Mike Sommers on Impact of Israel-Iran Conflict on Energy
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
California man who admitted shipping weapons to North Korea is sentenced to 8 years in prison
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting to shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea that he said were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday. Shenghua Wen, 42, came to the U.S. from China on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country illegally after it expired, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. Wen pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the statement says. He was sentenced on Monday. Wen told investigators that before he entered the U.S., he met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China, where they instructed him to procure goods for the North Korean government. He also admitted that he tried to buy uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers for the surprise attack, a federal complaint says. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea, a U.S. ally, recently delivering nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units. United Nations resolutions ban North Korea from importing or exporting weapons. In 2022, North Korean officials contacted him via an online messaging app and instructed him to buy firearms, prosecutors said. He shipped two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach, California, to North Korea via Hong Kong in 2023. He told U.S. authorities that he was wired about $2 million to do so, according to the complaint. Authorities did not specify in the complaint the types of weapons that were exported. To carry out his operation, Wen purchased a business in 2023 called Super Armory, a federal firearms licensee, for $150,000, and registered it under his business partner's name in Texas. He had other people purchase the firearms and then drove them to California, misrepresenting the shipments as a refrigerator and camera parts. Investigators did not say whether Wen had organized any shipments during his first 10 years in the U.S. The FBI in September seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's home in the LA suburb of Ontario that had been stored in a van parked in the driveway, the complaint says. They also seized a chemical threat identification device and a transmission detective device that Wen said he planned to send to the North Korean government for military use, the complaint says. The Associated Press
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Syrian, Israeli diplomats met in Paris to discuss 'de-escalation': report
Syria's foreign minister met with an Israeli diplomatic delegation in Paris on Tuesday to discuss "de-escalation and non-interference in Syria's internal affairs", state news agency SANA reported. The latest in a series of US-mediated talks resulted in "understandings that support stability in the region", the agency said. Washington has been at work in recent weeks to try to resolve security issues in Syria and Lebanon, which its ally Israel says have prompted it to take military action. Despite a truce reached last November, Israel has continued to hit targets of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, and it has occupied territory and hit targets across Syria since last year's fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Tuesday's meeting in Paris follows one between Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Baku in late July, and another meeting in Paris before that. Israel and Syria have technically been at war since 1948, and the talks also discussed reviving a disengagement accord from 1974 that created a buffer zone between the two countries. "These talks are taking place under US mediation, as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in Syria and preserving the unity and integrity of its territory," the agency said. The recent meetings between the two countries come after deadly sectarian clashes in July in southern Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province which left over 1,400 people dead. The clashes initially pitted local Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes but soon saw the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israel, with the latter saying it wanted to protect the Druze. Last month, Israel struck the Syrian presidential palace and the army headquarters in Damascus. The United States, an ally of Israel but who has expressed support for Syria's new leaders, announced a ceasefire between the two sides overnight on July 18. bur-lk/emp/rmb/gv/sla
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shenandoah investigates financial mismanagement
Shenandoah borough officials have made inroads in their ongoing investigation of alleged financial mismanagement. Over the past few months, Shenandoah has taken measures to investigate claims of mismanagement presented by Borough Manager Mike Cadau, who was hired in January and found what he says are financial improprieties and misappropriation in the way previous borough administrators did business. On Monday, Cadau announced that officials from the Pennsylvania Auditor General's office will visit borough hall in September to conduct a comprehensive audit of the borough's Liquid Fuels account. Cadau has previously shared that he believes Shenandoah misappropriated funds from that account for projects not typically associated with it. The Department of the Auditor General, Cadau said, 'has been following what's been happening (from media reports), and they want to come in and they want to take a look at our Liquid Fuel accounts.' Also, Cadau said that he will join council president Joseph R. Boris and the borough's forensic auditor, Joseph Yanushefsky, at a meeting with the Internal Revenue Service in Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 25. Cadau said they were summoned by the IRS to go over an ongoing forensic audit led by Yanushefsky, whom the borough appointed this spring. At the meeting, they are expected to examine issues such as 941 forms, 1099 forms and pensions that the borough has provided over the years, Cadau said. Shortly after he was hired in January, Cadau described the borough as being in a 'very difficult' situation due to funding mishaps over the past two years. In May, the borough council appointed attorney Maria Casey as special counsel to help investigate the alleged mismanagement. At the July meeting, Cadau told council members that the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General also will lead a criminal investigation into the matter. Other business Council members discussed an ongoing effort to repave several streets in the borough. After the successful curb-to-curb paving job done on five streets last year, the borough plans to pave five more by the end of November, Boris said. Boris said the borough will first repave North Jardin and Market streets, which will cost nearly $100,000 combined. Community Development Block Grant funds of $70,000 will be used to pay for those projects, with the remainder coming from interest received through the sale of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah, Boris said Tuesday. M&J Excavation Inc. of Bloomsburg has been tapped as the contractor for the two streets. The contract will be tentatively awarded at the Aug. 27 county commissioners meeting, Boris said. Also on Monday, Boris announced that attorney Shane Hobbs has resigned as the borough's solicitor. He read Hobbs' resignation letter, in which Hobbs stated that recent challenges — notably, his accepting a part-time job as a Schuylkill County Public Defender — resulted in his decision to leave. 'It was a pleasure working with you all,' wrote Hobbs, who served as solicitor since January 2024. Following Hobbs' decision, Boris said, council members interviewed a candidate, James E. Crossen III, of the Pottsville law firm Williamson, Friedberg & Jones. Council members appointed him as the new solicitor Monday. Council members also approved the hire of a new full-time secretary, Nazareth Perez. Solve the daily Crossword
