Feb 13, 2018

Israeli police recommend Netanyahu be indicted on bribery charges

Alayna Treene

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images

Israeli police submitted recommendations Tuesday to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two corruption cases, Axios contributor Barak Ravid reports.

  • According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, one case involves allegations that Netanyahu has been accepting "lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors" in exchange for promoting their interests. The second alleges Netanyahu negotiated a deal in which he'd get positive coverage in Israel's second-largest newspaper "in exchange for hurting its freebie rival, Israel Hayom."
  • What's next: Mandelblit will examine the evidence from the investigations and ultimately decide whether to indict Netanyahu, who has been prime minister since 2009. Netanyahu has denied the allegations, and during a live TV address Tuesday he said the police recommendations against him will "end with nothing."

Go deeper

Jacob Knutson

Trump removes watchdog overseeing rollout of $2 trillion coronavirus bill

Glenn Fine, acting Pentagon watchdog

President Trump on Monday replaced the Pentagon's acting Inspector General Glenn Fine, who had been selected to chair the panel overseeing the rollout of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed last month, Politico first reported.

Why it matters: A group of independent federal watchdogs selected Fine to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, but Fine's removal from his Pentagon job prevents from being able to serve in that position — since the law only allows sitting inspectors general to fill the role.

Go deeperArrow17 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 1,365,004— Total deaths: 76,507 — Total recoveries: 292,467 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 369,069 — Total deaths: 11,018 — Total recoveries: 20,003 — Map.
  3. Trump administration latest: Peter Navarro warned White House colleagues in late January about the massive potential risks from the coronavirus.
  4. Federal government latest: The public wants the federal government, not states, in charge of coronavirus — Testing capacity is still lagging far enough behind demand.
  5. States update: New York death toll surged to its highest one-day total as state predicts a plateau in hospitalizations.
  6. 2020 update: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks the governor's attempt to delay in-person primary voting until June.
  7. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy
Marisa Fernandez

Cuomo projects plateau in hospitalizations as coronavirus deaths surge

As the New York death toll surged to its highest one-day total on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo projected that the state is reaching a plateau in coronavirus hospitalizations due to strict social distancing measures.

The big picture: Daily ICU admissions, intubations and the three-day hospitalization rate have all decreased, Cuomo said Tuesday. The daily death toll jumped by 731 to 5,489 — the "largest single-day increase" — but Cuomo cautioned that number of deaths is a "lagging indicator" due to the length that most critical patients are in the hospital for.

Go deeperArrow1 hour ago - Health