UNDIPLOMATIC
Israel: French Consulate Worker Smuggled Arms to the Palestinians
Israeli authorities have arrested a French citizen who worked in his country’s consulate in Jerusalem on suspicion of using a diplomatic car to smuggle arms to Palestine. Security services claim that Romain Franck, 23, used the official vehicle to bypass Israeli security checks and move 70 pistols and two assault rifles from Gaza to the occupied West Bank. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said Franck carried out the smuggling for personal financial gain rather than for political reasons, and that his superiors at the consulate were unaware of his actions. “This is a very serious incident in which the immunity and privileges granted to foreign diplomatic missions in Israel were cynically exploited to smuggle dozens of weapons that may be used for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces,” the agency said in a statement. A spokesperson for the French embassy in Tel Aviv said: “We take this case very seriously and are in close contact with the Israeli authorities.” Franck will appear in court to face charges Monday.
1. COSTLY DATA
Facebook Stock Plunges After Cambridge Analytica Scandal
REUTERS/DADO RUVIC
Facebook slid $42 billion in market value since The New York Timesreported Friday that Cambridge Analytica “harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission.” After a weekend of backlash, the social network’s stock was down seven percent Monday, while the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than one percent. The stock drop also comes as the social-networking site investigates employee Joseph Chancellor’s ties to the data firm. Chancellor is currently a “virtual reality researcher” at Facebook but was the former director of Global Science Research (GSR)—the firm who provided the data to Cambridge Analytica, according to CBS News. A GSR spokesperson told CBS “there was no recollection of any interactions or emails” with Chancellor. Over the weekend, Facebook suspended from the platform former Cambridge Analytica employee and whistleblower Christopher Wyliealong with former GSR director Aleksandr Kogan.
2. DRIVERLESS VICTIM
Woman Dies After Being Hit by Self-Driving Uber
A woman died after being struck by an Uber self-driving vehicle in Arizona— the “first known death of a pedestrian struck by an autonomous vehicle on public roads,” The New York Times reported Monday. A statement from Tempe police said the vehicle was in “autonomous mode” with a human safety driver behind the wheel when it hit the woman who was “crossing the street outside of a crosswalk.” Officials say the accident occurred overnight, and the woman has not been publicly identified. Uber said in a statement that they are “fully cooperating” with local authorities, and has suspended their self-driving car tests in Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto.
3. SHOWDOWN
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Arizona’s DACA Challenge
The Supreme Court has rejected Arizona’s appeal of a circuit-court ruling barring the state from preventing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries from obtaining drivers licenses. The state initially denied DREAMers access to drivers licenses after it decided “not to accept [work] permits obtained by DACA recipients” as proof of residence. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state on behalf of DACA recipients denied licenses, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the policy, saying the “state cannot develop its own definition of immigrants who are authorized to be in the United States and that only the federal government had the power to do that.” The state then appealed, claiming the DACA policy was not enacted through Congress and had no sovereignty over state policies on drivers licenses. The Trump administration reportedly “urged” the Supreme Court justices not to take the case, saying that President Trump rescinding the DACA policy means “the state’s concerns have already been addressed.”
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4. SEEKING JUSTICE
Time’s Up to Gov. Cuomo: Probe NYC DA for Not Prosecuting Harvey Weinstein
Time’s Up penned an open letter to Gov. Cuomo urging for an investigation of New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The letter, obtained exclusively by The Cut, requested a probe of the top attorney for his decision not to prosecute Harvey Weinstein for the alleged sexual abuse of 24-year-old Ambra Battilana, the former Miss Italy contestant who, in 2015, told police she was molested by Weinstein during an audition at his office. A recent report from New York magazine also claimed that Vance attempted to “derail” the city’s top sex-crimes prosecutor’s probe of Weinstein. “We are concerned that what appears to be the negative relationship between the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Special Victims Unit of the NYPD makes it even less likely that victims who have been assaulted by rich or powerful men will be willing to come forward and that their assailants will be prosecuted and convicted,” the letter, penned by Time’s Up lawyers, said. Since last October, more than 80 women in the entertainment industry have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
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6. BACKPEDAL
Hillary Clinton: ‘I Meant No Disrespect’ With Trump Voter Comments
Hillary Clinton over the weekend attempted to clarify controversial comments she made recently to an Indian newspaper about President Trump’s supporters. In an interview with the newspaper, she suggested that more economically stable states supported her candidacy and that women who voted for Trump were influenced by men. In a Facebookpost, published Saturday night, Clinton wrote: “I meant no disrespect to any individual or group. And I want to look to the future as much as anybody.” She explained that she didn’t mean to frame the election as “coasts versus the heartland.” She also defended her comments on women, saying “it’s not that crazy when you think about our ongoing struggle to reach gender balance—even within the same household.” This comes after her remarks received condemnation from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders along with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who said the comments were “not helpful at all... my friend Hillary Clinton is wrong.”
7. NOT-SO-TOP CHEF
Celebrity Chef Mike Isabella Accused of Sexual Harassment
Top Chef alum and celebrity chef Mike Isabella has been accused of sexual harassment by one of this former top managers, according to The Washington Post. Chloe Caras filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court, asking for “$4 million in damages” from Isabella and his business partners for verbal and physical harassment. Caras alleges that Isabella and his partners called her a “bitch” and a “whore,” commented on her buttocks, and touched her without her consent. Other allegations claim that Isabella “grabbed her hair and pantomimed sex” and subjected her to sexism and yelling in the workplace. Isabella allegedly made a sexist comment towards Caras and fired her once she expressed anger at the remark. Isabella’s lawyers have since denied the allegations put forward by Caras, claiming she “stormed off the job and refused to return, insisting she had been fired.” This comes after the Post also spoke to former pastry sous chef Sara Hancock, who told the newspaper that Isabella kissed her cheek in the kitchen and made the workplace a “frat house.” Isabella’s lawyers refused to comment on Hancock’s allegations.
8. TRUTH WILL OUT
Jared Kushner’s Father Confirms Meeting With Qatari Officials
Jared Kushner’s father confirmed he met with Qatari officials and “funding for a financially troubled real-estate project was discussed,” the company told The Washington Post. In a statement to the newspaper, Charles Kushner said he “agreed to the meeting as a courtesy” and told the officials in advance that he was “not going to accept sovereign wealth fund investments.” In a previous report from The Intercept, Kushner said the company “did not meet with anyone from the Qatari government.” The April 2017 meeting at New York’s St. Regis Hotel came before President Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia in late May, where he publicly supported an economic boycott on Qatar. Kushner’s portfolio as White House senior adviser includes Middle East affairs. The Kushners reportedly sought money from Qatar from 2014 “until at least 2016,” but the $500 million deal fell through because the country “sought to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest,” said Tom Barrack, a friend of President Trump.
9. YIKES
Four Arrested in Turkey for Possession of Nuclear Substance
Turkish police detained four men who had “a nuclear substance” in their vehicle in Ankara, NTV reported on Monday. According to the broadcaster, 1.4 kilograms of Californium, a synthetic radioactive element, and was found in the car and was meant to be sold for $70 million. It is unknown where the substance came from or who sought to buy it. The substance is “produced in laboratories,” Haaretz reported, and “is often used to kick-start a reactor.” Californium is currently known to be produced in U.S and Russia.
10. 200,000,000 EAR LOBES LATER
Claire’s Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Tween jewelry giant Claire’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday and plans to restructure its $1.9 billion debt primarily with its famous in-store ear-piercing service. The retailer “estimates that it has pierced over 100,000,000 ears worldwide” since 1978, Chief Financial Officer Scott Huckins wrote in court papers. Despite that unique service, it hasn’t made the chain immune to an 8 percent “year-over-year” decline in mall traffic and $183 million in yearly interest payments. Claire’s has 7,500 retail locations and will continue to operate while the restructuring occurs. Last week, toy retailer Toys R Us announced it would be closing all 800 of its U.S. locations as big-box stores increasingly give way to the online marketplace.
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