CIA analyst who leaked Israeli military plans gets three years in prison
A former CIA analyst who leaked highly classified records about Israeli plans for a military strike on Iran, which spread quickly through social media last year, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and one month in prison.
Asif W. Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Espionage Act, admitting that he leaked more than a dozen classified documents while working as a CIA analyst. He was arrested last year after FBI investigators traced the download of two records detailing Israeli military preparations to Rahman's workstation at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
How GOP governors are leading the charge against antisemitism — and for civil rights
The heartless execution of a young couple outside Washington's Capital Jewish Museum. The terrorist who used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to injure elderly pro-Israel rally-goers in Boulder, Colo. The arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania's Jewish governor. These headlines, and many others in recent weeks, brought home a growing threat we governors have been tracking with great alarm: A new generation of Americans has been conditioned to hate Jews with an intense bigotry experienced by no other minority group. It's time for leaders of conscience to draw a bright line, translating rhetoric into robust action to protect all members of the Jewish community from the scourge of antisemitism. Advertisement How did we arrive at today's disturbing reality — where our nation's small Jewish population endures 68% of all religion-based hate crimes? Jews have long been a convenient scapegoat for extremists of all stripes, but today antisemitism has become an elite phenomenon, erupting with particular vehemence on college and university campuses. Antisemitic incidents across the United States spiked by over 600% since September 2023, a recent Combat Antisemitism Movement study found, with most of the increase coming on college campuses. Advertisement Students are not born bigoted. Someone is teaching them to hate. Indeed, some teachers have exploited their privileged positions at the front of the classroom to propagandize and manipulate the impressionable young minds in their care. Meanwhile, many school administrators have lacked the intellectual and moral clarity to forcefully counter the antisemitism spilling out into the quad and amplified on social media. College officials who set aside 'safe spaces' and promoted narrow campus speech codes to prevent 'micro-aggressions' and 'triggers' hypocritically dropped those standards when Jewish students found themselves blocked from classrooms and libraries (or, as at Cooper Union College, trapped within one as a mob raged outside). Advertisement Bigotry that would have been instantly and rightly crushed had it targeted other minorities was instead condoned — and even sometimes celebrated. Let us be clear: No student should face threats in the classroom or on campus, nor feel targeted because of their religion or heritage. All bigotry, religious, ethnic, racial or otherwise, is wrong, absolutely un-American, and cannot be tolerated. Advertisement As governors, we are responsible for the safety of our constituents, especially students in our schools. To fight the rising tide of hatred, we have all signed executive orders and legislation in recent months to combat antisemitism. 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Currently, we are each creating or strengthening statewide oversight mechanisms to ensure all reported antisemitic incidents are investigated and remedied. Accountability reassures victims that their complaints will be met with a vigorous response. Advertisement We are also incorporating and deepening education on antisemitism and Jewish-American history into our K-12 and higher ed classes — desperately needed, as surveys indicate declining knowledge about the Holocaust among American students. We have come to see the struggle against antisemitism as a pillar of American civil rights. Just as racial reactionaries once disingenuously invoked 'states' rights' and 'majority rule' to impede progress, leftists today cynically and disingenuously invoke 'free speech' to justify the deliberate intimidation of Jewish students — a disturbing echo of attempts to drive black students from campuses even after the law compelled desegregation. Advertisement We believe in free speech, but the First Amendment does not protect acts of violence or threats of physical harm. Yet standing up to bigotry takes courage. Too many school leaders — and state leaders, too — have become paralyzed by the politicization of antisemitism across our society. We, however, are proud to champion this fight, the civil rights movement of our time, and we call upon governors and state legislators across the country to join us. Advertisement Taking firm action against antisemitism can unite all citizens of good will in a righteous effort to restore the American promise for a new generation. Bill Lee, Sarah Sanders, Kevin Stitt and Glenn Youngkin are the Republican governors of Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Fox News
30 minutes ago
- Fox News
Kristi Noem suspects 'completely inappropriate' Democratic senator 'wanted the scene'
While giving a briefing on federal efforts to restore peace in Los Angeles, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference Thursday became engulfed in a display some critics called "political theater" when a California Democratic lawmaker interrupted Noem's remarks. After loudly speaking over Noem and approaching the podium where she was standing, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was escorted out of the room. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Padilla did not identify himself as a senator and was not wearing his Senate security pin. Although the two later met in private where they spoke for about 15 minutes, Padilla later spoke to the media, claiming he was "forced to the ground." Noem criticized Padilla's "absolutely ridiculous" statement, noting his behavior was "completely inappropriate" and "not becoming" of a public official. "This man burst into a room, started advancing toward the podium, interrupting an opening statement, elevating his voice, [and] shouting questions. People tried to stop him from interrupting the press conference. He refused and continued to lunge towards the podium," Noem said Thursday on "The Story." "That is when he was removed from the room. The way that he acted was completely inappropriate." After Padilla was removed from the room, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel began handcuffing the senator in the hallway, at which point he identified himself, and they ceased action, Noem told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum shortly after the incident. A DHS spokesperson also said Padilla was told "repeatedly" to back away, and "did not comply" with officers' commands. "[Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately," the spokesperson said. Although Noem says the pair were OK after their private conversation, she observed Padilla may have "wanted the scene", particularly in light of his comments to the media following the incident. "If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California," Padilla told reporters Thursday. "We will hold this administration accountable." After criticizing Padilla's comments, Noem told "The Story" she was "so sick of the politics" and urged opponents to "get over themselves and have the backs of law enforcement." "I think the American people are sick of this kind of action. I think American people are tired of this. They just want the truth, and they just want to know what's happening, and that's what we were trying to provide," she said. Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch and Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this story.
Associated Press
32 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Netanyahu's government survives vote to dissolve Israel's parliament
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