Headlines for May 03, 2024

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Israel Continues Air Assault on Rafah, Killing Young Children, Ahead of Its Planned Ground Invasion

May 03, 2024

Israel has killed at least 26 people in Gaza over the past day. An airstrike on a home in Rafah killed at least six Palestinians, four of them children. This is Sana Z'oroub, the children's aunt.

Sana Z'oroub: "Three missiles hit the innocent children. A mother and two girls were sleeping in her lap. They were sleeping in her lap, the two girls. Do you know what it means to be sleeping in their mother's lap? They are in pieces. They were in grade one and grade six, Bisan and Basmala. Bisan and Basmala were sleeping in their mother's lap. They are in pieces. They slept in their mother's lap, and now they are in pieces. How did the Israelis benefit from this? What did they benefit from killing the innocent children?"

Israel has refused to retreat on its expected ground invasion of Rafah despite warnings it would be absolutely catastrophic.

Palestinian Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh Dies in Israeli Prison; Released Detainee Describes Horror of Arrest

May 03, 2024

In other news from Gaza, Israeli authorities confirmed a prominent Palestinian doctor died in an Israeli prison in what Palestinian authorities called an "assassination." Adnan Al-Bursh, a surgeon and the head of orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital, was detained by Israel over four months ago while he had been working at Al-Awda Hospital in north Gaza. U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said in response to Al-Bursh's death, "How many more lives will have to be taken before U.N. member states … act to protect the Palestinians?"

On Thursday, Israeli prison authorities released 64 Palestinians they detained in Gaza. One of the detainees was returned dead, and another in critical condition. This is Jamal Owiesi, one of the released prisoners, describing his arrest.

Jamal Owiesi: "I took my children, and we were leaving the area, and we were going toward a safer place, such as Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, Mawasi, Rafah. I wanted them to be in a safe place, but they left without me. The Israeli soldiers caught me, and they put me in a house. They asked me to take off all my clothes, and I stayed in my underwear. … Then they brought a truck and put us inside the truck. They started to beat us. They were beating me in my face. We reached the detention area hoping they would stop beating, but they didn't."

Student Protest Movement for Gaza Gains Steam Despite Police Crackdown, Biden's Dismissal as "Chaos"

May 03, 2024

As the genocide in Gaza continues, the student protest movement here in the U.S. keeps growing. The Associated Press reports nearly 2,200 people have now been arrested nationwide across college and university campuses. President Biden addressed the protests on Thursday.

President Joe Biden: "Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education. Look, it's basically a matter of fairness. It's a matter of what's right. There's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos."

Biden also said the historic student uprising will not affect U.S. policy in the Middle East.

On Thursday, police arrested students at Portland State University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and SUNY's Purchase and New Paltz campuses. Meanwhile, new solidarity encampments went up in recent days at the University of Washington and the University of Toronto, among others.

Video of Dartmouth College history professor Annelise Orleck being violently arrested on Wednesday night has prompted outrage. Orleck, who is also chair of Jewish studies at Dartmouth, was trying to protect students along with other faculty members as they were attacked by police. Police made over 90 arrests that night.

Here in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office says it is investigating after a police officer fired a gunshot on the Columbia campus while the NYPD was forcing out protesters on Tuesday. No one was harmed in the shooting.

Students at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the University of Minnesota have voluntarily disassembled their encampments after school leadership agreed to some of their demands and to continue conversations with the protesters.

French Students Escalate Their Gaza Solidarity Protest

May 03, 2024

International solidarity encampments are also spreading, including in Italy, Australia, Mexico and Tunisia. In France, students at the prestigious Sciences Po escalated their protest after the school rejected demands to review its relationship with Israel. Several students announced they are starting a hunger strike.

Hicham: "The student will continue her hunger strike until the following demand is met by Sciences Po: the inscription on its agenda and the holding of a vote without anonymity at the council of the institute to investigate the ties with Israeli universities who are contributing to the genocide."

Pentagon Concedes U.S. Drone Strike in Syria Killed Civilian Farmer

May 03, 2024

The Pentagon has acknowledged that a U.S. drone strike in Syria, which was initially reported to have successfully targeted an al-Qaeda senior leader, in fact killed a farmer. The strike took place last May, killing Lutfi Hasan Masto, a 56-year-old farmer who raised sheep, chickens and cattle. After the attack, Masto's family and neighbors said he had no connections to al-Qaeda or any other armed groups.

U.S. Accuses Russia of Using Chemical Weapons in Ukraine, Imposes New Sanctions

May 03, 2024

Russian armed forces may have executed Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to surrender or had already surrendered, which could amount to war crimes. That's according to a new report published by Human Rights Watch, which investigated incidents of what it described as "apparent summary executions" of at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers between December 2023 and February of this year.

In related news, the Biden administration has imposed new sanctions against hundreds of individuals and firms linked to Russia's war on Ukraine, after accusing Moscow of illegally deploying chemical weapons on Ukrainian fighters. The sanctions include 20 firms based in China and Hong Kong.

Abu Ghraib Survivors Case Against U.S. Military Contractor Ends in Mistrial

May 03, 2024

In Virginia, the historic case against U.S. military contractor CACI brought by three Iraqi survivors of torture at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has ended in mistrial after the jury on Thursday failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The lawsuit against CACI was first filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2008. Plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Asa'ad Zuba'e and Salah Al-Ejaili had accused CACI of conspiring to commit war crimes at Abu Ghraib. The three were subjected to sexual abuse and other forms of torture by interrogators.

Biden Admin Expands Affordable Care Act to Cover DACA Recipients

May 03, 2024

The Biden administration announced a new rule expanding access to the Affordable Care Act for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as DREAMers. The measure will allow recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to enroll in healthcare plans under Obamacare. Some 100,000 immigrants are expected to enroll.

Senate Panel Blasts Deception, Greenwashing by Fossil Fuel Industry

May 03, 2024

The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing this week on the fossil fuel industry's efforts to deceive the public about its role in fueling the climate crisis. Wednesday's hearing focused on what lawmakers identified as the "fourth phase" in Big Oil's climate deception, in which companies launched a widespread greenwashing campaign as it carried out business as usual. This is Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: "Phase four, put simply, is climate denial lite, a green-leaning cover for the industry's continued covert operation through dark money, phony front groups, false economics and relentless exertion of political influence to block meaningful climate safety progress."

Federal Court Dismisses Historic Youth Climate Case Against U.S. Government

May 03, 2024

A federal court of appeals has sided with the Justice Department and dismissed Juliana v. United States, a historic youth climate lawsuit against the U.S. government. The decision was made by a panel of three Trump-appointed judges from the 9th Circuit. The group who brought the case, Our Children's Trust, is calling on the full court to reconsider the ruling and on the American public to contact the Biden administration to demand it stop persecuting climate activism. Kelsey Juliana, the named plaintiff in the case, spoke to Democracy Now! in 2019.

Kelsey Juliana: "So we're looking at the ways that the federal government has very knowingly and willfully funded this climate crisis. And the way that they are continuing to stall and delay our climate case shows you exactly their priorities, their priorities of their own self-interests and continuing this greedy fossil fuel economy rather than ensuring the constitutional rights of life, liberty and property to all citizens, especially young."

U.K. Starts Rounding Up Asylum Seekers to Be Deported to Rwanda

May 03, 2024

The U.K. has started rounding up and detaining asylum seekers as part of its highly contested plan to deport migrants to Rwanda. Rights groups are hoping legal challenges can stop the deportation flights, which are expected to start as early as July. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government overrode a Supreme Court ruling in order to ram through the policy.

On Thursday, London police arrested dozens of protesters who laid down on the road and slashed tires to stop a bus from carrying detainees to a barge that has been converted into a migrant prison. Authorities were forced to postpone the planned transfer of asylum seekers.

Federal Court Rejects Louisiana Voting Map That Created New Majority-Black District

May 03, 2024

Two Trump-appointed federal judges rejected a new Louisiana congressional map which created a second majority-Black district. The map was drawn up after another federal judge ruled a previous voting map, which had just one Black-majority district, violated the Voting Rights Act. Roughly one-third of Louisiana's population is Black. It remains unclear which map Louisiana will be using in November as the case is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Democrat Timothy Kennedy Wins NY Special Election for U.S. House Seat

May 03, 2024

In other election news, New York Democratic state Senator Timothy Kennedy easily won a special election Tuesday for the New York congressional seat vacated in February by Brian Higgins, another Democrat. House Republicans hold 217 seats, while Democrats have 213 seats, with five current vacancies.

Manhattan DA Will Retry Harvey Weinstein After Court Overturned Rape Conviction

May 03, 2024

In New York, prosecutors told a judge at the Manhattan Criminal Court they will retry Harvey Weinstein after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 rape conviction last week. The new trial is expected sometime after Labor Day.

UNESCO Awards World Press Freedom Prize to Gaza Journalists

May 03, 2024

Today marks World Press Freedom Day. UNESCO awarded its World Press Freedom Prize to all Palestinian journalists covering Israel's war on Gaza. During a ceremony in Chile, the jury's chairperson Mauricio Weibel said, "As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression." Palestinian authorities say over 140 journalists and media workers, the vast majority of them Palestinian, have been killed since October 7.

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