Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt unloaded on Kamala Harris and her campaign on Tuesday after news broke that the failed “Border Czar” would support funding for the southern border wall.
“How much longer will the mainstream media allow Kamala Harris to hide and use staff to speak on her behalf? It’s DAY 37 of ZERO interviews and Kamala’s anonymous campaign sources are now claiming she supports President Trump’s border wall — this is a preposterous and false claim. Kamala’s RECORD proves she is pro-open border. She called the wall ‘un-American,’ a ‘waste of taxpayer money,’ ‘medieval,’ and said it isn’t going to ‘stop’ illegal immigration,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary,
said in a statement.
“As a senator, Kamala tried to block President Trump’s construction of the border wall. As Border Czar, Kamala Harris halted construction of the border wall. Kamala’s ACTIONS speak much louder than the WORDS of the anonymous staff she is cowering behind.”
The border wall spending is just the latest in a long line of flip-flops from Kamala Harris, who has also called for a fracking ban and an end to employer-based private health insurance.
Axios was first to break the story about Harris’ wall flip-flop this week.
From Axios:
Why it matters: It’s the latest example of Harris flip-flopping on her past liberal positions such as supporting Medicare for All and banning fracking — proposals that aides say she now is against.
Harris is embracing a more hawkish immigration policy as Donald Trump’s campaign spends tens of millions of dollars attacking her about the border.
But she still has significant differences with Trump on immigration, opposing his approach to family separation and his plans for mass deportations.
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Following an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle on the Beirut-Damascus highway (on the Syrian side of the border), 4 terrorists were killed. One was a member of Hezbollah, and three were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Israeli combat engineers have recently demolished a 3-kilometer Hamas tunnel located in the Netzarim Corridor of the central Gaza Strip, according to the IDF. The elite Yahalom unit, alongside reservists from the Jerusalem Brigade currently stationed in the area, carried out the operation. The IDF revealed that this tunnel was partially destroyed during the 2014 Gaza conflict but had been rebuilt by Hamas over the years. The military clarified that the tunnel did not extend into Israeli territory.
The U.S. State Department stated that it “strongly opposes” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s call for construction of a shul on the Har Habayis in Yerushalayim.
The proposed Jewish house of worship “on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount” would “demonstrate blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem,” Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said.
“The ongoing reckless statements and actions of this minister only sow chaos and exacerbate tensions at a moment when Israel must stand united against threats from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah,” Miller added. “They directly undermine Israel’s security.”
Ben-Gvir said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio on Monday that Jewish prayer is allowed on the Har Habayis. That prompted a denial from the Prime Minister’s Office, which stated that policy on the Har Habayis is determined by the government and the prime minister.
“There is no change to the status quo,” Netanyahu’s office stated.
Under the “status quo” promulgated after Israel recaptured the Old City of Yerushalayim in 1967, Jews are permitted to visit the Har Habayis but not to pray there.
During the interview, Ben-Gvir was asked repeatedly if he would build a shul on the Har Habayis. He replied, “yes.”
Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were among the Muslim countries that officially condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments.
Miller reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to the Har Habayis status quo on Tuesday and called on Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to uphold the policy.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office has made clear that the actions and statements of Minister Ben-Gvir are inconsistent with the government of Israel’s policy, and a number of responsible voices in the Israeli government have condemned them,” Miller said. “It is critical that the government of Israel continue to ensure its policy is adhered to.” JNS
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Nvidia has led the artificial intelligence boom to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants continue to spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. The company is now worth over $3 trillion, with its dominance as a chipmaker cementing Nvidia’s place as the poster child of the AI industry ahead of the release of its latest financial results Wednesday. Wall Street expects the company to report second-quarter adjusted earnings of 65 cents per share on revenue of $28.74 billion, more than double what it earned in the comparable quarter one year ago, according to FactSet. In the past three quarters, revenue has more than tripled on an annual basis, with the vast majority of growth coming from the data center business. Demand for generative AI products that can compose documents, make images and serve as personal assistants has fueled sales of Nvidia’s specialized chips over the last year, but Wall Street is also looking for any indication that AI demand is waning. The Santa Clara, California-based company carved out an early lead in AI applications race, in part because of founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s successful bet on the chip technology used to fuel the industry. The company is no stranger to big bets. Nvidia’s invention of the graphics processor unit, or GPU, in 1999 helped spark the growth of the PC gaming market and redefined computer graphics. Nvidia will release its quarterly earnings after the market closes Wednesday. (AP)
he Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas of northern Shomron, involving hundreds of troops and air support.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry—including two in clashes with IDF troops in Jenin, three in a drone strike in a nearby village and another four in a drone strike in the Far’a camp in Tubas.
Israel’s Channel 12 identified two of the fatalities as Kassam Jabarin, 25, and Atsam Belot, 39.
Several Palestinian suspects have been arrested so far in the operation, which is expected to last for several days.
According to Palestinian reports, Israeli forces were surrounding the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin, and forces were deployed at the entrances of other hospitals as well.
Two brigade combat teams are taking part in the operation, with most of the forces being concentrated near Tulkarem, according to Ynet.
Five terrorists struck in Nur Shams ‘operations room’
The Israeli military revealed on Wednesday morning that five terrorists were killed on Monday in a joint IDF and Israel Security Agency operation near Nur Shams in northern Samaria.
One of the fatalities, Jibril Ghassan Ismail Jibril, was released from prison as part of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal reached in November. He was involved in terror activity in the areas of Tulkarem and Qalqilya, according to the military.
Mohanad Qarawi and Muhammad Yussef were involved in terrorist activity in Nur Shams, while Adnan Jaber was in involved in terrorist activity and manufactured explosives intended to harm security forces.
The structure targeted in the operation “was used by the terrorists to conduct terrorist activity and harm IDF soldiers operating in the area,” said the IDF, which published a video of the strike.
JNS
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Fox News political analyst Karl Rove expressed on Tuesday threw a chilling dose of reality at the optimism surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, suggesting her polling numbers are weaker than those of Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 at similar points in their respective campaigns. During a segment on Special Report with Bret Baier, Rove responded to a Democratic strategist’s critique that Harris’s current strategy of staying silent on policy and avoiding the media is “borne of conceit and foolhardiness.” “What do you make of that?” Baier asked Rove. Rove noted that Harris needs to be clearer on policy positions. “Let’s not be critical of her by saying she has to have a Democrat Congress and a Democrat Senate in order to get these things done,” he said, comparing her situation to former President Donald Trump, who also required control of Congress to advance his agenda. “People want to know where you’re coming from, and they want to know enough about the specifics to get their hands around it,” Rove added. Rove also emphasized Harris’s polling struggles compared to previous Democratic candidates. “On this day in 2020, Joe Biden was up 7.1% above Donald Trump in the RealClearPolitics average. And at this point in 2016, Hillary Clinton was up 6.3%. Today, Harris is up over Trump by 1.5% in the RealClearPolitics average and 3.5% in the 538.com average,” Rove pointed out. He stressed that while Harris is ahead, her lead is significantly smaller than Biden and Clinton’s at similar points in their campaigns. Rove further noted the importance of battleground states, where polling data is still sparse. “We have a few polls in several states, but we certainly don’t have 6 or 7 or 8 polls that would give us an average and therefore give us a better idea of where they actually are,” he explained, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding Harris’s standing in key swing states. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Police in the suburbs of New York City made the first arrest under a new local law banning face masks, officials announced Tuesday. Nassau County Police say officers on Sunday night responded to reports of a suspicious person on a street near the Levittown and Hicksville town line, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Manhattan. They found Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo wearing black clothing and a black ski mask that covered his face, except for his eyes. The department said the 18-year-old resident displayed other suspicious behavior, including attempting to conceal a large bulge in his waistband and refusing to comply with the officers’ commands. Officers say the bulge turned out to be a 14-inch knife. Ramirez Castillo was placed under arrest without further incident, police said. He was arraigned Monday in Family Court in Westbury on misdemeanor charges of criminal possession of a weapon and obstructing governmental administration, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office. Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a police department spokesperson, said Ramirez Castillo will also be facing a misdemeanor violation of the face mask law in the coming days. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who signed the mask ban into law earlier this month, said Sunday’s arrest showed the rule is working. “Our police officers were able to use the mask ban legislation as well as other factors to stop and interrogate an individual who was carrying a weapon with the intent to engage in a robbery,” he said in an emailed statement. “Passing this law gave police another tool to stop this dangerous criminal.” Keith Ross, a criminal justice professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said police didn’t necessarily need the new law to stop and question Ramirez Castillo, but it helped bolster their justification. “The law gives police, at the very least, reasonable suspicion to conduct a stop,” the retired New York City police officer explained by phone. “Under reasonable suspicion, police can forcibly stop a person in New York state if they are suspected of committing a felony or a penal law misdemeanor, which is where this new law falls.” But Scott Banks, attorney-in chief at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which is representing Ramirez Castillo, challenged that notion. “There is no basis to believe that wearing a face mask was intended to conceal identity or criminal behavior, and if that was the basis of the stop I believe there is a basis to conclude the stop was unlawful,” he wrote in an email. Skrynecki declined to comment, adding that police and county officials will discuss the incident at a news conference Wednesday. The New York Civil Liberties Union, which has criticized the new law, repeated its warning that the mask ban is “ripe for selective enforcement by a police department with a history of aggression and discrimination.” Disability Rights of New York, a group that advocates for people with disabilities, filed a legal challenge last week arguing that the mask law is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities. The federal class action lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to immediately stop enforcement of the ban. The Mask Transparency Act was approved by the county’s Republican-controlled legislature in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those […]
IDF Staff Sgt. Amit Friedman, 19, was killed battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Wednesday morning.
Friedman, who served with the Nachal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion, was from Or Yehuda in central Israel.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the IDF ground incursion in Gaza on Oct. 27 now stands at 339, and at 703 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, according to official military data.
Additionally, Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage-rescue mission in Gaza in June, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzchak was mortally wounded in May. JNS
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An Israeli drone strike on a car in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed four terrorists on Wednesday morning. The car was traveling on the Beirut-Damascus highway when it was hit by the drone, setting the car on fire and killings its occupants. Reuters reported that the strike killed one Hezbollah member and three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists. PIJ terrorists from Syria have traveled in recent months to southern Lebanon, to fight against Israel with Hezbollah. Both terror groups are supported by Iran and transport terrorists, weapons and funds through the porous Syrian-Lebanese border. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
In a revealing conversation on MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki on Monday, former CNN host Don Lemon shared insights from his interviews with Black voters, many of whom said they plan to vote for former President Donald Trump, citing their belief that Trump is “on black people’s side.” Lemon, reflecting on his interviews across key swing states ahead of the Democratic National Convention, described the experience as “eye-opening.” Despite favorable economic metrics for the Biden-Harris administration, many voters still recall the 2021 stimulus checks bearing Trump’s signature. “I don’t know if it was surprising, but it was certainly eye-opening to hear so many people, even people of color and women, saying they are going to support Donald Trump,” Lemon said, expressing skepticism about the accuracy of current polls. Lemon recounted how many black voters mistakenly credited Trump with the stimulus checks, forgetting that the payments came from a Democratic Congress. “They did not somehow remember that the current president also gave them a stimulus check, except his name wasn’t on it,” Lemon explained. “So, when they got the check, and his name was on it, they automatically thought it came directly from Donald Trump, which I think is good marketing.” When Psaki turned the conversation to Vice President Kamala Harris, Lemon noted that many voters, particularly in swing states like Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, were unfamiliar with her. “Many people did not know who she was… I think she has to reintroduce herself to the public,” he said. Lemon also addressed his past public criticisms of Trump, saying, “Of course, I think he is racist. Look at his rhetoric and his track record, and anyone can see that.” However, he acknowledged that for many voters, their priority was not Trump’s character but rather their personal economic situation. “Maybe the economy is better, but prices are higher, and people have less money to put towards high prices and to feed their families,” Lemon said. Lemon concluded by noting that many voters he encountered were “low partisan information voters,” who were not following every political development but were acutely aware of their financial situations. “They vote on that and not necessarily what they see on television,” he said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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The IDF launched an extensive counterterrorism operation in the Shomron overnight Tuesday but targeted operations in “refugee camps” in terror hubs have been taking place on a smaller scale since October 7. The IDF confirmed on Wednesday that a drone strike Monday killed five terrorists in a terror command center in the Nur a-Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, including Jibril Jibril, a 20-year-old Hamas terrorist from Qalqilya who was released in the November 2023 hostage deal and who has since been involved in several shooting attacks against Israeli targets. He is the third terrorist released in the deal who immediately returned to terror activities and was killed by Israeli security forces this month. Earlier this month, Wael Misha, an 18-year-old terrorist released in the deal, was killed in an airstrike in Shechem during a counterterrorism operation. Two days earlier, Tariq Daoud, an 18-year-old Hamas terrorist released in the deal, was killed by IDF forces after he shot and seriously wounded an Israeli in his 60s. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
The IDF overnight Tuesday began an extensive counterterrorism operation in Jenin, Tulkarm, and other terror hubs in the northern Shomron. The operation is expected to last several days. The operation, dubbed Operation Summer Camps (מחנות קיץ), was launched in the wake of the attempted suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv last week and previous attempts by terrorists from the Shomron to carry out mass-casualty attacks in Israel. IDF intelligence officials believe that terrorists from a terror network in the Tulkarm area were responsible for planning and directing the attempted bombing in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of IDF soldiers entered terror hubs in “refugee camps” in Jenin, Tulkarm, Nur a-Shams, Tubas, Qalqilya, and the Far’a camp in the Jordan Valley – first entering with bulldozers, destroying infrastructure and uncovering hidden explosives intended to harm Israeli forces. Heavy gun battles took place in every area the soldiers entered. Forces on the ground were assisted by the Air Force, including combat helicopters and drones. IDF soldiers blocked all entrances to the cities and also surrounded the main hospitals in Jenin and Tulkarm, screening those entering in order to prevent terrorists from hiding there as they did in previous operations. Nine terrorists were killed, four in Jenin and five in Tubas. Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz stated on Wednesday morning: “The IDF has been working intensively since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm ‘refugee camps’ to thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructure that has been established there. Iran is working to establish an eastern terror front against Israel in the Shomron, per the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan. We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required. This is a war in the full sense of the word and we must win it.” Gun battles between terrorists and IDF forces in Jenin: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
By Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber
There were mixed emotions in the Rec Hall as Camp Romimu showed the end of summer banquet video to their hundreds of happy campers. The summer has been a smashing success both in ruchniyus and gashmius and that feeling was in the room.
As I walked out of the Rec Hall, I saw that there was a camper from my division trailing me. It seemed as if he wanted my attention so I stopped as Ari turned to me. “Rebbe, I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done. I had an incredible summer”. I have received many thanks from boys but there was something about his that was so genuine. Although I had not done anything out of the ordinary for him over the summer, he made the effort to properly convey his thanks. It was clear that he had gone out of his comfort zone to give the thanks and it was very touching.
On the following morning, the last morning of camp, I saw Ari and wished him a good morning. “Ari,” I asked, “did your parents tell you to thank the Head Staff”. He answered “No, but I always see my parents thanking people so I felt it was right to do it as well”.
When my first child was a toddler, I asked my Rosh Hayeshiva, Harav Aharon Feldman shlita, what I could do for chinuch for my children at this age. He answered “Children see what you are doing, and if you make berachos out loud, there will come a day that they too will model your actions”.
Lessons are ‘caught’, not ‘taught’.
Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber is a Middle School Rebbi in Yeshiva K’tana of Waterbury, the Director of the Mishmar Evening Program in Waterbury and Division Head in Camp Romimu. He is a frequent contributor to various publications on areas related to education as well as speaks publicly on various topics. Rabbi Heber can be reached via email at mdheber@ykwaterbury.org.
A body camera captured every word and bark uttered as police Sgt. Matt Gilmore and his K-9 dog, Gunner, searched for a group of suspects for nearly an hour. Normally, the Oklahoma City police sergeant would grab his laptop and spend another 30 to 45 minutes writing up a report about the search. But this time he had artificial intelligence write the first draft. Pulling from all the sounds and radio chatter picked up by the microphone attached to Gilmore’s body camera, the AI tool churned out a report in eight seconds. “It was a better report than I could have ever written, and it was 100% accurate. It flowed better,” Gilmore said. It even documented a fact he didn’t remember hearing — another officer’s mention of the color of the car the suspects ran from. Oklahoma City’s police department is one of a handful to experiment with AI chatbots to produce the first drafts of incident reports. Police officers who’ve tried it are enthused about the time-saving technology, while some prosecutors, police watchdogs and legal scholars have concerns about how it could alter a fundamental document in the criminal justice system that plays a role in who gets prosecuted or imprisoned. Built with the same technology as ChatGPT and sold by Axon, best known for developing the Taser and as the dominant U.S. supplier of body cameras, it could become what Gilmore describes as another “game changer” for police work. “They become police officers because they want to do police work, and spending half their day doing data entry is just a tedious part of the job that they hate,” said Axon’s founder and CEO Rick Smith, describing the new AI product — called Draft One — as having the “most positive reaction” of any product the company has introduced. “Now, there’s certainly concerns,” Smith added. In particular, he said district attorneys prosecuting a criminal case want to be sure that police officers — not solely an AI chatbot — are responsible for authoring their reports because they may have to testify in court about what they witnessed. “They never want to get an officer on the stand who says, well, ‘The AI wrote that, I didn’t,’” Smith said. AI technology is not new to police agencies, which have adopted algorithmic tools to read license plates, recognize suspects’ faces, detect gunshot sounds and predict where crimes might occur. Many of those applications have come with privacy and civil rights concerns and attempts by legislators to set safeguards. But the introduction of AI-generated police reports is so new that there are few, if any, guardrails guiding their use. Concerns about society’s racial biases and prejudices getting built into AI technology are just part of what Oklahoma City community activist aurelius francisco finds “deeply troubling” about the new tool, which he learned about from The Associated Press. francisco prefers to lowercase his name as a tactic to resist professionalism. “The fact that the technology is being used by the same company that provides Tasers to the department is alarming enough,” said francisco, a co-founder of the Foundation for Liberating Minds in Oklahoma City. He said automating those reports will “ease the police’s ability to harass, surveil and inflict violence on community members. While making the cop’s job easier, it makes Black […]
A 19-year-old Israeli soldier, Staff Sergeant Amit Friedman, from Or Yehuda, has been killed in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced. Friedman was a member of the 932nd Battalion in the Nachal Brigade. The incident occurred during military operations in the region, where Israeli forces have been engaged in ongoing conflicts with terrorists. The specifics of the circumstances surrounding Friedman’s death have not been disclosed. His death increases the toll of IDF soldiers killed in the ground war in Gaza to 339 and the number of soldiers killed since October 7 to 703. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
American consumers felt more confident in August as their outlook for the future improved. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market rose to 82.5. July’s figure was revised up to 81.1 from its initial reading of 78.2, ending a five-month stretch below 80. A reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future. Consumers’ view of current conditions rose to 134.4 in August from 133.1 last month. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists for signs how the American consumer is feeling. Though the report’s topline numbers all improved slightly from July, consumers continued to have mixed feelings about the economy. “Consumers’ assessments of the current labor situation, while still positive, continued to weaken, and assessments of the labor market going forward were more pessimistic,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist. Peterson said that dreary view was likely spurred by the July jobs report, which showed slowing job growth and a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.3%. On top of the weak July jobs data, the government reported last week that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total added to evidence that the job market has been steadily slowing. Though inflation has largely receded from 2022 highs, the cost of essentials continues to chip away at American consumers’ savings and optimism. Write-in responses to the Conference Board’s survey were still focused on prices and inflation, even as 12-month inflation expectations fell to their lowest level since March of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic upended the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark lending rate in March of 2022 in an attempt to fight the inflation that took hold in the wake of the pandemic. Higher borrowing costs, combined with rising prices, had consumers in a foul mood for the better part of the past two years. Some help could be on the way though. Fed officials have strongly suggested that an interest rate cut is coming at its September meeting, giving some relief to consumers and businesses. (AP)
A prominent activist and philanthropist from Crown Heights is in critical condition. Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald was traveling when he experienced a sudden complication and was hospitalized in Istanbul, Turkey, where he remains in critical condition. Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald is one of the founders of United for Protection, the organizers behind the Hatzalathon which started during COVID raising tens of millions of dollars for Hatzalah branches around the world. A campaign has been launched to collect 10,000 mitzvos in his merit. Please perform a mitzvah for his speedy recovery here: https://onemitzvah.org/forshloimy Please Daven for Yosef Shlomo ben Risha
Prosecutors on Tuesday called for 50 people, including three Americans, to face the death penalty for what the Congolese army says was a coup attempt earlier this year. Military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Innocent Radjabu urged the judges to sentence to death all those on trial, except for one defendant who suffers from “psychological problems.” The defendants, whose trial opened in June, face a number of charges, many punishable by death, including terrorism, murder and criminal association. Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot for resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said. Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans are on trial for their alleged role in the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and simply followed his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile. Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a vacation, with all expenses paid by the elder Malanga. The young men had played high school football together in the Salt Lake City suburbs. Other teammates accused Marcel of offering up to $100,000 to join him on a “security job” in Congo. Thompson’s family maintains he had no knowledge of the elder Malanga’s intentions, no plans for political activism and didn’t even plan to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were meant to travel only to South Africa and Eswatini, Thompson’s stepmother said. Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, is the third American on trial. He is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company that was set up in Mozambique in 2022, according to an official journal published by Mozambique’s government, and a report by the Africa Intelligence newsletter. Earlier this year, Congo reinstated the death penalty, lifting a more than two-decade-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country. (AP)
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