In the days following the capture of an American contractor in Afghanistan earlier this year, Navy commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network while the U.S. intelligence community tried to track the cellphones of the man and his captors, The Associated Press has learned. While the circumstances surrounding the abduction remain unclear, the previously unreported operation described by multiple American officials over the past month shed new light on early efforts to locate Mark R. Frerichs, a contractor from Illinois whose disappearance has been shrouded in mystery and whose case has been the subject of minimal public discussion by the U.S. government.

President Donald Trump likes to talk about the most, the best, the thing that nobody has ever seen. Now he is trying to make a virtue of a lower number, arguing that the efforts of his administration have warded off a far greater death toll than otherwise would have been seen. But the reported U.S. death toll on Wednesday crept past 60,000, a figure that Trump in recent weeks had suggested might be the total death count. He had cited the estimate as a sign of relative success after the White House previously warned the U.S. could suffer 100,000 to 240,000 deaths. Trump also has repeatedly used the outer band of any estimate — the potential that 2.2 million Americans could have died had there been no interventions — to try to make his case most powerfully. The U.S.

Your kids being home all day means an increase in screen time, especially with schools themselves transitioning to online education. It also means it’s that much harder to control how much time your children spend on devices and what type of content they are exposed to. Children will inevitably be more bored during this period, which can lead to additional curiosity and exploration. Internet consumption as a whole can be a highly addictive experience with ever-increasing time spent online. Your family is spending more time at home, but are they safe? How can you protect your family?  Netspark, a pioneer in the internet filtering industry for the last 14 years, provides a comprehensive filtering solution for computers, smartphones and tablets for both iOS, Android and Windows devices.

North Korea’s collapse has been predicted — wrongly— for decades. Some said it would happen after fighting ended in the Korean War in 1953. Others thought it would be during a 1990s famine or when national founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994. And when the death of his son, Kim Jong Il, thrust a little-known 20-something into power in 2011 some felt the end was near. It’s no surprise then that recent rumors that leader Kim Jong Un is seriously ill have led to similar hand-wringing. South Korea believes that Kim is alive and in control, and most analysts agree that even if he weren’t, Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, would likely take control, possibly with the help of select officials. Many experts say North Korea would weather the transition just as it has every other upheaval.

U.S. intelligence agencies are debunking a conspiracy theory, saying they have concluded that the new coronavirus was “not manmade or genetically modified” but say they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab. The statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, comes as President Donald Trump and his allies have touted the as-yet-unproven theory that an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak, was the source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

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There was chaos in Boro Park on Thursday afternoon, as the NYPD worked to disperse a crowd that gathered for a Levaya. An NYPD source tells YWN that police were told that a vehicle carrying an Aron (coffin) would be passing by a home on 43 Street near 13th Avenue to recite Tehillim and hold a short Levaya, and took action ahead of time. Not taking any chances, the top brass of the NYPD arrived – including the Chief of Patrol and at least one other 3 star chief as well as the Chiefs of Brooklyn South. The NYPD allowed family only to be on the block, but people did not listen to authorities. It prompted the police police to order the vehicle carrying the Aron to leave, prompting a wild scene that was caught on video and immediately went viral. One person was arrested and released.

American Airlines reported a staggering loss of $2.24 billion for the first quarter, when the coronavirus pandemic triggered a sharp drop in air travel. The airline said Thursday that revenue fell 19% while costs continued to rise even as the virus spread. The situation facing the airline industry has grown more dire since the first quarter ended. Air travel within the U.S. has plunged 95% from a year ago, judging by the number of people screened at the nation’s airports. “Never before has our airline, or our industry, faced such a significant challenge,” Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said. American’s massive loss compared with a profit of $185 million in the same quarter last year. It was American’s largest quarterly loss since merging with US Airways in 2013.

The NYPD is out in full force in Williamsburg on Thursday morning, and community activists are attributing it to the Levaya of the Tola’as Yaakov Rebbe earlier this week which turned into a national story. As YWN reported, Mayor Deblasio showed up at the Levaya and after witnessing all social distancing rules broken, he went on a Twitter rant. Deblasio came under fierce attack from news outlets and elected officials around the county for singling out the Jewish community by name. Deblasio tried explaining himself on Wednesday morning, but One NYPD Liaison, Moshe Weiser, who publicly spoke to and was quoted by dozens of media outlets on Wednesday, pointed fingers directly at the NYPD and claimed that police knew in advance of the Levaya plans.

New York City will shut down its subway system each day from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to increase cleaning of trains and stations during the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo anounced Thursday. Subway trains, which had been disinfected at least once every 72 hours, will be cleaned once every 24 hours starting May 6. Cuomo said buses, vans and other alternative transportation will be provided at no charge for essential workers to get around while the subway system is closed. Cuomo said the increased cleaning is a “daunting challenge,” but vital to keeping the system safe because it continues to be a place of high density. Images posted on social media in recent weeks have showed packed subway cars, leading police to increase social distancing enforcement.