TV News LIES

International aid initiative Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) has said one of its boats was attacked by a drone at Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Said port, the second such reported strike in two days.

The GSF, which is seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza using civilian boats, said in a statement early on Wednesday all passengers and crew were unharmed and that no structural damage had been caused.

The flotilla, which is carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg, posted a video on Instagram of Wednesday’s alleged attack, showing a luminous object hitting the boat and fire erupting immediately afterwards on board. It was not possible to immediately verify the video.

GSF reported the first attack on Tuesday saying one of its vessels had been struck by a drone in Tunisian waters. Tunisia’s interior ministry said reports of a drone hitting the boat on Tuesday had “no basis in truth”, and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself.

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Throughout the last two years, Gaza has faced widespread destruction as a result of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the region, including the collapse of its health care system. Al-Ahli Arab Hospital is the last-standing partly-functional hospital in Gaza City. According to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, infections are spreading rapidly at the hospital due to inadequate resources to provide comprehensive health care.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Bilal Irfan, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University of Michigan, said the study analyzed hospital specimens over 10 months, most of which were from trauma wound materials.

“A major takeaway is that two-thirds of the study sample found there to be multidrug-resistant bacteria in the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City,” Irfan said. “Another major finding is that about 76% of that sample did come from blast- or trauma-related injuries, which speaks to the volume of blast-related injuries that are coming in as a result of the Israeli military assault on Gaza.”

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Poland has shot down drones over its territory after repeated violations of its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine, prime minister Donald Tusk has said, marking the first time in the Ukraine war that Warsaw has engaged Russian assets in its airspace.

“An operation is underway related to the repeated violation of Polish airspace,” Tusk wrote on X early on Wednesday. “The military has used weaponry against the objects.” He said he was in “constant contact” with President Karol Nawrocki and the operational commander.

The announcement came after Poland closed airports and the army said it had launched an operation “to neutralise” objects that crossed over its border.

“At the request of the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, weapons have been used, and operations are underway to locate the downed targets,” Poland’s military command said in a post on X earlier.

It said the military operation was ongoing and urged people to stay at home, naming the regions of Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin as most at risk.

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More than 2,000 Hollywood figures, including well-known actors and filmmakers, have pledged to boycott the growing Israeli movie industry in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The open letter was published online on Tuesday in five languages by Filmmakers for Palestine – which describes itself as "a call by and for filmmakers and cinema workers to stand for an end to genocide, and for a free Palestine." The letter was signed by stars including Emma Stone, Gael Garcia Bernal, Alyssa Milano, Olivia Colman, Brian Cox and Ilana Glazer, among many others. Filmmakers who have signed include Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay and Yorgos Lanthimos.

The signatories are pledging to avoid working with Israeli film institutions that are "implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

"Despite operating in Israel's system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it, the vast majority of Israeli film production & distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people," the website's FAQ page states.

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A federal judge has ruled that Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook can stay in her post while suing Donald Trump over his unprecedented bid to fire her.

Cook is legally challenging the US president after he sought to remove her, citing unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, amid an extraordinary campaign by his administration to strengthen its control over the US central bank.

She asked US district judge Jia Cobb to impose a temporary restraining order against Trump’s attempt to “immediately” dismiss her, pending further litigation. The administration has argued that Trump is able to fire Fed governors “for cause” and appoint replacements.

Trump has spent months attacking the Fed, where most policymakers – including Cook – have so far defied his calls for interest rate cuts. He has spoken of rapidly building “a majority” on the central bank’s board, calling into question the future of its longstanding independence from political oversight.

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On a quiet street near the marsh in Charleston, South Carolina’s Rosemont neighborhood, Luvenia Brown watches the weather reports more than she used to. She’s lost lawn mowers, bikes and outdoor furniture to the rising waters that have repeatedly crept into her yard.

Brown’s home is elevated, so the water hasn’t reached the interior. Not yet. But she’s deeply worried about what the future will bring.

“If the water continues rising the way it is, I don’t want to be here,” said Brown, 58, who works as a medical driver. “I love my area. But I think my life is more important.”

Just a half mile to the south, a massive new development – expected to bring stores, offices and 4,000 homes – is springing up. Brown worries that all the new concrete and pavement will only make flooding where she lives worse.

Charleston is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities – and one of the most flood-prone. As climate change prompts sea levels to rise and storms to grow more intense, this historic city has become a warning bell for what’s to come along America’s coasts: Some neighborhoods will retreat and others will be protected, and still others – often lower-income communities – may be left behind.

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New Mexico will become the first state to offer free universal childcare, the governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week, an expansion of an existing program that has helped lift tens of thousands of people out of poverty.

Beginning 1 November, the state will guarantee no-cost childcare to all residents, regardless of their income level in what the governor’s office described as a “groundbreaking new initiative”.

“Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation, and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “By investing in universal child care, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”

In 2022, the state became the first to offer childcare at no cost to most families, making it free for those who earned up to 400% of the federal poverty level, which amounts to about $124,000 for a family of four. About half of the children in the state qualified.

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appointed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as new prime minister and tasked him with immediately trying to get the country’s fractious political parties to agree on a budget for one of the world’s biggest economies.

Lecornu, 39, was the youngest defense minister in French history and architect of a major military buildup through 2030, spurred by Russia’s war in Ukraine. A longtime Macron loyalist, Lecornu is now France’s fourth prime minister in barely a year.

A former conservative who joined Macron’s centrist movement in 2017, Lecornu has held posts in local governments, overseas territories and during Macron’s yellow vest “great debate,” when he helped manage mass anger with dialogue. He also offered talks on autonomy during unrest in Guadeloupe in 2021.

His rise reflects Macron’s instinct to reward loyalty, but also the need for continuity as repeated budget showdowns have toppled his predecessors and left France in drift.

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