Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar submitted a classified affidavit to the High Court of Justice containing explosive allegations involving Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a report by Kan News. The classified filing, submitted alongside a publicly available affidavit, reportedly includes sensitive information related to multiple scandals. These include details of the Qatargate investigation, the leaking of classified documents by a Netanyahu aide to Germany’s Bild newspaper, and Netanyahu’s alleged attempts to use the Shin Bet against anti-government protestors. Bar also reportedly disclosed that Netanyahu asked him to assist in delaying his testimony in his ongoing criminal trial. Additionally, the affidavit covers internal discussions between security and political leaders on how to handle the war with Hamas. The revelation come as part of High Court petitions challenging the government’s decision to dismiss Bar, a move made at Netanyahu’s recommendation. In his public affidavit, Bar accused Netanyahu of firing him due to his refusal to act as a political tool, his support of criminal probes into Netanyahu’s associates, and his opposition to what Bar described as illegitimate directives during the 2023 protests against judicial reform. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
House Republicans are renewing calls for criminal charges against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, accusing him of making “criminally false statements” to Congress regarding the underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), cites “overwhelming evidence” that Cuomo misled Congress during a June 2023 interview about his role in drafting and editing a July 2020 report that allegedly undercounted nursing home deaths by 46%. “This wasn’t a slip-up — it was a calculated cover-up,” Comer said, accusing Cuomo of shielding himself from responsibility for his March 25, 2020, directive that forced COVID-positive patients back into senior care facilities without mandatory testing. Cuomo denied involvement in the report’s preparation during sworn testimony, but internal emails and handwritten edits appear to contradict his claims. Staffers have identified Cuomo’s handwriting in margins of the draft, including changes to death figures and language minimizing culpability. The renewed criminal referral comes after the Justice Department declined to prosecute Cuomo last year. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi dismissed the move as a politically motivated stunt and “transparent election interference” – Cuomo is currently the frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor. House Republicans maintain that Cuomo’s statements warrant up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of lying to Congress. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
פסח אצל הגרמ”ה הירשצילום: באדיבות המצלם
פסח אצל הגרמ”ה הירשצילום: באדיבות המצלם
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A kosher pizzeria and two other Jewish-owned businesses were broken into on Shabbos, Shevi’i Shel Pesach. While law enforcement says the crimes appear financially motivated, local leaders are sounding the alarm on growing threats facing Jews in Toronto and across Canada. My Zaidy’s Pizza, a beloved Thornhill establishment founded by the grandfather of Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman, was among the businesses targeted. Lantsman, whose riding includes a large Jewish population, called the break-in “a blatant attempt to intimidate and target our community,” noting that the crimes took place on Pesach. “Today, this country is unrecognizable,” she wrote on social media. York Regional Police acknowledged similarities between the three break-ins and believe they were committed by a single suspect seeking cash. They said there was no evidence of hate-motivated vandalism. Still, Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca described the incidents as acts of intimidation and called for immediate federal and provincial action to support local efforts. The break-ins follow a disturbing trend: B’nai Brith Canada reported over 6,200 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a 7.4% increase from the year prior. Lantsman has pledged a Conservative government would impose tougher penalties for antisemitic crimes and deport foreign offenders. The incidents come just a week before the April 28 federal byelection, with public safety and antisemitism front and center. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Hackers linked to Russia’s government launched a cyberattack last spring against municipal water plants in rural Texas. At one plant in Muleshoe, population 5,000, water began to overflow. Officials had to unplug the system and run the plant manually. The hackers weren’t trying to taint the water supply. They didn’t ask for a ransom. Authorities determined the intrusion was designed to test the vulnerabilities of America’s public infrastructure. It was also a warning: In the 21st century, it takes more than oceans and an army to keep the United States safe. A year later, countries around the world are preparing for greater digital conflict as increasing global tensions and a looming trade war have raised the stakes — and the chances that a cyberattack could cause significant economic damage, disrupt vital public systems, reveal sensitive business or government secrets, or even escalate into military confrontation. The confluence of events has national security and cyber experts warning of heightened cyberthreats and a growing digital arms race as countries look to defend themselves. At the same time, President Donald Trump has upended America’s digital defenses by firing the four-star general who led the National Security Agency, shrinking cybersecurity agencies and slashing election cybersecurity initiatives. Businesses now are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks, and governments have moved to a war footing, according to a report this month by NCC Group, a British cybersecurity firm. “The geopolitical dust is still settling,” said Verona Johnstone-Hulse, a London-based expert on government cybersecurity polices and the report’s co-author. “What the new normal looks like is still not yet set.” Many in the U.S. are already calling for a more muscular approach to protecting the digital frontier. “Hybrid war is here to stay,” said Tom Kellermann, senior vice president of cyberstrategy at Contrast Security. “We need to stop playing defense — it’s time to make them play defense.” Digital life means more targets for hackers Vulnerabilities have grown as people and businesses use connected devices to count steps, manage finances and operate facilities such as water plants and ports. Each network and connection is a potential target for foreign governments or the hacking groups that sometimes do their bidding. Espionage is one motive, demonstrated in a recent incursion linked to hackers in China. The campaign known as Salt Typhoon sought to crack the phones of officials, including Trump, before the 2024 election. These operations seek entry to sensitive corporate or government systems to steal secrets or monitor personal communications. Such information can be hugely valuable by providing advantages in trade negotiations or military planning. These hackers try to remain hidden for as long as possible. More obvious intrusions can serve as a warning or deterrent, such as the cyberattacks targeting the Texas water plants. Iran also has shown a willingness to use cyberattacks to make political points. The cyberattacks that frighten experts the most burrow deeply into telephone or computer networks, inserting backdoors or malware for later use. National security experts say this was the motivation behind a recent attack from China called Volt Typhoon that compromised telephone networks in the U.S. in an effort to gain access to an unknown number of critical systems. China could potentially use these connections to disable key infrastructure — power plants, communication networks, pipelines, hospitals, financial systems — as part of a larger conflict or before an invasion of Taiwan, national security experts said. “They can position their implants to be activated at a date and time in the future,” said Sonu Shankar, a former researcher […]
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At a commemorative event held Monday evening honoring Irgun fighters who lost their lives in the battle for Yaafo during Israel’s War of Independence, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s determination to see its ongoing military campaign through to the end.
“We will complete all of the war objectives. We will destroy Hamas’s rule in Gaza, return the hostages, prevent any future threat from Gaza to Israel, and return the residents safely,” Netanyahu stated.
Drawing a parallel between the historic victory in Yaffo and the present conflict, Netanyahu said, “Just as the liberation of Jaffa ended in complete victory, today we too adhere to the concept of complete victory.”
Addressing growing concerns about political division and unrest at home, the Prime Minister made a clear declaration: “There will be no civil war – there will be no civil war.”
Netanyahu concluded his speech by turning attention to Iran and pushing back against narratives in the media. “We have not given up on dealing with the Iranian threat. Do not believe what you hear on the news channels that spread poison, panic or, in short, propaganda.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
The man once known as America’s top voice on COVID-19 is now reaping substantial rewards in retirement.
New findings shared by The Daily Caller and transparency watchdog Open the Books reveal that Anthony Fauci, who previously served as Chief Medical Advisor to the president, brought in $3.5 million during his first year away from public office.
According to The Daily Caller, financial records totaling 141 pages and reviewed by Open The Books indicate that Fauci received multiple deposits adding up to $1.15 million over the course of 2023. These records, however, do not specify where the funds originated.
Fauci has evidently capitalized on the public persona he cultivated during the pandemic, even as members of Congress increasingly scrutinize his actions and decision-making during the crisis.
In March 2023, Fauci reportedly secured a $5 million book deal with a division of Penguin Random House to publish his memoir. That same month, a congressional report disclosed that Fauci had privately “prompted” a widely circulated scientific article that dismissed the possibility of a laboratory origin for the coronavirus. On July 1, 2023, Fauci took on a new role as a distinguished university professor at Georgetown University, with appointments in both the School of Medicine and the School of Public Policy. Less than two weeks after that appointment, two of the researchers involved in the previously mentioned article appeared before Congress to discuss their communication with Fauci.
In a notable development last Friday, the White House updated the covid.gov website to spotlight the very study Fauci had reportedly influenced — “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” — as well as his role in shifting attention away from the lab-leak theory.
Throughout 2023, Fauci accepted invitations to speak before a number of professional and lobbying organizations, including the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and AHIP, which represents health insurers. Both groups have had significant stakes in the federal government’s COVID-19 strategy and dealings with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — the NIH branch Fauci led for nearly 40 years.
Over a span of four years, Fauci’s personal fortune experienced a sharp rise — from $7.6 million at the start of 2019 to $15 million by 2023. Despite no longer holding a government role, Fauci also continued to benefit from taxpayer-funded perks, including protection and travel support provided by the U.S. Marshals Service.
More details can be found in The Daily Caller’s full report:
Israeli prosecutors have completed draft indictments against 22 alleged Hamas perpetrators of the Oct. 7, 2023 massacres in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israeli media reported.
The report about the indictments—the first of Oct. 7 perpetrators—suggests authorities have resolved to prosecute the suspects in civilian courts, which may lack the authority to sentence terrorists to death, instead of military tribunals that have that authority.
The indictments provide the legal scaffolding for prosecuting additional suspects in atrocities and other crimes committed by the thousands of terrorists who invaded Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people and abducting another 251.
The United States is reportedly conducting its own investigations into the Oct. 7 attacks and may be preparing separate indictments. According to Ynet, Israeli officials have asked their American counterparts to hold off on any legal action until Israel files its own charges.
Digital material, documents and other evidence were retrieved from combat zones in Gaza, often during Israel Defense Forces incursions, for the indictments, which prosecutors call “Case 7/10.”
Israel is in custody of roughly 300 individuals suspected of various degrees of involvement in the massacres, according to Ynet. Some were captured during the attack itself, while others were detained later during IDF operations in Gaza. Israeli officials have stated that these detainees are not intended to be included in potential prisoner exchange negotiations.
Prosecutors are debating whether to file a single indictment against all 22 suspects or to try them in smaller, separate cases, according to the news site.
The Attorney General’s Office has proposed several legal amendments to facilitate the prosecution of Hamas terrorists, including enabling court hearings in absentia of the defendants and potentially limiting defense access to some of the evidence. One proposal would even permit victim statements to be submitted in writing, bypassing live cross-examination—a move that may raise questions about defendants’ rights. The Public Defender’s office within the Justice Ministry has said it will not represent the Hamas defendants, and the issue of their legal representation is being discussed, according to the report. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
Transnational organized crime groups in East and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by authorities, according to a U.N. report issued on Monday. For several years, scam compounds have proliferated in Southeast Asia, especially in border areas of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as in the Philippines, shifting operations from site to site to stay a step ahead of the police. More recently, scam centers that have bilked victims out of billions of dollars through false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes are now being reported operating as far afield as Africa and Latin America. Asian crime syndicates have been expanding operations deeper into remote areas with lax law enforcement that are vulnerable to the influx, according to the report issued by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime or UNODC. The report is titled “Inflection Point: Global Implications of Scam Centers, Underground Banking and Illicit Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia.” “This reflects both a natural expansion as the industry grows and seeks new ways and places to do business, but also a hedging against future risks should disruption continue and intensify in Southeast Asia,” Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement. UNODC estimates that hundreds of industrial-scale scam centers generate just under $40 billion in annual profits. The trend to hedge beyond the region has been consistent with continued reports of crackdowns targeting Asian-led scam centers that have been found operating in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and select Pacific islands, as well as related money laundering, people trafficking and recruitment services discovered in Europe, North America and South America. In Africa, Nigeria has become a hot spot, with police raids in late 2024 and early 2025 leading to many arrests, including people from East and Southeast Asia suspected of cryptocurrency and romance scams. Zambia and Angola have also busted Asian-linked cyberfraud operations. In Latin America, the report says that it’s “notable that Brazil has emerged as one country that has faced a growing set of challenges related to cyber-enabled fraud, online gambling, and related money laundering, with some linkages to criminal groups operating in Southeast Asia.” It also notes that in late 2023 in Peru, more than 40 Malaysians were rescued after being trafficked by a Taiwan-based gang known as the Red Dragon syndicate that forced them to commit cyber-enabled fraud. The report also points to crackdowns on Asian-led scam centers in the Middle East and some Pacific islands. Alarmingly, even as Asian-led groups have been expanding the geographical scope of their operations, the involvement of criminal groups from other parts of the world is also growing, the report says. New online markets, money laundering networks, stolen data products, malware, artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies are laying the ground for the rise of crime as a service, the report says. These technological innovations facilitate conducting their businesses online and adapt to crackdowns. “The convergence between the acceleration and professionalization of these operations on the one hand and their geographical expansion into new parts of the region and beyond on the other translates into a new intensity in the industry — one that governments need to be prepared to respond to,” Hofmann says. (AP)
In an emotional full circle, former Hamas captive Eliya Cohen returned on Sunday for the first time to the shelter from which he was kidnapped and donned tefillin.
Cohen was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists while attending the Nova music festival with his partner, Ziv Abud.
When the rocket fire began, they fled to a shelter that later became known as the “death shelter.”
With them were Ziv’s nephew, Amit Ben Avida, and his partner Karin Schwartzman, who were both killed, while Eliya was abducted to Gaza by the terrorists.
Eliya was released from captivity after 505 days. His partner, Ziv, posted a photo of the couple at the bunker today and wrote, “I can’t write anything, just victory.” JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
An A.I. video generated by a group calling itself the Temple Mount Activists envisioning a miraculous reestablishment of the Bais Hamikdosh led Qatar to condemn “plans” to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque, in a statement put out by its foreign ministry on April 19.
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns reports of plans by groups affiliated with Israeli occupation organizations to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with the so-called Temple,” the Ministry statement said.
“Qatar considers this a dangerous provocation that could significantly escalate violence in the region, especially amid the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip,” it added.
The A.I. video shows the Dome of the Rock suddenly engulfed in flames. In its place appears the Bais Hamikdosh with flames coming out the top while the tefillah of Shema plays. The caption, “Next year in Yerushalayim, Moshiach now,” displays toward the end of the video.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry said it unequivocally rejected “any attempt to alter the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, or its holy sites.”
It called on the international community to halt such threats, hold the “the occupying power” (i.e. Israel) accountable, and ensure the protection of Muslim holy sites.
The statement then went on to express support for the Palestinian cause and a two-state solution.
Although Israel had not designated Qatar as an “enemy state” that Israeli citizens are prohibited from visiting without a special permit issued by the Interior Ministry (the U.S. classifies it as a major non-NATO ally), it has supported terrorist groups, including Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. It also runs the Al Jazeera television network, which Israel and the Palestinian Authority have banned, as have other countries in the region.
Last week, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Affairs Minister Sa’oud bin Abd Al-Rahman Al Thani published and then quickly deleted a post on X saying: “We Are all Hamas.”
He also deleted a 2014 post he wrote during “Operation Protective Edge,” a war between Hamas and Israel, in which he called for Muslims in Jerusalem to “rise up” and “revolt.”
The Temple Mount Activists have posted similar videos in the past. According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, the group posted an image of the construction of the Temple on Al-Aqsa’s ruins.
In September 2024, the group posted a video of Al-Aqsa burning with the caption, “Coming soon in these days.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
A man was attacked by a shark on the beach at the Nachal Hadera Park near the power station in the city on Monday afternoon. MDA received reports on Monday about a diver who entered the water and disappeared. A video circulating on social media shows a man in the water screaming for help and a shark fin peeking out from the waves. Rescue forces tried to find him but were unsuccessful. The search for the victim in the water ceased at nightfall but search teams will continue to search the coast. In a report received by MDA, a witness described: “There’s someone here who was bitten by a shark. He’s screaming ‘Help’ in the sea at Hadera Park. He’s drowning. He’s in the water. No one is coming to save him. It’s all blood there, the sharks are eating him. It’s deep, I think he’s a diver. There are several sharks on him.” Shlomo, who was on the beach, also witnessed the attack. He described that “I went to the beach with friends. We were about to go in and suddenly we saw a man thrashing in the water – we saw him fighting a shark and trying to escape from it. The shark attacked him. It was hard to see. It was chilling, really scary. We really saw how the shark attacked him. I don’t understand how they don’t close a beach with sharks. It could easily be me. All of us are traumatized.” Witnesses told Ynet: “It’s no wonder the sharks attacked. There are fishermen here all the time. The hooks of the fishing rods hit the sharks and cause them to bleed. That’s why they attacked.” Following the incident, all beaches from Hadera to Netanya were closed. It should be noted that the attack took place in a part of the beach where swimming was banned. Professionals in the field of shark and large marine life research told Yisrael Hayom, “It was absolutely clear that something like this would happen in Israel. It was discussed just yesterday among researchers. Despite all the warnings and explanations that these animals must not be disturbed, many Israelis swam toward the sharks, petted them, and even swam around them holding fish. This behavior creates a classic situation for unhealthy contact with these predators, even with shark species that do not see humans as prey or seek contact with them. We must remember these are animals with significant attacking capabilities. That’s why we continue to warn the public not to approach sharks in the Hadera area.” According to the report, sharks are attracted to Hadera’s coastline due to warm water discharged from the Israel Electric Corporation’s power station. The plant uses seawater to cool its turbines, and the heated water is released back into the sea, attracting the sharks. The Nature and Parks Authority recently warned that “the shark gathering site in Hadera is not managed and is not regulated and poses a great risk to both sharks and humans.” The authority called for limiting human activity in the area and delineating a shark observation area from the shore. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
The Trump administration delivered a sharp warning to Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, granting her an extended deadline to end congestion pricing toll collection and cautioning that failure to comply could bring “serious consequences.”
A letter issued by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened that if New York continues collecting the controversial tolls beyond the new May 21 cutoff, the federal government could pull its funding and halt approvals for infrastructure projects in Manhattan.
Duffy further warned that the repercussions may not stop at the city’s borders. “The corrective measures noted above may be expanded to other geographic areas within the State of New York, if any noncompliance continues,” the letter stated.
The warning came just one day after Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority blew past an earlier April 20 deadline to suspend the $9 congestion charge, showing no signs of backing down.
The federal government had initially ordered the MTA to shut down the nation’s first congestion pricing plan by March 21, prompting the agency to sue in response.
Monday’s letter followed a broader fallout between the administration and state officials, including President Trump and Duffy removing the MTA from a major redevelopment plan for Penn Station.
Hochul had been personally negotiating with Trump over the future of Penn Station, even as tensions with Duffy escalated over the tolling issue.
In the letter, Duffy demanded that state authorities either end the $9 fee for driving south of 60th Street or demonstrate that the policy doesn’t violate federal statutes guaranteeing “freedom from tolls.”
He argued that the plan imposes double costs on drivers, who are being charged to use federal roadways that have already been paid for through their taxes.
“Anyone needing to drive into the area is either forced to pay a cost-prohibitive toll or required to use the substandard transit system run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority,” Duffy wrote.
{Matzav.com}
Google is confronting an existential threat as the U.S. government tries to break up the company as punishment for turning its revolutionary search engine into an illegal monopoly. The drama began to unfold Monday in a Washington courtroom as three weeks of hearings kicked off to determine how the company should be penalized for operating a monopoly in search. In its opening arguments, federal antitrust enforcers also urged the court to impose forward-looking remedies to prevent Google from using artificial intelligence to further its dominance. “This is a moment in time, we’re at an inflection point, will we abandon the search market and surrender them to control of the monopolists or will we let competition prevail and give choice to future generations,” said Justice Department attorney David Dahlquist. The proceedings, known in legal parlance as a “remedy hearing,” are set to feature a parade of witnesses that includes Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to order a radical shake-up that would ban Google from striking the multibillion dollar deals with Apple and other tech companies that shield its search engine from competition, share its repository of valuable user data with rivals and force a sale of its popular Chrome browser. Google’s attorney, John Schmidtlein, said in his opening statement that the court should take a much lighter touch. He said the government’s heavy-handed proposed remedies wouldn’t boost competition but instead unfairly reward lesser rivals with inferior technology. “Google won its place in the market fair and square,” Schmidtlein said. The moment of reckoning comes four-and-a-half-years after the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit alleging Google’s search engine had been abusing its power as the internet’s main gateway to stifle competition and innovation for more than a decade. After the case finally went to trial in 2023, a federal judge last year ruled Google had been making anti-competitive deals to lock in its search engine as the go-to place for digital information on the iPhone, personal computers and other widely used devices, including those running on its own Android software. That landmark ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sets up a high-stakes drama that will determine the penalties for Google’s misconduct in a search market that it has defined since Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the company in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Since that austere start, Google has expanded far beyond search to become a powerhouse in email, digital mapping, online video, web browsing, smartphone software and data centers. Seizing upon its victory in the search case, the Justice Department is now setting out to prove that radical steps must be taken to rein in Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc. “Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that — no matter what occurs — Google always wins,” the Justice Department argued in documents outlining its proposed penalties. “The American people thus are forced to accept the unbridled demands and shifting, ideological preferences of an economic leviathan in return for a search engine the public may enjoy.” Although the proposed penalties were originally made under President Joe Biden’s term, they are still being embraced by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, whose first administration filed the case […]
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been temporarily barred from moving forward with plans to bring federal immigration authorities back to Rikers Island.
The decision came from Manhattan Judge Mary Rosado, who granted a temporary restraining order following a lawsuit filed by the City Council aimed at halting any involvement of ICE or other federal agencies at the jail facility.
“City Hall and all other New York City government officials, officers, personnel, and agencies are prohibited from taking any steps toward negotiating, signing, or implementing any Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government regarding federal law enforcement presence on Department of Correction property,” Rosado wrote in her ruling.
The restraining order will remain in effect until at least Friday morning, when a court hearing is scheduled for both parties to present their arguments.
Mayor Adams’ team has insisted that the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Rikers would be limited strictly to criminal investigations, not civil immigration enforcement.
The City Council disagreed, warning that a renewed ICE presence at the jail could lead to widespread deportations and would contradict New York City’s status as a sanctuary city.
ICE previously operated from an office on Rikers Island but was ousted in 2014 after the city, under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, enacted legislation barring such cooperation.
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Matzav.com}
Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted Monday of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of many of the same charges last year. The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an 11-year prison term in June. Nadine Menendez, who stood but did not appear to react as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreperson, was scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, six days after her husband is expected to report to prison. Outside the courthouse, she wore a pink mask as she stood next to her lawyer, Barry Coburn, said he was “devastated by the verdict.” “We fought hard and it hurts,” he said. “This is a very rough day for us.” The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September 2023. Repeatedly during the trial, prosecutors said they were “partners in crime.” During a 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, FBI agents found nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stuffed in boots, shoeboxes and jackets. In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible, also an alleged bribe. Both Nadine and Bob Menendez said they are innocent and never took bribes. Initially, they were to be tried together, along with the three businessmen, but Nadine Menendez’s trial was postponed a year ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery. Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate last August following his conviction. Before the charges were brought he had been chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prosecutors accused Nadine Menendez of starting to facilitating bribes to the senator around the time that they began dating, before they married in the fall of 2020. At the time, she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after missing nearly $20,000 in mortgage payments, trial testimony showed. A longtime friend, Wael Hana, provided cash to save the home — and prosecutors said that in return, the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met religious requirements. Nadine Menendez also needed a new car after her old one was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing a street. (She did not face charges in the crash). Prosecutors said a businessman, Jose Uribe, gave her a Mercedes-Benz, and in return Bob Menendez used his clout to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating some of Uribe’s associates. Prosecutor said more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes, a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors said wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors said Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund. Nadine Menendez, 58, was described by […]
As tensions between Israel and Egypt are at a boiling point amid Cairo’s buildup of military forces in the Sinai, Egypt and China launched an unprecedented joint Air Force exercise in recent days on Egyptian soil. The joint exercise, named “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” began on Shabbos and will continue until the beginning of May. According to a statement by China’s Ministry of National Defense on April 16, China deployed an extensive detachment to Egypt, including J-10C and J-10S fighter jets, a KJ-500 early warning aircraft, a YY-20A aerial refueling aircraft, as well as at least five Y-20 transport aircraft, which delivered the aircraft and soldiers to Cairo on April 15. The exercise includes long-distance maneuvers, logistical coordination, aerial refueling, and for the first time – tactical cooperation between the two air forces. The official goal of the exercise is to strengthen the joint operational capability, share knowledge in modern aerial combat tactics, and examine the operational cooperation between the countries. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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