Free Republic

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor David Hadari submitted a “routine” proposal last week regarding details of a plan to market of 900 new housing units in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem—and immediately made headlines over “building a settlement in East Jerusalem.” Hadari joked about the situation in a post to Facebook on Sunday. “I forgot one thing… that American Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting,” he wrote. …

In the highest-reaching allegations so far in the City Hall "pay-to-play" scandal, a former deputy mayor in the Hahn administration said he indulged in sexual services paid for by a city commissioner who prosecutors said was seeking a contract for a client, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday. The salacious revelations are among the most direct allegations in the nearly three-year investigation of contracting practices during the administration of former Mayor James Hahn. According to some 1,200 pages of transcripts released Tuesday, former Deputy Mayor Troy Edwards told a grand jury that Leland Wong, then a member of the powerful...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The deputy mayor of Baghdad was killed in a drive-by shooting Sunday night, officials in the U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq (news - web sites) said Tuesday. They said Faris al-Assam was near his home in the capital when the killers struck. His death was a further setback to the coalition, which saw a rocket attack on its main compound Sunday and four suicide bombings Monday which killed 35 people and wounded 230. "Faris was absolutely committed to the welfare of the citizens of Baghdad and the future of the city," said Hank Bassford, the Baghdad region coordinator...