NEW YORK (AP) — A longtime business partner of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has pleaded guilty to tax fraud in a deal that requires him to cooperate in any ongoing investigations. New York City taxi magnate Evgeny Freidman entered the guilty plea on Tuesday at a court in Albany. A person briefed on the plea deal says Freidman agreed to cooperate with federal or state authorities. The person wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. State prosecutors charged Freidman last year with pocketing $5 million in state taxes on taxis he managed. For years he's managed hundreds of cabs, including more than two dozen owned by Cohen. Cohen's business dealings are under investig...
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A private jet traveling from Austin, Texas, crashed off the end of the runway of the Honduran capital's international airport and broke in half Tuesday, but the crew and passengers were rescued and reportedly out of danger. Video images posted online showed what appeared to be area residents pulling people out of the damaged fuselage of the white Gulfstream jet, while others sprayed it with hand-held fire extinguishers. Firefighters arrived at the scene and doused the wreckage with foam. Part of the plane appeared in photos to lie across a street. The FlightAware website said the flight originated in the Texas capital Tuesday morning, and that was later confirmed by the Honduran Civil Aviation Agency. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane ...
THE FOLLOWING IS VIA YWN Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas posed for a photo on Tuesday that displays a horrifyingly anti-Semitic depiction of an Israeli soldier killing a Palestinian baby with a gas-filled milk-bottle. The 83-year-old Abbas was in the hospital for a third day with pneumonia, and was filmed walking around the hospital to calm rumors that his condition was worse than being reported. One of the photos showed Abbas reading a newspaper with an Anti-Semitic cartoon on the front cover. The cartoon, created by Arab cartoonist Muhammed Sabaaneh, portrays an Israeli soldier taking a milk bottle from a baby and replacing the bottle with poison. The illustration alludes to the death of eight-month-old Laila al-Ghandour, who was brought to violent Palestinian demonstrat...
Following the deadly Palestinian ‘March of Return,’ a new fleet of boats is set to depart from the Danish port city Copenhagen Tuesday, in an attempt aimed at breaking the 10-year-old blockade on the Gaza Strip. The ships, which carry such names as ‘al-Awda’ (‘Return’), ‘Freedom,’ and ‘Palestine,’ will take two months before it will even reach anywhere close to the ports of Gaza, stopping along the way at several cities in Europe. In the ‘March of Return’ protests that have taken place since March 30th, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed and over 13,000 people have been injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Read more at i24NEWS.
The eight new Vizhnitz-Monsey Rebbes have issued a statement expressing their wish to follow in the ways of their father, the previous Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, Rav Mordechai (Mottel) Hager zt”l, who recently passed away, requesting that people not take photos of them or publish pictures of them in newspapers and elsewhere. Rav Mottel was adamant about his picture not being taken or published. The Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, who was 95, led his large chassidus from his home in Kaser Village in Monsey, NY, adjacent to the large Vizhnitzer Bais Medrash. The rebbe was born in 1922, a son of the fourth rebbe of Vizhnitz, Rav Chaim Meir Hager, the Imrei Chaim. The rebbe raised 14 children, 8 sons and 6 daughters. H...
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A funeral with military honors was held in Poland's capital Monday for a World War II hero and resistance fighter who took part in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Stanislaw Likiernik was 16 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting the war. He joined Poland's main underground resistance movement, the Home Army, and took part in sabotage actions like blowing up German army transports and executions of Nazi informers. He died on April 17 in France, where he moved after the war, at the age of 94. His daughter Wanda Likiernik-Henny said during the funeral held in the military section of the Powazki cemetery that Poland had "always been his greatest love." Likiernik, who was Jewish, fought and was injured in the failed struggle to liberate Warsaw in 1944. For...
WASHINGTON (AP) — An upcoming report from the Justice Department's internal watchdog is expected to criticize senior FBI leaders for not moving quickly enough to review a trove of Hillary Clinton emails discovered late in the 2016 campaign, according to people familiar with the findings. The FBI's timing has been a sore point for Clinton supporters, who say then-director James Comey's announcement of the new review less than two weeks before the Nov. 8, 2016, election contributed to her loss. The agency's findings affirming its decision not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton were disclosed two days before the vote — too late, her supporters say, to undo the damage. Some FBI officials knew in September 2016 of the emails on former Rep. Anthony Weine...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declined to say Tuesday whether he has confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, escalating pressure on the Justice Department as his White House negotiated rare access to classified documents for his congressional allies. Asked before a private meeting with the president of South Korea if he has confidence in Rosenstein, who is overseeing the special counsel's Russia investigation, he asked reporters to move on to another question. "Excuse me, I have the president of South Korea here," Trump said. "He doesn't want to hear these questions, if you don't mind." The comments came just before White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that a meeting to allow House Republicans to review highly classif...
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — In a real-life case of "Failure to Launch," an upstate New York judge Tuesday ordered a 30-year-old man to move out of his parents' house after they went to court to have him ejected. Michael Rotondo told the judge he knows his parents want him out of the split-level ranch they share. But he argued that as a family member, he's entitled to six months more time. State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood rejected that as outrageous, the Post-Standard of Syracuse reported. Rotondo told reporters he'll appeal. Mark and Christina Rotondo brought the court case after several eviction letters offering money and other help were ignored. The parents didn't answer a call seeking comment Tuesday and their letters, filed in court, don&#...
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish leaders are planning to defend the U.S. government's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal within the European Union, where the decision has been strongly criticized. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday that Poland wants to be an "informal go-between" and to explain to EU members and U.S. officials the positions of the other. The Polish government's mediation offer departs somewhat from the united front EU leaders displayed last week in voicing their continued support for the landmark nuclear deal. Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said Monday during a visit to Washington that Poland stands with the rest of the EU in seeking actions to limit economic damage from the Trump administration's move, "while as for the strate...
Jerusalem - U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was caught off guard on Tuesday when he was presented with a poster-sized photo of Jerusalem during a visit to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) city of Bnei Brak. The seemingly authentic photo of the capital was in fact edited to depict a rebuilt third temple on the Temple Mount, the site where the al-Aqsa mosque currently stands. Friedman received the picture from an activist from the NGO “Achiya,” which works to ensure the rights of children with learning disabilities in the haredi sector and led the tour Friedman was on at the time. The US Embassy subsequently demanded an apology from the NGO, and clarified that “US policy [supports] the status quo on the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount.” “We apologize to Amb...
Jerusalem - Israel’s Security Cabinet, a forum of senior ministers headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has begun holding its weekly meetings in a secure underground bunker in Jerusalem, Israeli media said on Tuesday. The facility, known as the “National Management Centre”, was first used by the Security Cabinet in 2011 to rehearse a national crisis scenario. It was carved out beneath the government complex in Jerusalem and includes living quarters as well as command facilities. Reports of the move come amid a rise in tensions with Iran. Israel this month accused Iran of firing rockets from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel struck back with its heaviest air strikes in Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Meetings of the Co...
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has asked about flows of money into the Cyprus bank account of a company that specialized in social-media manipulation and whose founder reportedly met with Donald Trump Jr. in August 2016, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The inquiry is drawing attention to PSY Group, an Israeli firm that pitched its services to super-PACs and other entities during the 2016 election. Those services included infiltrating target audiences with elaborately crafted social-media personas and spreading misleading information through websites meant to mimic news portals, according to interviews and PSY Group documents seen by Bloomberg News. The person doesn’t believe any of those pitches was successful, and it’s illegal for foreign ...
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Multiple law enforcement agencies have surrounded a Panama City, Florida, apartment building where an active shooter is barricaded inside. City spokeswoman Caitlyn Lawrence says it's still an active situation. The suspect has been firing on law enforcement. One civilian received minor injuries in Tuesday's shooting. Walton County Sheriff's officials said on Twitter that the incident is tied to a suspicious death in Santa Rosa Beach where a body was found inside a home. Few details have been released. The Panama City News Herald initially reported that a suspect barricaded himself inside a bank. A bomb squad vehicle was seen in the bank parking lot. But Lawrence said the bank is near the apartment building and it appears the suspect is ...
JERUSALEM (AP) — The head of Israel's air force on Tuesday revealed that it used the next-generation F-35 fighter jet for the first time during a recent mission. Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin told a conference that he believes it was the first time the fighter has been used in the Middle East, and that the air force is just beginning to understand the "huge potential" of the aircraft. In a brief video clip released by the army, Norkin points to what he says is a picture of the plane "over Beirut." He did not say when the mission occurred, but Syria and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out a number of airstrikes recently in Syria. On May 10, Israel acknowledged striking a series of Iranian targets in Syria in response to an Iranian rocket attack launched from the neighboring cou...
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday said he was expelling the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela and his deputy for allegedly conspiring against his government and trying to sabotage the country's recent presidential election. "The empire doesn't dominate us here," Maduro said in a televised address, giving charge d'affaires Todd Robinson and his deputy Brian Naranjo 48 hours to leave the country. "We've had enough of your conspiring." Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have mounted following Maduro's victory in presidential elections on Sunday, a vote the White House has branded a "sham." Maduro said in his speech that Robinson and Naranjo, whom he referred to as the head of the CIA in Venezuela, both personally pressured severa...
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing on Erev Shabbos of Mrs. Aliza Grund a”h. Mrs. Grund was the president of N’shei Agudath Israel of America, a position she held for decades, serving in that role with distinction and devotion. Mrs. Grund was a daughter of Rabbi Chaskel Besser z”l, noted askan and dedicated Agudas Yisroel leader who hailed from Katowice, Poland, and later became known for serving as the International Chairman of the Daf Yomi Commission of the Agudah, among his other endeavors and undertakings on behalf of Jewry. Mrs. Grund leaves behind her family, including her siblings, Rabbi Shlomo Besser, Mrs. Debbie Rosenberg and Rabbi Naftali Besser. The levaya will be held today at 1...
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Stock Exchange for the first time in its 226-year history will be led by a woman. Stacey Cunningham, who started her career as a floor clerk on the NYSE trading floor, will become the 67th president of the Big Board. That means that two of the world's most well-known exchanges will be led by women. Adena Friedman became CEO of Nasdaq in early 2017 Cunningham, who is the chief operating officer for the NYSE Group, becomes president Friday, according to International Exchange, they NYSE's parent company. Current NYSE President Thomas Farley, is leaving to head a special purpose acquisition company. The historically male-dominated financial industry has grappled with its own issues tied to the #MeToo movement. Last month it was announced that...
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The director of a seabed hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Tuesday disagreed with a new book's conclusion that the pilot likely flew the plane beyond the search area to deliberately sink it in unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurized cabin and cockpit. Search director Peter Foley, who coordinated the search on Malaysia's behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance's new book "MH370: Mystery So...
SEATTLE (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone." The tool, called Rekognition, is already being used by at least one agency — the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon — to check photographs of unidentified suspects against a database of mug shots from the county jail, which is a common use of such technology around the country. But privacy advocates have been concerned about expanding the use of facial recognition to body cameras worn by officers or safety and traffic cameras that monitor public areas, allowing ...
More articles