Emphasis on the "bully".....

Trump's loyal CFO Allen Weisselberg may have lied on witness stand in fraud trial: N.Y. AG lawyers

Source: New York Daily News

Allen Weisselberg, the low-profile money man who served as the Trump family’s financial guardian for almost a half-century — before starting his retirement in a Rikers Island jail cell — remained mired in the ex-president’s legal perils Thursday as state lawyers pursued allegations he recently lied on the witness stand.

In a Thursday court filing, lawyers for New York Attorney General Tish James said they had identified “likely omissions” in evidence provided by Trump and his company honchos following a bombshell article in Forbes accusing Weisselberg of perjuring himself in testimony last week.

...snip...

The AG’s office, suing Trump, Weisselberg, and top Trump Org execs for committing rampant real estate fraud, said a review of evidence in the years-long litigation indeed appeared to show an incomplete picture of Forbes’ inquiries.

AG lawyer Kevin Wallace asked Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron to order the monitor he’s appointed to oversee Trump’s real estate empire to comb through its electronic records between August and September 2016 and determine what Trump’s side failed to hand over by next week.




No link yet.

Biden urges aid for Israel and Ukraine and calls on Israel 'not to be blinded by rage'

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke to the nation in a rare prime-time address Thursday, explaining why he believes it’s crucial for Israel and Ukraine to win the respective wars they’re fighting, as he looks to build support for a hefty aid package aimed at strengthening both countries.

While Biden said that Israel endured a horrifying attack from Hamas militants on Oct. 7, he added that he cautioned Israelis not to repeat the mistakes an angered United States made after terrorists attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001.

"When I was in Israel yesterday, I said that when America experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged as well," Biden said. "While we sought and got justice, we made mistakes. So, I cautioned the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage."

Biden’s Oval Office speech followed a quick visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, where he met with Israeli leaders and discussed the next phase of a counterattack in Gaza that began with an aerial bombardment and may now shift to a risky ground incursion.


Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/watch-live-biden-oval-office-address-rcna121152

Try, try again....

ABC, NBC, CBS will cover President Biden's Oval Office speech tonight.

Email from my Congressman (Dan Goldman, NY-10)

It has been a harrowing and heartbreaking few weeks.

On October 7, Hamas terrorists launched an unimaginably brutal attack on Israel — killing more than 1,300 people, mostly Israelis — women, children (including babies!) and the elderly. It was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust and evokes the horror of pogroms in Europe when entire Jewish villages were eviscerated.

This is personal for me in many ways. On the morning of October 7, I was with my wife and three of my children in Tel Aviv to attend a family Bar Mitzvah. We were awakened at 6:30 by the frightening sound of sirens warning of incoming rocket fire, and we had just 90 seconds to escape to the bomb shelter in the interior stairwell. Obviously, it has been very difficult to explain what was going on to my children, who are still struggling with the trauma. But it pales in comparison to what the families in southern Israel have had to endure.

The viciousness and brutality of the terrorists’ attack is hard to comprehend. Reports are that 80 percent of those who were murdered were also tortured — some beheaded, others burned alive, children forced to watch their parents killed and vice versa. All because Hamas simply wanted to kill and torture Jews — the sole stated objective of this terrorist organization.

Nearly 200 people were captured and are being held hostage by Hamas. Most are civilians and approximately a dozen are Americans. The hostages include babies without parents, and even an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who needs medicine daily. Hamas refuses to provide an update on the hostages nor to even let the International Red Cross check on them pursuant to international law.

And let’s be very clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization that does not represent the interests of the Palestinians it governs in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not only destructive to the peace and security of Israel but it is also detrimental to the security and prosperity of Palestinians. Israel’s justified declaration of war is against Hamas, not the Palestinian people, and we must support this war against terror like we have those against Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Over the past 11 days, I have been incredibly proud to stand alongside President Biden, who has demonstrated clear-eyed and strong leadership in ensuring that Israel has all the military, security, and diplomatic support it needs to defend herself and eradicate Hamas, while also emphasizing the need to protect innocent Palestinians as much as possible. Yesterday, after President Biden’s historic visit to Israel, Israel also agreed to facilitate humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians, even though Hamas has already stolen UN aid designated for civilians.

But the United States and Israel cannot meet both of those objectives alone. That is why I co-led a bipartisan letter signed by 106 colleagues to the Egyptian government urging them to assist in the humanitarian effort through its border with Gaza in the south. I was pleased to see that yesterday Egypt agreed to facilitate humanitarian aid to displaced Palestinians. But Egypt must also agree to help set up safe zones in southern Gaza for Palestinians who have heeded Israel’s warning to evacuate the north of Gaza in advance of a possible ground attack.

I am also encouraged that, notwithstanding the understandable rage Israelis and Jews around the world feel after the atrocious war crimes committed by Hamas, Israel has taken significant measures to protect Palestinian civilians through warnings of pending attacks by leaflet, text messages, phone calls and social media. Unfortunately, Hamas intentionally uses its civilians as human shields by putting its terror network in residential neighborhoods, schools, and even hospitals. Hamas has even discouraged and prevented Palestinians from heeding the Israeli warnings.

Every day that goes by makes it less likely that the hostages held by a terrorist group in violation of international law — including Americans — will come home alive. Time is of the essence and we must be steadfast in our primary focus of freeing the hostages. I am working day and night to free our hostages, bring home Americans in harm's way, and provide the necessary support for Israel to defend herself and eliminate Hamas. There can be no other outcome.

If you or your family are American citizens located in Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza, it is critical that you fill out the US State Department’s Crisis Intake Form here.

We have also seen that this devastating conflict has found its way into the streets of New York and around the country. So let me be very clear — no one should be targeted for their identity. That is not the New York way nor the American way.

Emotions are understandably running high. It is a frightening time. But there is no room for hate of any kind in our city and country — against Israelis or Palestinians, Jews or Muslims. To that end, I will continue to work closely with the NYPD to monitor any potential threats to our synagogues, mosques, and community centers to ensure our communities are safe.

As the days wear on and Israel’s effort to defeat Hamas escalates, we must never forget the horrific terrorist attack on October 7 that started this war. As Americans, we must remain united against terrorism and in support of our democratic ally, Israel. And we must do everything we can to protect innocent civilians.

I am proud to be in Congress during this trying time, and I’m grateful for your support as we continue to defend democracy at home and abroad.

All my love,

Dan

Deal Is Reached to Open Gaza Aid Corridor, Officials Say

Source: New York Times

A U.N.-brokered deal was struck on Thursday that was expected to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Egypt, two officials said, although the details of how and when the desperately needed food and medicine would be delivered were not immediately known.

Gazans, already living under a blockade by Israel and Egypt, have been increasingly desperate since Israel responded to Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack with airstrikes and a “complete siege” of the enclave. Nearly half the population has been displaced, according to the United Nations, and dwindling essential resources threaten disaster for its more than two million residents.

The deal includes the U.N. flag being raised at the Rafah crossing and international observers inspecting aid trucks before they enter Gaza, to satisfy a demand by Israel, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the news.

Adding to pressure on Israel to ease the crisis in Gaza, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain visited Tel Aviv and said, after meeting with President Isaac Herzog, that they had “agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering.”


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/19/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news/heres-the-latest-on-the-war?smid=url-share

Public Input Invited on Congressional Districting

New York Independent Redistricting Commission Chair Jenkins, and Commissioners Collado, Cuevas-Molina, Flateau, and Frazier have invited public input on congressional districting while awaiting a decision from the New York Court of Appeals in a case concerning the Commission’s constitutional obligation to complete the congressional redistricting process. Argument before the Court of Appeals is scheduled for November 15, 2023.

The public is invited to submit input by emailing submissions@nyirc.gov or by sending mail to 250 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10007 Attention: Submissions, Independent Redistricting Commission. All submissions received will be made available to all Commissioners and staff.

Should the public wish to view the congressional plans the Commission previously submitted to the Legislature, those plans can be found at https://www.nyirc.gov/plans.

Should the public wish to view the congressional plan drawn by the Special Master appointed by the Steuben County Supreme Court and used in the 2022 congressional elections, that plan can be found at https://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/?sec=2022_congress.

Medical aid is "ready to go" at Gaza crossing, WHO chief says

Source: CNN

Kidnapped 80-year-old Israeli-American and her teenage granddaughter found dead, family says

Source: CNN

An 80-year-old Israeli-American and her 13-year-old granddaughter, who were both kidnapped by Hamas militants from their kibbutz on October 7, have been found dead, the family told CNN on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the deaths of Carmela Dan and Noya Dan to family on Wednesday, according to Jason Greenberg, a relative who lives in Massachusetts.

...snip...

The news comes more than a week after five members of the family were kidnapped from their home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel just a few miles from the border with Gaza. Greenberg previously told CNN there had been a flurry of text messages from the family members saying they were hiding in a safe room and had heard gunfire and smelled smoke.

One last message read: “We hear them. They’re coming.”


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-10-19-23/h_7730bc4715223b11ddc63d0221c01b12