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20 Bomb Threats Targeting Jewish Schools, Centers Today Are Coordinated Attack Says Federal Law Enforcement

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  • JCCs and Schools in 12 States Attacked Just Today

  • 500 Headstones Overturned at a Jewish Cemetery on Saturday 

  • “A member of my family evacuated from a JCC today. He is three years old.”

While it’s just mid-afternoon 20 Jewish schools and community centers across the nation have received bomb threats from both inside and outside the U.S. Federal law enforcement says the attacks are “coordinated.” 

Today marks at least the fifth day this year that terror attacks targeting mostly Jewish children, and elderly people, have occurred. Additionally, at least two Jewish cemeteries this month have been attacked, with hundreds of of gravestones being overturned. On Saturday, a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia suffered a massive attack. Originally reported as 100 headstones, a new report says more than 500 headstones were overturned. 

Today, organizations in at least 11 states – Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to the JCC Association of North America – received bomb threats, but minutes ago NBC News’ Peter Alexander posted a list that also includes Rhode Island, bringing the total to 12 states:

“The calls range from individuals phoning in bomb threats to “robo calls,” which are either machine-generated voice threats or recordings,” CBS News reports, calling it “a nationwide investigation.”

The FBI is also examining whether hacked communication devices were used. Whoever is behind the calls may have hacked into other people’s phones, communication devices, and/or email addresses and is using those means to make the threats.”

In Scarsdale, New York, 100 children had to be evacuated earlier today:

Today’s attacks bring the total since Trump became President to at least 89 attacks against schools and community centers.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer today took the extraordinary step of denouncing the recent attacks.

“The president continues to be deeply disappointed and concerned into the reports of further vandalism at Jewish cemeteries,” Spicer said. “The president continues to condemn these and other forms of anti-Semitic and hateful acts.”

Some responses via Twitter:

 

 

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News

Mystery Grand Jury Witness in Trump Hush Money Probe Is Former ‘Enquirer’ Publisher and Trump Ally

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Avid followers of the Manhattan District Attorney’s moves noted the grand jury had been called into service for Monday, and soon news leaked that yet another witness would be testifying in the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Monday afternoon, NBC News’ Garrett Haake reported live on MSNBC that the mystery witness was David Pecker, the former tabloid publisher of the “National Enquirer,” who reportedly had been looking for stories in 2016 to protect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Haake notes Monday was Pecker’s second appearance before the grand jury in the hush money case.

The New York Times also reported David Pecker as the grand jury witness, calling Pecker “a key player in the hush-money matter. He and the tabloid’s top editor helped broker the deal between the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time.”

READ MORE: ‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

“While the focus of Mr. Pecker’s testimony is unclear, he could provide valuable information for prosecutors. A longtime ally of Mr. Trump, he agreed to keep an eye out for potentially damaging stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign,” The Times reports. “For a brief time in October 2016, Ms. Daniels appeared to have just that kind of story. Her agent and lawyer discussed the possibility of selling exclusive rights to her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump to The National Enquirer, which would then promise to never publish it, a practice known as ‘catch and kill.'”

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman weighed in, noting, “nothing about that decision [to have Pecker testify] suggests any change of heart on Bragg’s part to indict Trump.”

Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, an NYU professor of law, notes that Pecker’s “testimony can show the [hush money] scheme was designed to affect outcome of election.”

“He reportedly communicated directly with Trump on payment,” Goodman adds.

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News

‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

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First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, speaking Monday afternoon at a National League of Cities conference, told attendees, “Our children deserve better,” as she broke the news of the Nashville school mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School where three children and three adults were shot dead.

“You know,” Dr. Biden, herself an educator and clearly pained by the news, began her remarks by saying, “I hate to say what I’m gonna say next because you know you’re so enthusiastic and with so much energy and hope and I feel it.”

“But while you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee, a school shooting and I am truly without words and our children deserve better, and we stand – all of us – we stand with Nashville in prayer.”

READ MORE: New WSJ Poll Is Devastating for DeSantis and His ‘Anti-Woke’ Policies

The First Lady, a former public high school English teacher and currently a professor of English at a community college, was speaking at the organization’s Congressional City Conference.

Watch Dr. Biden below or at this link.

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BREAKING NEWS

Death Toll Rises to Six as Three Children and Three Adults Declared Dead In Covenant School Mass Shooting (Streaming Video)

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Six people have now died after a shooter shot and killed three young children and three adults at The Covenant Presbyterian School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter was a 28-year old woman who had two assault rifles and a handgun.

WSMV announced the rise in deaths on-air, noting that the shooter is also dead. A police spokesperson later increased the announced death toll from five to six. Including the shooter the death toll is seven.

Live streaming video via CBS News below.

This article has been updated with additional video.

1:56 PM ET: Updated to change age of shooter based on new reporting from WSMV.

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