‘This is an American problem; it's not a Jewish problem': Tree of Life chair reacts to Boulder attack
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Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Andrew Cuomo tries out a new persona: Underdog candidate
Cuomo's scaled down team — a coterie of longtime aides remain while consultants have left ahead of the general election — is opening up access to him with reporters after running a press-allergic primary campaign. They are eager to show Cuomo's interactions with New Yorkers, all documented in short videos posted online , a reverse from his paltry retail efforts during the primary. The former governor's new-look campaign, which reported more than $1 million in cash on hand, still has financial resources to last until November. But many of his wealthy backers, like ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who contributed to a Cuomo-allied super PAC, have been publicly silent about his general election effort. The former governor must also contend with the presence of Mayor Eric Adams in the field. Adams, a fellow moderate, shares an overlapping base of support, including Black and Jewish voters. Cuomo and the mayor have tried in vain to convince the other to drop out and unite the field against Mamdani. Cuomo is not running with the same institutional support he's enjoyed for much of his political career, which seemingly ground to a halt in 2021 after a state attorney general report found he sexually harassed 11 women; he's denied any wrongdoing. Despite resigning in disgrace, Cuomo quickly raked in cash and endorsements from the city's political and business elite when he launched his primary run in March, as his advisers insisted he was the all-but-inevitable next mayor of the nation's largest city. Cuomo's team privately believed Mamdani's anti-Israel views, hard-left policies like government-run grocery stores and inexperience would make him an easy primary opponent to dispatch. It didn't work out. The former governor got pummeled by Mamdani, whose focus on affordability vaulted his once afterthought of a candidacy ahead of better known and more experienced candidates. Cuomo retreated in July to make his pitch to the Hamptons elite and directly to voters that he deserved another shot in the general election. Significant endorsements of Cuomo's retooled campaign, however, have not materialized. 'A huge part of his appeal was his sense of inevitability,' said Democratic strategist Alyssa Cass, who advised former Comptroller Scott Stringer's mayoral campaign. 'Once Superman's lost his cape, it's hard to get it back. In politics, no one likes a loser.' Mamdani's campaign has made changes of its own since his upset victory. He's met with wealthy business leaders to assure them his plans to sharply raise taxes on the rich to pay for his proposals like free buses won't damage the city's economy.
UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
N.Y. man who fired shotgun in front of synagogue in 2023 gets 10 yrs
A New York man is sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday for firing a shotgun in front of an Albany synagogue in December of 2023. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A New York man has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for firing a shotgun outside of an Albany synagogue and yelling "free Palestine" before the start of Hanukkah in 2023. Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 29, of Schenectady, N.Y., was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment on Tuesday, months after he pleaded guilty to civil rights and firearms charges in February. "The Department of Justice stands firmly against anti-Semitism and all hate crimes," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. The incident occurred Dec. 7, 2023, outside Albany's Temple Israel, mere hours before the start of Hanukkah later that evening. Prosecutors said Alkhader took an Uber from his home to the synagogue, where at about 2 p.m. EDT he walked to the entrance of Temple Israel, pulled out the Kel-Tec KS7 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and fired two shots while yelling "free Palestine." On attempting to fire a third round, the shotgun jammed on Alkhader, who then attempted to rip an Israeli flag from a flagpole in front of the synagogue. Alkhader was then arrested by Albany police near a nearby hospital. The incident prompted the synagogue to cancel a concert and celebratory candle-lighting ceremony that night for Hanukkah, according to the Justice Department, which said the shooting made congregants afraid to return to their place of worship. "Mr. Alkhader's violent actions were fueled by hatred for individuals simply because of their faith," Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office said. "That hatred caused tremendous terror within the Temple Israel community -- and the Jewish community as a whole -- as they were preparing for the first night of Hanukkah." Andrew Miller, the man who sold Alkhader the weapon on Nov. 5, received 14 months' imprisonment in October followed by three years supervised release. The shooting happened amid a spike in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents in the United States during the first few months of Israel's war in Gaza. According to FBI statistics for 2023, there were 1,832 anti-Jewish bias crimes in the United States as well as 236 involving anti-Muslim sentiment.
CNBC
7 hours ago
- CNBC
Judge orders Trump administration to restore part of UCLA's suspended funding
A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump's administration to restore a part of the federal grant funding that it recently suspended for the University of California, Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco ruled that the grant funding suspensions violated an earlier June preliminary injunction where she ordered the National Science Foundation to restore dozens of grants that it had terminated at the University of California. That order had blocked the agency from cancelling other grants at the University of California system, of which UCLA is a part. "NSF's actions violate the Preliminary Injunction," Lin, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, wrote. The White House and the university had no immediate comment on the ruling. UCLA said last week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian student protests against U.S. ally Israel's military assault on Gaza. It was not immediately clear how much of the frozen funding was the judge ordering to be restored. The University of California said last week it was reviewing a settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA in which the university will pay $1 billion. It said such a large payment would "devastate" the institution. The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates their criticism of Israel's war in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president's threats. Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom called the Trump administration's settlement offer a form of extortion. Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last month, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit alleging antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters. Rights advocates note a rise in antisemitism, anti-Arab bias and Islamophobia due to conflict in the Middle East. The Trump administration has not announced equivalent probes into Islamophobia. The government has settled its probes with Columbia University, which agreed to pay over $220 million, and Brown University, which said it will pay $50 million. Both accepted certain government demands. Settlement talks with Harvard University are ongoing.
