TV News LIES

The closing ceremony on Sunday drew the curtain on a historic two-plus week stretch of Olympic competition.

And historic it was. The Summer Games made novel use of the country’s iconic venues (the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais and The Palace of Versailles to name just a few). Meanwhile, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who added four more medals to her overall total of 14, became the most decorated female Olympian, while Marchand showed the world he’s swimming’s next big thing. U.S. gymnasts, led by Simone Biles, got their redemption, and St. Lucia won its first ever medal — in the fastest track event no less.

More than 71,000 spectators packed into Stade de France, the country’s national stadium located north of Paris, for the closing bash for the first Olympics since COVID restrictions were completely lifted. The absence of any COVID protocols allowed athletes to enjoy the full energy of the crowd, but there were also infections.

The venue had transformed from a site of Olympic track and rugby events into a concert hall.

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The Biden administration unleashed a torrent of criticism against Israel’s polarizing finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, on Friday after he referred to cease-fire negotiations with Hamas as a “dangerous trap.”

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said a lengthy statement posted by Smotrich to the social platform X made “ridiculous charges” regarding his opposition to a cease-fire deal to end the fighting in Gaza.

“Some critics, like Mr. Smotrich, for example, have claimed that the hostage deal is a surrender to Hamas or that hostages should not be exchanged for prisoners. Mr. Smotrich essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all,” Kirby said.

An Israeli airstrike hit two schools in Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, Palestinian officials said, while the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas military compound embedded in the schools.

Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed Wednesday in an apparent assassination at his residence in Tehran, drawing reprisal pledges from the militant group and Iran and fueling deeper concern that Israel's war in Gaza could rapidly expand across the Middle East.

Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed after attending an inauguration ceremony for the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced.

Hamas and Iran immediately blamed Israel, which has pledged to take down Hamas leaders responsible for the Oct. 7 attack that left almost 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.

Speaking to the nation in Hebrew, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address Haniyeh's death but said, according to a translation: "We are not going to be silent. We'll make everyone pay the price, everyone that murders us, anyone that takes our children.''

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At least 30 people have been killed and over 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Deir-al Balah, central Gaza, where thousands were sheltering, Palestinian officials said.

The Israeli military said it had launched the strike in order to destroy a Hamas command and control center inside the compound.

Most of the victimFootage filmed by CNN inside the hospital morgue showed dead bodies on the floor and people coming in to identify their loved ones, with children among the deceased.

The emergency room is seen to be overwhelmed by casualties and has no more space for patients. One young man was seen receiving medical treatment on the floor.

Most of those brought to the hospital with injuries are children, including one young boy who was receiving treatment and soon after died with the word “unidentified” written on his stomach.

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