INTERNACIONAL
House Dem frontrunner’s connections to ‘Blind Sheikh’ terrorist trial resurface and draw GOP fire
Andy McCarthy: 9/11 was not a one-off
Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy, who led the prosecution against the Blind Sheikh, discusses the possibility of Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for terrorists.
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A trauma surgeon seen as the current frontrunner to succeed a retiring House Democrat was an acquaintance of and defense witness for the Egyptian-born cleric and convicted terrorist known as the «Blind Sheikh» in the seditious conspiracy trial that put the latter away for life.
Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman was one of several people convicted of seditious conspiracy in the aftermath of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Abdel-Rahman later died in prison at the federal detention center in Butner, North Carolina, in 2017.
Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy, now a plastic surgeon who runs his own «regenerative medicine» practice near Princeton, was one of the witnesses for the defense in Abdel-Rahman’s case and now faces questions about his judgment and past association with the sheikh, which his campaign told Fox News Digital amount to «guilt-by-association» shaming.
Hamawy is running to replace Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., in a crowded primary for the blue-favored district spanning Trenton through Somerville to the Plainfields that has not elected a Republican since 1994.
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Adam Hisham Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview in New York on April 24, 2024. (Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hamawy and Abdel-Rahman first met at a middle school forum in Matawan, New Jersey, in 1991, according to the former’s testimony in court, as he began accompanying the Blind Sheikh to mosques and even took a 13-hour road trip with him and others, including future FBI informant Emad Salem, from the cleric’s home mosque in Jersey City to an Islamic conference in Michigan.
In his testimony, Hamawy recounted being in a Michigan hotel room with Abdel-Rahman and Salem, where the latter was saying he was «bragging about his abilities» in bombmaking from his time in the Egyptian special forces.
Abdel-Rahman regularly verbalized envisioning the assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and spoke of jihad, according to court documents.
Abdel-Rahman’s mosque was also where several 1993 World Trade Center bombing suspects would meet, according to Front Page Magazine and the Washington Free Beacon.
Court records characterized the Jersey City mosque as a «jihad office,» according to reports, as Abdel-Rahman had also founded Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, a group considered a terrorist organization by European governments.
While he did not directly participate in the World Trade Center bombing, followers of Abdel-Rahman who frequented his mosque did, and the government later arrested him on charges of a plot to wage «urban terrorism against the United States» by targeting Mid-Atlantic landmarks such as the George Washington Bridge, the United Nations and part of Interstate 78.
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Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman during a press conference in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Najlah Feanny/Getty Images)
RNC spokesperson Kristen Cianci told Fox News Digital that Hamawy’s testimony is a «matter of record» and that his campaign can try to «sweep this under the rug but voters won’t ignore it.»
According to Front Page Magazine’s review of the thousands of pages, a federal prosecutor summarized Hamawy in part as someone who «didn’t want the defendant, Abdel-Rahman, to look bad,» and didn’t recall discussions about Mubarak until a transcript was shown to him.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy — who was formerly the Southern District of New York prosecutor credited with putting Abdel-Rahman away for life — said that while Hamawy was a witness for the terrorist, his testimony helped the government more than his acquaintance.
«As was uniformly the case with witnesses presented in the extensive defense case, his testimony, once cross-examination was over, did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof of a jihadist terrorism conspiracy against the United States than to help the accused,» McCarthy said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
McCarthy said the jury credited Salem’s recollection of their trip to Michigan, and that the evidence Abdel-Rahman called for Mubarak’s assassination had been so overwhelming, that the Blind Sheikh’s attorneys were reduced to «arguing, in essence, that Mubarak had it coming.»
«Not surprisingly, that’s not how the jury saw it.»
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Hamawy also recently appeared on far-left anti-Israel podcaster Hasan Piker’s program, where he advocated for a «healthcare, not bombs» platform that would «dismantle» the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon — which he monikered «The Department of War Crimes» — and instead divert funding to education and healthcare.
Through his campaign, Hamawy blasted the media for resurrecting his time with Abdel-Rahman and his witness testimony in the case, with his campaign characterizing the reports as an attempt by wealthy Republicans to shield President Donald Trump through the press from lawmakers who would hold his feet to the fire.
«It’s unsurprising that the RNC and Republican billionaire-backed outlets are trying to cast Dr. Adam Hamawy in a negative light: he’s Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,» Hamawy’s campaign told Fox News Digital on Monday when presented with the association with Abdel-Rahman and related reporting.
Hamawy’s campaign added that he used his medical background to treat victims of the ensuing 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center and said the doctor’s «patriotism and love of this country are at the core of his values.»
Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., and Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., leave a meeting about President Joe Biden’s candidacy at the Democratic National Committee on July 9, 2024. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
Instead, the campaign said, Republicans and other critics are using «bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks» on Muslim and Arab candidates.
«He was in the military at the time the events litigated in the trial took place, during the trial, and after the trial,» the campaign said, adding he performed his civic duty to testify truthfully — while noting that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., credits him with saving her life after her helicopter crashed during the Iraq War.
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In turn, Hamawy credited Duckworth with saving his life when he and a Gazan aid group were trapped by a closed Israeli border at Rafah that the senator pressed the Biden administration to act upon.
Voters will decide whether Hamawy’s role in the case reflects routine legal duty or a deeper question about his judgment as they choose among a crowded Democratic field.
new jersey, elections, trials, counter terrorism, islam, politics, midterm elections
INTERNACIONAL
Francia ordenó la evacuación de otras 4.000 personas por los incendios forestales en medio de una nueva ola de calor
Las autoridades francesas ordenaron este martes la evacuación de 4.000 personas adicionales en sitios turísticos de la costa atlántica, en el marco de lo que podría convertirse en la mayor evacuación en Francia. El avance del incendio forestal al oeste de Burdeos mantiene bajo amenaza los esfuerzos de los bomberos, que ven complicado el control de la situación debido al regreso de altas temperaturas que marcan un promedio de 30°C de máxima durante esta semana.
El fuego se reactivó cerca de Grand Crohot, una concurrida playa de la península de Lège-Cap-Ferret, según informaron fuentes locales. Una flota de 23 aviones y helicópteros, en aumento respecto a los 18 desplegados inicialmente, trabajó arrojando agua y retardante de fuego para frenar la propagación de las llamas.
“La situación sigue siendo complicada. Eso está claro. Todavía no hemos superado la crisis”, advirtió la prefecta de Gironda, Sophie Brocas. La funcionaria detalló que unos 60.000 residentes evacuados preventivamente de Le Haillan y de zonas de Mérignac y Eysines, en las afueras de Burdeos, podrían regresar durante la jornada. Aunque no se registraron incendios en estas áreas, se recomendó a la población mantener sus teléfonos encendidos y mochilas de emergencia listas.
Mientras miles de personas debieron abandonar los puntos turísticos costeros, quienes regresaban a sus hogares recibieron advertencias para permanecer en estado de alerta ante la fragilidad del control sobre el incendio.
En Francia y España, alrededor de 330.000 personas debieron dejar sus hogares y lugares de vacaciones ante los grandes incendios forestales. España enfrenta su cuarta ola de calor del verano, con varios focos aún activos, incluido el mayor incendio registrado en su historia. Las autoridades comenzaron a levantar órdenes de evacuación y confinamiento domiciliario en algunos sectores tras avances los logrados por los bomberos durante la noche.
El incendio de la Gironda destruyó una superficie equivalente a cuatro veces el tamaño de París y forzó la evacuación de 220.000 personas. El ministro del Interior, Laurent Núñez, calificó la operación como “muy probablemente” la mayor evacuación civil efectuada en el país fuera de un contexto bélico.
La orden de evacuación preventiva abarca campings, complejos vacacionales, residencias turísticas y parques de ocio en los alrededores de la localidad de Lacanau, según comunicaron las autoridades regionales de Gironda. El portavoz de la federación francesa de bomberos, Eric Brocardi, indicó a la cadena BFMTV: «Nos encontramos en un punto crítico. Seguiremos combatiendo este incendio a pesar del aumento previsto de las temperaturas“.
Mientras las llamas alcanzaban viviendas y las autoridades pedían a los turistas mantenerse alejados, algunos visitantes expresaron su intención de no cancelar sus vacaciones pese al riesgo. Un grupo familiar comentó al diario galo Le Parisien que decidió continuar con su viaje, valorado en 4.000 euros (4.558 dólares), mientras que otro grupo evaluaba si abandonar unas vacaciones de 650 euros (741 dólares) por persona.
En el momento de mayor intensidad, el incendio de la Gironda provocó una gigantesca nube de tormenta negra, electrificada e iluminada desde el interior, fenómeno identificado como nube pirocúmulonimbo, el primero de su tipo registrado en Francia. Esta formación desencadenó relámpagos, vientos huracanados y la aparición de nuevos focos fuera del frente inicial.
El servicio meteorológico nacional activó una alerta amarilla por calor para la Gironda, con temperaturas previstas entre 33 y 35 °C (91 y 95 °F) en el interior, a partir del mediodía del martes.
El Ministerio del Interior informó que, en lo que va del año, los incendios han quemado más de 1.160 kilómetros cuadrados (448 millas cuadradas) en Francia.
Según el servicio climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea, el viejo continente es actualmente el que experimenta el calentamiento más rápido del planeta, con registros que duplican el promedio mundial. Europa Occidental marcó el junio más caluroso de su historia, y el calor extremo junto a la sequía han favorecido la propagación e intensidad de los incendios en Francia y España.
(Con información de Associated Press)
wildfires
INTERNACIONAL
French man discovers 5 dead babies hidden in boxes in his home after argument with wife: prosecutors
American mother describes being trapped with children in France wildfires
Rebecca Papin, an American mother, details the terrifying experience of being trapped with her two young children amidst raging wildfires in Southwest France, which have already forced over 220,000 people to evacuate. Papin recounts the fire’s sudden onset and her family’s struggle for basic resources.
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A man in France discovered remains believed to belong to five newborns hidden inside cardboard boxes in his home after his partner gave birth at home and was taken to a hospital, according to prosecutors.
He became distressed after he found out about her pregnancy at a very late stage, despite her repeated denials, and began searching their home, prosecutors said. The couple already had two children, ages eight and nine.
The woman, 32, who was not identified, was allegedly arguing with her husband over what was in the boxes at their home in the town of Orange on Monday after she gave birth at home to a baby boy the day before.
She started complaining about abdominal pain during the argument on Monday. She was taken to a hospital and her husband stayed behind and discovered the dead babies hidden in the boxes.
NEWBORN VANISHED AFTER SECRET BIRTH, PARENTS ALLEGEDLY CLAIMED BABY ‘WAS A PRANK’: COPS
A man in France discovered five deceased babies inside cardboard boxes in his home after he and his wife had a fight. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
The man, also 32, then notified authorities through the hospital where the woman was being treated for pain.
«The husband stayed behind when she was taken to the hospital, and looked inside the cardboard boxes they had been arguing over – that’s when he found the five dead babies,» an investigating source said, according to the US Sun. «All the [fetuses] were decomposing, and had been around for quite a while.»
Police searched the couple’s home, and prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into suspected murder on Monday.
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Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into suspected murder on Monday. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
A forensic pathologist estimated, based on initial findings, that the bones and decomposing remains belonged to five newborns.
Authorities said the remains included bones believed to belong to four newborns and the decomposing body of a fifth. Autopsies and further laboratory testing were ordered.
The man told police he was unaware of his wife’s possible pregnancies.
The public prosecutor’s office urged child welfare services to assess the health of the couple’s eight and nine-year old children. It also issued a provisional placement order for the newborn baby, pending referral of the case to a children’s court judge.
The mother, who was still in the hospital on Tuesday, has not yet spoken to investigators.
The man told police he was unaware of his wife’s possible pregnancies. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
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A post-mortem examination has been ordered on the decomposing remains, and the bones will undergo anthropological analysis in a laboratory, according to prosecutors.
The couple had no history of problems and were described by a neighbor as «charming people,» according to French outlet AFP.
The neighbor, Florent Jean, told the outlet that the wife was a stay-at-home mother and the husband worked. Jean said the two were «normal people, really.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
france, world, family genres, pregnancy, police and law enforcement, crime world
INTERNACIONAL
Putin, Russia put on notice as Senate takes crucial step to grind down the Kremlin’s war machine
Capitol ceremony honors Lindsey Graham’s life and legacy
Chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram details the casket departure for Sen. Lindsey Graham at the United States Capitol following the memorial service. Pergram reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with lawmakers ahead of a scheduled Senate vote on Russia sanctions legislation negotiated by Graham.
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The Senate took its first major step in fulfilling one of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s biggest desires: levying bone-crushing sanctions against Russia.
A bipartisan swell carried the sanctions package through its first hurdle on an 86-12 vote, which has gone through several iterations in the time since it was first formulated by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. He explained that at its core, the package was designed to stop purchases of Russian oil and gas that was «fueling Putin’s war machine.»
«Ukraine’s fight is our fight,» Blumenthal said. «Nobody believed that more deeply and passionately than Lindsey Graham. He lived it, and this vote is a step forward.»
LINDSEY GRAHAM’S FINAL MISSION NEARS FINISH LINE AS WORLD LEADERS GATHER TO HONOR HIM
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Policy on the Promotion of the Russian Language and the Languages of the Peoples of Russia via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 2, 2026. (Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
The colossal vote also marks a huge victory on the floor for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who over the summer has managed to pass or advance two major bills with a massive wave of bipartisan support on the Senate floor, even during starkly partisan times in upper chamber.
And the package that survived Tuesday night, just hours after lawmakers, world leaders and family said their last Washington, D.C., goodbyes to the longtime senator has once again been revamped.
A bipartisan group led by Blumenthal and Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who picked up her older brother’s sanctions crusade, announced that a deal had been reached to rename the package in honor of the late lawmaker, and tack on additional sanctions against Iran.
Lawmakers argue that the best way to remember Graham, and cement his legacy into law, is to pass the newly-minted Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, particularly as a symbol of his ferocious support for Ukraine.
LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER CARRIES ON LATE SENATOR’S WORK, BECOMING SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST FEMALE SENATOR
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital that «literally the first conversation I ever had with Lindsey Graham was about Russia sanctions.»
«I know he was very passionate about this and I know that sanctions are one of the best tools we have for bringing wars to an end without having to commit any of our military,» Husted said.
The bill, as Blumenthal noted, still focuses on kneecapping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort by targeting Moscow’s top financial gainer: oil and gas sales.
BRINGING THE WAR TO PUTIN’S FRONT DOOR: IS UKRAINE’S ENERGY STRIKE STRATEGY WORKING?
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a memorial service for former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, in Washington. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
But it also extends sanction authority against Iran that hampers funding to the country’s weapons and energy sectors as the administration and negotiators abroad seek to find a long-lasting peace agreement for the war in the Middle East.
Also, still in the legislation are targeted sanctions against Putin, Russian officials and Russian military leaders, up to 500% tariffs on Russian imports, tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian energy, like China and India.
It also gives President Donald Trump flexibility for when to turn off some aspects of the sanctions, among others.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., one of the original backers of the sanctions package, is already putting pressure on the House to make a move on the legislation. The lower chamber left until the end of August last week.
«I am hopeful that when we get this across the finish line, which is going to happen in a big way, that the House will come back immediately and pass this legislation,» Britt said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a close ally of Graham’s, made the journey to Washington to attend his funeral, and meet with President Donald Trump and lawmakers in the process to push the sanctions bill and a deal for more anti-ballistic defenses in the war against Russia.
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Zelenskyy said on X that, «First and foremost, I offered President Trump our condolences on the passing of Lindsey Graham. He was a true friend of Ukraine.»
«The President and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,» Zelenskyy said. «We also spoke about diplomacy – it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated.»
And Zelenskyy, after his closed-door meeting with lawmakers, went to the viewing gallery in the Senate to watch vote, which after many stops and starts, finally showed signs of progress.
politics, sanctions, senate elections, foreign affairs, lindsey graham
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