pregnancy and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. Acetaminophen is one of the most common medications used for treatment of pain and fever reduction during pregnancy and is...
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April 25, 2018 at 9:13 am
A top Israeli Cabinet minister says the Iran nuclear deal must be "fundamentally amended, and if not — cancelled."
Minister of Intelligence Israel Katz says Wednesday he was encouraged by President Donald Trump's stern threat to Iran during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron the day before. Katz says Iranian concessions were only ever made out of fear of economic sanctions. But he says the West made a mistake by not keeping up the pressure and signing an agreement with Iran too soon.
Katz says Macron and his European colleagues "must understand that putting heavy pressure on Iran today can prevent violence and perhaps war tomorrow."
Israel has been among the fiercest critics of the deal and has been urging Trump to follow through on his threat to cancel it.
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April 25, 2018 at 9:12 am
BEIRUT (AP) — The Russian military indicated on Wednesday it will supply the Syrian government with a sophisticated air defense system following Moscow's condemnation of the missile attack launched by the United States, Britain and France earlier this month.
Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said Russia will supply Syria with "new missile defense systems soon." Rudskoi's statement did not specify the type of weapons, but his remarks follow reports in the Russian media that Moscow is considering selling its S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria.
Top Russian officials said that in light of the airstrikes on Syria earlier this month, Moscow may reconsider a pledge it gave a decade ago not to provide Syria with the S-300 system. The strikes were in retaliation to an April 7 su...
