NEW YORK (AP) – A New York regulator is investigating Goldman Sachs for possible discrimination in the way it sets credit limits. The bank denies wrongdoing. The investigation follows a series of viral tweets by entrepreneur and web developer David Heinemeier Hansson about algorithms used for the Apple Card, which Goldman Sachs manages in partnership with Apple. Hansson said the card offered him a credit limit 20 times greater than it gave to his wife, even though she has a higher credit score. He called the algorithm a sexist program. A spokeswoman for the New York Department of Financial Services confirmed Saturday that the agency will investigate. The agency is “troubled to learn of potential discriminatory treatment in regards to credit limit decisions reportedly made b...
A man was seriously injured on Sunday after he set himself on fire inside a courtroom in southern Israel. The 48-year-old man, accused of threatening a worker at a local GMO branch, poured flammable liquid on himself and set his own body on fire during a hearing at the Be’er Sheva District Court. Medical officials said the man suffered serious burns on the upper part of his body and was taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva. Read more at YNET.
BERLIN (AP) — Police and organizers say more than 100,000 people took part in an open-air party celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Despite the cold and damp, crowds flocked to Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate late Saturday for music and fireworks. The boulevard leading up to the Brandenburg Gate was covered with a giant rainbow-colored net made of 100,000 streamers, many with messages of love and peace, created by American artist Patrick Shearn. Elsewhere in the city, images and video of the events around the Nov. 9, 1989 fall of the wall were projected onto buildings. In the once-divided town of Moedlareuth, auto enthusiasts re-enacted the moment when East Germans first cross the border in their modest ‘Trabi’ cars to the cheers of welcom...
Israel has denied reports of a breakthrough in talks with Hamas regarding the return of two Israeli hostages and the two bodies of IDF soldiers being held in the Gaza Strip, accusing the terror group that rules the coastal enclave of inflexibility and adopting unrealistic positions. The chief negotiator for the release of prisoners, Yaron Blum, told KAN radio that the report of progress by Saudi-based Independent Arabia was untrue, and that the lack of development was due to Hamas. “Unfortunately, and despite all of our efforts, Hamas has refused to adopt a realistic position on the issue, which has hindered any real progress,” Blum said. Read more at YNET.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has been accused of making a veiled anti-Semitic comment in a tweet about Michael Bloomberg. While sharing an article on Twitter about billionaire chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors Leon Cooperman expressing his support for “fellow billionaire” Bloomberg’s possible run for president, Omar commented “I wonder why?” alongside a thinking face emoji. But while some viewed Omar’s reaction to the article as an observation about “billionaires sharing similar political views”, others believe she is implying that Cooperman’s support for Bloomberg is because they are both Jewish—and accused her of anti-Semitism. “Omar very carefully making an anti-Semitic tweet with just enough vagueness to claim that ack...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Back in 1973, tens of millions of Americans tuned in to what Variety called “the hottest daytime soap opera” — the Senate Watergate hearings that eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. It was a communal experience, and by some estimates, more than 80% of Americans tuned in to at least part of the Watergate telecasts. They were offered by ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as PBS, which won acclaim and viewers by showing not only the live hearings but also the full-length replays in prime time. Seeing the witnesses lay out the case against the president moved public opinion decidedly in favor of impeachment. But this time may be different. When the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump begins its public phase on Wedn...
It has been a bitter harvest for some Israeli farmers on the border with Jordan. On Sunday, a 25-year-old deal between the two countries that has allowed them to cultivate land there formally expires. Under the deal, part of the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty, two territories straddling the border were recognized as under Jordanian sovereignty but with special provisions allowing Israeli farmers to work the land and visitors to tour the Isle of Peace park in the area. But in 2018, Jordan said it did not want to continue the arrangement, in what was widely seen as a sign of increasingly strained diplomatic relations. “It was like a punch to the face,” said Eli Arazi, 74, a farmer whose kibbutz, or agricultural community, worked one of the land parcels that in Hebrew is calle...
An El Al pilot on a flight that took off from Ben Gurion Airport to Prague on Sunday evening turned the plane around over the city of Izmir, Turkey, after an hour and a half and returned to Israel. This was due to a technical malfunction which was discovered in the aircraft. El Al said that "Flight 2523 from Tel Aviv to Prague is returning to Ben Gurion Airport due to a technical malfunction." "We are prepared to treat the passengers and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and stress that flight safety is our top priority," added the airline.
Vandals spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti on cars and garages in Britain on Sunday. A car, van and garage door were found daubed with Nazi symbolism and the words “Jews out” in Canvey Island, Essex, according to the Daily Mail. The anti-Semitic attack, which took place near the Castle Point Golf Course shocked residents in the area. Canvey is a town known for its proud Jewish links, with a large orthodox community making their home there in the past few years. The imagery is believed to have been painted late last night or in the early hours of the morning, the Daily Mail said. Essex Police are investigating but they have not yet made any arrests. An Essex Police spokesman said, “We are investigating after several reports of criminal d...
A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on Sunday that while the Islamic Republic’s current need was only for uranium enriched to five percent, it had the capacity to enrich up to 60 percent. Iran “has the possibility to produce [uranium enriched to] 5%, 20% and 60%, and has this capacity,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said during a news conference at Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility, according to Reuters. “At the moment, the need is for 5%,” he added. While 60% far exceeds the level of enrichment required for most civilian applications, it falls short of the 90% required to construct a nuclear weapon. Iran announced last week that it was resuming uranium enrichment at Fordow, in a further step from its commitments u...
Two people were killed in New Jersey early Sunday when a Porsche launched into the air and smashed into the second story of a commercial building, investigators said. The sports car, a 2010 Porsche Boxster convertible, was traveling at “a high rate of speed” when the driver lost control, hit a center median and struck an embankment that sent it smashing through the building, Toms River Police spokeswoman Jillian Messina told Fox News. The victims were later identified as 22-year-old Braden DeMartin of Toms River and his passenger, 23-year-old Daniel Foley, also of Toms River, the department said in a news release. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The crash unfolded around 6:30 a.m., Sgt. Vincent Pedalino told NJ.com. He said the buil...
he climate of vicious hatred and incitement based on opposing political ideologies, which is now permeating Israel and seeping down to the next generation, could spark another political assassination, President Reuven Rivlin and Dalia Rabin, the daughter of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, implied on Sunday.They were speaking at the President's Residence at the Ner Yitzhak (a candle for Yitzhak) ceremony, which marks the official beginning of a series of annual memorial events on the Hebrew anniversary of Rabin's death. A massive memorial rally is held annually at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on the Saturday night closest to the anniversary of the murder, according to the Gregorian calendar.In addition to four generations of the Rabin family – currently headed by the prime ...
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials announced a breakthrough Friday into the cause of a mysterious outbreak of vaping illnesses, reporting they have a “very strong culprit.” The same chemical compound was found in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The compound — vitamin E acetate — was previously found in liquid from electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices used by many of those who got sick. But this is the first time they’ve found a common suspect in the damaged lungs of patients, officials said. “We are in a better place in terms of having one very strong culprit,” said the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat. Agency officials cautioned they cannot rule ...
RABAT, MOROCCO (AP) – Ivanka Trump brushed off criticism that her family has profited off the presidency and said Friday a big difference between her family and Democrat Joe Biden’s is that President Donald Trump amassed his fortune before he entered politics while Biden’s wealth is “derivative” of his time in office. In an interview with The Associated Press, she said the two situations were “completely inverse.” In New Hampshire, Biden responded that the president’s daughter should look at his tax returns for evidence he didn’t cash in as vice president or a legislator. Ivanka Trump, a White House adviser, pushed back against nearly three years of ethics complaints and lawsuits accusing the Trumps of trying to turn the presidency t...
NEW YORK (AP) — Former national security adviser John Bolton has a book deal, The Associated Press has learned. The hawkish Bolton departed in September because of numerous foreign policy disagreements with President Donald Trump. He reached a deal over the past few weeks with Simon & Schuster, according to three publishing officials with knowledge of negotiations. The officials were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two of the officials said the deal was worth about $2 million. Bolton was represented by the Javelin literary agency, whose clients include former FBI Director James Comey and the anonymous Trump administration official whose book, “A Warning,” comes out Nov. 19. The publishing officials did not know the t...
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders let loose a volley of sharp attacks against Michael Bloomberg on Saturday night, accusing the former New York mayor in his bluntest language yet of positioning himself to buy the election and vowing to stop him from doing so. “Tonight we say to Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires: Sorry, you ain’t gonna buy this election,” said Sanders, I-Vt., prompting loud cheers from supporters. The fiery comments, which marked an escalation from earlier and less direct criticism from Sanders, underscored how Bloomberg’s recent steps toward entering the Democratic primary have roiled the contest. They also offered a preview of the jabs Bloomberg could face from other candidates if he decides to jump in the race. The leading liberal ca...
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley , alleges in her upcoming memoir that two administration officials who were ultimately pushed out by Trump once tried to get her to join them in opposing some of his policies. In “With All Due Respect,” Haley said then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and then-White House chief of staff John Kelly told her that they were trying to “save the country.” Haley writes that she was “shocked” by the request, made during a closed-door meeting, and thought they were only trying to put their own imprint on his policies. “Kelly and Tillerson confided in me that when they resisted the president, they weren’t being insubordinate, they were trying to save the count...
As many as 600 U.S. troops will remain in northeast Syria to continue counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday. “There will be less than 1,000 for sure,” Milley said, referring to the number present when President Dpma;d Trump ordered their complete withdrawal last month. Trump later was persuaded by national security advisers and congressional supporters, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to retain an unspecified number of troops whose mission, the president said, was to “secure the oil” from a takeover by the Syrian government or militants. Milley, speaking on the ABC News program “This Week,” said the number of troops that would remain was “probably in the 50...
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (AP) – Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation Sunday under mounting pressure from the military and the public after his re-election victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests. The decision came after a day of fast-moving developments, including an offer from Morales to hold a new election. The crisis deepened dramatically when the country’s military chief went on national television to call on him to step down. “I am sending my resignation letter to the Legislative Assembly of Bolivia,” the 60-year-old socialist leader said, portraying his departure as the culmination of a “coup d’etat.” He added: “I ask you to stop attacking the brothers and sisters, stop burning and attacking.&rdquo...
French authorities have opened Yerushalayim’s ancient Kivrei Malachim to the public for the first time in 10 years, the AP reported on Friday. Limited numbers of visitors are now being allowed to visit the site, which was closed in 2009 for an extensive, $1.1 million restoration, following several abortive attempts to open it to the public in recent months. The tomb, which is located in eastern Yerushalayim, is believed to be the burial site of Queen Helena of Adiabene, a Mesopotamian monarch who converted to Judaism in the first century. While access to the burial chambers remains prohibited, visitors can now tour the tomb’s impressive courtyard, which dates back over 2,000 years. There is an ongoing dispute over ownership of the site between France and Israeli religious an...
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