Businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain is expected to withdraw from consideration for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, ABC News reported Thursday, citing an administration official and source familiar with the matter.
President Trump last week announced he would nominate Cain to the board. His nomination faced strong criticism and four Republican senators said they would vote against confirming him, likely sinking his nomination.
Cain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, but dropped out of the race after harassment allegations. The accusations have made him a controversial pick for the board.

Both Bennett and Beresheet get oh so near to their respective goals, only to be thwarted by harsh reality at the last moment

Uber filed documents Thursday to take the ride-hailing giant public, the most anticipated of the year’s high-profile technology stock-exchange listings.
It’s a watershed moment for Uber, which said its stock market symbol would be UBER. The company is expected to list its shares on May 10 as it seeks to raise funding in the neighborhood of $10 billion at a $100 billion valuation.
Since its launch in 2009, Uber has worked toward global dominance of the ride-hailing industry through a cash-burning strategy of investor-subsidized fares. Uber operates in 63 countries and has millions of customers. By the end of 2018, 74 percent of its trips were taking place outside the United States, Uber said in its filing.

President will meet with leaders in order of number of seats won -- starting with Likud and ending with Ra’am-Balad on Tuesday; president's office says talks will be broadcast live

Spiritual leader at Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg, Maryland, replaces Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the first woman to serve as chief executive of a major rabbinical organization

 A Wicked Problem With No Easy AnswersMore than 2.7 million Californians live in areas that are at very high risk for wildfires, according to our analysis of census data and state fire maps. They live in more than 1.1 million housing units, or in about one in 12 of the state’s homes.
Read more on Yeshiva World News

American officials had debated bringing charges against Julian Assange almost from the moment in 2010 that his organization WikiLeaks dumped onto the internet a historic trove of classified documents, including internal State Department communications and assessments of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.
But through the years, the case languished. Some prosecutors reasoned that Assange was arguably a publisher, if a capricious one. Concerned that proving a criminal case against him would run up against the First Amendment and, if successful, set a precedent for future media prosecutions, the Obama administration chose to put the case aside.

Former IDF general issues statement after reports he could make way for Merav Michaeli to enter Knesset; says he and party need time for 'soul-searching'

 Israel Police Special Community Day At Jerusalem Special Ed SchoolIsrael Police on Thursday held a special community and police day at the N’vei Tzvi-Tikva school in the center of Jerusalem.
The faces of the excited students were received by police from the various police units and the Jerusalem district, including the bomb squad, K9, traffic police, mounted units, and a representative of United Hatzalah.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein came to his boss’s defense Thursday, saying it was “bizarre” for anyone to claim Attorney General William Barr is “trying to mislead people” by not immediately releasing the special counsel’s report.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, his first since Robert S. Mueller III concluded the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Rosenstein tried to tamp down criticisms of Barr’s handling of the report and the time it is taking him to release it.
“He’s being as forthcoming as he can, and so this notion that he’s trying to mislead people, I think is just completely bizarre,” Rosenstein said in the interview.

Final election results show record number of newcomers will be sworn into parliament on April 30. From Likud to Ra'am Balad, here are Israel's lawmakers in-waiting

Researchers study Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the International Space Station, and his identical twin Mark Kelly, also a former NASA astronaut, who stayed on the ground

Federal prosecutors in California announced on Thursday three dozen charges against Michael Avenatti, the prominent attorney best known for his criticisms of President Donald Trump, accusing the lawyer of stealing millions of dollars from his clients and funneling their money into his own interests, including co-ownership of a $5 million private jet.
The indictment was sweeping in its scope, accusing Avenatti of defrauding clients for more than four years. The charges included bleak details, including assertions that Avenatti’s alleged actions caused a paraplegic client to lose his Supplemental Security Income benefits, which are paid to adults and children who have disabilities, and prevented the same client from using settlement money to buy a home.

Transportation minister backs management's decision, accusing workers' union of facilitating 'anarchy'; labor federation announces trains to resume later Friday morning

Leading UK Jewish journalist Jonathan Freedland once again turns his hand to fiction as his alter-ego, the best-selling thriller writer Sam Bourne

Family to donate Oved's corneas after he was killed Thursday when vehicle hit tents used by young men; funeral will take place Friday at 12:30 pm in Palmachim

The city of Chicago sued Jussie Smollett for more than $130,000 on Thursday to recover the cost of police overtime spent looking into an alleged hate crime against him.
The “Empire” actor has been accused of orchestrating the Jan. 29 assault, during which he says two men yelled racist and anti-gay slurs while beating him, pouring an unknown chemical substance on him and wrapping a rope around his neck. Smollett, 36, was indicted on 16 felony counts in early March for allegedly lying to police about the altercation – one count per alleged lie – but Cook County prosecutors dropped all criminal charges on March 26, citing his two days of community service and agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bond to the city.

Rafi Peretz reaches out to Shas and UTJ leaders, proposing they work together in coalition talks to advance issues of religion and state where they all largely agree

'The Book of Dirt,' a thoughtful examination of his family’s tortured past wins new author Bram Presser the Jewish Book Council's Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction

President Trump on Thursday sought to distance himself from WikiLeaks after founder Julian Assange’s arrest in London, even though he praised the group during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It’s not my thing,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he still loves the organization.
Trump repeatedly professed his affinity for WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign, when it published emails that were stolen from Democrats by Russian hackers as part of Moscow’s effort to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

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