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Decline in Birth Rates and its Effect on the Economy

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Decline in Birth Rates and its Effect on the Economy

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Since 2020, the pandemic's long-term effects have started taking shape and are leaving people to wonder what the outcomes could mean for our future; birth rates happen to be one of them. Birth rates in the US have been continuing to drop since the Pandemic with Q1 of 2023 having a 1% decrease than Q1 of last year. This may not seem like a lot percentage-wise, but when comparing specific numbers, this is almost a 10,000-baby difference. In fact, during covid, there was a 4% decrease in birth rates. So, what does this mean exactly? Well, if birth rates continue to fall, then there will be a smaller population which can result in less tax revenue. According to CNBC, this means that programs such as Social Security and Medicare may experience reduced funding because of this. Obviously, this is bad from an economic standpoint, especially during a time when Social Security is important to the safety of our country.

Sources:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/there-was-never-a-covid-baby-boom-and-the-baby-bust-is-continuing-in-2023#:~:text=We%20had%203.66%20million%2C%20which,first%20quarter%20of%20last%20year.
https://www.capita.org/capita-ideas/2021/5/26/deflecting-americas-birth-rate-asteroid
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/12/immigration-reform-could-be-the-answer-to-the-falling-us-birth-rate.html

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As the U.S. birth rate falls, immigration reform may be ‘the answer hiding in plain sight,’ analyst says

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Immigration policy reform could be the answer to falling birth rates in the U.S. and boost federal tax revenue, some experts say.

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On Saturday, October 7, 2023, a terrorist group called the Hamas launched over 5,000 rockets in a span of 20 minutes in Israelian territory. Thousands are dead, injured, missing, or taken hostage. The death toll is increasing significantly as more time passes by.

This conflict did not build up over a few years. It began a few thousand years ago, with the development of the religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions fought over the holy land, Jerusalem.

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-news-hamas-war-10-13-23/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/12/1204881032/hamas-israel-attack-palestinians#:~:text=In%20an%20interview%20with%20NPR,blockade%20on%20the%20Gaza%20Strip.%22
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/08/israel-hamas-gaza-palestinian-territories
AP World History Textbook

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By Kathleen Magramo, Adam Renton, Christian Edwards, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Alisha Ebrahimji, Elise Hammond, Kaanita Iyer, Zoe Sottile and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 7:44 a.m. ET, October 16, 2023

What we covered here

Israel's military has warned 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs Israel is set to ramp up its retaliatory offensive against Hamas following the group's October 7 terror attacks that killed 1,300 people.

Israel's evacuation order prompted tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in Gaza Friday, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is deepening with warnings people are at risk of starvation. At least 1,900 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

President Joe Biden says the US is "working like hell" to get Americans missing from Israel back to the United States. The first charter that the US State Department organized to get its citizens out of Israel has arrived in Athens, Greece, an official said, and more flights are planned for the coming days.

Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza.

1:07 a.m. ET, October 14, 2023

President Joe Biden spent about 45 minutes Friday speaking to family members of missing Americans in Israel, according to the father of missing American Sagui Dekel-Chen.

"As an American citizen, as an Israeli citizen, as someone whose beloved son, we are sure is being held alive, dead, wounded, we don't know, I could not possibly ask for more than President Biden expressed about the United States' commitment to getting these people back," Jonathan Dekel-Chen told CNN's Abby Phillip.

Dekel-Chen said it wasn't an easy conversation, but that the president made it clear that he and the administration are in it for the "long haul."

"As crazy as this must sound, at that moment, as proud as I am to be an Israeli I was no less proud to be an American as a result of that phone call," he said. "And honestly most of the time he was listening to people's stories and their desires for his action, and his answers were inspiring."

Although the president could not give much information, according to Dekel-Chen, the president's "willingness to listen" was "extraordinary."

Dekel-Chen's son, Sagui has been missing since Saturday when his kibbutz was invaded.

Some context: Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, kidnapped a number of people, including both civilians and soldiers, during its October 7 attack on Israel. It's unclear how many people are being held hostage; Israeli authorities have said as many as 150 people may have been kidnapped. The IDF said Friday that it had notified 120 families of those taken hostage.

The Israeli military says it has struck a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon after one of its drones was fired on.

The move came in response to "the infiltration of unidentified aerial objects into Israel and fire on an IDF UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle]," the Israeli military said in a statement Saturday morning local time, adding that it intercepted both the aerial objects and the fire.

A CNN team on the ground in southern Lebanon heard two loud explosions in the early hours of Saturday.

In an earlier statement, the Israeli military said the "infiltration of an unidentified object" took place near the city of Shfar'am in northern Israel.

Some Palestinian-Americans have received their first set of instructions that family members stuck in Gaza may be able to evacuate into Egypt on Saturday afternoon, according to emails shared with CNN.

The US State Department's Consular Affairs Crisis Management System (CACMS) told family members that on Saturday the Rafah crossing "may be open."

"We understand the security situation is difficult, but if you wish to depart Gaza you may want to take advantage of this opportunity," the CACMS email said.

A State Department spokesperson told CNN they "are actively discussing this with our Israeli and Egyptian counterparts."

"We support safe passage for civilians," they said. "We are working with our Israeli and Egyptian partners to establish a safe humanitarian corridor both for Gazans trying to flee this war and to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those in need within the territory."

Anas Alfarra, a Lawful Permanent Resident of the US living in the San Francisco area who is trying to get family members out of Gaza, says the email falls short of what the US Embassy needs to be doing.

"Two 'mays' and a 'wish' in a situation that warrants much more," Alfarra told CNN.

Mai Abushaaban, a 22-year-old from Houston who also received the email, has been desperately trying to evacuate her mother and sister from Gaza this week.

"I've had to put a lot of pressure on the embassy," Abushaaban said. "It feels almost as though we were forgotten, I personally feel like we're second-class citizens."

This comes after the United States has continued to press the Egyptian and Israeli governments on "the importance of the Rafah crossing being open for American citizens and foreign nationals of other countries who want to leave and have the right to leave to be able to do so," a senior State Department official said Friday.

US officials have been engaged in discussions for days to try to secure a humanitarian corridor that would allow Americans and other civilians to safely leave Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli military incursion.

The United Nations on Thursday said it was informed by the Israeli military that "the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours," but IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN Friday that any deadline "may slip."

The State Department official told the press traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US' focus has been "on American citizens, but other countries you could presume are engaged in trying to get their foreign nationals out as well."

There are an estimated 500-600 Palestinian-Americans in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of people left their homes in Gaza on Friday after Israel's military warned over one million people living north of Wadi Gaza to move south, according to a statement by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday.

Prior to the warning, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said it had distributed food to 135,000 people in shelters across Gaza on Friday, but warned "humanitarian supplies are running low."

OCHA added that most people in Gaza now have no access to water.

"As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases," it said.

As Israel tightens its chokehold in Gaza, a humanitarian crisis in the territory is rapidly spiraling amid warnings that people are at risk of starvation.

It comes as Israel has ordered more than a million people in Gaza to evacuate southward ahead of a potential Israeli ground operation, according to the United Nations. Many people in the enclave left their homes on Friday.

The Gaza Strip is one of most densely populated places on earth, with some 2 million people crammed in 140-square-mile territory.
Here's where things stand:

Offensive action from Israel: In addition to continued airstrikes, Israeli troops have carried out local raids over the past day in the Gaza Strip, searching for hostages and collecting evidence to find people taken by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces said. Meanwhile, Israel has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along the Gaza border for a potential full ground operation. Israel has also been accused by the Palestinian Ministry of Health of the "targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression."

Humanitarian concerns: The UN said the calls for the evacuation of 1.1 million people in Gaza are "impossible" and has urged the Israeli military to withdraw, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general. Dujarric said such a mass evacuation would have "devastating humanitarian consequences." Israel has blocked food, water and fuel from coming in leading to "catastrophic" conditions, the Palestinian Health Ministry warned.

What Hamas is saying: A senior Hamas official said Friday that the current situation in Gaza represents "an extraordinarily audacious and brutal endeavor to forcibly remove the Palestinian indigenous people from their land." The official called Israel's actions in Gaza "inhumane" and "barbaric," adding that Hamas "will not surrender our legitimate fight for freedom and self-determination."

International input: The White House says national security officials held calls with United Nations officials on Thursday and Friday about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but declined to offer details about progress on getting foreign nationals out of the area. Vassily Nebenzia, the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, is circulating a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a ceasefire in the "Israel-Gaza" war. Nebenzia called for de-escalation in the conflict and said the resolution received a mixed reaction from the other 14 member countries. Hamas, the militant Islamic group that governs Gaza, said in a statement Saturday morning (local time) that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.

Attacks in Lebanon: Israel is conducting drone attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. It comes after the Israeli military shelled southern Lebanon in response to an explosion at a security fence near the Lebanese-Israeli border earlier Friday, the IDF said. There are rising fears of the Lebanon-based Shia militant faction Hezbollah entering the conflict.

Concerns about a wider regional conflict: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country is "extremely concerned" about the conflict in Israel spreading and that it is working to de-escalate the situation. Of Israel's immediate neighbors, it is only at peace with Jordan and Egypt, and is officially in a state of war with Lebanon and Syria. Israel has said it is ready in case there are attacks from those two countries.

Sign up for CNN's Meanwhile in the Middle East, a three-times-a-week newsletter that explores the region's biggest stories.

Hamas, the militant Islamic group that governs Gaza, said in a statement Saturday morning (local time) that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.

"[We] appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin's position regarding the ongoing Zionist aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, the cutting of relief supplies, and the targeting of safe civilians there," the statement read.

What Putin has said: On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged both sides in the fighting between Israel and Hamas to "minimize or reduce to zero" civilian casualties, and the foreign ministry in Moscow made similar calls for calm on Friday.

His comments come as Russia continues a ruthless war campaign against Ukraine and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. That case includes, among other things, allegations of targeting civilians.

In addition to Putin's comments, the Russian envoy to the UN circulated a resolution calling for a ceasefire Friday.

Remember: Israel has ordered a " complete siege" on the crowded Gaza strip - including halting supplies of electricity, food, water, and fuel - while also bombarding the densely populated territory in retaliation for Hamas' devastating October 7 terror attacks. At least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed by near-constant shelling in Gaza, according to the health ministry, including journalists, medics and other civilians. The dead include 614 children and 370 women, says the Palestinian health ministry.

The number of Ukrainian nationals killed in Hamas' attack on Israel over the weekend has risen to 11, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

Nikolenko also said there are still nine Ukrainian citizens missing.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health accused Israeli forces of the "targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression."

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. The IDF told CNN it will look into these allegations.

At least 15 health facilities were damaged and 23 ambulances were destroyed in airstrikes Friday, according to the Palestinian ministry.

A dramatic video posted on the ministry in Gaza's Facebook page captured the moment an ambulance was rocked by an explosion as it attempted to flee a chaotic scene.

In the video, explosions are heard going off when the person recording jumps into an ambulance. Several people can be seen inside the ambulance, including a woman on a stretcher and a young girl by her side.

An explosion rocks the ambulance carrying the child and woman. The young girl screams in panic as another explosion goes off.

It is not clear what happened to the woman and child. The exact source and cause of the explosion was unclear.

"The Israeli violations against medical personnel, health institutions, and ambulance units are a blatant attack on the laws, conventions, and international norms that stipulate the protection of medical personnel and their facilities during times of conflicts and wars," the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Friday in a statement.

The ministry also said that "thousands of displaced citizens are sleeping in hospital courtyards, facing the immense number of wounded individuals who are congesting the hospital corridors, putting immense pressure on the fragile healthcare system."

The ministry went on to call for "immediate action to open a secure passage to ensure the arrival of medical supplies, fuel, delegations, ambulance vehicles, and allow the departure of hundreds of wounded and patients before it is too late."

The ministry also accused Israeli forces of targeting people in Gaza as they were trying to evacuate their homes.

"The Israeli occupation deceived the citizens and forced them into forced displacement, then multiplied its crimes by targeting them this afternoon," the health ministry said.
"The world witnessed that all the victims of this targeting are entire families, including unborn children. Three ambulances were targeted, and 10 of their crews were injured during the evacuation of the wounded."

What we covered here

Israel's military has warned 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs Israel is set to ramp up its retaliatory offensive against Hamas following the group's October 7 terror attacks that killed 1,300 people.

Israel's evacuation order prompted tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in Gaza Friday, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is deepening with warnings people are at risk of starvation. At least 1,900 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

President Joe Biden says the US is "working like hell" to get Americans missing from Israel back to the United States. The first charter that the US State Department organized to get its citizens out of Israel has arrived in Athens, Greece, an official said, and more flights are planned for the coming days.

Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza.

1:07 a.m. ET, October 14, 2023

President Joe Biden spent about 45 minutes Friday speaking to family members of missing Americans in Israel, according to the father of missing American Sagui Dekel-Chen.

"As an American citizen, as an Israeli citizen, as someone whose beloved son, we are sure is being held alive, dead, wounded, we don't know, I could not possibly ask for more than President Biden expressed about the United States' commitment to getting these people back," Jonathan Dekel-Chen told CNN's Abby Phillip.

Dekel-Chen said it wasn't an easy conversation, but that the president made it clear that he and the administration are in it for the "long haul."

"As crazy as this must sound, at that moment, as proud as I am to be an Israeli I was no less proud to be an American as a result of that phone call," he said. "And honestly most of the time he was listening to people's stories and their desires for his action, and his answers were inspiring."

Although the president could not give much information, according to Dekel-Chen, the president's "willingness to listen" was "extraordinary."

Dekel-Chen's son, Sagui has been missing since Saturday when his kibbutz was invaded.

Some context: Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, kidnapped a number of people, including both civilians and soldiers, during its October 7 attack on Israel. It's unclear how many people are being held hostage; Israeli authorities have said as many as 150 people may have been kidnapped. The IDF said Friday that it had notified 120 families of those taken hostage.

The Israeli military says it has struck a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon after one of its drones was fired on.

The move came in response to "the infiltration of unidentified aerial objects into Israel and fire on an IDF UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle]," the Israeli military said in a statement Saturday morning local time, adding that it intercepted both the aerial objects and the fire.

A CNN team on the ground in southern Lebanon heard two loud explosions in the early hours of Saturday.

In an earlier statement, the Israeli military said the "infiltration of an unidentified object" took place near the city of Shfar'am in northern Israel.

Some Palestinian-Americans have received their first set of instructions that family members stuck in Gaza may be able to evacuate into Egypt on Saturday afternoon, according to emails shared with CNN.

The US State Department's Consular Affairs Crisis Management System (CACMS) told family members that on Saturday the Rafah crossing "may be open."

"We understand the security situation is difficult, but if you wish to depart Gaza you may want to take advantage of this opportunity," the CACMS email said.

A State Department spokesperson told CNN they "are actively discussing this with our Israeli and Egyptian counterparts."

"We support safe passage for civilians," they said. "We are working with our Israeli and Egyptian partners to establish a safe humanitarian corridor both for Gazans trying to flee this war and to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those in need within the territory."

Anas Alfarra, a Lawful Permanent Resident of the US living in the San Francisco area who is trying to get family members out of Gaza, says the email falls short of what the US Embassy needs to be doing.

"Two 'mays' and a 'wish' in a situation that warrants much more," Alfarra told CNN.

Mai Abushaaban, a 22-year-old from Houston who also received the email, has been desperately trying to evacuate her mother and sister from Gaza this week.

"I've had to put a lot of pressure on the embassy," Abushaaban said. "It feels almost as though we were forgotten, I personally feel like we're second-class citizens."

This comes after the United States has continued to press the Egyptian and Israeli governments on "the importance of the Rafah crossing being open for American citizens and foreign nationals of other countries who want to leave and have the right to leave to be able to do so," a senior State Department official said Friday.

US officials have been engaged in discussions for days to try to secure a humanitarian corridor that would allow Americans and other civilians to safely leave Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli military incursion.

The United Nations on Thursday said it was informed by the Israeli military that "the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours," but IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN Friday that any deadline "may slip."

The State Department official told the press traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US' focus has been "on American citizens, but other countries you could presume are engaged in trying to get their foreign nationals out as well."

There are an estimated 500-600 Palestinian-Americans in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of people left their homes in Gaza on Friday after Israel's military warned over one million people living north of Wadi Gaza to move south, according to a statement by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday.

Prior to the warning, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said it had distributed food to 135,000 people in shelters across Gaza on Friday, but warned "humanitarian supplies are running low."

OCHA added that most people in Gaza now have no access to water.

"As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases," it said.

As Israel tightens its chokehold in Gaza, a humanitarian crisis in the territory is rapidly spiraling amid warnings that people are at risk of starvation.

It comes as Israel has ordered more than a million people in Gaza to evacuate southward ahead of a potential Israeli ground operation, according to the United Nations. Many people in the enclave left their homes on Friday.

The Gaza Strip is one of most densely populated places on earth, with some 2 million people crammed in 140-square-mile territory.
Here's where things stand:

Offensive action from Israel: In addition to continued airstrikes, Israeli troops have carried out local raids over the past day in the Gaza Strip, searching for hostages and collecting evidence to find people taken by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces said. Meanwhile, Israel has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along the Gaza border for a potential full ground operation. Israel has also been accused by the Palestinian Ministry of Health of the "targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression."

Humanitarian concerns: The UN said the calls for the evacuation of 1.1 million people in Gaza are "impossible" and has urged the Israeli military to withdraw, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general. Dujarric said such a mass evacuation would have "devastating humanitarian consequences." Israel has blocked food, water and fuel from coming in leading to "catastrophic" conditions, the Palestinian Health Ministry warned.

What Hamas is saying: A senior Hamas official said Friday that the current situation in Gaza represents "an extraordinarily audacious and brutal endeavor to forcibly remove the Palestinian indigenous people from their land." The official called Israel's actions in Gaza "inhumane" and "barbaric," adding that Hamas "will not surrender our legitimate fight for freedom and self-determination."

International input: The White House says national security officials held calls with United Nations officials on Thursday and Friday about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but declined to offer details about progress on getting foreign nationals out of the area. Vassily Nebenzia, the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, is circulating a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a ceasefire in the "Israel-Gaza" war. Nebenzia called for de-escalation in the conflict and said the resolution received a mixed reaction from the other 14 member countries. Hamas, the militant Islamic group that governs Gaza, said in a statement Saturday morning (local time) that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.

Attacks in Lebanon: Israel is conducting drone attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. It comes after the Israeli military shelled southern Lebanon in response to an explosion at a security fence near the Lebanese-Israeli border earlier Friday, the IDF said. There are rising fears of the Lebanon-based Shia militant faction Hezbollah entering the conflict.

Concerns about a wider regional conflict: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country is "extremely concerned" about the conflict in Israel spreading and that it is working to de-escalate the situation. Of Israel's immediate neighbors, it is only at peace with Jordan and Egypt, and is officially in a state of war with Lebanon and Syria. Israel has said it is ready in case there are attacks from those two countries.

Sign up for CNN's Meanwhile in the Middle East, a three-times-a-week newsletter that explores the region's biggest stories.

Hamas, the militant Islamic group that governs Gaza, said in a statement Saturday morning (local time) that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.

"[We] appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin's position regarding the ongoing Zionist aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, the cutting of relief supplies, and the targeting of safe civilians there," the statement read.

What Putin has said: On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged both sides in the fighting between Israel and Hamas to "minimize or reduce to zero" civilian casualties, and the foreign ministry in Moscow made similar calls for calm on Friday.

His comments come as Russia continues a ruthless war campaign against Ukraine and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. That case includes, among other things, allegations of targeting civilians.

In addition to Putin's comments, the Russian envoy to the UN circulated a resolution calling for a ceasefire Friday.

Remember: Israel has ordered a " complete siege" on the crowded Gaza strip - including halting supplies of electricity, food, water, and fuel - while also bombarding the densely populated territory in retaliation for Hamas' devastating October 7 terror attacks. At least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed by near-constant shelling in Gaza, according to the health ministry, including journalists, medics and other civilians. The dead include 614 children and 370 women, says the Palestinian health ministry.

The number of Ukrainian nationals killed in Hamas' attack on Israel over the weekend has risen to 11, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

Nikolenko also said there are still nine Ukrainian citizens missing.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health accused Israeli forces of the "targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression."

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. The IDF told CNN it will look into these allegations.

At least 15 health facilities were damaged and 23 ambulances were destroyed in airstrikes Friday, according to the Palestinian ministry.

A dramatic video posted on the ministry in Gaza's Facebook page captured the moment an ambulance was rocked by an explosion as it attempted to flee a chaotic scene.

In the video, explosions are heard going off when the person recording jumps into an ambulance. Several people can be seen inside the ambulance, including a woman on a stretcher and a young girl by her side.

An explosion rocks the ambulance carrying the child and woman. The young girl screams in panic as another explosion goes off.

It is not clear what happened to the woman and child. The exact source and cause of the explosion was unclear.

"The Israeli violations against medical personnel, health institutions, and ambulance units are a blatant attack on the laws, conventions, and international norms that stipulate the protection of medical personnel and their facilities during times of conflicts and wars," the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Friday in a statement.

The ministry also said that "thousands of displaced citizens are sleeping in hospital courtyards, facing the immense number of wounded individuals who are congesting the hospital corridors, putting immense pressure on the fragile healthcare system."

The ministry went on to call for "immediate action to open a secure passage to ensure the arrival of medical supplies, fuel, delegations, ambulance vehicles, and allow the departure of hundreds of wounded and patients before it is too late."

The ministry also accused Israeli forces of targeting people in Gaza as they were trying to evacuate their homes.

"The Israeli occupation deceived the citizens and forced them into forced displacement, then multiplied its crimes by targeting them this afternoon," the health ministry said.
"The world witnessed that all the victims of this targeting are entire families, including unborn children. Three ambulances were targeted, and 10 of their crews were injured during the evacuation of the wounded."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Kathleen Magramo, Adam Renton, Christian Edwards, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Alisha Ebrahimji, Elise Hammond, Kaanita Iyer, Zoe Sottile and Tori B. Powell, CNN

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October 13, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

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Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepened Thursday with warnings people are at risk of starvation as Israel maintained a siege and bombarded targets in response to the Hamas terror attacks that killed more than 1,200 people.

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on Saturday there was a surprise attack launched by Hamas using missiles breaking through a strong fence and killing millions including civilians and soldiers. Hamas has also taken hostages. this is after 70 years of tensions over Israel trying to supress the Palestine people. even going as far as to put them in an open-air prison in Gaza. More than 330,000 people have been displaced in Gaza as of Thursday. there have been many casualties 1200 People have been killed in Israel and over 2,800 people have been injured due to the Israel Hamas War.

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international relations and national security

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Israel is at war with Hamas. Here's what to know | CNN

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The Israeli military has told all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate "southwards" as it maintains its bombardment of the coastal enclave in response to last weekend's Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people.

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There has always been much conflict between Israel and Palestine, but recently a group called the Hamas sent thousands of rockets on Israel on Saturday morning.

Quickly Israel declared war and has sent over rockets as well. Israel ordered a "complete sledge" on Gaza saying, "No electricity, no food, no fuel. Everything closed." They plan to continue cutting off supplies until all hostages have been released.

The death toll has risen to 1200 in Israel but over 6000 are injured. On top of that, in Palestine over 300,000 people have been displaced.

Israel has stated that the Hamas will die for killing so many people in Israel. They are set on making sure that the Hamas will no threaten them ever again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/world/europe/israel-gaza-ground-invasion.html

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/12/world/israel-gaza-war-hamas

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-mime-intl/index.html

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international relations and national security

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Israel is at war with Hamas. Here's what to know | CNN

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The Israeli military has told all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate "southwards" as it maintains its bombardment of the coastal enclave in response to last weekend's Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people.

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This Saturday October 7th, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on the nation of Israel, reigniting seventy years of war and a conflict that has lasted for centuries. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War One, lands in the Middle East were left as British territories. This area was inhabited primarily by an Arab population, but there were also Jewish people living in the disputed land. After World War 2 and the Holocaust, Britain and the international community attempted to find a peaceful way to create a Jewish nation in the Middle East, but failed and eventually left the Arab and Jewish factions to fight it out. Throughout the last century, both groups have cited geographical and religious claims to the land- the place in question is a holy land for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity (isn't it ironic how the holiest land of 3 peaceful religions was and is the bloodiest place on the planet?)- and have had at least 6-7 wars over the territory. The nation of Israel has prevailed each time using their military might, but the neighboring Arab nations have constantly worked to bring the region back under Islamic rule. The latest incursion by Hamas is nothing but another bloody chapter in an (arguably) pointless and tragic conflict in a bloody and extremely overvalued region in a cynical and barbaric world (oh wait, is that a little too depressing? My bad).

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- Long conflict over holy land and land rights has existed in the region for a long time
- Peaceful solutions were tried and failed

https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231011-from-1947-to-2023-retracing-the-complex-and-tragic-israeli-palestinian-conflict

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Tensions between Israel and Palestine have been growing since the early 1900s, but in the recent days things have been growing to all new extremes. Since after the many atrocities during World War 2, Palestine has been claiming that Israel is taking their land because technically, Palestine was created in this land before Israel. Even before this, there have been thousands of years of history of religiously motivated fighting in the area. Since the beginnings of the main three monotheistic religions, there has been religiously motivated fighting. This is because all these religions considered this land to be the holy land. Hamas, a terrorist organization is the main leader of these attacks. They believe in Palestinian nationalism, and want to essentially rebel against Israel's government for taking the land they believe to be theirs. October 7th 2023, Hamas led these first attacks from the Gaza Strip in Palestine. From then, both sides continue to attack one another and casualties and displacements on both sides continue to rise.

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A WWII resolution led to the formation of Israel, a Jewish state in previously Islamic territory, causing the displacement of thousands of Muslim Palestinians. Ever since, land conflicts have led to constant war and conflict. Israel has a very powerful defense system, but this past weekend, it was down due to a cyber attack, allowing an attack from Hamas, the terrorist group leading the Palestinian government to get through.  This led to full-out war, both sides having severe casualties. Lots of civilians are seeing the brunt of the harm with really gruesome attacks, hostages, and horrible things, especially in Gaza. People across the world are taking sides and it's causing conflict among individuals.
https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vbWlkZGxlZWFzdC9saXZlLW5ld3MvaXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLXdhci1nYXphLTEwLTExLTIzL2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAQA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiW2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS93b3JsZC8yMDIzLzEwLzExL2lzcmFlbC1oYW1hcy1oaXN0b3J5LWFuYWxvZ3ktOTExLXByZWNlZGVudC_SAQA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker

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Learn about the world’s top hotspots with this interactive Global Conflict Tracker from the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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The Israel and Palestine war has caused hundreds of innocent people's lives to be lost

On October 7 Palestinian military groups led large scale attacks and invasions on the Gaza strip

The Hamas launched missiles towards southern and central Israel

Israel's most advanced military system called The Dome failed to shoot down these missiles

This war can go back to 1984 when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate. The land that they are fighting in and for has been fought over for many decades and is a known place of violence.

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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker

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Learn about the world’s top hotspots with this interactive Global Conflict Tracker from the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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There has been a mass destruction in Gaza which has affect many citizens and it even has greatly damaged the Children. As many citizens tried to mourn their dead relatives, Gaza has continued to fire rockets to Israel. Israel has responded to this by putting Gaza in complete siege which is making them suffer.

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Power goes out in Gaza, as Israel tightens siege and bombs the Palestinian territory

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Israel carried out a fifth day of bombardments across the Gaza Strip as the Palestinian territory lost electricity, following one of the deadliest attacks against Israel in history.

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Due to recent events among Israel and Palestine, there has been many opinions that celebrities have made public, though it usually ends up causing more problems that any.
When voicing their opinion about which side they are on, the public would say that certain celebrities just come off as uneducated and their actions are just seen as performative activism.
The media is more showing a one sided picture to the one that doesn't really show the whole picture. The media also just isn't covering the whole issue accurately.
This conflict has been happening for a very long time and people are of course very biased with what is going on and their side.
Despite what side people are on, the whole war is very upsetting and people are dying. Just what's happening is really horrible and tragic.

https://www.insider.com/gen-zers-criticizing-celebrities-for-supporting-israel-2023-10

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/10/10/kylie-jenner-deletes-pro-israel-post-while-pro-palestine-bella-hadid-remains-silent-stars-struggle-to-react-to-war/

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I always dread watching US news coverage of wars, and now is no exception. After Hamas's deadly attacks in Israel and Israel's hellish bombardment of Gaza, I checked in on MSNBC. Before long, I heard one of their reporters talk about "the violent history between these two nations" - as if Palestine were a country - and had to turn off the TV to get a break. Palestine is not a country. That's the whole point.

Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel all live under various regimes of organized discrimination and oppression, much of which makes life nearly unlivable, and if the US media can't even frame the issue correctly, what use is there in even covering it?

It's not just laziness either. The reflexive identification with Israel, by both US media professionals and politicians, always obscures the fuller picture of what's happening between Israel and the Palestinians.

On 7 October, the national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated that the US "unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians". Every one of us must stand up and denounce the killing of every civilian, Israeli or Palestinian or otherwise. But Watson's use of the word "unprovoked" is doing a lot of work here.

What exactly counts as a provocation? Not, apparently, the large number of settlers, more than 800 by one media account, who stormed the al-Aqsa mosque compound on 5 October. Not the 248 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers between 1 January and 4 October of this year. Not the denial of Palestinian human rights and national aspirations for decades.

One can, in fact must, see such actions as provocations without endorsing further murderous violence against civilians. But if you watched only US news, you would be likely to presume that Palestinians always act while Israel only reacts. You might even think that Palestinians are the ones colonizing the land of Israel, no less. And you probably believe that Israel, which holds ultimate control over the lives of 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and yet denies them the right to vote in Israeli elections, is a democracy.

To be considered a political being you must at the very least be considered a human being. Who gets to count as human? "I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly," Israel's defense minister Yoav Gallant said. Human animals? How can such language and an announced policy of collective punishment against all the residents of Gaza be seen by Israel's supporters in the United States or elsewhere as defensible? Let's be clear: Gallant's language is not the rhetoric of deterrence. It's the language of genocide.

There's the nagging hypocrisy of the war in Ukraine. So many around the world support Ukraine's resistance to foreign occupation (as they should) but blithely deny Palestinians any way to resist their occupation. Even non-violent methods of resistance like the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign is vilified and even criminalized. Why the double standard? Unsurprisingly, such stances go all the way to the top. The Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has twice voiced unilateral support for Israel in recent days, saying that "Israel's right to self-defense is unquestionable". Would he say the same for Russia on his territory? Of course not. Zelenskiy ought to see how his invaded and occupied land is more akin to the situation of the Palestinians than the Israelis. The obfuscations are everywhere.

So are the double standards. We will certainly hear a great deal in the US about the Israeli Americans killed or abducted by Hamas, as we should, but will those same voices rise to the same volume for Palestinian Americans threatened and killed in Gaza? Did they also demand answers when the Israeli military shot and killed the Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022?

The double standard may be expected considering how the plight of the Palestinians has been discussed in the past, but that doesn't eliminate its moral darkness. It's also particularly dangerous and tone-deaf at this moment, when we're on the cusp of a government - Israel - using unprecedented violence on a largely defenseless and penned-in population, in part to cover for its own fatal mistakes and embarrassment.

One fundamental way this double standard operates is through a false equivalence, a two-sides-ism that hides the massive asymmetry of power between the state of Israel and the scattered population groupings that make up the Palestinian people. They're not equal. One dominates while the other is dominated. One colonizes. The other is colonized.

At least since the Oslo accords of 1993, we have been sold various promises that the way out of this injustice was negotiated settlements; after generations of enormous human sacrifice, Palestinians would finally achieve their national aspirations. It was already clear to many of us that this had long ago become a necessary illusion maintained by the powerful. Today, a negotiated peace seems farther away than ever.

This both saddens and frightens me. We are very likely entering another long and painful era where armed struggle and violent domination become increasingly and mutually dependent on each other for survival. Yet neither can win. The Palestinians will remain. They cannot be eliminated. Israel too will continue to exist. The future is full of unnecessary and horrific bloodshed all around. Desperate western attachment to morally bankrupt double standards bears a large portion of the blame.

Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the award-winning books How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America and This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror. He is a professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He is a contributing opinion writer at the Guardian US.

This article was amended on 21 October 2023 to clarify that a large number of Jewish settlers entered the al-Aqsa mosque "compound" on 5 October, not the mosque itself.

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The double standard with Israel and Palestine leaves us in moral darkness | Moustafa Bayoumi

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Biden and Zelenskiy support a war they say was 'unprovoked' but a defenseless population will pay for media misinformation

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A surprise attack from the Hamas on Israel happened on October 7th. There has been a growing death toll that surpassed 1200 confirmed deaths along with over 5000 injuries. The war that broke out is extremely bad and has so far caused 250,000 people to leave their homes. The Israeli government has said that they will not allow the children to die and are fighting back.
The first few US weapons have also arrived in Israel and the war has been labeled as the deadliest days for jews since the holocaust by the US president, Joe Biden.
-Ava DiNapoli

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/11/world/israel-news-hamas-war
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/10/11/israel-war-hamas-gaza-live-updates/71139748007/
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-israel-was-duped-hamas-planned-devastating-assault-2023-10-08/

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The American death toll rose to 22 and Israeli fatalities surpassed 1,200 Wednesday while desperation swept across Gaza as Tel Aviv's response to the brutal attack by Hamas left neighborhoods destroyed, homes dark and hospitals low on medical supplies.

"At this time, we can confirm the deaths of at least 22 U.S. citizens," the State Department said in a statement. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected." In addition, 17 Americans remain unaccounted for, the White House said.

Israeli soldiers retaking communities near the Gaza border encountered streets littered with the bodies of civilians, including women and children. The Israeli health ministry said the death toll is likely to increase amid continued fighting and the discovery of more bodies in the settlements.

Palestinian officials say more than 1,100 militants and citizens in Gaza have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded. Israeli rockets smashed into neighborhoods for a fifth day Wednesday, destroying homes and infrastructure.

The territory, home to more than 2 million Palestinians, faced the grim prospects of a complete blackout and limited supplies of food and water. The head of Gaza's Energy Authority told Al Jazeera Mubasher the enclave's only power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday. The U.N.'s World Health Organization said supplies pre-positioned at hospitals were depleted.

"We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a meeting with soldiers. "I have removed every restriction. We will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal."

Hamas denied targeting children and issued a statement condemning Western media for "promoting the Israeli occupation's propaganda, which is full of lies and fabrications, as an attempt to cover up the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli occupation around the clock."
Israel-Hamas War newsletter: Developments: Sign up to get the latest news and analysis from USA TODAY into your inbox.
∎ Key Iranian leaders had no advanced warning that Hamas would attack Israel, the New York Times reports, citing U.S. intelligence officials it did not name. The information supports previous Biden administration statements that there was no indication Iran was involved in the attack.

∎ An estimated 250,000 people have fled their Gaza homes, most taking shelter into packed U.N. schools.
Family's painful tale: An American mom, 67, spent her life advocating for Palestinian rights. Then, Hamas came for her.
∎ Israeli forces exchanged gunfire over Israel's northern borders with militants in Lebanon and Syria amid concerns of an expanded regional conflict.

Israel was warned attack was coming, congressman says

Israel officials were notified by neighboring Egypt that an attack was possible three days before it happened, according to a congressman with insight into such matters.

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who's the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Hamas onslaught Saturday likely resulted from a "failure of intelligence'' and that it was uncertain how both the U.S. and Israel were caught by surprise.

"We know that Egypt had warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen," McCaul told reporters. "We know that this had been planned perhaps as long as a year ago.''

McCaul added that "a warning was given,'' but it wasn't clear at what level of government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied having prior knowledge of the attack, calling those reports "absolutely false." Other reports indicate the information may have been passed along but never reached his desk because it lacked details.

McCaul said the focus now is on keeping the conflict from expanding with the involvement of other militant groups in the region.

"We're very concerned about the fidelity of our intelligence and the escalation of a conflict in the Middle East that could turn into a global Jihad movement in Israel,'' he said.

US casting wide net in search for missing Americans

In addition to the 22 Americans killed, 17 Americans are still missing in Israel following the Hamas attack, the White House said Wednesday - and the figures could rise further.

"I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing," said John Kirby, a White House spokesman on national security matters. "We might find out that more Americans are part of the hostage pool."

Kirby said the U.S. knows some of the Americans − a "very small" number − are being held hostage by Hamas but does not know their condition or location. He said the administration is doing "everything we can" to locate them and bring them home.

"We don't know if they're all in one group or broken up into several groups. We don't know if they're being moved and with what frequency and to what locations," Kirby said. "Tough to get more detail."
− Joey Garrison
Kirby said the U.S. is "casting the net wide" on hostage-recovery efforts, citing discussions with the Israeli government, other Middle East allies and countries such as Qatar that "that have open lines of communication with Hamas."

The rising death toll is eight more than the 14 Americans who were confirmed dead Tuesday. The number of unaccounted Americans decreased from 20 to 17.

Second US aircraft carrier heading to Mediterranean

A second U.S. aircraft carrier will be sent to the Mediterranean Sea and will be ready to help defend Israel if needed.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group will be leaving in the coming week on a long-scheduled deployment to the European Command Area, Kirby said Wednesday. "She will be deployed into the Mediterranean and will be an available asset as well as her escort vessels,'' he said.

Kirby pointed out no decision has been made on whether the warship will join the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier off the coast of Israel, where it was deployed shortly after the Hamas attack. But the combination gives the U.S. a powerful presence in those waters.

"We're sending a loud and clear message that the United States is ready to take action should any actor hostile towards Israel consider trying to escalate or widen this war," Kirby said.

Israel announces bipartisan war Cabinet: 'Israel first of all'

The Israeli government established a bipartisan war Cabinet to focus on war issues. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be joined by a leading opposition figure, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"Israel first of all," Gantz tweeted.

Hamas has said it kidnapped more than 100 Israeli soldiers, men, women, children and older adults and are holding them in Gaza. The Israel government, under intense public pressure to eradicate Hamas, has mobilized 360,000 reservists and could be preparing to launch a ground offensive into Gaza, possibly within days.

EU will continue to financially support Palestinians

EU foreign ministers, meeting in a teleconference, agreed overwhelmingly to continue financial support for Palestinians, said Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Borrell cited a "clear distinction" between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which controls the smaller West Bank enclave. Hamas is a terrorist organization while the Palestinian Authority is an EU partner, he said.

"Not all the Palestinian people are terrorists," Borrell said. "So a collective punishment against all Palestinians will be unfair and unproductive. It will be against our interests and the interest of the peace."

The ministers also reiterated a long-term commitment to a political solution based on creation of a free Palestinian state. Israel has balked at any plan that would allow Palestinians to have their own military.

EU warns Musk to halt war 'disinformation' on X

The European Commission warned Elon Musk that X, formerly known as Twitter, could face penalties if it does not take action against "illegal content and disinformation" since Hamas' attack on Israel. A letter from Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the internal market, said the company may be non-compliant of "very precise obligations regarding content moderation" in Europe's new social media laws. The company could be fined up to 6% of its global revenue under EU rules.

In response to the letter, Musk wrote on X: "Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports. Please list the violations you allude to on 𝕏, so that that the public can see them."

Breton replied: "You are well aware of your users' − and authorities' − reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk."

− Christopher Cann

Gaza communities devastated by 'belts of fire'

Israeli aircraft and artillery are pounding Gaza towns with what Palestinians are calling "belts of fire." The term refers to intense, successive raids launched against a small target in a short period of time, the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam reports. The raids began at dawn Wednesday and continued into the day, targeting farmland, police stations, government buildings, factories and other crucial locations, the online outlet reported. Emergency vehicles have been unable to reach some of the battered areas because of the intensity of the raids.

Who is Hamas leader Mohammed Deif?

Israeli airstrikes late Tuesday struck the family house of Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing, killing his father, brother and at least two other relatives in the southern town of Khan Younis, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said. Deif has not been seen in public and Israeli authorities say they don't know where he is.

Online hate heats up as war intensifies

Groups that study online hate speech say it has spiked in recent days - not just for Jewish communities but also for Palestinians. And representatives of both communities agree on one thing: U.S.-based social media companies are still not doing anywhere near enough to rid their platforms of hate against targeted groups.

"When it comes to serious crises like these where you're going to see the worst of the worst types of violent content, gore, incitement to violence, it's really incumbent on social media companies to coordinate across platforms," said Daniel Kelley, director of strategy and operations at the Anti-Defamation League's Center for Tech and Society, "in order to make sure that the platforms play the minimal amount of role possible in inflaming further violence." Read more here.

− Will Carless and Jessica Guynn

Some colleges pull students from study abroad programs

USA TODAY reached out to more than two dozen colleges, many with a history of having a presence in Israel or large study abroad programs, to ask how their programs have been affected by the unfolding crisis.

Some schools confirmed students have safely left the area. Others said students and staff remained in the region while their institutions monitor the situation and put in place new safety protocols. A small number of schools reported that by chance this semester they have no students and faculty studying in Israel. Read more here.

− Zachary Schermele

Americans struggle to get home from war zone

At least 22 Americans have died in the onslaught and an unknown number are hostages of Hamas, the Biden administration says. The struggle to come home - and the fear for loved ones left behind in the deadly war zones of Gaza and Israel - is very real for many Americans as the world watches the violence abroad unfold.

The U.S. citizens longing to return to America include several people from church groups, including those in Naples, Florida, visiting Jerusalem for religious reasons, Salt Lake City-based Palestinian-Americans visiting family members and New Jersey Jewish residents who were celebrating the Simchat Torah holiday. They told the USA TODAY Network their trips turned from a tranquil, joyous crusade away from home into a nightmare from which they needed to swiftly escape.

Mark Schwartz, a councilman and volunteer firefighter in Teaneck, New Jersey, and his friends where among those who traveled to Israel for Simchat Torah.

"I got a flight to Bulgaria and will somehow get to New Jersey," Schwartz told NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. "Everyone is in a mournful mood." Read more here.

Why did Hamas attack Israel now?

Hamas has vowed to annihilate Israel and for years has been responsible for numerous suicide bombings and other deadly attacks. On Saturday, about 1,000 Hamas fighters stormed across the Israeli border by land and sea in an attack that caught Israel's military off-guard.

Hamas says the assault was a response to activity at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem that is the third holiest site in Islam. The site, which is also located on the holiest site for Jews − who refer to it as the Temple Mount − has long been a flashpoint between Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli security services routinely raid the compound.
Online hate surges: Why everyone is blaming social media.
But Hamas leaders also say they were pushed to attack because of unrelenting Israeli crackdowns on militants in the West Bank, continued construction of settlements − which the international community considers illegal − thousands of prisoners being held in Israeli jails and Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Israel countered by declaring war against Hamas and ordered its military to undertake take a "complete siege" of Gaza.

What is Hamas?

Hamas - an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the Islamic resistance movement - was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank by a Palestinian activist connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. The State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. Several other nations also consider it a terrorist organization.

In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections, and in 2007 the group violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement that still governs the West Bank. There have been no elections since. The group calls for establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state that would replace the current state of Israel and believes in the use of violence to carry out the destruction of Israel.

Hamas receives financial, material and logistical support from Iran, though so far, international leaders, including in Israel, have said there is no evidence that Iran was directly involved in Hamas' attack.

How large is the Gaza Strip?

Gaza, or the Gaza Strip, is a densely populated Palestinian exclave of about 2.3 million people. The narrow strip of land − about 150 square miles, or less than half the size of New York City − is about 25 miles long and six miles wide. Gaza shares a northern and eastern border with Israel and a southwestern border with Egypt while its western side abuts the Mediterranean Sea.

Who controls the Gaza Strip?

Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections and in 2007 seized control of the Gaza Strip from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority, controlled by the rival Fatah movement, administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas has fought four wars against Israel since taking power.

How did the hostilities between Israel and Palestinians start?

The current war is a culmination of decades of conflict between Israel, which prides itself on its military prowess, and the Palestinian territory, which has been occupied since 1948 when Israel was founded and where Hamas rules the Gaza Strip.

At the center of the conflict: Who has the right to the land? Both Jewish people and Muslims have some of their holiest sites in Jerusalem.

Before Israel's founding, the land was known as the Palestinian mandate, officially ruled by Great Britain. In 1947, the United Nations adopted a resolution that aimed to divide the Palestinian mandate into two states, Arab and Jewish. Large-scale migration of Jewish people to escape persecution, including by Nazis, prompted the U.N. solution.

A war between Israel and its Arab neighbors surrounding its founding in 1948 led to Israeli expansion into 77% of Palestinian mandate territory, and over half the Palestinian Arab population fled or was expelled, according to the U.N.

Several conflicts between Israel and Arab states in the region followed over the next decades, and peace efforts that improved relations with other nations did not solve the issue of Palestinian self-determination.

Israel captured the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and has since imposed restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians there. These are all territories sought by Palestinians for their future independent state. The war also led to a second expulsion of Palestinians, according to the U.N.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
Hamas rejects proposals for a two-state solution and believes in the eradication of Israel altogether through violent means.

Palestinian uprisings, or intifadas, brought military clashes and protests against Israeli occupation beginning in 1987 and led to crackdowns by Israel's military forces, and many were killed and injured on both sides.

In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections, and in 2007 the group violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement that governs the West Bank. There have been no elections since.

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US death toll rises to 22; lawmaker says Egypt warned Israel before attack: Live updates

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The U.S. death toll rose to 22 and Israeli fatalities surpassed 1,200 while desperation swept across Gaza amid Tel Aviv's response to Hamas' attack.

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Lotd of causalitys on both sides

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Palestine and isreal fight again. and mass destriction gaza happned.

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Attack on Israeli Music Festival-Shanthi Singh

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Attack on Israeli Music Festival-Shanthi Singh

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A techno music festival in Israel was attacked by Hamas.  During the incident 50 terrorists in vans attacked the festival with guns.  The attack was a planned ambush, with over 3,000 people having attended the festival.  At least 260 Israelis were killed at the festival, with many others said to have been kidnapped by Hamas.  Gunmen blocked roads, ambushed cars, and looked for hostages to kidnap.  Many festival attendees had tried to escape by hiding in the nearby orchards, but many were still shot at and killed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/10/1204950063/hamas-attack-on-israeli-techno-festival-leaves-at-least-260-dead-and-many-missin

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A video shared on Telegram on Oct. 8, shows scorched cars abandoned on the roads near the festival grounds. (Video: Telegram)

The first rockets were fired just before dawn, arcing through the sky over thousands of revelers who had been dancing through the night at a trance music festival - billed as an event celebrating "friends, love and infinite freedom."
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Initially, some of the ravers didn't notice the sound of the explosions over the thumping music. Others, used to rockets from Gaza, shrugged them off.

"We heard sirens and rockets, tons of rockets," said Millet Ben Haim, 27, who attended the festival with a group of friends, posing with one of them just minutes before the attack and sticking her tongue out for the camera.

Tribe of Nova trance music festival attendee recounts her experience before and after Hamas militants attacked on Oct.7. (Video: Millet Ben Haim)

Then the music stopped.

A voice boomed from the loudspeakers over the tented stages and the chill-out area that organizers described as a "playground for adults."

"Guys, we have red alert," the voice warned. "Red alert."

Videos verified by The Washington Post show people leaving hurriedly, a few jogging, many glancing back to look at the white rocket flashes in the lightening sky. They appear confused but not panicked.

A person dressed in black with a yellow safety vest was directing crowds away from the stages.

As music blares and people dance, at least seven white flashes appear over a rave in southern Israel in the early morning of Oct. 7. (Video: @n.t.noamtal via Instagram)

Then the gunfire started.

"We started running; we didn't know where to go," Ben Haim said. "Nobody knew what to do."

The Tribe of Nova trance music festival, near Kibbutz Reim, was one of the first targets for Hamas militants as they launched their unprecedented attack on Israel in the early hours of Saturday morning, overrunning the concert area, shooting into the crowd and grabbing as many hostages as they could. Festivalgoers described how the gunmen blocked roads, ambushed escaping cars and scoured the area looking for people to kidnap.
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(Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)
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At least 260 bodies were recovered from the concert site Sunday, according to ZAKA, a volunteer emergency response group in Israel. Across the country, at least 700 people have been killed. Dozens are still missing, according to the Israel Defense Forces; Israeli media has put the figure at more than 100. Hamas says hostages are being held in tunnels and other secure locations in Gaza.

It remains unclear how many of them were taken from the festival. Survivors have been inundated with messages from people who are still looking for their loved ones.

The festival's organizers have not responded to requests for comment but posted a message on Instagram saying they were "stunned" and "share the grief of the missing and murdered families."

"We hope and pray that good news will reach us and you soon," the post said.

At the site of the rave Sunday, Israeli soldiers put bodies in the back of a large refrigerated truck parked next to hundreds of abandoned cars. In one clearing, the shells of burned vehicles sat beside discarded tents, camping mats and coolers.

Relatives searching for the missing at a nearby intersection said more than a thousand people were at the event when the militants attacked. Some festivalgoers estimated the true figure was closer to 3,000 or 4,000.

The attendees had not been given the exact location of the festival until a few hours before it began at 10 p.m. Friday. "The event will take place in a powerful natural location full of trees, stunning in its beauty and organized for your convenience, about an hour and a quarter south of Tel Aviv," ticket buyers were told in the lead-up.

The festival was held just three miles from the fence that divides Israel from the Gaza Strip and its roughly 2 million inhabitants. The ravers were told not to bring firearms or sharp objects onto the festival grounds. They were tired and defenseless when the attack began, trapped in a wide-open area that offered few hiding places.

Video shows partygoers scattering in the early morning of Oct. 7 at the Tribe of Nova trance music festival in Israel after Hamas militants overran it. (Video: Millet Ben Haim)

Ben Haim saw the militants in the distance, closing in on foot. "I took the car keys from a friend of mine that was really wasted and got as many people in the car as possible and started driving like crazy," she said. "The people who stayed, most of them got kidnapped or murdered."

Cars were being shot at on the roads and there were gunmen everywhere, she said.

Gal Raz, 31, also tried to drive away with his friends when he realized the area was overrun.

"We heard shots. There were cars with corpses on top of them that blocked the road," he said. "We couldn't get out."

They got in another friend's car but were quickly ambushed.

"There were about seven to eight terrorists, and they started to shoot at us in our car," he said.

They drove on for a few hundred meters and then abandoned the car, running past another with several dead bodies next to it. As he hid, Raz thought about his girlfriend, whom he is planning to marry, and about his family.

"It's clear that there was a failure here," he said. "Now we need to get these people back who are missing. And to tell these people's stories."

Ben Haim and her friends had also jumped out of their car and were running through the fields.

"Every direction we ran we had more people shooting at us; we were running for two hours trying to escape. We started crawling in bushes. Eventually I realized I couldn't run anymore."

She and two friends and a stranger lay down in a bush and covered themselves with leaves.

Video shows partygoers scattering in the early morning of Oct. 7 at the Tribe of Nova trance music festival in Israel after Hamas militants overran it. (Video: Millet Ben Haim)

"We stayed silent and tried to reach the police. The police said they can't help us because too many people were kidnapped."

After seven hours, with her phone battery at 2 percent, Ben Haim was picked up by a local resident who was driving around trying to rescue people. Raz was eventually picked up by the military.

Help didn't arrive in time for Noa Argamani, 25, who was hiding in the bushes with her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. Or messaged Argamani's father around 10 a.m. to let him know they were safe.

The couple were trying to reassure him, said Shlomit Marciano, 25, a childhood friend of Argamani's. It was the last message the family received.

On Saturday, they saw the couple in a video circulating on Palestinian social media. It shows Argamani screaming as she is separated from her boyfriend and driven off on a motorcycle. Or appears to have his hands bound and is pushed along by several young men.

Noa Argamani, 25, was separated from her boyfriend on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants after they stormed the Tribe of Nova trance festival. (Video: Telegram)

The Post wasn't able to independently confirm the location of the video, but the geography and sunlight are consistent with other visuals from the scene.

"You can absolutely see it was her," said Marciano, who is staying with Argamani's parents. "I think I haven't fully accepted it yet; I slept in her bed last night. It's crazy."

Argamani had debated not going to the festival, but not because of security concerns. "If she knew it was tense right now, then I think she wouldn't have gone, but we knew nothing," Marciano said. "She wasn't sure because it was far and expensive. I told her, 'Go; you're young.' I regret that."

A later video appears to show Argamani being held captive, sitting on cushions in a room with a tiled floor, sipping from a bottle of water. "At least we know she's alive," Marciano said.

Others don't have that assurance.

Tali Atias believes that her 23-year-old daughter, Dorin, whom she last heard from shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, might be among the hostages. Dorin told her mother the area was under attack and she was looking for shelter.

Atias has posted on social media and called her daughter's friends to try to find out what happened to her, to no avail. "We don't know what's going on" or "what to do," she said.

The family of Shani Louk feel similarly helpless. The 22-year-old posed for a mirror selfie just before parting for the rave, her long dreadlocks partially covered by a headscarf, looking coyly to the side, eyelids flecked with eyeliner.

"She loved to party," said her cousin Tom Weintraub Louk, 30. Family members desperately tried reaching Louk and her Mexican boyfriend when the news broke.

Then they saw the video posted online.

"We recognized her by the tattoos, and she has long dreadlocks," Louk said.

In the video, the woman is facedown in the bed of the truck with four militants, apparently being paraded through Gaza. One holds her hair while another raises a gun in the air and shouts, "Allahu akbar!" A crowd follows the truck cheering. A boy spits in her hair.

While her cousin appears lifeless, the family is still holding out for news. "We have some kind of hope," Louk said.
Morris reported from Berlin, Piper from London, Lee from Washington and George from southern Israel. Shira Rubin in Brussels, Meg Kelly and Sarah Cahlan in Washington, Samuel Oakford in New York and Annabelle Timsit in London contributed to this report.

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How a night of dancing and revelry in Israel turned into a massacre

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At least 260 bodies have been recovered from the site of a trance music festival in Israel, one of the first targets for Hamas militants as they launched their surprise attack Saturday.

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History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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- Israeli's and Palestinians both have claims on Israel
- Christians, Jews, and Muslims all consider parts of Israel sacred, which has caused countless conflicts between them throughout history
-Israel was originally home to many Jewish tribes, but over time as they were kicked out of their homeland by other groups, the Palestinians and others moved in.
-Each group argued that their claim on the land took precedence, but both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples had been in Israel for a very long time.
- Major outside powers have tried multiple times to split Israel into two separate states, but the Israeli's and Palestinians weren't ever able to compromise.
- The British government tried to declare Israel a "national home for the Jewish people," which caused mass immigration of European Jews into Israel following the holocaust.
- Israel declared independence in 1948, and almost immediately was attacked by the Arab countries that surround it. The result of these conflicts was the expansion of Israel.
- During the "Six Day War" of 1967, Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip.
- In 1978 a framework was made for the self-government of Gaza. However Israel still controlled what went into and out of Gaza.
- In 2006 Hamas won elections in Gaza and took over
- Conflicts between the Israeli government and Hamas started, with notable conflicts throughout the 2000s and into the 2020s.
- All of these conflicts led to Israel declaring war on Gaza in 2023

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A surprise, coordinated assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas - one of the deadliest and most brazen attacks in years - brought renewed attention to an old and continuing problem: the Israeli-Palestinianconflict that has vexed the Middle East for decades.In Israel, Hamas militants have killed more than 1,000 people since Saturday, according to Israeli authorities. Palestinian authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 920 people. More than 100 Israelis are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip, and President Biden said Americans are among the hostages.

The roots of the conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Both Palestinians and Israelis see the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea as their own, and Christians, Jews and Muslims all hold parts of the land as sacred. The past seven decades have brought war, uprisings and, at times, glimmers of hope for compromise. Here is a timeline beginning around 1948,including the latest violence in the Gaza Strip:

World War I: The question of Palestine
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The Ottoman Empire had controlled that part of the Middle East from the early 16th century until control of most of the region was granted to the British after World War I.

Both Israelis and Palestinians were struggling for self-determination and sovereignty over the territory, developing respective movements for their causes.

As World War I began, several controversial diplomatic efforts - some contradicting each other - by the Great Powers tried to shape the map of the modern Middle East, including the Palestinian territories. Palestinians cite a series of letters in 1915 to 1916 between Mecca's emir and the British high commissioner in Egypt, known as the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, as outlining a promise of an independent Arab state.

In 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement secretly negotiated between Britain and France planned to carve up the Middle East into spheres of influence, and determined that the land in question was to be internationalized.

In 1917, Britain's foreign secretary, Lord Arthur Balfour, expressed his government's support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" in a letter to Baron Walter Rothschild, the head of the British wing of the influential European Jewish banking family.

To Israelis, the missive marks a formal utterance of the Israeli state's right to exist; to Palestinians, it was an early sign of their dispossession. The declaration also noted that it was "clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine," nodding to the overwhelming majority Arab population in the region at the time. (About 90 percentof the population was Muslim in 1850, and about 80 percent in 1914.)

Large-scale Jewish immigration followed in succeeding decades, including during Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. Both sides continued to assert their right to establish a state.

1948: Israel declares independence
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After World War II, nearingthe end of the British Mandate for Palestine, the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 passes Resolution 181, urging the partition of the land into two independent states - one Arab and one Jewish. Religiously significant Jerusalem is to be under special international administration. The plan is not implemented after the Arab side rejects it, arguing that it is unfavorable to their majority population. Violence in the regional conflict grows.

Israel declares independence in May 1948. The next day, a coalition of Arab states, allied with Palestinian factions, attack Israeli forces in what becomes the first of several Arab-Israeli wars. In the end, Israel gains control of an even larger portion of territory - not including the areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians flee or are driven from their land in what Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba," or "catastrophe" in Arabic.

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In June of 1967, a war known as the "Six-Day War" or the 1967 Arab-Israeli War breaks out amid lingering conflicts, including Egypt's continued blockade of shipping into the Gulf of Aqaba. Israeli warplanes strikeEgyptian airfields, and Israeli ground forces enter the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan joins the fighting alongside Egypt, but Israeli forces have the upper hand after nearly wiping out Egypt's air power. Israel takes control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem.The Arab armies suffer massive losses.

September 1972: Munich Olympics attack
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At the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, a group of Palestinian extremists from the Black September group raid the Olympic Village dorm where Israeli athletes are housed. They kill two athletes and take nine others as hostages, all of whom are killed soon after.

October 1973: Yom Kippur War
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A coalition of Arab nations, led by Egypt and Syria, launches a surprise, coordinatedattack on Israel on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day. The Arab forces initially gain ground but are driven back by an Israeli counteroffensive aided by supplies from allies, including the United States. Both sides see heavy death tolls.

1995: Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated
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On Nov. 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin, 73, the fifth prime minister of Israel, is fatally shot in the back by a right-wing Jewish extremist who aimed to derail the peace process with Palestinians. Rabin was departing a peace rally attended by more than 100,000 in Tel Aviv.

The shooter, Yigal Amir, who was in his 20s, opposed the Oslo accords on religious grounds, telling police that he acted on the "orders of God" to stop holy land from being handed to Palestinians. He has never expressed regret for the killing and is serving a life sentence.

2006: Hamas elected in Gaza
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Israel withdraws its troops from Gaza in 2005.The Palestinian militant group Hamas wins legislative elections the next year, leading to political strains with the more moderate Fatah party controlling the West Bank.

After Hamas's 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israel imposes a 16-year blockade on the small, overcrowded Palestinian enclave that is home to 2 million Palestinians. Limiting the mobility of goods and people in and out of the territory, Israel has deepened Gaza's humanitarian crisis, the United Nations says. Most Gazans live in refugee camps and rely on U.N. rations.

The West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians - and more than a half-million Jews living in settlements deemed illegal under international law - is occupied by Israel and subject to its military administration.

Several rights groups have said Israel's regime over Palestinians amounts to "apartheid."

In a 2022 report, Amnesty International said it analyzed "Israel's intent to create and maintain a system of oppression and domination over Palestinians," including through "territorial fragmentation; segregation and control; dispossession of land and property; and denial of economic and social rights." The group concluded: "This is apartheid."

November 2012: Israel kills Hamas military chief
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Israel kills Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari, touching off more than a week of rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli airstrikes. At least 150 Palestinians and six Israelis are killed.

Spring 2022: String of terrorist attacks in Israel
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A spate of violence on Israelis by Palestinians leaves 14 Israelis dead in a handful of attacks between March 22 and April 8. In response, Israel clamps down on militants and activists, and launches the "Break the Wave" military operation in the West Bank, which makes 2022 a particularly deadly year.

Israeli forces kill 146 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2022, a death toll higher than in any other year since the United Nations began keeping records in 2005. Israel's Foreign Ministry says Palestinians killed 29 Israelis that year.

December 2022: Netanyahu sworn in for sixth term
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Benjamin Netanyahu is sworn in again as Israeli prime minister, after winning an election that gives him his sixth term and elevates a once-fringe bloc of far-right politicians into powerful seats. He cobbles together the most far-right government in Israeli history, which critics say has begun to crush any prospect of a two-state solution.

It's also the most pro-settler government, with some members encouraging an expansion in settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territories. Settler violence against Palestinian civilians, with settlers emboldened by the government, surges too.

Summer 2023: Retaliatory attacks flare
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Tit-for-tat attacks flare.

Israel launches surprise airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in May, killing three top militants and 10 others, including women and children, health officials say. That sets up a five-day bout of violence that kills at least 33 people in Gaza and two in Israel.

On June 19, Israeli forces raid Jenin, deploying helicopter gunships to the West Bank for the first time since the second intifada.

The next day, two Hamas gunmen open fire at a hummus restaurant at an Israeli settlement, killing four Israelis.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers then rampage through Palestinian villages, torching homes and cars, and shooting at residents, according to local officials. Israel also carries out its first drone strike in the West Bank since 2006, killing three suspected militants.

In July, Israel stages an air and ground attack with 1,000 soldiers backed by drone strikes against a refugee camp inside Jenin, killing 12 people. The operation marks the start of an "extensive counterterrorism effort" that the Israel Defense Forces says will continue indefinitely.

October 2023: Israel says it's 'at war' after Hamas attack
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Netanyahu formally declares war on Hamas on Oct. 8 following a surprise assault by Hamas militants that came a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Israel's air force begins striking Hamas targets in Gaza after Hamas militants "infiltrate" Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, including by paraglider and over the sea, Israeli military leaders say. Israel says at least 1,000 Israelis have been killed in the surprise attacks that saw gunmen hunting down Israeli civilians in their homes around border areas.

A majorcounterattack of airstrikes by Israel in Gaza kills more than 920 Palestinians.

Three days into the fighting, Israeli commanders say they gained control of the border around the Gaza Strip and are preparing major military action "to change the reality" there. The United States pledges its full support for the upcoming Israeli offensive.

Claire Parker, Steve Hendrix, Shira Rubin, and Hazem Balousha contributed to this report.

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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A chronology

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A wave of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israel, and Israel's declaration of war against Hamas, has brought new attention to an old problem.

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An ongoing conflict going on right now is the conflict between Israel and Palestine. 900 Israeli and 700 Palestinians have been killed in hundreds of air strikes in the war between them. This issue is not a new and its almost a 100 year issue. Britain took control of the area known as Palestine after the ruler of that part of the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in World War One. The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority. Meaning that the conflict dates back to world war one. Some points that the Israeli's and Palestinians are:

What should happen to Palestinian refugees

Whether Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank should stay or be removed

Whether the two sides should share Jerusalem

And - perhaps most tricky of all - whether a Palestinian state should be created alongside Israel

Overall, there is no moral justification for what is happening and simply put, there are hundreds of people dying. These are innocent lives that are being lost to a war that had no substantial meaning to the longevity and prosperity of the world.
-kapish

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Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

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The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running in the world.

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Hamas is a group that wants to fight for control over their holy land and they have a conflict with israel due to land disputes.

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The tensions and conflicts that have resulted in something that is currently a huge war, have actually been around since the 1990s. Recently, in August, Israeli forces launched a three-day offense on the Gaza Strip that included multiple war crimes and completely compounded the impact of the 15-year blockade that would cause the Palestine territory to become further fragmented. The Israel forces also imposed abritary restrictions on movements regarding freedom. This caused a huge rise in the amount of Palestinians that were killed unlawfully, and punished in horrible ways. This entire situation is just so terrible and sad, especially considering the amount of lives that were lost to an issue like this. So, despite what side people take on this situation, the entire issue is truly tragic, and we shouldn't be able to stand by and watch this happen, while so many people are dying for such problems like these.

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Human rights in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories

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Stay up to date on the state of human rights in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories with the latest research, campaigns and education material from Amnesty International.

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A terrorist group originating from Palestine called Hamas launched an aerial rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip over the weekend. The tension between the two countries has been rising for a long time, ever since the UN split the land into two. Both countries have had conflicts over land, especially the Gaza Strip, and there have been religious tensions as well. Around 1,200 innocent people have died so far on both sides. Israel is now amassing troops near the Gaza Strip. The people of Gaza are now caught between the two offensive parties.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/whats-the-israel-palestine-conflict-about-a-simple-guide

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396

The articles talk about how the conflict started which dates back to around 100 years ago. It dates back to people fleeing from persecution and it led to territory conflicts. What is happening now is that people are dying on both sides. There are very different conflicts now on both sides such as what should happen to Palestine refugees and who should share Jerusalem. These just show that sides are a huge thing in this conflict as well as territories.

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ReutersOctober 11, 20238:56 PM UTCUpdated a month ago

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What’s the Israel-Palestinian conflict about and how did it start?

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The fighting between Israel and Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on Saturday, is the latest in seven decades of war and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has drawn in outside powers and destabilised the wider Middle East.

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On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed an emergency government consisting of former army chiefs to address the conflict.

The conflict has a deep history and includes territorial, religious, and political disputes. Tensions reached the extremes on Saturday, when Hamas broke through the Israel-Palestine border and surged into Palestinian towns.

Israel has responded with vicious airstrikes and military operations of their own. Netanyahu has declared war and vows to crush the Hamas group. Israel's death toll from the attack has reached 1,200. At least 1,100 Palestinians have died from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

The US and other nations have strongly condemned the Hamas attack. President Biden declared that the US has a moral duty to assist Israel in its defense.

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-10-11-23/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67084326
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/photos-israel-hamas-war/

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What we're covering

Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighborhoods to rubble, as new atrocities are uncovered in its territory after a devastating attack by Hamas militants. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he has "released all restraints" on Israeli troops in their fight against Hamas.

US President Joe Biden described the Hamas attack as an "act of sheer evil," and confirmed that 14 Americans were killed while others were heldhostage in Gaza. Between 100 and 150 hostages are believed held in Gaza, an Israeli official said.

Since Saturday, more than 1,000 people have died in Israel, according to Israel Army Radio, and 900 people have died in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

As deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies, so too does a dire humanitarian crisis in the area.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured on both sides after Hamas launched unprecedented attacks on Israel on Saturday. Subsequent airstrikes have overwhelmed local hospitals and displaced more than 100,000 people in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.

The intense fighting has also hampered humanitarian relief. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which suffered damage to one of its buildings in Gaza, is calling for the protection of humanitarian workers, civilians, and critical infrastructure. Calling the situation "horrific," Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is urging restraint after medical facilities have been destroyed in the fighting.

Impact Your World has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israel and more than 900 people are dead in Gaza, according to Israel's Army Radio and the Palestinian Health Ministry. Thousands more are injured, according to officials.

The fighting comes as a humanitarian crisis is swiftly unfolding in Gaza where trapped residents, many cut off from food and electricity, face a fifth day of Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas' deadly attacks in Israel.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it fired "hundreds" of rockets toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Here's where things stand:

Hamas attacks Israel: A huge barrage of rockets were fired from Gaza by Hamas on Ashkelon in "response to the displacement of civilians in Gaza," a statement on Telegram said. It followed a warning issued to the residents of the southern Israeli city to leave before 5 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Israeli troops massing: Israel is pounding the densely-packed Gaza Strip with airstrikes, especially on the Gaza port, the Israel Defense Forces said. IDF troops were engaged in a firefight with Hamas militants near the town of Mefalsim, which borders the enclave, Tuesday evening local time, multiple IDF troops on the ground told CNN. Tens of thousands of Israeli troops are on the move as the country prepares for a possible ground operation.

Defense minister's warning: Yoav Gallant said he has "released all restraints" on the IDF troops in their fight against Hamas. "Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors - we will eliminate him at the height of our power and without compromise," the defense minister told soldiers during an inspection of the front line along Israel's border with Gaza on Tuesday.

One way out: The only border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was struck by Israeli warplanes Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Interior Ministry Eyad al-Bozom said. The tightly controlled Rafah crossing is the only one available to Gazans looking to flee. All other crossings out of the territory are shut.

Biden offers support to Israel: US President Joe Biden condemned Saturday's rampage by Hamas, calling it "an act of sheer evil" and said Israel has the right to respond. He pledged that the US would make sure Israel has the tools it needs to defend itself. The US has "enhanced our military force posture" in the region and is surging military assistance to Israel, the president said. Biden also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for the third time since the conflict erupted "to discuss our support for Israel," the White House said.

Foreign nationals killed: At last 14 Americans are among those killed in Israel, Biden said, adding that US citizens are also among those taken hostage by Hamas.Eight French citizens have been confirmed dead and 20 others are missing, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. The Canadian government says it is aware of reports that one Canadian was killed and three others are missing.

More on victims: Israeli-American Roey Weiser was killed during Saturday's attack, his mother, Naomi Feifer-Weiser told CNN. Weiser was a sergeant who served in the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade and was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, his mother said. Read more about the victims.

Flights out of Israel: The US State Department said it has "been in conversation" with various airlines to "encourage them to consider resuming travel in and out of Israel" so that people can leave. German airline Lufthansa will operate several special flights on Thursday and Friday to evacuate German citizens, the country's foreign office said. The French government is also in contact with Air France to organize a special flight Thursday to evacuate French citizens, according to the foreign minister.

Intense airstrikes hit residential areas in the eastern part of Jabalia and the Qizan al-Najjar region in Khan Yunis, Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

The attacks targeted civilians' homes and roads and resulted in "direct injuries among citizens," the ministry said in a statement.

More than 900 people have died in Gaza and thousands more have been injured since Israeli airstrikes began on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces have not yet commented on the latest strikes.

Officials with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said Tuesday four of its employees have died as a result of airstrikes on Gaza.

At least 14 of their facilities in Gaza have been damaged directly or indirectly, UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told UN News.

The agency has been unable to bring any aid into the Gaza Strip since Saturday, Touma said.

UNRWA hosts 170,000 people in more than 80 schools and other facilities throughout Gaza. As schools reach their capacity, people have been forced to seek shelter in health care facilities, Touma said.

UNRWA headquarters were subjected to collateral damage on Tuesday morning due to airstrikes in the surrounding neighborhoods, she said. Some of UNRWA's employees were taking shelter in the same compound in a nearby building during the strikes, she said.

Dozens of fighter jets struck more than 70 targets in the Daraja Tuffah area of the Gaza Strip early Wednesday local time, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighborhoods to rubble, as new atrocities are uncovered in its territory after a devastating surprise attack by Hamas militants. Hamas sent fighters pouring into Israeli territory on Saturday. More than 1,000 people were killed in Israel and thousands more injured in the onslaught, according to the IDF.

"A short while ago, dozens of fighter jets struck over 70 targets in the Daraj Tuffah area," the IDF said on Telegram, describing it as a location "where a large number of terror attacks against Israel are directed."
"Furthermore, terror infrastructure used by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization was also struck," it said.

CNN previously reported Israel, which has formally declared war on Hamas, is now battering the densely inhabited strip with airstrikes that have killed at least 900 people, including hundreds of children, women, and entire families, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Thousands more have been injured, it said.

The death toll in the West Bank since Saturday has now risen to 21 killed and 130 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.

The West Bank is led by the Palestinian Authority. The Fatah party, a rival faction to Hamas, is the political backbone of the Palestinian Authority.

The deaths occurred in clashes due to Israeli "aggression" and many of the victims were shot, the ministry said.

Clashes erupted in several parts of the occupied West Bank amid a closure that was imposed by the Israeli army following Hamas' attack in southern Israel Saturday morning.

Israel's defense minister said he has "released all restraints" on the Israel Defense Forces' troops in their fight against Hamas.

"Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors - we will eliminate him at the height of our power and without compromise," Yoav Gallant told soldiers during an inspection of the front line along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

"Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, it will change 180 degrees from what he thought. They will regret this moment. Gaza will never return to what it was," Gallant said, calling Hamas the "ISIS of Gaza."

The minister visited the IDF's Gaza division headquarters in the Re'im military base. He also spoke to Shaldag fighters, paratroopers and soldiers at kibbutz Be'eri, one of the sites Hamas first targeted over the weekend.

"We will be back here, in Be'eri, in a few months, and the situation will be different. We will settle the kibbutz to the last meter, and what happened in Gaza will not happen," Gallant said.

Airstrikes have beenIsrael's primary retaliation measure so far in Gaza, with jets repeatedly pounding the heavily populated 140 square mile coastal strip, turning multiple buildings to rubble, displacing tens of thousands of people and sending waves of injured Palestinians to overwhelmed hospitals.

The streets of Ashdod have been deserted since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Saturday morning.

But the unmistakable sounds of the war are constant in this Israeli city, about 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Gaza.

An intense and near continuous thunder of explosions has been heard from the Gaza Strip for more than 48 hours now. At the same time, rockets are being launched from Gaza.

When that happens, the sirens go off, giving residents about 45 seconds to find a shelter. Most of the buildings in Ashdod were built in the 1990s, during the city's huge expansion following a wave of immigration from the Soviet Union. That means most apartments are equipped with shelters - a requirement for all buildings built here after 1993.

The vast majority of restaurants and cafes are shut, the sprawling beaches are closed and most people are staying inside.

For days now, the city has seen a heavy military presence and tensions are running high. At one point on Tuesday evening, about two dozen soldiers could be seen running outside and spending about 15 minutes patrolling a street in the city center before returning to one of the hotels that have become their hub.

Rockets were launched from Syria into Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday.

The rockets landed in open areas, the IDF said.

The IDF did not immediately provide details on damage or injuries.

A Syrian eyewitness, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, said three rockets were launched in the direction of the Golan Heights.

According to the media activist group Shaam News Network, 12 rockets were launched from various Syrian locations close to the Israeli border. Of these, eight rockets landed inside Syria, while four flew toward the Golan Heights. It was not immediately clear where they landed.

The Golan Heights is under Israeli government control and is considered to be occupied territory by the international community.

What we're covering

Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighborhoods to rubble, as new atrocities are uncovered in its territory after a devastating attack by Hamas militants. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he has "released all restraints" on Israeli troops in their fight against Hamas.

US President Joe Biden described the Hamas attack as an "act of sheer evil," and confirmed that 14 Americans were killed while others were heldhostage in Gaza. Between 100 and 150 hostages are believed held in Gaza, an Israeli official said.

Since Saturday, more than 1,000 people have died in Israel, according to Israel Army Radio, and 900 people have died in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

As deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies, so too does a dire humanitarian crisis in the area.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured on both sides after Hamas launched unprecedented attacks on Israel on Saturday. Subsequent airstrikes have overwhelmed local hospitals and displaced more than 100,000 people in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.

The intense fighting has also hampered humanitarian relief. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which suffered damage to one of its buildings in Gaza, is calling for the protection of humanitarian workers, civilians, and critical infrastructure. Calling the situation "horrific," Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is urging restraint after medical facilities have been destroyed in the fighting.

Impact Your World has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israel and more than 900 people are dead in Gaza, according to Israel's Army Radio and the Palestinian Health Ministry. Thousands more are injured, according to officials.

The fighting comes as a humanitarian crisis is swiftly unfolding in Gaza where trapped residents, many cut off from food and electricity, face a fifth day of Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas' deadly attacks in Israel.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it fired "hundreds" of rockets toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Here's where things stand:

Hamas attacks Israel: A huge barrage of rockets were fired from Gaza by Hamas on Ashkelon in "response to the displacement of civilians in Gaza," a statement on Telegram said. It followed a warning issued to the residents of the southern Israeli city to leave before 5 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Israeli troops massing: Israel is pounding the densely-packed Gaza Strip with airstrikes, especially on the Gaza port, the Israel Defense Forces said. IDF troops were engaged in a firefight with Hamas militants near the town of Mefalsim, which borders the enclave, Tuesday evening local time, multiple IDF troops on the ground told CNN. Tens of thousands of Israeli troops are on the move as the country prepares for a possible ground operation.

Defense minister's warning: Yoav Gallant said he has "released all restraints" on the IDF troops in their fight against Hamas. "Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors - we will eliminate him at the height of our power and without compromise," the defense minister told soldiers during an inspection of the front line along Israel's border with Gaza on Tuesday.

One way out: The only border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was struck by Israeli warplanes Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Interior Ministry Eyad al-Bozom said. The tightly controlled Rafah crossing is the only one available to Gazans looking to flee. All other crossings out of the territory are shut.

Biden offers support to Israel: US President Joe Biden condemned Saturday's rampage by Hamas, calling it "an act of sheer evil" and said Israel has the right to respond. He pledged that the US would make sure Israel has the tools it needs to defend itself. The US has "enhanced our military force posture" in the region and is surging military assistance to Israel, the president said. Biden also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for the third time since the conflict erupted "to discuss our support for Israel," the White House said.

Foreign nationals killed: At last 14 Americans are among those killed in Israel, Biden said, adding that US citizens are also among those taken hostage by Hamas.Eight French citizens have been confirmed dead and 20 others are missing, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. The Canadian government says it is aware of reports that one Canadian was killed and three others are missing.

More on victims: Israeli-American Roey Weiser was killed during Saturday's attack, his mother, Naomi Feifer-Weiser told CNN. Weiser was a sergeant who served in the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade and was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, his mother said. Read more about the victims.

Flights out of Israel: The US State Department said it has "been in conversation" with various airlines to "encourage them to consider resuming travel in and out of Israel" so that people can leave. German airline Lufthansa will operate several special flights on Thursday and Friday to evacuate German citizens, the country's foreign office said. The French government is also in contact with Air France to organize a special flight Thursday to evacuate French citizens, according to the foreign minister.

Intense airstrikes hit residential areas in the eastern part of Jabalia and the Qizan al-Najjar region in Khan Yunis, Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

The attacks targeted civilians' homes and roads and resulted in "direct injuries among citizens," the ministry said in a statement.

More than 900 people have died in Gaza and thousands more have been injured since Israeli airstrikes began on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces have not yet commented on the latest strikes.

Officials with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said Tuesday four of its employees have died as a result of airstrikes on Gaza.

At least 14 of their facilities in Gaza have been damaged directly or indirectly, UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told UN News.

The agency has been unable to bring any aid into the Gaza Strip since Saturday, Touma said.

UNRWA hosts 170,000 people in more than 80 schools and other facilities throughout Gaza. As schools reach their capacity, people have been forced to seek shelter in health care facilities, Touma said.

UNRWA headquarters were subjected to collateral damage on Tuesday morning due to airstrikes in the surrounding neighborhoods, she said. Some of UNRWA's employees were taking shelter in the same compound in a nearby building during the strikes, she said.

Dozens of fighter jets struck more than 70 targets in the Daraja Tuffah area of the Gaza Strip early Wednesday local time, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighborhoods to rubble, as new atrocities are uncovered in its territory after a devastating surprise attack by Hamas militants. Hamas sent fighters pouring into Israeli territory on Saturday. More than 1,000 people were killed in Israel and thousands more injured in the onslaught, according to the IDF.

"A short while ago, dozens of fighter jets struck over 70 targets in the Daraj Tuffah area," the IDF said on Telegram, describing it as a location "where a large number of terror attacks against Israel are directed."
"Furthermore, terror infrastructure used by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization was also struck," it said.

CNN previously reported Israel, which has formally declared war on Hamas, is now battering the densely inhabited strip with airstrikes that have killed at least 900 people, including hundreds of children, women, and entire families, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Thousands more have been injured, it said.

The death toll in the West Bank since Saturday has now risen to 21 killed and 130 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.

The West Bank is led by the Palestinian Authority. The Fatah party, a rival faction to Hamas, is the political backbone of the Palestinian Authority.

The deaths occurred in clashes due to Israeli "aggression" and many of the victims were shot, the ministry said.

Clashes erupted in several parts of the occupied West Bank amid a closure that was imposed by the Israeli army following Hamas' attack in southern Israel Saturday morning.

Israel's defense minister said he has "released all restraints" on the Israel Defense Forces' troops in their fight against Hamas.

"Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors - we will eliminate him at the height of our power and without compromise," Yoav Gallant told soldiers during an inspection of the front line along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

"Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, it will change 180 degrees from what he thought. They will regret this moment. Gaza will never return to what it was," Gallant said, calling Hamas the "ISIS of Gaza."

The minister visited the IDF's Gaza division headquarters in the Re'im military base. He also spoke to Shaldag fighters, paratroopers and soldiers at kibbutz Be'eri, one of the sites Hamas first targeted over the weekend.

"We will be back here, in Be'eri, in a few months, and the situation will be different. We will settle the kibbutz to the last meter, and what happened in Gaza will not happen," Gallant said.

Airstrikes have beenIsrael's primary retaliation measure so far in Gaza, with jets repeatedly pounding the heavily populated 140 square mile coastal strip, turning multiple buildings to rubble, displacing tens of thousands of people and sending waves of injured Palestinians to overwhelmed hospitals.

The streets of Ashdod have been deserted since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Saturday morning.

But the unmistakable sounds of the war are constant in this Israeli city, about 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Gaza.

An intense and near continuous thunder of explosions has been heard from the Gaza Strip for more than 48 hours now. At the same time, rockets are being launched from Gaza.

When that happens, the sirens go off, giving residents about 45 seconds to find a shelter. Most of the buildings in Ashdod were built in the 1990s, during the city's huge expansion following a wave of immigration from the Soviet Union. That means most apartments are equipped with shelters - a requirement for all buildings built here after 1993.

The vast majority of restaurants and cafes are shut, the sprawling beaches are closed and most people are staying inside.

For days now, the city has seen a heavy military presence and tensions are running high. At one point on Tuesday evening, about two dozen soldiers could be seen running outside and spending about 15 minutes patrolling a street in the city center before returning to one of the hotels that have become their hub.

Rockets were launched from Syria into Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday.

The rockets landed in open areas, the IDF said.

The IDF did not immediately provide details on damage or injuries.

A Syrian eyewitness, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, said three rockets were launched in the direction of the Golan Heights.

According to the media activist group Shaam News Network, 12 rockets were launched from various Syrian locations close to the Israeli border. Of these, eight rockets landed inside Syria, while four flew toward the Golan Heights. It was not immediately clear where they landed.

The Golan Heights is under Israeli government control and is considered to be occupied territory by the international community.

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By Kathleen Magramo and Adam Renton, CNN

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Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighborhoods to rubble, as new atrocities are uncovered after a devastating attack by Hamas militants. Follow that latest news here.

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Currently Israel and an Islamic militant group called Hamas are at war with each other. Israel has formed an emergency government involving the current prime minister and opposition leader.  Israel has prevented the Gaza Strip's single operational power plant from its constant barrage of attacks and stopped sending its own supplies. The Israeli military is stationing troopers near the Gaza Strip to prepare for a brutal counterattack against the Hamas organization. Furthermore, the USFG has made it clear that is watching Iran.

Sachiv Sekaran

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What's the Israel-Palestine conflict and how did it start? -Deekshita 

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What's the Israel-Palestine conflict and how did it start? -Deekshita 

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict pits Israeli demands for security against Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own

Israel's creation in 1948 is seen as the Nakba, resulting in their dispossession and blocked their dreams of statehood

Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes, ending up in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem

Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory has been ongoing since 1967, with wars and intifadas ongoing

Peace efforts have been stalled since 2014, with U.S. President Donald Trump refusing to endorse the two-state solution

The US administration is focused on securing a "grand bargain" in the Middle East that includes normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia

Disputes over Jerusalem, Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees are at the core of the dispute

Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, have signed peace deals with Israel in the past.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-palestinian-dispute-hinges-statehood-land-jerusalem-refugees-2023-10-10/

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ReutersOctober 11, 20238:56 PM UTCUpdated a month ago

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What’s the Israel-Palestinian conflict about and how did it start?

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The fighting between Israel and Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on Saturday, is the latest in seven decades of war and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has drawn in outside powers and destabilised the wider Middle East.

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The Israel-Palestine conflict dates back to the end of the 19th century, when Zionists tried creating a jewish homeland in Palestine under Ottoman rule. Jewish immigrants arrived, and the increased international demand for the creation of a jewish state in Palestine led to the founding of Israel in 1948. This led to struggle between Israel and the Palestinian people.
The Arab-Israeli war of 1948 broke out when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate, which immediately followed the state of Israel's announcement of independence on May 14, 1948. The ongoing Israel vs. Palestine conflict in 2023 started after the Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1200 Israelis and taking around 150 people hostage. After crossing the border into several towns in Southern Israel, Hamas fighters kidnapped and killed over a thousand Israelis. As of today, they now hold at least 150 hostages, some of which are U.S. citizens, and have threatened an execution each time Israeli forces attack civilians in Gaza without warning. This attack, one of the most broad-scale in recent memory, took Israel surprise since it arrived on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. Given Hamas infiltrated the country by land, air, and sea, the nation's Iron Dome missile defense system failed to deflect some of the rocket attacks. In response to this attack, Israeli forces bombed the Gaza strip, killing more than 1100 people and injuring thousands more, according to Palestinian authority. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has positioned troops along the Gaza border, signaling preparations for a possible ground offensive.

Sources:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/arab-israeli-war#:~:text=The%20Arab%2DIsraeli%20War%20of%201948%20broke%20out%20when%20five,Israel%20on%20May%2014%2C%201948.

U.S. Department of State (.gov)
https://history.state.gov › milestones › arab-israeli-war

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker

Council on Foreign Relations

https://www.cfr.org › global-conflict-tracker › israeli-pa...

https://www.nalandaopenuniversity.com/israel-vs-palestine-conflict-war/#:~:text=Israel%20Gaza%20Conflict%202023&text=It%20later%20arose%20when%20the,Hamas%20fatah%20was%20violently%20ousted.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/10/11/hamas-israel-conflict-war-explained/71133876007/

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The  Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. In 1947, the United Nations adopted  Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel's victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.

Over the following years, tensions rose in the region, particularly between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Following the  1956 Suez Crisis and Israel's invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria signed mutual defense pacts in anticipation of a possible mobilization of Israeli troops. In June 1967, following  a series of maneuvers by Egyptian President Abdel Gamal Nasser, Israel preemptively attacked Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting the Six-Day War. After the war, Israel gained territorial control over the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan; and the Golan Heights from Syria. Six years later, in what is referred to as the Yom Kippur War or the October War, Egypt and Syria launched  a surprise two-front attack on Israel to regain their lost territory; the conflict did not result in significant gains for Egypt, Israel, or Syria, but Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat declared the war a victory for Egypt as it allowed Egypt and Syria to  negotiate over previously ceded territory. Finally, in 1979, following a series of cease-fires and peace negotiations, representatives from Egypt and Israel signed the  Camp David Accords, a peace treaty that ended the thirty-year conflict between Egypt and Israel.

Even though the Camp David Accords improved relations between Israel and its neighbors, the question of Palestinian self-determination and self-governance remained unresolved. In 1987, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip rose up against the Israeli government in what is known as the first intifada. The 1993  Oslo I Accords mediated the conflict, setting up a framework for the Palestinians to govern themselves in the West Bank and Gaza, and enabled mutual recognition between the newly established Palestinian Authority and Israel's government. In 1995, the  Oslo II  Accords expanded on the first agreement, adding provisions that mandated the complete withdrawal of Israel from 6 cities and 450 towns in the West Bank.

In 2000, sparked in part by Palestinian grievances over Israel's control over the West Bank, a stagnating peace process, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's  visit to the al-Aqsa mosque-the third holiest site in Islam-in September 2000, Palestinians  launched the second intifada, which would last until 2005. In response, the Israeli government approved the  construction of a barrier wall around the West Bank in 2002, despite  opposition  from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Factionalism among the Palestinians flared up when Hamas won the Palestinian Authority's parliamentary elections in 2006, deposing longtime majority party Fatah. This gave Hamas, a political and militant movement inspired by the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, control of the Gaza Strip. Gaza is a small piece of land on the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt to the south and has been under the rule of the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority since 1993. The United States and European Union, among others, did not acknowledge Hamas' electoral victory, as the group has been considered a terrorist organization by western governments since the late 1990s. Following Hamas' seizure of control, violence broke out between Hamas and Fatah. Between 2006 and 2011, a series of failed peace talks and deadly confrontations culminated in an agreement to reconcile. Fatah entered into a unity government with Hamas in 2014.

In the summer of 2014,  clashes in the Palestinian territories precipitated a  military confrontation between the Israeli military and Hamas in which Hamas fired nearly three thousand rockets at Israel, and Israel retaliated with a major offensive in Gaza. The skirmish ended in late August 2014 with a  cease-fire deal brokered by Egypt, but only after 73 Israelis and 2,251 Palestinians were  killed. After a wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in 2015, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah  announced that Palestinians would no longer be bound by the territorial divisions created by the  Oslo Accords. In March and May of 2018, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip conducted weekly demonstrations at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The final protest coincided with the seventieth anniversary of the  Nakba, the Palestinian exodus that accompanied Israeli independence. While most of the protesters were peaceful, some stormed the perimeter fence and threw rocks and other objects.  According to the United Nations, 183 demonstrators were killed and more than 6,000 were wounded by live ammunition. The tense political atmosphere resulted in a return to disunity between Fatah and Hamas, with Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party controlling the Palestinian Authority from the West Bank and Hamas de facto ruling the Gaza Strip. This remained largely true throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, despite Abbas' efforts to bring the Palestinian people together under the Palestinian Authority.

In May of 2018, fighting once again broke out between Hamas and the IDF in what became the worst period of violence since 2014. Before reaching a  cease-fire, militants in Gaza fired over one hundred rockets into Israel; Israel  responded  with strikes on more than fifty targets in Gaza during the twenty-four-hour flare-up.

The Donald J. Trump administration set achieving an Israeli-Palestinian deal as a foreign policy priority. In 2018, the Trump administration  canceled funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, and  relocated the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a reversal of a longstanding U.S. policy. The decision to move the U.S. embassy was met with applause from the Israeli leadership but was  condemned by Palestinian leaders and others in the Middle East and Europe. Israel considers the " complete and united Jerusalem" its capital, while Palestinians  claim [PDF] East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. In January 2020, the Trump administration released its long-awaited " Peace to Prosperity" plan, which was rejected by Palestinians due to its support for future Israeli  annexation  of settlements in the West Bank and control over an "undivided" Jerusalem.

In October 2020, an Israeli court  ruled that several Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah-a neighborhood in East Jerusalem-were to be evicted by May 2021 with their land  handed over to Jewish families. In February 2021, several Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah filed an appeal to the court ruling, prompting  protests around the appeal hearings, the ongoing legal battle around property ownership, and the forcible displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.

After the clashes in Jerusalem's Old City, tensions increased throughout East Jerusalem, compounded by the celebration of  Jerusalem Day. On May 10, after several consecutive days of violence throughout Jerusalem and the use of lethal and nonlethal force by Israeli police, Hamas, the militant group which governs Gaza, and other Palestinian  militant groups launched hundreds of  rockets  into Israeli territory.

On May 21, 2021, Israel and Hamas agreed to a  cease-fire, brokered by Egypt, with both sides claiming victory. More than 250 Palestinians were  killed and nearly 2,000 others wounded, and at least 13 Israelis were killed over the eleven days of fighting. Authorities in Gaza estimate that tens of millions of dollars of  damage was done, and the United Nations estimates that more than 72,000 Palestinians were  displaced  by the fighting.

Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, President Joe Biden made a strong statement of support for Israel. On the same day that Israel declared war against the terrorist group, the United States announced that it would send renewed shipments of arms and move its Mediterranean Sea warships closer to Israel. While the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting to discuss the renewed violence, the members failed to come to a consensus statement. Given the history of brutality when Israel and Palestinian extremist groups have fought in the past, international groups quickly expressed concern for the safety of civilians in Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as those being held hostage by militants in Gaza. In the first two days of fighting, approximately 800 Israelis and 500 Palestinians were killed. Increasing loss of life is of primary concern in the conflict.

A 2023 effort by the United States to help broker a normalization accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia was thrown into chaos by the October conflict. Saudi Arabia has long advocated for the rights and safety of Palestinian Arab populations in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Especially in Gaza, those populations are now in the path of IDF operations, jeopardizing the progress the Israelis and Saudis made toward common understanding.

2022 marked a renewed level of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The first nine months of 2023 were characterized by a steady trend of clashes in the West Bank, including nearly daily Israeli incursions. Israel  approved five thousand new settler homes in June 2023 which, along with other settlements in Palestinian territory, are considered by experts and intergovernmental institutions to be illegal under international law. The Israeli military also escalated its operations, including  raiding the al-Aqsa mosque twice in one day, wounding thirty-five in a  Ramallah operation, and  firing missiles from a helicopter at the Jenin refugee camp. In May, Israel battled Gazan militants for five days, with nearly two thousand combined  missile launches by Hamas and Israeli forces. Then, in July, Israel deployed nearly two thousand troops and conducted drone strikes in a  large-scale raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, killing twelve Palestinians and wounding fifty. Israel, which lost one soldier in the operation, claimed all those killed were militants. While withdrawing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the incursion was " not a one-off" incident; Israel intends to prevent the camp from serving as a  safe haven for Jenin Brigades and other militant groups. Hamas responded to the raid by carrying out an  attack in Tel Aviv and  launching missiles  at Israel.

The October 2023 conflict between Israel and Hamas marks the most significant escalation of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in several decades.

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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker

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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, primarily as a conflict over territory. Learn about the origins of this conflict and track the latest developments on CFR's Global Conflict Tracker.

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The Israel vs Palestine War has been dated back to the end of the nineteenth century. Issues include that Palestine wants to capture East Jerusalem which is sacred to the Israel Country. Many things that have been happening include freedom movements, forced evictions, unlawful killings and attacks, torture and other violent actions. These are just a few of many things that have been going on over the past couple of years, despite the conflict origins starting around the 1900's. The fighting in my opinion will continue to go on until each side gets what they need.

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The Israel and Palestine conflict has taken tens of thousands of lives since it's started. Israel declared war on the Gaza Strip
an unprecedented attack by the armed Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday, the world’s eyes are again sharply focused on what might come next. This conflict has been going on for years but now Palestine is fighting back.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/whats-the-israel-palestine-conflict-about-a-simple-guide

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/10/11/israel-war-hamas-gaza-live-updates/71139748007/
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-palestinian-dispute-hinges-statehood-land-jerusalem-refugees-2023-10-10/

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Palestinians carry their possessions on their heads as they flee from a village in Galilee about five months after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 [File: Reuters]

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced many millions of people and has its roots in a colonial act carried out more than a century ago.

With Israel declaring war on the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented attack by the armed Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday, the world's eyes are again sharply focused on what might come next.

Keep reading

Hamas fighters have killed more than 800 Israelis in assaults on multiple towns in southern Israel. In response, Israel has launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians. It has mobilised troops along the Gaza border, apparently in preparation for a ground attack. And on Monday, it announced a "total blockade" of the Gaza Strip, stopping the supply of food, fuel and other essential commodities to the already besieged enclave in an act that under international law amounts to a war crime.

But what unfolds in the coming days and weeks has its seed in history.

For decades, Western media outlets, academics, military experts and world leaders have described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as intractable, complicated and deadlocked.

Here's a simple guide to break down one of the world's longest-running conflicts:

What was the Balfour Declaration?

More than 100 years ago, on November 2, 1917, Britain's then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.

The letter was short - just 67 words - but its contents had a seismic effect on Palestine that is still felt to this day.

It committed the British government to "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" and to facilitating "the achievement of this object". The letter is known as the Balfour Declaration.

In essence, a European power promised the Zionist movement a country where Palestinian Arab natives made up more than 90 percent of the population.

A British Mandate was created in 1923 and lasted until 1948. During that period, the British facilitated mass Jewish immigration - many of the new residents were fleeing Nazism in Europe - and they also faced protests and strikes. Palestinians were alarmed by their country's changing demographics and British confiscation of their lands to be handed over to Jewish settlers.

What happened during the 1930s?

Escalating tensions eventually led to the Arab Revolt, which lasted from 1936 to 1939.

In April 1936, the newly formed Arab National Committee called on Palestinians to launch a general strike, withhold tax payments and boycott Jewish products to protest British colonialism and growing Jewish immigration.

The six-month strike was brutally repressed by the British, who launched a mass arrest campaign and carried out punitive home demolitions, a practice that Israel continues to implement against Palestinians today.

The second phase of the revolt began in late 1937 and was led by the Palestinian peasantresistance movement, which targeted British forces and colonialism.

By the second half of 1939, Britain had massed 30,000 troops in Palestine. Villages were bombed by air, curfews imposed, homes demolished, and administrative detentions and summary killings were widespread.

In tandem, the British collaborated with the Jewish settler community and formed armed groups and a British-led "counterinsurgency force" of Jewish fighters named the Special Night Squads.

Within the Yishuv, the pre-state settler community, arms were secretly imported and weapons factories established to expand the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary that later became the core of the Israeli army.

In those three years of revolt, 5,000 Palestinians were killed, 15,000 to 20,000 were wounded and 5,600 were imprisoned.

What was the UN partition plan?

By 1947, the Jewish population had ballooned to 33 percent of Palestine, but they owned only 6 percent of the land.

The United Nations adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.

The Palestinians rejected the plan because it allotted about 55 percent of Palestine to the Jewish state, including most of the fertile coastal region.

At the time, the Palestinians owned 94 percent of historic Palestine and comprised 67 percent of its population.

The 1948 Nakba, or the ethnic cleansing of Palestine

Even before the British Mandate expired on May 14, 1948, Zionist paramilitaries were already embarking on a military operation to destroy Palestinian towns and villages to expand the borders of the Zionist state that was to be born.

In April 1948, more than 100 Palestinian men, women and children were killed in the village of Deir Yassin on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

That set the tone for the rest of the operation, and from 1947 to 1949, more than 500 Palestinian villages, towns and cities were destroyed in what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic.

An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed, including in dozens of massacres.

The Zionist movement captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

An estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes.

Today their descendants live as six million refugees in 58 squalid camps throughout Palestine and in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

On May 15, 1948, Israel announced its establishment.

The following day, the first Arab-Israeli war began and fighting ended in January 1949 after an armistice between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194, which calls for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The years after the Nakba

At least 150,000 Palestinians remained in the newly created state of Israel and lived under a tightly controlled military occupation for almost 20 years before they were eventually granted Israeli citizenship.

Egypt took over the Gaza Strip, and in 1950, Jordan began its administrative rule over the West Bank.

In 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed, and a year later, the Fatah political party was established.

The Naksa, or the Six-Day War and the settlements

On June 5, 1967, Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War against a coalition of Arab armies.

For some Palestinians, this led to a second forced displacement, or Naksa, which means "setback" in Arabic.

In December 1967, the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was formed. Over the next decade, a series of attacks and plane hijackings by leftist groups drew the world's attention to the plight of the Palestinians.

Settlement construction began in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. A two-tier system was created with Jewish settlers afforded all the rights and privileges of being Israeli citizens whereas Palestinians had to live under a military occupation that discriminated against them and barred any form of political or civic expression.

The first Intifada 1987-1993

The first Palestinian Intifada erupted in the Gaza Strip in December 1987 after four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli truck collided with two vans carrying Palestinian workers.

Protests spread rapidly to the West Bank with young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli army tanks and soldiers.

It also led to the establishment of the Hamas movement, an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that engaged in armed resistance against the Israeli occupation.

The Israeli army's heavy-handed response was encapsulated by the "Break their Bones" policy advocated by then-Defence Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It included summary killings, closures of universities, deportations of activists and destruction of homes.

The Intifada was primarily carried out by young people and was directed by the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, a coalition of Palestinian political factions committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing Palestinian independence.

In 1988, the Arab League recognised the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

The Intifada was characterised by popular mobilisations, mass protests, civil disobedience, well-organised strikes and communal cooperatives.

According to the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem, 1,070 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the Intifada, including 237 children. More than 175,000 Palestinians were arrested.

The Intifada also prompted the international community to search for a solution to the conflict.

The Oslo years and the Palestinian Authority

The Intifada ended with the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), an interim government that was granted limited self-rule in pockets of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The PLO recognised Israel on the basis of a two-state solution and effectively signed agreements that gave Israel control of 60 percent of the West Bank, and much of the territory's land and water resources.

The PA was supposed to make way for the first elected Palestinian government running an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with its capital in East Jerusalem, but that has never happened.

Critics of the PA view it as a corrupt subcontractor to the Israeli occupation that collaborates closely with the Israeli military in clamping down on dissent and political activism against Israel.

In 1995, Israel built an electronic fence and concrete wall around the Gaza Strip, snapping interactions between the split Palestinian territories.

The second Intifada

The second Intifada began on September 28, 2000, when Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with thousands of security forces deployed in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.

Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces killed five Palestinians and injured 200 over two days.

The incident sparked a widespread armed uprising. During the Intifada, Israel caused unprecedented damage to the Palestinian economy and infrastructure.

Israel reoccupied areas governed by the Palestinian Authority and began construction of a separation wall that along with rampant settlement construction, destroyed Palestinian livelihoods and communities.

Settlements are illegal under international law, but over the years, hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers have moved to colonies built on stolen Palestinian land. The space for Palestinians is shrinking as settler-only roads and infrastructure slice up the occupied West Bank, forcing Palestinian cities and towns into bantustans, the isolated enclaves for Black South Africans that the country's former apartheid regime created.

At the time the Oslo Accords were signed, just over 110,000 Jewish settlers lived in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Today, the figure is more than 700,000 living on more than 100,000 hectares (390sq miles) of land expropriated from the Palestinians.

The Palestinian division and the Gaza blockade

PLO leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004, and a year later, the second Intifada ended, Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled, and Israeli soldiers and 9,000 settlers left the enclave.

A year later, Palestinians voted in a general election for the first time.

Hamas won a majority. However, a Fatah-Hamas civil war broke out, lasting for months, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians.

Hamas expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip, and Fatah - the main party of the Palestinian Authority - resumed control of parts of the West Bank.

In June 2007, Israel imposed a land, air and naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of "terrorism".

The wars on the Gaza Strip

Israel has launched four protracted military assaults on Gaza: in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including many children, and tens of thousands of homes, schools and office buildings have been destroyed.

Rebuilding has been next to impossible because the siege prevents construction materials, such as steel and cement, from reaching Gaza.

The 2008 assault involved the use of internationally banned weaponry, such as phosphorus gas.

In 2014, over a span of 50 days, Israel killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians and close to 500 children.

During the assault, called Operation Protective Edge by the Israelis, about 11,000 Palestinians were wounded, 20,000 homes were destroyed and half a million people displaced .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's the Israel-Palestine conflict about? A simple guide

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It's killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. And its future lies in its past. We break it down.

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Israel and Palestine are at the possible climax of a conflict going on for almost 100 years. Years ago, Palestinians were forced to move out of their homes to make way for the national home for jewish people. Hundreds of thousands of palestinians were forced to move in a cultural event called "The catastrophe" they have been rebelling in the form of hamas, a terrorist group set on destroying Israel. Today, israel has launched into a full country attack and are already killing many people.

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Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

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The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running in the world.

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Over the weekend, Hamas launched a violent attack on Israeli civilians. The conflict between the two has been bubbling for years and has become one of the most complex political situations in history. For years, the two groups have fought over boundary conflicts. Due to the attack over the weekend, an official war has been waged between the two. Israel is retaliating against Palestine by sending bombs over in response to the civilian killings.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/11/israel-palestine-war-biden-zelenskiy

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-10-11-23/index.html?tab=Catch%20Up

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/israel-americans-missing-killed-hostage.html

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What We Know About the Americans Missing or Killed in Israel

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Soldiers serving in the Israeli Army, idealists living in rural villages and a mother and daughter from the Chicago area were among the dead or unaccounted for, with some possibly being held hostage.

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Over the weekend war broke out between terrorist group Hamas and Israel

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The extremist Islamic terrorist organization, Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend and Israel officially declared war.
It is important to understand that it was Hamas, not Palestine that had started the conflict.
There have been tensions between Jews and Muslims for years, both sides believe they have rights to this region of land from their God and territory fights have been common over the last decades.
Both sides have had major casualties, civilian and military alike. Hamas has taken captive many hostages, including Americans, 22 of which have been killed.
In the past Hamas has used human shields in Palestine and has recently announced they plan to do the same w/ hostages while in Israel.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/
https://news.sky.com/video/hamas-uses-people-as-human-shields-says-us-secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-12982714
-claire takahashi

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The Hamas group launched a raid on Israel's border breaking through it took Israel two days to regain control of their land. Hamas retreated claiming they took 150 hostages. "IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Tuesday that the bodies of “about 1,500” Hamas fighters have been recovered inside Israel since the attack on Saturday." Hamas claims the attack was prompted by attacks on women, and the desecration of a mosque in Jerusalem. Gaza is the main area that Israel has decided to attack in response.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-mime-intl/index.html

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-as-the-war-between-israel-and-hamas-continues

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international relations and national security

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Israel is at war with Hamas. Here's what to know | CNN

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The Israeli military has told all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate "southwards" as it maintains its bombardment of the coastal enclave in response to last weekend's Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people.

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Israel declared war on the Gaza Strap after being attacked by the Palestinian group Hamas. Tension between the two groups have been escalating over time and have finally created an outburst. More than 800 Israelis have been killed by the Hamas fighters. From this, many will continue to fight and time will only tell how it ends.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-palestinian-dispute-hinges-statehood-land-jerusalem-refugees-2023-10-10/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict-timeline.html

-Isabelle Bett

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Palestinians carry their possessions on their heads as they flee from a village in Galilee about five months after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 [File: Reuters]

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced many millions of people and has its roots in a colonial act carried out more than a century ago.

With Israel declaring war on the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented attack by the armed Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday, the world's eyes are again sharply focused on what might come next.

Keep reading

Hamas fighters have killed more than 800 Israelis in assaults on multiple towns in southern Israel. In response, Israel has launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians. It has mobilised troops along the Gaza border, apparently in preparation for a ground attack. And on Monday, it announced a "total blockade" of the Gaza Strip, stopping the supply of food, fuel and other essential commodities to the already besieged enclave in an act that under international law amounts to a war crime.

But what unfolds in the coming days and weeks has its seed in history.

For decades, Western media outlets, academics, military experts and world leaders have described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as intractable, complicated and deadlocked.

Here's a simple guide to break down one of the world's longest-running conflicts:

What was the Balfour Declaration?

More than 100 years ago, on November 2, 1917, Britain's then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.

The letter was short - just 67 words - but its contents had a seismic effect on Palestine that is still felt to this day.

It committed the British government to "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" and to facilitating "the achievement of this object". The letter is known as the Balfour Declaration.

In essence, a European power promised the Zionist movement a country where Palestinian Arab natives made up more than 90 percent of the population.

A British Mandate was created in 1923 and lasted until 1948. During that period, the British facilitated mass Jewish immigration - many of the new residents were fleeing Nazism in Europe - and they also faced protests and strikes. Palestinians were alarmed by their country's changing demographics and British confiscation of their lands to be handed over to Jewish settlers.

What happened during the 1930s?

Escalating tensions eventually led to the Arab Revolt, which lasted from 1936 to 1939.

In April 1936, the newly formed Arab National Committee called on Palestinians to launch a general strike, withhold tax payments and boycott Jewish products to protest British colonialism and growing Jewish immigration.

The six-month strike was brutally repressed by the British, who launched a mass arrest campaign and carried out punitive home demolitions, a practice that Israel continues to implement against Palestinians today.

The second phase of the revolt began in late 1937 and was led by the Palestinian peasantresistance movement, which targeted British forces and colonialism.

By the second half of 1939, Britain had massed 30,000 troops in Palestine. Villages were bombed by air, curfews imposed, homes demolished, and administrative detentions and summary killings were widespread.

In tandem, the British collaborated with the Jewish settler community and formed armed groups and a British-led "counterinsurgency force" of Jewish fighters named the Special Night Squads.

Within the Yishuv, the pre-state settler community, arms were secretly imported and weapons factories established to expand the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary that later became the core of the Israeli army.

In those three years of revolt, 5,000 Palestinians were killed, 15,000 to 20,000 were wounded and 5,600 were imprisoned.

What was the UN partition plan?

By 1947, the Jewish population had ballooned to 33 percent of Palestine, but they owned only 6 percent of the land.

The United Nations adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.

The Palestinians rejected the plan because it allotted about 55 percent of Palestine to the Jewish state, including most of the fertile coastal region.

At the time, the Palestinians owned 94 percent of historic Palestine and comprised 67 percent of its population.

The 1948 Nakba, or the ethnic cleansing of Palestine

Even before the British Mandate expired on May 14, 1948, Zionist paramilitaries were already embarking on a military operation to destroy Palestinian towns and villages to expand the borders of the Zionist state that was to be born.

In April 1948, more than 100 Palestinian men, women and children were killed in the village of Deir Yassin on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

That set the tone for the rest of the operation, and from 1947 to 1949, more than 500 Palestinian villages, towns and cities were destroyed in what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic.

An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed, including in dozens of massacres.

The Zionist movement captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

An estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes.

Today their descendants live as six million refugees in 58 squalid camps throughout Palestine and in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

On May 15, 1948, Israel announced its establishment.

The following day, the first Arab-Israeli war began and fighting ended in January 1949 after an armistice between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194, which calls for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The years after the Nakba

At least 150,000 Palestinians remained in the newly created state of Israel and lived under a tightly controlled military occupation for almost 20 years before they were eventually granted Israeli citizenship.

Egypt took over the Gaza Strip, and in 1950, Jordan began its administrative rule over the West Bank.

In 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed, and a year later, the Fatah political party was established.

The Naksa, or the Six-Day War and the settlements

On June 5, 1967, Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War against a coalition of Arab armies.

For some Palestinians, this led to a second forced displacement, or Naksa, which means "setback" in Arabic.

In December 1967, the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was formed. Over the next decade, a series of attacks and plane hijackings by leftist groups drew the world's attention to the plight of the Palestinians.

Settlement construction began in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. A two-tier system was created with Jewish settlers afforded all the rights and privileges of being Israeli citizens whereas Palestinians had to live under a military occupation that discriminated against them and barred any form of political or civic expression.

The first Intifada 1987-1993

The first Palestinian Intifada erupted in the Gaza Strip in December 1987 after four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli truck collided with two vans carrying Palestinian workers.

Protests spread rapidly to the West Bank with young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli army tanks and soldiers.

It also led to the establishment of the Hamas movement, an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that engaged in armed resistance against the Israeli occupation.

The Israeli army's heavy-handed response was encapsulated by the "Break their Bones" policy advocated by then-Defence Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It included summary killings, closures of universities, deportations of activists and destruction of homes.

The Intifada was primarily carried out by young people and was directed by the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, a coalition of Palestinian political factions committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing Palestinian independence.

In 1988, the Arab League recognised the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

The Intifada was characterised by popular mobilisations, mass protests, civil disobedience, well-organised strikes and communal cooperatives.

According to the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem, 1,070 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the Intifada, including 237 children. More than 175,000 Palestinians were arrested.

The Intifada also prompted the international community to search for a solution to the conflict.

The Oslo years and the Palestinian Authority

The Intifada ended with the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), an interim government that was granted limited self-rule in pockets of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The PLO recognised Israel on the basis of a two-state solution and effectively signed agreements that gave Israel control of 60 percent of the West Bank, and much of the territory's land and water resources.

The PA was supposed to make way for the first elected Palestinian government running an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with its capital in East Jerusalem, but that has never happened.

Critics of the PA view it as a corrupt subcontractor to the Israeli occupation that collaborates closely with the Israeli military in clamping down on dissent and political activism against Israel.

In 1995, Israel built an electronic fence and concrete wall around the Gaza Strip, snapping interactions between the split Palestinian territories.

The second Intifada

The second Intifada began on September 28, 2000, when Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with thousands of security forces deployed in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.

Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces killed five Palestinians and injured 200 over two days.

The incident sparked a widespread armed uprising. During the Intifada, Israel caused unprecedented damage to the Palestinian economy and infrastructure.

Israel reoccupied areas governed by the Palestinian Authority and began construction of a separation wall that along with rampant settlement construction, destroyed Palestinian livelihoods and communities.

Settlements are illegal under international law, but over the years, hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers have moved to colonies built on stolen Palestinian land. The space for Palestinians is shrinking as settler-only roads and infrastructure slice up the occupied West Bank, forcing Palestinian cities and towns into bantustans, the isolated enclaves for Black South Africans that the country's former apartheid regime created.

At the time the Oslo Accords were signed, just over 110,000 Jewish settlers lived in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Today, the figure is more than 700,000 living on more than 100,000 hectares (390sq miles) of land expropriated from the Palestinians.

The Palestinian division and the Gaza blockade

PLO leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004, and a year later, the second Intifada ended, Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled, and Israeli soldiers and 9,000 settlers left the enclave.

A year later, Palestinians voted in a general election for the first time.

Hamas won a majority. However, a Fatah-Hamas civil war broke out, lasting for months, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians.

Hamas expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip, and Fatah - the main party of the Palestinian Authority - resumed control of parts of the West Bank.

In June 2007, Israel imposed a land, air and naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of "terrorism".

The wars on the Gaza Strip

Israel has launched four protracted military assaults on Gaza: in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including many children, and tens of thousands of homes, schools and office buildings have been destroyed.

Rebuilding has been next to impossible because the siege prevents construction materials, such as steel and cement, from reaching Gaza.

The 2008 assault involved the use of internationally banned weaponry, such as phosphorus gas.

In 2014, over a span of 50 days, Israel killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians and close to 500 children.

During the assault, called Operation Protective Edge by the Israelis, about 11,000 Palestinians were wounded, 20,000 homes were destroyed and half a million people displaced .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's the Israel-Palestine conflict about? A simple guide

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It's killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. And its future lies in its past. We break it down.

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Israeli and Palestinian Conflict dates all the way back to the 19th century. Recently Israel declared war against Palestine and it's really bad. The Palestinian soldiers are killing innocent people and are taking some of them hostage. Innocent people are dying because of this conflict between the two. Recently, the Israel sent many rockets to the highly populated area of the Gaza Strip. This is after Hamas sent rockets over the Gaza border. Hamas, the militant group fighting with the Palestinians has killed over 1,200 people in this attack and took over 10 people hostage. These hostages and people who were killed were men, women, and even children. Innocent people are dying and this war is continuing to go on.

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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker

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Learn about the world’s top hotspots with this interactive Global Conflict Tracker from the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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So far, there have been thousands of deaths.
This conflict has been ongoing for a long time, and it is extremely complex.
The US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy have expressed their support for Israel. Hamas, the government of Palestine, is considered a terrorist group by the US.
Mainly seems to be politically and religiously motivated?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/israel-palestine-conflict-timeline-history-explained/

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/israel-gaza-war-israel-palestine-war-israel-retakes-gaza-border-areas-as-hamas-threatens-to-kill-hostages-4469690

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Israel's ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip are leaving Egypt braced for an influx of refugees, with resources being set up in North Sinai to take care of the wounded and homeless, a report by Mada Masr said on Monday.

The local news website spoke to tribal sources and eyewitnesses who said Israeli army deployments posted along the border with Egypt were evacuated on Sunday.

A government source told the news site that Egypt feared " a humanitarian catastrophe that we would not know how to deal with" and that the government wa s preparing tonnes of aid to be sent to the Gaza Strip in case the humanitarian situation worsened.

Egypt is also working to evacuate its diplomats and other nationals from the strip. They added that the government was waiting to see if it would need to step in to negotiate between Hamas and Israel.

The Israeli air force has dropped 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in the last 20 hours, the army said on Monday morning, having shelled several high-rise residential buildings, mosques, hospitals, banks and other civilian infrastructure.

At least 500 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing raids, including 91 children. Another 2,700 people have been wounded.

The bombardment comes as Palestinian armed groups continue to fight Israeli troops inside Israeli territory.

The surprise Palestinian attack, which started on Saturday, has left at least 700 Israelis killed and more than 2,000 wounded.

Occupied territory

Gaza was part of historic Palestine prior to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Bordered by Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean coast, the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

More than 60 percent of Palestinians in Gaza are refugees, following the expulsion of families from other parts of Palestine in the 1948 Nakba, or Catastrophe.

Gaza was captured by Egypt during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was under Egyptian control until the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when the territory was seized and occupied along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In 2005, Israel purportedly pulled out of Gaza and relocated around 8,000 Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers living in 21 settlements around Gaza to the occupied West Bank.

But in 2007, following the Hamas movement's election victory in Gaza, Israel responded by imposing an air, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.

According to international law, the blockade amounts to an occupation of the strip.

Since 2008, Israel has launched four invasions of Gaza, in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021, which resulted in the deaths of thouands of Palestinians, mostly civilians and many children.

The campaigns resulted in the destruction of homes and offices, damage to pipelines and sewage treatment infrastructure, impacting drinking water and spiking waterborne diseases.

In the last major operation in 2021, at least 260 Palestinians were killed in Gaza while 13 people were killed in Israel.

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Israel-Palestine war: Egypt prepares for influx of refugees from Gaza amid bombing

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Resources are being deployed in northern Sinai in anticipation of Palestinians fleeing the besieged strip, local media says

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A terrorist group based in Palestine called the  Hamas group are currently attacking Israel, and recently launched a deadly attack on October 7 2023. Iran has long supported the Hamas group with material, financial, logistical support, but that to date no evidence had been unearthed to link the attacks, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis and wounded thousands more, to Tehran.
"We'll be looking at additional intelligence in the coming weeks and days to inform our thinking on this issue, including whether at least there were some in the Iranian system who either had a clear sense of what was coming or even contributed to aspects of the planning," said Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, in a Tuesday press briefing.
The department confirmed Wednesday that the number of American citizens killed in Israel had climbed to 22, and the whereabouts of 17 citizens remain unknown. Some of those individuals, officials said, may have been taken hostage by Hamas.

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U.S. intelligence indicates Iranian officials surprised by Hamas attack on Israel

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The intelligence preliminarily suggests that Tehran was not directly involved in the launch of Hamas’ assault on Oct. 7.

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There are evolving diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states and highlights the potential setbacks due to recent violent conflicts. While Israel has succeeded in normalizing relations with a few Arab nations by negotiating the Abraham Accords, a major point of contention is the treatment and recognition of Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the Palestinian issue had become merely a token concern for Arab states looking to establish ties with Israel. However, violent confrontations between Israeli forces and Hamas have once again spotlighted the Palestinian issue. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) acknowledged talks of normalization with Israel but emphasized that the easing of Palestinian lives was a precondition, albeit without pushing for an independent Palestinian state. Violent incidents, including an attack by Hamas on Israel and subsequent retaliatory strikes, have raised concerns and might slow down or alter the dynamics of Israel’s efforts to expand relations with other Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia. The violence has led to widespread death and destruction and can potentially change the status quo in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East's diplomatic landscape. This, coupled with international criticism and domestic opinions in the Arab nations, plays a pivotal role in shaping the future trajectory of Israel-Arab relations and the Israel-Palestine peace process. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have focused on Arab-Israeli normalization, sometimes criticized for sidelining the Palestinian issue, and this current conflict emphasizes the complex, interwoven issues present in Middle East diplomacy.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjFkMiC--6BAxXbKUQIHQD7CcIQvOMEKAB6BAgfEAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fgallery%2F2023%2F10%2F11%2Fhistory-illustrated-the-story-of-hamas-and-its-fight-for-palestine&usg=AOvVaw1DFRsSAxrO0kgcHaCkhsjT&opi=89978449

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjFkMiC--6BAxXbKUQIHQD7CcIQvOMEKAB6BAgdEAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2023%2F10%2Fcan-admonishes-israel-palestine-to-halt-hostilities-embrace-dialogue%2F&usg=AOvVaw3QquVn-TaPJQQlElhc9rbq&opi=89978449

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/israel-palestine-conflict-timeline-history-explained/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

The article addresses the conflict and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The main issues discussed in the article are the boundary conflicts that have occurred with the creation and establishment of the Palestinian state.

key dates discussed in article leading up to today:
2007:  Israel imposes a blockade on the Gaza Strip after an armed takeover of Gaza by Hamas.

2012:  In November, Israel launches ‘Pillar of Defense’ an 8-day military operation against the Gaza Strip.

2014:  Israel launches a large scale military operation codenamed “Protective Edge” on the Gaza Strip.

2016:  UN Security Council adopts resolution 2334, stating that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity”.

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A surprise, coordinated assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas - one of the deadliest and most brazen attacks in years - brought renewed attention to an old and continuing problem: the Israeli-Palestinianconflict that has vexed the Middle East for decades.In Israel, Hamas militants have killed more than 1,000 people since Saturday, according to Israeli authorities. Palestinian authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 920 people. More than 100 Israelis are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip, and President Biden said Americans are among the hostages.

The roots of the conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Both Palestinians and Israelis see the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea as their own, and Christians, Jews and Muslims all hold parts of the land as sacred. The past seven decades have brought war, uprisings and, at times, glimmers of hope for compromise. Here is a timeline beginning around 1948,including the latest violence in the Gaza Strip:

World War I: The question of Palestine
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The Ottoman Empire had controlled that part of the Middle East from the early 16th century until control of most of the region was granted to the British after World War I.

Both Israelis and Palestinians were struggling for self-determination and sovereignty over the territory, developing respective movements for their causes.

As World War I began, several controversial diplomatic efforts - some contradicting each other - by the Great Powers tried to shape the map of the modern Middle East, including the Palestinian territories. Palestinians cite a series of letters in 1915 to 1916 between Mecca's emir and the British high commissioner in Egypt, known as the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, as outlining a promise of an independent Arab state.

In 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement secretly negotiated between Britain and France planned to carve up the Middle East into spheres of influence, and determined that the land in question was to be internationalized.

In 1917, Britain's foreign secretary, Lord Arthur Balfour, expressed his government's support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" in a letter to Baron Walter Rothschild, the head of the British wing of the influential European Jewish banking family.

To Israelis, the missive marks a formal utterance of the Israeli state's right to exist; to Palestinians, it was an early sign of their dispossession. The declaration also noted that it was "clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine," nodding to the overwhelming majority Arab population in the region at the time. (About 90 percentof the population was Muslim in 1850, and about 80 percent in 1914.)

Large-scale Jewish immigration followed in succeeding decades, including during Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. Both sides continued to assert their right to establish a state.

1948: Israel declares independence
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After World War II, nearingthe end of the British Mandate for Palestine, the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 passes Resolution 181, urging the partition of the land into two independent states - one Arab and one Jewish. Religiously significant Jerusalem is to be under special international administration. The plan is not implemented after the Arab side rejects it, arguing that it is unfavorable to their majority population. Violence in the regional conflict grows.

Israel declares independence in May 1948. The next day, a coalition of Arab states, allied with Palestinian factions, attack Israeli forces in what becomes the first of several Arab-Israeli wars. In the end, Israel gains control of an even larger portion of territory - not including the areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians flee or are driven from their land in what Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba," or "catastrophe" in Arabic.

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In June of 1967, a war known as the "Six-Day War" or the 1967 Arab-Israeli War breaks out amid lingering conflicts, including Egypt's continued blockade of shipping into the Gulf of Aqaba. Israeli warplanes strikeEgyptian airfields, and Israeli ground forces enter the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan joins the fighting alongside Egypt, but Israeli forces have the upper hand after nearly wiping out Egypt's air power. Israel takes control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem.The Arab armies suffer massive losses.

September 1972: Munich Olympics attack
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At the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, a group of Palestinian extremists from the Black September group raid the Olympic Village dorm where Israeli athletes are housed. They kill two athletes and take nine others as hostages, all of whom are killed soon after.

October 1973: Yom Kippur War
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A coalition of Arab nations, led by Egypt and Syria, launches a surprise, coordinatedattack on Israel on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day. The Arab forces initially gain ground but are driven back by an Israeli counteroffensive aided by supplies from allies, including the United States. Both sides see heavy death tolls.

1995: Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated
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On Nov. 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin, 73, the fifth prime minister of Israel, is fatally shot in the back by a right-wing Jewish extremist who aimed to derail the peace process with Palestinians. Rabin was departing a peace rally attended by more than 100,000 in Tel Aviv.

The shooter, Yigal Amir, who was in his 20s, opposed the Oslo accords on religious grounds, telling police that he acted on the "orders of God" to stop holy land from being handed to Palestinians. He has never expressed regret for the killing and is serving a life sentence.

2006: Hamas elected in Gaza
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Israel withdraws its troops from Gaza in 2005.The Palestinian militant group Hamas wins legislative elections the next year, leading to political strains with the more moderate Fatah party controlling the West Bank.

After Hamas's 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israel imposes a 16-year blockade on the small, overcrowded Palestinian enclave that is home to 2 million Palestinians. Limiting the mobility of goods and people in and out of the territory, Israel has deepened Gaza's humanitarian crisis, the United Nations says. Most Gazans live in refugee camps and rely on U.N. rations.

The West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians - and more than a half-million Jews living in settlements deemed illegal under international law - is occupied by Israel and subject to its military administration.

Several rights groups have said Israel's regime over Palestinians amounts to "apartheid."

In a 2022 report, Amnesty International said it analyzed "Israel's intent to create and maintain a system of oppression and domination over Palestinians," including through "territorial fragmentation; segregation and control; dispossession of land and property; and denial of economic and social rights." The group concluded: "This is apartheid."

November 2012: Israel kills Hamas military chief
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Israel kills Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari, touching off more than a week of rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli airstrikes. At least 150 Palestinians and six Israelis are killed.

Spring 2022: String of terrorist attacks in Israel
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A spate of violence on Israelis by Palestinians leaves 14 Israelis dead in a handful of attacks between March 22 and April 8. In response, Israel clamps down on militants and activists, and launches the "Break the Wave" military operation in the West Bank, which makes 2022 a particularly deadly year.

Israeli forces kill 146 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2022, a death toll higher than in any other year since the United Nations began keeping records in 2005. Israel's Foreign Ministry says Palestinians killed 29 Israelis that year.

December 2022: Netanyahu sworn in for sixth term
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Benjamin Netanyahu is sworn in again as Israeli prime minister, after winning an election that gives him his sixth term and elevates a once-fringe bloc of far-right politicians into powerful seats. He cobbles together the most far-right government in Israeli history, which critics say has begun to crush any prospect of a two-state solution.

It's also the most pro-settler government, with some members encouraging an expansion in settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territories. Settler violence against Palestinian civilians, with settlers emboldened by the government, surges too.

Summer 2023: Retaliatory attacks flare
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Tit-for-tat attacks flare.

Israel launches surprise airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in May, killing three top militants and 10 others, including women and children, health officials say. That sets up a five-day bout of violence that kills at least 33 people in Gaza and two in Israel.

On June 19, Israeli forces raid Jenin, deploying helicopter gunships to the West Bank for the first time since the second intifada.

The next day, two Hamas gunmen open fire at a hummus restaurant at an Israeli settlement, killing four Israelis.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers then rampage through Palestinian villages, torching homes and cars, and shooting at residents, according to local officials. Israel also carries out its first drone strike in the West Bank since 2006, killing three suspected militants.

In July, Israel stages an air and ground attack with 1,000 soldiers backed by drone strikes against a refugee camp inside Jenin, killing 12 people. The operation marks the start of an "extensive counterterrorism effort" that the Israel Defense Forces says will continue indefinitely.

October 2023: Israel says it's 'at war' after Hamas attack
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Netanyahu formally declares war on Hamas on Oct. 8 following a surprise assault by Hamas militants that came a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Israel's air force begins striking Hamas targets in Gaza after Hamas militants "infiltrate" Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, including by paraglider and over the sea, Israeli military leaders say. Israel says at least 1,000 Israelis have been killed in the surprise attacks that saw gunmen hunting down Israeli civilians in their homes around border areas.

A majorcounterattack of airstrikes by Israel in Gaza kills more than 920 Palestinians.

Three days into the fighting, Israeli commanders say they gained control of the border around the Gaza Strip and are preparing major military action "to change the reality" there. The United States pledges its full support for the upcoming Israeli offensive.

Claire Parker, Steve Hendrix, Shira Rubin, and Hazem Balousha contributed to this report.

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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A chronology

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A wave of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israel, and Israel's declaration of war against Hamas, has brought new attention to an old problem.

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- conflict has lasted an extreme amount of time
- boundary conflicts
- main issues include debate over refugees, settlement, Jerusalem, and the creation of a Palestanian state

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict-timeline.html
- several deaths, raids, and fightings

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-palestinian-dispute-hinges-statehood-land-jerusalem-refugees-2023-10-10/
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-us-policy-israeli-palestinian-conflict

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Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

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The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running in the world.

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Fighting broke out in front of City Hall as Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel protests happened at the same time and location yesterday. Protesters began yelling at each other and harassing each other - even going as far as allegedly pepper spraying each other. No arrests were made.

Note: I saw on Whatsupscv on Instagram that they posted about both rallies, but I don't think they organized it. I heard whoever did, apparently did it on purpose to spark the fighting between the two sides.

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Pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash during rallies in Santa Clarita

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As Israel continues to press ahead with its air assault on Hamas militants in Gaza, there was a heated confrontation in Southern California at a demonstration over the war.

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Redlining by Jackson Via Research Wednesday #2

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Redlining by Jackson Via Research Wednesday #2

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Redlining was an immoral practice of rating an area of how successful it would be in the future and determining where to give out loans.  Predominantly black communities were outlined red, hence the name. This caused people in red areas to be stuck there as they could not acquire homeowners loans to get new homes. This has led to these areas being underdeveloped and poor. We can undo this by banning loans based of race or sex. Even though redlining itself is banned people still follow its practices.

https://www.bellwetherhousing.org/post/redlining-how-can-we-remedy-it

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Some predicted AI would threaten lawyer's jobs, but legal employment grew faster than other fields. Now new AI like ChatGPT that generates humanlike text raises concerns it could take over legal work and eliminate the job of a lawyer. However, this AI also makes up false quotes or citations, so supporters say that these flaws can be fixed as the technology advances. AI is also seen as scary for lawyers because text analysis is core to their work, and AI can do that to the highest degree possible, or in other words much better than a human. While AI can instantly generate legal documents, history suggests it will gradually change legal practices rather than suddenly replace lawyers. Some legal jobs will be eliminated but AI may also make lawyers more productive and create new roles, as past technologies like computers did. Currently, AI is already being used by law firms and sole practitioners to summarize documents and draft questions faster than humanly possible. Though some predict sweeping change, it's uncertain how much and how fast AI will transform the legal profession. My personal opinion is that a new job will swiftly emerge, and that job being the job of a person who will take advantage of AI and use it in real people's cases so that their own personal cases will be better. The key in the future will be striking the right balance between humans and AI.
- Kapish Poddar

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Previous advances in A.I. inspired predictions that the law was the lucrative profession most likely to suffer job losses. It didn’t happen. Is this time different?

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Increasing Housing Prices by Samantha Miller

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Increasing Housing Prices by Samantha Miller

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Housing prices are starting to rise due to an increase in interest rates. Since housing prices are increasing, fewer people are selling their homes. This is inequitable since if rent prices are rising, then many people will find themselves unable to pay off their mortgage. In fact, this has already happened according to the article “2023 State of the Nation’s Housing Report” where they state, “Homeownership costs skyrocketed in 2022, pricing out 2.4 million renters.” Later on in the article, they state that the estimated annual income needed to purchase a house at the current market price has risen 20%. At this point, it would be easier to deal with the current rental state rather than risk buying an overpriced, out-of-budget house.
Sources:
https://www.habitat.org/costofhome/2023-state-nations-housing-report-lack-affordable-housing
https://www.usbank.com/investing/financial-perspectives/investing-insights/interest-rates-impact-on-housing-market.html
https://managecasa.com/articles/california-housing-market-report/

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This year's State of the Nation's Housing 2023 report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies paints a stark picture of record unaffordability, near-record housing shortages and major barriers to first-time homeownership. Habitat for Humanity International co-sponsored the report through our Cost of Home campaign to help bring greater attention to these and other urgent housing challenges impacting the U.S. Below are four major takeaways from the report for Habitat's work and the communities we serve:

1. Homeownership costs skyrocketed in 2022, pricing out 2.4 million renters.

According to Harvard's JCHS, the estimated housing payments - including mortgage, insurance and property tax - needed to purchase a median-priced home in the U.S. reached $3,000 per month in March 2023, pricing out 2.4 million more renters from homebuying than last year. This included a disproportionate share of Black and Hispanic homebuyers. The estimated annual income needed to afford median homeownership costs rose 20% to $117,000 - well above the national median income for renters.

Median home prices actually dropped slightly between early 2022 and early 2023, but this was more than outweighed by rising interest rates, which increased by more than half. As overall homeownership costs rose, first-time homebuying took a sizable hit. The number of first-time homebuyers starting a mortgage in 2022 declined 22% from the previous year, including a drop of 40% between the fourth quarters of 2022 and 2021.

2. Housing cost burdens reached their highest levels in years.

Housing cost burdens are defined as paying more than 30% of income on housing. During the pandemic, the number of existing homeowners experiencing cost burdens rose sharply. In 2021, 19 million homeowners (22.7%) were cost burdened - the highest level since 2013. Of these, 8.7 million (10.4% of all homeowners) had housing costs that exceeded half their income. Cost burdens were especially prevalent for homeowners earning less than $30,000 per year, and higher than average for Black, Hispanic and Asian homeowners, as well as those over age 65.

For renters, the affordability picture was even worse. The number of cost-burdened renters reached an all-time high: 21.6 million households (49%). Of this total, 11.6 million spent more than half of their income on housing (26.4% of all renters). High rates of cost burdens were most common for very low-income renters and households of color. They were also prevalent in not just high-rent markets such as Miami (61% of renters) and San Diego (57%), but also less costly metros like New Orleans (55%), Baton Rouge (55%) and Memphis (52%).

In total, 31.8% of all households (40.6 million homeowners and renters) were cost-burdened in 2021. Of these, 20.3 million - nearly 1 in 6, or 15.9% of U.S. households - paid over half of their income on housing. For low-income households, such high cost burdens leave little left over for other necessities like food and healthcare.

3. The supply of homes for sale remains at near-record lows.

Record-low home sales aggravate home prices and increase barriers to homeownership, particularly for modest-income households and for homebuyers of color.

By the end of 2022, the supply of single-family homes for sale had inched above historic lows from the pandemic but was still 30% lower than at the end of 2019 (the previous record low). Also, the rate of single-family construction slowed dramatically in the second half of 2022, as rising mortgage interest rates diminished homebuyer purchasing power.

Shortages are greatest for lower-priced homes. Adding to this challenge, modest-sized home construction continues to decline. JCHS reports that less than a quarter of new homes were under 1,800 square feet in 2021, compared with 37% in 1999.

Rising land prices, high materials costs and regulatory barriers like zoning restrictions are among the chief challenges making it harder for nonprofit and for-profit home builders to build modest-sized, affordable homes.

4. States and localities are helping show the way forward.

Various states and localities reformed local zoning and other housing regulations this past year to make it easier to build affordable homes and bring down housing costs, with local and state Habitat organizations playing key advocacy roles.
For example:

Washington and Montana became the latest states to make duplexes or other types of small-scale attached housing legal in most neighborhoods.

Colorado created new funding incentives for localities to make their zoning codes more accommodating of affordable housing.

Various localities took steps such as allowing smaller-lot developments, reducing building permits fees, and streamlining review processes to lower other barriers.

More localities and states should follow suit. To help, HUD's new $85 million PRO Housing program will soon offer competitive grants to help states and localities address their own barriers to affordable housing. States and localities should take advantage of this opportunity.

Increased public investment will also be needed to make housing and homeownership affordable to more households with low incomes. To help, many Habitat affiliates advocated for new resources for entry-level homes and deeply affordable housing. This included legislative successes in Indiana, South Dakota and Wyoming, which dedicated funding to defray high infrastructure costs impeding starter homes. Advocacy successes in dozens of other states and localities raised new funding for building and sustaining affordable homes. It is critical to continue this momentum in the coming year.

More too is needed to continue progress in closing racial homeownership gaps. Even before interest rates spiked, homebuyers of color faced distinct barriers to homeownership stemming from decades of discriminatory policies resulting in less access to inter-generational wealth, among other disadvantages. In response, some states and localities recently created promising supplemental initiatives providing down payment assistance to first-generation homebuyers, descendants of residents displaced by highway construction or descendants of families excluded from homebuying opportunities by now-illegal, restrictive covenants. Also promising is Congress's reintroduction of the bipartisan proposal for a Neighborhood Homes tax credit, which would help expand affordable homeownership supply in disinvested communities.

Lastly, the surge in existing homeowners facing high cost-burdens means now will be an important time to broaden repair assistance, property tax relief, and access to energy-efficient technologies for lower-income homeowners. Pennsylvania's new Whole-Home Repairs Program, championed by Habitat Philadelphia and other local affiliates, is worth imitating in other states.

Habitats' advocacy successes in Michigan and Baltimore promoting fairer property tax assessments for Habitat homes and easier access to existing property tax relief are also worth emulating. Lastly, the newly created Inflation Reduction Act will soon offer substantial energy-efficiency rebates and solar tax credits for lower-income homeowners to help lower utility expenses, reduce the costs of new construction, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Housing providers and policymakers should help distribute and leverage these resources to make sure they reach those most in need.

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2023 State of the Nation's Housing report: 4 key takeaways

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We've rounded up four key takeaways from the full report, which provides valuable data on the current U.S. housing market. This report was released by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies and proudly sponsored by Habitat.

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Azerbaijan launches attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh 

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Azerbaijan launches attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh 

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For years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have had conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Although the area has been recognized as Azerbaijan's, the country led an attack on Armenian forces in the region. This worsened conditions for the starving residence, killing hundreds by the attack and destroying shops and homes. Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently having talks about the conflict.

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YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region Wednesday after local Armenian forces there agreed to lay down their weapons following the latest outbreak of fighting in the decades-long separatist conflict.

Authorities in the ethnic Armenian region that has run its affairs without international recognition since fighting broke out in the early 1990s declared around midday that local self-defense forces will disarm and disband under a Russia-mediated cease-fire.

They also said representatives of the region will start talks Thursday with the Baku government on Nagorno-Karabakh's "reintegration" into Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev trumpeted victory in a televised address to the nation, saying that "in just one day, Azerbaijan fulfilled all the tasks set as part of local anti-terrorist measures" and "restored its sovereignty."

On Tuesday, the Azerbaijan army unleashed an artillery barrage and drone attacks against outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces, which have been weakened by a blockade of the region in the southern Caucasus Mountains that is recognized internationally as being part of Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said at least 200 people, including 10 civilians, were killed and more than 400 others were wounded in the fighting. He said earlier that children were among the dead and wounded.

His casualty figures could not immediately be independently verified.

The hostilities worsened an already grim humanitarian situation for residents who have endured food and medicine shortages for months as Azerbaijan enforced a blockade of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents flocked to a camp operated by Russian peacekeepers to avoid the fighting, while many others gathered at the airport of the regional capital, Stepanakert, hoping to flee the region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech to the nation that fighting decreased following the truce, emphasizing that Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh are fully responsible for its residents security.

"If peacekeepers have proposed a peace deal, it means that they completely and without any reservations accepted the responsibility of ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, and provide the conditions and the rights for them to live on their land and in their homes safely," he said.

Pashinyan, who has previously recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Armenia wouldn't be drawn into the fighting. He said his government didn't take part in negotiating the deal, but "has taken note" of the decision made by the region's separatist authorities.

He again denied any Armenian troops were in the region, even though separatist authorities said they were in Nagorno-Karabakh and would pull out as part of the truce.

Protesters rallied in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for a second straight day Wednesday, blocking streets and demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was "deeply concerned" about Azerbaijan's military actions. "We have repeatedly emphasized the use of force is absolutely unacceptable," he said, adding that the U.S. was closely watching the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. And the U.N. Security Council scheduled an urgent meeting Thursday on the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh at the request of France.

Azerbaijan's move to reclaim control over Nagorno-Karabakh raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between the two neighbors, which have been locked in a struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

During another war that lasted for six weeks in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories that were held for decades by Armenian forces. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement. Moscow deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the region.

The conflict has long drawn in powerful regional players, including Russia and Turkey. While Russia took on the mediating role, Turkey threw its weight behind longtime ally Azerbaijan.

Russia has been Armenia's main economic partner and ally since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and has a military base in the country.

Pashinyan, however, has been increasingly critical of Moscow's role, emphasizing its failure to protect Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Armenia needs to turn to the West to ensure its security. Moscow, in turn, has expressed dismay about Pashinyan's pro-Western tilt.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Pashinyan on Wednesday, welcoming the deal to end the hostilities and start talks between Azerbaijani officials and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russia's Defense Ministry said some of its peacekeepers were killed Wednesday, although it didn't say how many and whether it happened before or after the start of the cease-fire. The ministry said the peacekeeping contingent had evacuated more than 3,100 civilians.

The separatists' quick capitulation reflected their weakness following the Armenian forces' defeat in the 2020 war and the loss of the only road linking the region to Armenia.

Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Europe think tank, said the separatist forces, which consisted of several thousand poorly supplied men, were "probably not a match for the Azerbaijani forces."

While many in Armenia blamed Russia for the defeat of the separatists, Moscow pointed to Pashinyan's own recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

"Undoubtedly, Karabakh is Azerbaijan's internal business," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Azerbaijan is acting on its own territory, which was recognized by the leadership of Armenia."

He voiced hope that Azerbaijan would respect the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Aliyev and "condemned Azerbaijan's decision to use force ... at the risk of worsening the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and compromising ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and lasting peace," the French presidential office said.

Macron "stressed the need to respect" the cease-fire and "to provide guarantees on the rights and security of the people of Karabakh, in line with international law."

Azerbaijan's presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said Baku is "ready to listen to the Armenian population of Karabakh regarding their humanitarian needs."

In announcing its military operation Tuesday, Azerbaijan aired a long list of grievances, accusing pro-Armenian forces of attacking its positions, planting land mines and engaging in sabotage.

Even though Aliyev insisted the Azerbaijani army struck only military facilities during the fighting, separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Stepanakert and other areas came under "intense shelling."

Before the cease-fire, explosions reverberated around Stepanakert every few minutes on Wednesday - some in the distance and others closer to the city. Even after the truce was announced and the shelling could no longer be heard in Stepanakert, many residents decided to stay in shelters for the rest of the day.

Significant damage was visible in the city, with shop windows blown out and vehicles punctured, apparently by shrapnel.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said Armenian forces fired at Shusha, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan's control, killing one civilian.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Heintz and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; Aida Sultanova in London; Siranush Sargsyan in Stepanakert; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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Azerbaijan claims full control over the Nagorno-Karabakh region as Armenian forces agree to disarm

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Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region after local Armenian forces there agreed to lay down their weapons following the latest outbreak of fighting in the decades-long separatist conflict.

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Massive eruption on sun hurls coronal mass ejection toward Earth, auroras likely Sept. 19 (video)- Deekshita

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Massive eruption on sun hurls coronal mass ejection toward Earth, auroras likely Sept. 19 (video)- Deekshita

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A giant solar tendril, known as a solar filament, lashed out from the sun on Saturday catapulting a super-hot plasma eruption known as a coronal mass ejection toward Earth.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a G2-class moderate geomagnetic storm watch as it keeps an eye on the Earth-directed portion of the CME expected to hit on Sept. 19.

Should the CME arrive as anticipated, it could trigger a geomagnetic storm similar to the one on Sept. 12 that sparked auroras as far south as Colorado and Missouri, according to Spaceweather.com.

Solar physicist Keith Strong took to X to express his excitement about the colossal eruption.

"THE BIGGEST ERUPTION I HAVE EVER SEEN! I have been observing the sun professionally for over 50 years and this is the largest filament eruption I have seen."

NOAA ranks geomagnetic storms on a scale running from G1, which could cause an increase in auroral activity around the poles and minor fluctuations in power supplies, up to G5, the most extreme level that can cause complete HF radio blackout on the entire sunlit side of the Earth lasting for a number of hours.

We can expect more extreme space weather events as the sun builds towards a peak in its 11-year solar activity cycle, expected to occur in 2025.
https://www.space.com/sun-eruption-coronal-mass-ejection-toward-earth-auroras-likely-september-2023

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A giant solar tendril, known as a solar filament, lashed out from on Saturday (Sept. 16) catapulting a super-hot plasma eruption known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a G2-class moderate geomagnetic storm watch as it keeps an eye on the Earth-directed portion of the expected to hit on Sept. 19.

This could be good news for aurora chasers. Should the CME arrive as anticipated, it could trigger a geomagnetic storm similar to the one on Sept. 12 that sparked as far south as Colorado and Missouri, according to Spaceweather.com.

Related: Scientists may finally know why the sun's outer atmosphere is so freakishly hot

Solar physicist Keith Strong took to X (formally known as Twitter) to express his excitement about the colossal eruption. "THE BIGGEST ERUPTION I HAVE EVER SEEN! I have been observing the sun professionally for over 50 years and this is the largest filament eruption I have seen. "

THE BIGGEST ERUPTION I HAVE EVER SEEN! I have been observing the Sun professionally for over 50 years and this is the largest filament eruption I have seen. Note it covers over half the Sun, compare it to the size of the Earth (inset) but amazingly it did not produce a big flare. pic.twitter.com/RgplcTy0Ap September 17, 2023

Geomagnetic storms are disturbances to Earth's magnetic field caused by solar material from CMEs - large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's atmosphere.

(Image credit: NOAA)

NOAA ranks geomagnetic storms on a scale running from G1, which could cause an increase in auroral activity around the poles and minor fluctuations in power supplies, up to G5, the most extreme level that can cause complete HF (high frequency) radio blackout on the entire sunlit side of the lasting for a number of hours.

The predicted G2 storm on Tuesday (Sept. 19) could trigger extensive auroral displays and, according to NOAA, could result in a limited blackout of HF radio communication on the sunlit side and possible loss of radio contact for up to tens of minutes. There may also be degradation of low-frequency navigation signals for tens of minutes.

We can expect more extreme space weather events as the sun builds towards a peak in its 11-year solar activity cycle, expected to occur in 2025. But like weather on Earth, space weather is a fickle fellow and predictions can turn on a dime.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Massive eruption on sun hurls coronal mass ejection toward Earth, auroras likely Sept. 19 (video)

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A huge solar filament eruption has hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. The CME is expected to hit Earth on Sept. 19 and may trigger extensive auroras.

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How increase in Rent is affecting the homeless

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How increase in Rent is affecting the homeless

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There aren't enough houses in California, therefore, the cost of rent is way too high. The USA has struggled with inflation for some time now, but this year is the worst we've ever seen as we get attacked by gas prices, rent, groceries, child care, etc... If standard humans who work everyday can't even afford to pay rent, then how would the homeless be incorporated into this topic? Are we just going to forget about them? Our biggest problem as a nation is Economics, we simply just don't have the money to pay the rent. The homeless struggle with horrible things such as limited access to healthcare, problems getting enough food, trying to stay safe, violence, stress, temperature adjustments, diseases, and the list just keeps on going. I mean seriously, these are humans we're talking about. The United States of Americas Amendment stated, " Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." If this was true, homelessness wouldn't be a struggle. Despite all the examples provided, we still can't offer them houses because the cost is too high. Cal Matters states, " Creating a fundamental right to housing is consistent with public will. Indeed, a survey found that 55% of Californians view affordable housing as a community responsibility, and 58% believe affordable housing should be guaranteed." The homelessness crisis has to stop, everyone deserves a right to comfort, and personal space.

Medline Plus

CalMatters

Roy Gharzeddine

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Baby boomers, especially younger members, comprise a growing percentage of homeless people.

Many are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing rents while pandemic aid dwindles.

A shortage of subsidized housing is compounding the problem.

While housing costs in the US continue to skyrocket and homelessness has become a crisis, no group appears to be getting hit harder than young baby boomers.

Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development obtained by The Wall Street Journal showed that adults 65 and older comprised the fastest-growing portion of homeless Americans.

From 2007 through 2017, the percentage of people 51 and older in homeless shelters rose from 16.5% to 23%, a rate greater than what would be expected just from the increase in people of that age group. In 2018, the department started tracking people 55 and older in homeless shelters, and the figure rose from 16.3% to 19.8% in 2021.

The National Health Care for the Homeless Council reported that the proportion of patients 50 or older who it serviced in 2022 was 36%, up from 25% 15 years earlier.

"This is a level of a problem that we have not seen before," Barbara DiPietro, the group's senior director of policy, told the Journal. "We are seeing older people in shelters and encampments or who are living in their cars at a rate that we never had before."

This trend seems to be exasperated by "trailing edge" boomers, the second half of the group, born between 1956 and 1964. The Wall Street Journal said this group entered the workforce and immediately felt the economic impact of the recessions in the mid-1970s and early '80s, which made the group's overall financial health more precarious as they entered their retirement age.

Many of the "trailing edge" boomers experienced homelessness for the first time later in life. A 2017 University of California, San Francisco, study found that 43.6% of the homeless adults ages 50 or older that it interviewed became homeless for the first time after turning 50.

Living costs are skyrocketing, and pandemic aid is disappearing

All older peoplewho are retired or heading into retirement are doing so at a time when two economic forces are working against them: housing costs and an end to pandemic-era aid programs.

According to the Social Security Administration, the average Social Security benefit is now $1,706 per month, more than $300 below the nearly record-high national median rent price of $2,052.

Rent increases have hit Florida - which has the second-highest rate of US citizens 65 or older and the largest total number of people that age and above - especially hard. Half of the 20 metro cities with the steepest rent increases since the onset of the pandemic are in Florida, the Journal reported.

Additionally, of all retirees who moved to a new state in 2022, 11.8% went to Florida. North Carolina, at 9.6%, was the only other state close to that.

Meanwhile, as the number of Americans 65 or older is expected to grow 45% between 2020 and 2040, from 56 million to 81 million, the volume of available affordable housing is shrinking.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data found the US had at least 600 fewer nursing homes than it did in 2017. In Florida, there are long waiting lists for low-cost senior housing and long-term care facilities paid for by Medicaid, the Journal reported. A Florida Housing Coalition study found the state had only 25 affordable and available rental units for every 100 extremely low-income renters.

Government data obtained by the Journal showed homelessness was up 11% from 2022, which would crush the previous record of 2.7% in 2019, and the end of COVID-19 relief is not helping.

"The COVID-relief funds provided a buffer," Donald Whitehead Jr., the executive director at the National Coalition for the Homeless, told the Journal. "We're seeing what happens when those resources aren't available."

One example is the expansion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to help feed low-income families during the earlier days of the pandemic, which came to a halt in March. At one point in 2021, the program was believed to have kept 4.2 million out of poverty.

Without COVID-19-relief resources, many older people are relying even more on their Social Security benefits. According to the AARP, 45% of people 65 or older rely on Social Security for at least half of their income, and the payments keep 16 million older Americans out of poverty each year.

If housing continues to become harder to find and costs continue to skyrocket, older Americans will increasingly need to find other forms of income, or the homelessness crisis will almost certainly get worse.

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Younger baby boomers are facing a homelessness crisis as rents skyrocket and outpace Social Security

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More baby boomers are facing homelessness as rent prices outpace Social Security payments. A subsidized housing shortage compounds the problem.

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A Call for an Increase in Diverse Leadership in Environmental Organizations (by: Sungjin Park)

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A Call for an Increase in Diverse Leadership in Environmental Organizations (by: Sungjin Park)

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https://apnews.com/article/conservation-diversity-equity-environmental-interns-black-indigenous-c7b2b268dfcbf5e46c347ab2294bb061
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethgasman/2022/12/13/why-environmental-organizations-need-diverse-leadership/?sh=24903d185d48
https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-article/race-diversity-and-transparency-environmental-organizations/

In the 1800s, conservative groups were made up of only wealthy, white men, and later, rich, white women were able to join and become a part of leadership in environmental groups near the end of the 19th century. There was an overwhelming lack of diversity in environmental groups up to the 1900s. In the 1950s and 1960s, people who supported the Civil Rights Movement began to notice that there was a disproportionate amount of diversity and representation in conservation groups. It was only in the 1990s, that a letter was sent a letter to the New York Times. That letter exposed the leaders of the conservation groups and pointed out an enormous lack of diversity in those groups. In 1990, 1.9% of the workforce was composed of people of color; by 2015, that number increased to 16% of the workforce. There is still a large amount of monotony in the environmental workforce. In 2023, 36.5% of Non-Government Organizations identified as people of color, which is a 1000% increase from the 3.5% of colored people in the workforce. Still, there is much work needed to be done to support diversity in the environmental workplace.

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BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - Arianna Barajas never thought of herself as the outdoors type. The daughter of Mexican immigrants who grew up in Chicago's suburbs, her forays into nature usually amounted to a bike ride to a community park.

She was interested in wild animals but had no idea she could make a living working with them until her older brother enrolled in veterinarian school. She took a leap of faith and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a wildlife ecology major.

This summer Barajas landed an internship designed for people of color at the International Crane Foundation's headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and stepped into a new world.

"I always knew growing up I had an interest in wildlife and animals but didn't know the options I had," Barajas, 21, said. "I really just have a passion for the outdoors. I can't just be in an office all day. I need to be outside and doing things I think are valuable."

Environmental groups across the country have worked for the last two decades to introduce members of underrepresented populations like Barajas to the overwhelmingly white conservation world. The effort has gained momentum since George Floyd's death forced a national reckoning on race relations and challenged a variety of industries to focus on diversity and inclusion efforts.

As climate change reshapes the planet, leaders need to hear every perspective when determining conservation policies, minority advocates say. Multiple studies since the early 1980s have found communities of color feel the impact of pollution and climate change more acutely than wealthy areas.

"All the environmental issues we're facing are really big and we simply can't face them all unless we have a lot of ideas at the table," said Soumi Gaddameedi, a 22-year-old Indian American who works as a donor coordinator for the nonprofit group Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. "No one solution fits all. People of color are in the communities facing the worst impact. It's important that they have a voice."

White men have largely controlled American conservation policy for more than a century. The modern conservation movement in the United States began around the turn of the 20th century, led by figures such as Sierra Club co-founder John Muir, who openly derided American Indians as savages, and President Theodore Roosevelt, who doubled the number of sites in the National Park System. Conservationists such as Aldo Leopold and Wisconsin Gov. Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day, followed them.

More than 80% of National Park Service employees are white, according to service data. A 2022 survey of the 40 largest non-government environmental organizations and foundations by Green 2.0, an organization advocating for minority inclusion in the environmental sector, found 60% of staff and almost 70% of organization heads identified as white.

Sociologists offer a number of explanations for the lack of diversity in conservation ranks. For instance, people of color tend to live in urban settings with less exposure to the outdoors and may consider outdoor recreation a white man's domain, said Kristy Drutman, the Filipino and Jewish founder of the Green Jobs Board, an online listing of environmental jobs with companies promoting diversity. She also runs the Brown Girl Green podcast.

"I don't think BIPOC are choosing not to be in the outdoors, they're just not given the same opportunity," Drutman said, using an acronym for Black people, Indigenous people and people of color.

"Urbanization, racial segregation, all these histories have separated BIPOC from neighbors with more green spaces," Drutman said. "It's become a white people's thing because of that."

Relatively few people of color study biology and natural resources in college. Hispanic people made up only about 13.6% of graduate students and 12.8% of doctoral students in those fields in 2021, according to a National Science Foundation study. Black people made up about 9.5% of graduate students and only 6% of doctoral students. Native Americans made up less than 1% of graduate and doctoral students in both fields.

"There's a long-standing tradition of white men from rural areas dominating these roles," said Caitlin Alba, who works to recruit minority students to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's environmental programs. "(Minority) mentors and educators are unfamiliar with these opportunities."

National environmental organization Conservation Legacy has been recruiting young people from underrepresented populations for teams across the country, including Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina and the Appalachian region.

The teams handle a wide array of conservation projects, such as river restoration, vegetation monitoring, disaster relief and conservation projects on Native American lands. The teams include a group for sign-language users and an all-female crew dubbed "the Trail Angels."

Northwest Youth Corps, based in Eugene, Oregon, has recruited LGBTQ students between 16 and 18 and LGBTQ adults to its so-called Rainbow Crews since 2017. The crews work on reforestation projects and are designed to provide hands-on training and experience for those interested in environmental jobs or other other outdoor careers. The program won the Corps Network's 2020 Project of the Year award.

This year the organization created two all-women crews that operate out of Idaho. The organization also recruits young American Indians for crews working on ancestral lands in hopes of encouraging them to find environmental jobs with their tribes.

The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin launched a paid internship program for BIPOC students in 2021. The program places interns with other conservation groups like the International Crane Foundation where Barajas is one of 10 interns. The internship program had three participants in 2021 and seven last summer.

After spending the summer tagging and tracking whooping cranes across south-central Wisconsin, Barajas has become even more aware of how minority perspectives are rarely considered in the conservation world.

"Sometimes I'll hear about children's programming on different natural things. I'm thinking, what opportunities do you have for people who don't speak English?" she said. "Are you reaching out to diverse communities?"

Barajas used the example of a city imposing fines to ensure people recycle. "Well, there's a financial obstacle now where certain communities can't pay that fine," she said.

Other people of color are working to expand inclusion on their own.

Tykee James, who is Black, grew up in Philadelphia but became an avid birdwatcher after two white employees at a local environmental education center visited his high school environmental studies class and recruited him to serve as a guide at the facility. Like Barajas, the job opened his eyes to a new path.

James has since served as an environmental policy specialist for Pennsylvania state Rep. Donna Bullock and governmental affairs coordinator for the National Audubon Society. He currently works as government relations representative for The Wilderness Society, which seeks to protect wilderness acreage.

In 2019, James co-founded Amplify the Future, which provides college scholarships for Black and Latinx bird watchers from the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico.

"When we're making decisions about the use of finite resources ... it requires a diversity of vision to answer these types of important questions," James said. "The same folks from the same background, money, same racial make-up, same wealth background, I wouldn't be too surprised that they all think the same about how things work."

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Environmental groups recruit people of color into overwhelmingly white conservation world

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White men have largely controlled American conservation policies for more than a century. But environmentalists have mounted a new push to introduce marginalized groups.

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Ghana law requiring LGBTQ people to be reported

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Ghana law requiring LGBTQ people to be reported

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https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/20/ghana-lgbt-activists-face-hardships-after-detention

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ghana-poised-vote-worst-anti-lgbtq-bill-ever-advocates-warn-rcna1545

In Ghana there is currently an anti-LGBT bill on it's way through through it's parliament.  The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill would criminalize LGBTQ relationships and also LGBTQ allies, and may even extend to journalists who oppose this homophobic stance.  It also encourages citizens to report suspected LGBTQ people or allies to the police or other authorities.  This bill had been in parliament for two years, and is now in it's final stages.  Violence and anti-LGBTQ sentiments have also risen in not just Ghana, but many other African countries.

Shanthi Singh

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LGBTQ people in Ghana are under attack. Here's how it happened | CNN

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LGBTQ people in Ghana are fearing for their safety, as the country looks to pass a wide-ranging anti-LGBTQ bill that some groups have labeled one of the most stringent on the continent. Activists and community members share what has changed for LGBTQ Ghanaians.

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Racial inequities in obstetric and gynecologic care Kennedy 

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Racial inequities in obstetric and gynecologic care Kennedy 

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There are racial inequities all over the medical field but one that is not as recognized is the racial inequities in the OBGYN field.  The article above states, "Black American and American Indian/Native Alaskan women were two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women." Similar statistics exist for most fatal reproductive concerns such as cancers and untreated pregnancy complications. the statistics for receiving care/ the right care within the OBGYN field are also shocking. the same article states, "Black, Hispanic, and publicly-insured women were least likely to receive minimally invasive techniques (vaginal, laparoscopic, or robotic hysterectomy) compared with White women, even when eligible for minimally invasive techniques," once again there are similar statistics for Ectopic pregnancy and contraceptives.  But why are these drastic statistics happening? is most due to the racial biases within not only the health care system but racial biases as a whole The article Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them, "The factors driving disparities in maternal and infant health are complex and multifactorial. They include differences in health insurance coverage and access to care. However, broader social and economic factors and structural and systemic racism and discrimination, also play a major role in" But what are they doing to stop this or better the system?  Well in June 2022, the Biden Administration released the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. the article states that the blueprint is supposed to, "improve access to coverage and care, expand and enhance data collection and research, grow, and diversify the perinatal workforce, strengthen social and economic support, and increase training and incentives to support women being active participants in their care before, during and after pregnancy"
https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/

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INTRODUCTION - Inequities in health and health care are pervasive and have continued to plague the health care system despite increasing recognition among patients and providers of their existence. Inequities are defined as undesirable differences in outcomes or care and are generally not driven by informed differences in expressed patient preference. Meaningful and concerning inequities are prevalent in all spheres of health and disease. Inequities exist in both health outcomes and in health care and arise from myriad contributors, including socioeconomic factors, education, and environment. Inequities have been documented globally by patient race/ethnicity, sex, gender and sexual identity, religion, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and geography, among other characteristics. This topic will focus generally on inequities related to race/ethnicity in the context of female reproductive health and health care in the United States, as the United States' history of slavery has resulted in unequal health care practices and resultant racial inequities in health-related outcomes.

Discussions of cross-cultural care and patient communication are presented separately:

●(See "The patient's culture and effective communication".)

●(See "A patient-centered view of the clinician-patient relationship".)

In this topic, when discussing study results, we will use the terms "woman/en", "man/en", "patient(s)", and racial/ethnic descriptors as they are used in the studies presented. We encourage the reader to consider the preferred language as well as specific counseling and treatment needs of transgender, gender diverse, and underrepresented individuals.

BACKGROUND - Health results from a complex interplay of individual factors (eg, genetics, lifestyle), population group factors (eg, race and ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, immigrant status), and social determinants (ie, conditions in which persons are born, grow, live, work, and age) [ 1-3]. While degree of health, disease risk factors, and access to health care are often intermixed and worsened by social, economic, and environmental disadvantages [ 4], these factors do not account for all gaps in health care outcomes and services noted among different populations [ 5]. Studies have reported that Black people are more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than White people [ 6], children living in poverty are more likely to be obese [ 7], and transgender men are less likely to have adequate Pap screening than are cisgender women [ 8]. Biologic variation and socioeconomic differences do not fully explain these discrepancies.

A health disparity population, as defined by the National Institutes of Health, is one in which there is "a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, or mortality in the specified population as compared with the general population" [ 1]. Within the United States, designated disparity populations include African Americans, Hispanic American, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities [ 9]. Within the field of female reproductive health care, persons who are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups experience inequities in health outcomes and access to services [ 1]. As one example, non-Hispanic Black women have higher rates of preterm birth compared with White women even after adjustment for variables such as income [ 10,11]. These differences cannot be entirely explained by differences in income, housing, and education.

EXAMPLES OF INEQUITIES IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH - Racial inequities in reproductive health are well documented in obstetrics and gynecology and reflect both discrepant health outcomes and access to services.

Outcomes - Examples of outcome differences by racial/ethnic group include:

● Maternal death - Maternal death in the United States is more common in non-Hispanic Black women, compared with White women, and has been rising [ 12-17]. In one study of 13 million US live births between 2014 and 2018, this disparity existed in both low- and high-vulnerability settings [ 17]. In two analyses of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System, Black American and American Indian/Native Alaskan women were two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women [ 15,18]. Similar data have been reported for the United Kingdom [ 19].

A detailed discussion of race and both maternal mortality and morbidity is presented separately. (See "Overview of maternal mortality", section on 'Race and ethnicity'.)

● Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) - A study of United States deliveries between 2006 and 2015 reported that the rate of SMM (ie, a life-threatening event during pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum) was up to 115 percent higher for Black compared with White women, after adjustment for age mix, and did not change significantly during the study time period [ 20]. A different study of a United States inpatient database reported that, from 2012 to 2015, the incidence of SMM was significantly higher for every underrepresented racial and ethnic group compared with non-Hispanic White women [ 21]. After exclusion of cases in which blood transfusion was the only indicator of SMM, non-Hispanic Black women were 20 percent more likely to experience SMM compared with non-Hispanic White women (risk ratio 1.2, 95% CI 1.2-1.3). Among women with multiple medical and/or physical comorbidities, women of all underrepresented racial and ethnic groups were more likely to experience an SMM event compared with non-Hispanic White women. In a United States database study including over 11.3 million births between 2012 and 2014, when compared with non-Hispanic White women, non-Hispanic Black women were approximately 80 percent more likely to be readmitted postpartum and 16 percent more likely to have an SMM during readmission [ 22]. However, unlike the above studies, these differences were not found for other groups.

* Cervical cancer - In the United States, cervical cancer incidence and mortality is higher in Black or Hispanic women than in non-Hispanic White women [ 30]. In a retrospective review of over 44,500 United States women with cervical cancer from 1998 to 2007, Black women were nearly 10 percent more likely to die compared with White women (adjusted hazard ratio 1.09, CI 1.03-1.15) after adjustment for socioeconomic status and stage at diagnosis [ 31]. (See "Invasive cervical cancer: Epidemiology, risk factors, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis", section on 'Epidemiology'.)

* Breast cancer -Although Black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer compared with White women in the United States, their mortality is higher [ 32-34]. (See "Prognostic and predictive factors in early, non-metastatic breast cancer", section on 'Patient features'.)

-A propensity-matched study from the United States National Cancer Database reported that, among women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer, Black women had twice the risk of death compared with White women (hazard ratio 2.05, 95% CI 1.94-2.17) [ 35]. Over one-third of the excess risk of death was attributed to differences in health insurance.

-A study of over 1.3 million United States women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2001 and 2009 reported that survival for Black women was consistently 10 percentage points lower than for White women, and the difference persisted over time [ 36].

* Endometrial cancer - Among women with endometrial cancer, the mortality risk is 55 percent higher for Black compared with White women (five-year mortality rates of 39 versus 20 percent, respectively) [ 38]. One reason for this disparity is that Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with early-stage disease [ 39]. However, the basis for later-stage diagnosis appears to be a result of improper evaluation rather than biologic cause. At least two studies have reported that Black women are less likely to receive guideline-concordant care, which is in turn associated with higher odds of advanced stage of disease at diagnosis [ 40,41].

Content or level of care received - While differences in health outcomes may be partially attributable to patient-level variables such as genetics or other biological constructs, it is harder to "explain away" differences in health care that occur once a woman has gained access to the health care system, particularly for interventions with standardized recommendations, such as health screening tests. However, there are numerous examples of obstetric and gynecologic conditions for which the type of care and level of care varies by patient characteristics in ways not easily explained by usual confounding variables.

Examples include:

In addition, there is significant variation by race/ethnicity in fertility preservation counseling among women treated with gonadotoxic therapies for cancer diagnoses [ 50], diagnosis of endometriosis [ 51], treatment of postpartum pain [ 52], and, in prenatal diagnosis, the offer of screening and testing modalities [ 53,54].

SOURCES OF HEALTH INEQUITIES - Much consideration has been given to determining the sources of inequities in care delivered to women of different races and ethnicities [ 55]. Factors that contribute to health care inequities exist at the patient, clinician, health care system, and cultural levels ( figure 2).

Patient - Differences in patient-level factors may play some role in contributing to differences in specific health outcomes or to differences in level or type of care received. For example, individuals with varying levels of education and health literacy may advocate for quality of care to different extents. Some may have culturally mediated preferences for certain treatments over others, although strictly speaking such differences, if derived from informed preferences, do not meet the definition of health care inequity.

Clinician and role of implicit bias - Clinicians may provide different levels of care to individuals of different racial/ethnic groups: Data suggest much of this bias is not explicit and that many providers are unaware of the prevailing inequities in their fields or their role in perpetuating them [ 56,57]. In addition, when the patient and clinician meet at the level of the clinical encounter, communication may be suboptimal and/or culturally insensitive.

For conditions and care in which inequities exist, the potential role of the individual clinician in contributing to imbalances is inescapable. While some clinicians may admit and demonstrate explicit preferences for certain groups over others, the greater threat to equal patient care occurs through implicit biases, or those pervasive and rapid judgments and attitudes that arise subconsciously and are informed by our own backgrounds and experiences [ 21,58]. Examples of implicit bias at work include:

●A study of 287 internal and emergency medicine residents who reviewed a clinical vignette of a patient presenting to the Emergency Department with an acute coronary syndrome reported implicit preference favoring White patients and implicit bias stereotyping Black patients as less cooperative with medical procedures and less cooperative generally [ 59]. As physician preference for White patients increased, the likelihood of treating White patients with thrombolysis and not treating Black patients also increased.

●A cross-sectional study that measured implicit general and race bias for 40 primary care physicians and 269 patients in urban community-based practices reported an association between preferences for White patients on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and poorer health care communication and ratings of care, particularly among Black patients [ 60].

Possible strategies to address implicit bias on the part of the clinician are discussed below. (See 'Mitigation of implicit bias' below.)

Health care system - The experiences of patients and providers in the United States are housed in the broader structure of the health care system, which itself contributes to inequity [ 61,62]. The financing of American health care, despite reforms, leaves some women with minimal access to health services by virtue of no or underinsurance, and these women are more likely to be from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups [ 63,64]. In addition, access to specific technologies, such as assisted reproductive technologies or costly medications, may be tiered by insurance product, which further contributes to inequities in care rendered. A study of nearly 2500 women diagnosed with breast cancer in North Carolina from 2008 to 2013 reported that Black women were more likely than White to note any adverse financial impact of cancer at 25 months postdiagnosis (adjusted risk difference +14 percentage points), in an analysis adjusted for age, stage of disease, and treatment received [ 65].

Sociocultural context - Health care systems function within a broader sociocultural context that also includes the educational, financial, and criminal justice systems, among others. In 2018, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a Committee Opinion on the role of social determinants of health on health outcomes and care that acknowledged the important interplay between the structural elements such as health literacy, food insecurity, and poverty on women's health outcomes [ 2]. In addition, underlying structural racism operates beyond socioeconomic inequities. As an example, in a model designed to evaluate the association between community-level determinants of health and maternal health outcomes in the US, Black women experienced higher maternal mortality levels and worse obstetric outcomes compared with White women at all resource levels [ 17].

Additionally, there remains a legacy of mistreatment of patients of color within the health care system that appears to have impaired the development of patient trust and therapeutic alliances by women of color [ 66,67]. Forced sterilization of women [ 68] and the United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee [ 69] are but two examples of abuses that continue to inform patients' beliefs about their treatment in the modern health care system [ 70].

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE HEALTH CARE INEQUITIES

Mitigation of implicit bias - While data on mitigation of bias come primarily from social science studies, these approaches may be applied in other settings, such as health care. Although supporting data specific to health care settings are lacking, the risk of intervention is low and the potential gain is high. Thus, we advise clinicians both in and beyond the United States consider these approaches.

Clinician preparation - As implicit biases operate below providers' awareness, it is difficult to both assess biases and the impact of mitigation strategies. Interventions to reduce bias have been proposed in the education and criminal justice arenas [ 71,72], but there are few published evidence-based strategies specific to health care. Within the social psychology literature, researchers have proposed three conditions as necessary for "de-biasing" [ 73,74]: (1) intention to change existing biases, (2) attention to one's own stereotypical responses, and (3) time to practice strategies required to break habitual associations.

As part of establishing intention, providers are encouraged to complete a self-assessment of their own unconscious biases. A commonly sourced tool is the Implicit Association Test (IAT) [ 75], a computer-based exercise designed to measure implicit biases of several types (eg, race, religion, disability, weight). This process sometimes produces surprising and unsettling results for participants, and the accuracy of the results may be doubted. Without a clear gold standard for comparison, the methodologic validity of the IAT has occasionally been called into question; however, the IAT remains widely accepted as a good approximation of unconscious biases.

Once providers have identified their implicit biases, they must work to lessen the effects of said biases through strategy-based interventions that are practiced on a regular basis. Proposed exercises include [ 73]:

● Stereotype replacement - The individual learns to recognize responses to an individual or scenario that rely on stereotypes, then actively replaces the biased response with an unbiased one.

● Counter-stereotypic imagining - After the individual learns to recognize his/her stereotypical response to an individual from a particular background, the individual then remembers interactions with other persons from the same background who counter the stereotype and prove it inaccurate.

● Individuating - The individual learns how to obtain specific details of a different person's background, likes, dislikes, family, work, et cetera, in order to better make judgements based on individual, rather than group, characteristics.

● Perspective-taking - The individual actively considers the perspective of a stereotyped person, which may facilitate understanding of the emotional toll borne by those often stereotyped.

● Increasing opportunities for positive contact - The individual actively seeks out opportunities to experience or be in contact with positive examples of stereotyped groups.

In an experimental context, participants who completed an intervention employing the above strategies reported both increased concern for racial biases and scored lower on the Black-White IAT for implicit biases against Black people, with changes that persisted over time [ 73]. Providers who demonstrated increased concern for discrimination after the intervention was delivered were most likely to benefit. This study suggests that health care providers will participate in a study that reveals personal unconscious biases and that they next try to recognize when biased responses threaten to emerge during clinical interactions.

Using these techniques of assessing levels of implicit bias followed by exercises may help to minimize related harms during interactions, ideally leading to improved clinical encounters and therapeutic relationships. However, long-term outcome data on this approach are not yet available.

Medical education - The need for bias-reduction instruction at the level of medical education is highlighted by the fact that, while under-represented persons comprise approximately 30 percent of the United States population, only 9 percent of medical doctors are themselves from underrepresented groups [ 76]. To reduce the harmful effects of unconscious bias in medical learners, at least one researcher suggests that learners engage in developmental processes, which make them increasingly aware of their unconscious biases and mechanisms to regulate them [ 77]. As with other clinical skills, the opportunity to practice is paramount and may be modeled by others further along in their own journeys to reduce bias. The use of reflection via writing or group discussion exercises can provide opportunities to evoke and counter stereotypes in simulated settings [ 78]. In a study that exposed participants to images of admired and disliked persons from different races, the participants demonstrated a decrease in automatic preference for White people when study participants were shown images of positive Black exemplar individuals [ 79]. This study suggests that medical learners, potentially including seasoned clinicians, may begin to "unlearn" their biases with increasing exposure to positive examples of members from groups most often affected by bias, whether through case simulation, actual patient exposure, or intentional immersive experiences. Other clinicians have described an approach that includes cultivating a team of "race consciously trained" faculty consultants, developing race-conscious curricula, and employing innovative and interactive methods of training that promote critical dialogue amongst learners [ 76]. Using tools to identify bias and performing exercises to mitigate stereotypes, whether in medical education and training or in clinical practice, may help to minimize bias-related harms during patient interactions and ideally lead to improved clinical encounters and therapeutic relationships.

Inquire about patient experience with bias - There are limited data on steps a clinician can take at the bedside or in the office to reduce harms associated with implicit bias. As one approach, the author suggests asking patients about perceived prior discrimination in the health care setting. Research in this area often uses a question from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: "Within the past 12 months when seeking health care, do you feel your experiences were worse than, the same as, or better than for people of other races?" [ 80]. While the query is designed as part of surveys often used for investigational purposes, the question seems to have face and content validity and can easily be used in a clinical context. Clinician acknowledgment of positive responses, or otherwise recognizing cues that indicate mistrust or concern for care that is not culturally sensitive, can signal to caregivers a need to build trust and perhaps employ learned de-biasing strategies where appropriate.

System changes - The Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care, which develops maternal safety bundles to promote safe care, recommends in its "Reduction of Peripartum Racial/Ethnic Disparities" bundle that every health system provide staff-wide education on implicit bias, with a goal of implementing interventions to reduce these harmful biases [ 81]. Focus on standardized care practices or bundles may also be helpful. As an example, use of a standardized protocol for maternal hemorrhage among 99 hospitals in California resulted in reduction of severe maternal morbidity across all groups, with the greatest reduction in Black individuals [ 82]. (See "Overview of maternal mortality", section on 'Race and ethnicity' and "Severe maternal morbidity", section on 'Racial and ethnic minorities'.)

Other recommendations include ensuring access to adequate medical interpretation services and appropriate and granular collection of race/ethnicity data to inform quality efforts. Currently used quality metrics in obstetrics often focus on "overuse" measures, such as low-risk cesarean delivery, labor induction, and early elective delivery, and therefore may not fully capture outcomes for which women with poorer health care access may be at risk [ 83]. Efforts to collect quality data specifically designed to assess inequity (for example, use of interpreter services among patients of limited English proficiency, reporting of differences in offer of prenatal genetic screening by race/ethnicity, or allowing qualitative feedback from patients about experiences of discrimination in a health center or system) should be paired with more traditional measures of care quality.

In the broader context of the health care system, the financing of health care affects the distribution of resources and equity of outcomes. Women of low income are most likely to be covered by Medicaid during pregnancy but are vulnerable to insurance gaps before and after pregnancy [ 84]; such coverage transitions are associated with poorer access to and quality of care [ 85,86]. Removal of barriers to reproductive health services has been associated with reduction in adverse outcomes [ 87,88], which suggests that such efforts on a widespread basis may also be potential systems-level interventions to narrow inequities.

RESOURCES FOR PATIENTS AND CLINICIANS - Free open-access information for patients and clinicians can be found at the following sites:

●World Health Organization - Health Equity

●National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities

●The Alliance on Innovation for Maternal Health (AIM) Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care provides education and tools to reduce maternal mortality

●The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity in Women's Health Care

SOCIETY GUIDELINE LINKS - Links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Diversity, equity, and inclusivity in medicine".)

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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Racial and ethnic inequities in obstetric and gynecologic care and role of implicit biases - UpToDate

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Inequities in health and health care are pervasive and have continued to plague the health care system despite increasing recognition among patients and provide

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How Colorado colleges rank for economic diversity

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How Colorado colleges rank for economic diversity

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It is suggested that the economic diversity of the student population in Colorado colleges have been decreasing. New data was released after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-based affirmative action, and it is currently being looked into. Although Colorado was even the first state in California to ban legacy admissions, it still lays to be low in including a diverse background of economic statuses. Yet, these Colorado colleges are working hard to look at new systems and new programs to bring more students from different backgrounds to unite together at their colleges.

Arundhathi Jathin

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Some of Colorado's top colleges - including the state's flagship institution - have grown less economically diverse over the past decade, a New York Times Magazine analysis suggests.

Why it matters: The new data offers a glimpse into universities' commitment to economic diversity as many schools reevaluate admissions after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against race-based affirmative action, which supporters say promoted a more diverse student body.

How it works: The Times ranked more than 250 of the country's most selective universities, including four in Colorado, by the proportion of their students who come from economically disadvantaged households.

The rankings are measured by the percentage of freshmen with federal Pell Grants, which are made available to low-income families.

By the numbers: All four area schools included in the analysis fall below the national average of 21% when it comes to having an economically diverse student body.

The University of Colorado Boulder, the state's flagship, recorded 14% of freshmen with Pell Grants in the 2020-21 school year, down 7 percentage points from 2011 and tied for 230 out of 286 schools.

The University of Denver's share was 16%, down 1 percentage point. Colorado School of Mines' share was 13%, down by 6.

What they're saying: A CU Boulder spokesperson said the university is working to "remove economic barriers," with its latest effort being the expansion of a program that covers tuition and fees for Colorado resident students who are eligible for the Pell Grant.

At the University of Denver, a drop in diversity was attributed in part to the pandemic. "In the Fall of 2020, low-income families were affected the most, and many universities faced added expenses and declining enrollment," a spokesperson told us.

Of note: Colorado College - a private liberal arts school in Colorado Springs - was the only local school included in the analysis that made gains in enrolling more economically diverse students.

19% of freshmen enrolled at CC had Pell Grants in the 2020-21 school year, an increase of 7 percentage points from 2011.

The college has been "working hard" to raise Pell Grant numbers and recently joined the American Talent Initiative, a nationwide effort aimed at enrolling low-income students at colleges with high graduation rates, Mark Hatch, who heads CC's admissions and financial aid office, told Axios Denver.

Flashback: In 2021, Colorado became the first state to ban legacy admissions at public universities.

The goal was to foster more opportunities for students from marginalized backgrounds and create more inclusive campuses.

Yes, but: Two years later, the impact remains murky, our partners at Chalkbeat report.

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How Colorado colleges rank for economic diversity

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All four area schools included in a new analysis fall below the national average of 21% when it comes to having an economically diverse student body.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12441171/hollywood-homeless-crisis-video.html
The article focuses on the increasing percent of people becoming homeless in LA. With more than double becoming homeless in the last decade. In order to combat the homelessness, LA county has started a homeless initiative that focuses on relocating homeless people to live in areas.

Sachiv S

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A video of Hollywood shows how the rampant homeless problem in Los Angeles is impacting the formerly glitzy Walk of Fame

The homeless population in LA has skyrocketed in the last few years, leaving residents and politicians at a loss for how to move forward

Mayor Karen Bass, who took office last year, promised to tackle the crisis, though her administration appears to be struggling to do so

As rampant homelessness continues to plague the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles, a new video sheds light on the issue as it impacts LA's iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The video, taken earlier this summer, shows dozens of homeless people collapsed and prostrated on the streets of Hollywood, laying on public benches, and lining the streets with makeshift tents.

'Hidden between the glitz and glamor, homelessness has cast a shadow over the streets,' says the video's narrator, as he walks around the neighborhood.

He points out that mental health issues are an ongoing challenge within the city's homeless population - which, left untreated, result in individuals being hurled further into a cycle of homelessness and poverty.

'Prejudice and misunderstanding often cast a dark cloud over the homeless community,' continues the narration, 'the city of dreams grapples with its own realities.'

The homeless crisis in Los Angeles has skyrocketed in the last handful of years, reaching a total of more than 46,000 people living on the streets, an issue that Mayor Karen Bass committed herself to tackling as soon as she took office last year.

The number of homeless people in LA has more than doubled in the past decade.

There was a 9 percent rise in homelessness in Los Angeles County between 2022 and 2023, with the unhoused population now totaling 75,518 people, according to the latest data from the LAHSA.

The city of Los Angeles saw an estimated 10 percent rise to a total of 46,260 people.

LA Mayor Karen Bass was recently met with hisses and boos at a meeting about housing the homeless in the city as seen in videos posted to social media.

Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents District 5 on the powerful LA City Council, proposed an interim housing project in LA's Westside, which elicited a furious reaction from residents attending the meeting.

The proposal is for the project to be set up on an 'underutilized city-owned parking lot at the intersection of Pico Blvd. and Midvale Ave.'

'It will add desperately needed interim beds to the Fifth Council District's homeless housing supply,' Yaroslavsky said.

Yaroslavsky said over 70 percent of these individuals and families sleep in tents, parks, cars or on sidewalks because of a lack of temporary and permanent housing.

'Anyone who has walked or driven on the Westside can tell you that the increase in the number of people living in tents is alarming,' said Yaroslavsky.

'We cannot keep waiting for the problem to solve itself - we need real solutions that we know work, and we need them quickly.

'While thousands of units of permanent housing are being constructed across the City, no interim units are in the pipeline in Council District 5. We need interim solutions now that we know will work.'

After praising Yaroslavsky, Bass received boos from the audience.

An existing facility that houses the homeless in North Hollywood has been widely criticized by local residents after crime rocketed in the area, including a stabbing close by.

'I understand that safety is the number one concern, and safety is my concern as well,' Bass retorted.

'But this problem is that people are on the street so we have to think how to get them off the street today.'

In June, Bass announced the lofty goal of ending street homelessness in LA by 2026.

'My goal would be, really, to end street homelessness,' she said. 'There will still be people in shelters and interim housing, but to at least not have people dying on our streets,' she said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

According to the County of Los Angeles Homeless Initiative financial year 2023-2024 budget, four weeks after homelessness was declared a 'local emergency,' the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $609.7 million budget for the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative.

The budget will go toward: reducing encampments to bring unsheltered people indoors, increasing interim and permanent housing placements and ramping up mental health and substance use disorder services for people experiencing homelessness.

The $609.7 million represents an additional $61.8 million more than last year's allocation of $547.8 million, an increase of 11 percent.

The proposed budget will include 30 percent or $182.2 million for interim housing and 44.3 percent or $270.22 million for permanent housing.

The remaining cash will go toward: administration, local jurisdictions, stabilization success, coordination, target prevention to avoid reentry to homelessness and connectivity to allow people to exit sleeping rough.

Bass is the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles, the first woman and second African American elected to the city's chief executive post.

She started her term with a focus on housing people immediately and hoped to increase safety and opportunity in every part of LA.

That same month Bass moved 14,381 people under a roof - including 8,726 through LAHSA intakes, 1,323 via the mayor's Inside Safe initiative, 1,591 using emergency vouchers, 1,397 using other tenant-based voucher programs and 1,344 people who were housed in new permanent housing units.

But tens of thousands still remain on the streets, with many succumbing to rampant drug use.

Mobile teams with oxygen cylinders have been sent to Skid Rowto prevent overdoses amid the opioid crisis.

Workers from the non-profit Homeless Health Care Los Angeles also carry naloxone, a medicine commonly known as Narcan, that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

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Video shows fentanyl zombies taking over the streets of Hollywood

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As the Los Angeles homelessness crisis continues, new video shows how the issue is manifesting itself on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Although it almost always goes unnoticed, women receive lower quality medical care than men do in practically all types of medical situations. These behaviors aren’t always explicitly meant to favor men, but are instead absorbed by what people learn about gender throughout their lives. Most of the time, the bias in the medical field is very much implicit, although it is still a harmful point of view towards the care being taken towards women. This is mainly due to the fact that many cultures and societies value men and masculinity, causing women to be treated very differently, even when it comes to something as simple as an annual check-up. One of these issues is healthcare professionals not believing a woman's description of symptoms. A 2018 study showed that men with chronic pain were viewed as “brave”, while women that described their pain the same way were seen as “emotional” or “hysterical”. In fact, in some cases doctors will treat a woman's pain as a product of a mental issue rather than a physical issue. This type of treatment reaffirms gender biases, resulting in doctors having a rather limited knowledge when it comes to the health issues of women compared to their knowledge of men’s health conditions.

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Gender bias in healthcare: Examples and consequences

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Gender bias affects every part of the healthcare system, from diagnosis to health outcomes. Learn more about gender bias in healthcare and how to stop it.

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Police brutality against Jaahnavi - Jazneet Bains

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Police brutality against Jaahnavi - Jazneet Bains

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Jaahnavi is an American woman of South Asian heritage and was run over by police officer Kevin Dane. She was killed due to the car accident in January 2023, and an investigation only recently opened up in September 2023. She was a 23 year old masters student at Northeastern University's Seattle's campus. She was studying in America in order to support her single mother back in India, and she was only 3 months away from graduating. Not only did the investigation begin 9 months after the murder, the officer has not yet faced any sort of repercussions. The officer responded to the scene by joking around and saying that Jaanhavi had "limited value" and to "write a check" for "$11,000" due to the fact that she was of Indian heritage. This is one of many scenarios where a person of minority has had to face unequal treatment purely based off of their ethnic person.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/investigation-launched-into-tape-of-seattle-police-guild-leaders-downplaying-death-of-woman-struck-by-officer/

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Investigation launched into tape of Seattle police guild leaders downplaying death of woman

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A police watchdog agency is investigating union leaders over body-camera audio in which they joke about and downplay the death of 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula, who was fatally struck by a cruiser.

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Gun violence is urgent and common and very complex and controversial problem in the US and other countries as of today.  Gun violence is a daily scourge that endangers our most important right, our right to life. Gun violence effects everyone and everything in nothing but harmful ways. The vast majority of gun violence happens outside of harmful conflicts. In some states more then half is caused by sucide or accidents. Sometimes the mere presence of firearms can make someone feel threatened or scared and fearful for their lives. They may be afraid to attend school, work, hospitals, places of religious settings or even their grocery store. Community wide gun violence can interfere with with someone's services from functioning fully such as healthcare or education. This shows gun violence needs to end. Our human rights are not protected by the government who is supposedly supposed to help us if we don't end gun violence soon.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/arms-control/gun-violence/
https://www.cwla.org/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-families-communities/
https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/gun-violence-prevention

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Overview

Gun violence is a daily scourge that threatens our most fundamental right: the right to life. More than 600 people die every day as a result of firearms violence, which is driven in part by easy access to firearms - whether legal or illegal.

Anyone can be affected by gun violence, but it often disproportionately impacts people of colour, men and boys in deprived communities, and other marginalized groups. Domestic violence involving firearms also puts women at heightened risk of death or life-changing injuries.

Sometimes, the mere presence of firearms can make people feel threatened and fearful for their lives. They may be too afraid to attend schools or health facilities. Community-wide gun violence may prevent services from fully functioning, which can harm access to education or healthcare.

The vast majority of gun violence occurs outside of armed conflict settings. A significant proportion - in some states more than half - of firearm deaths are caused by suicide and accidents.

Our human rights are not protected if our leaders fail to tackle and end the epidemic of gun violence and gun deaths.

Previous Next

What is gun violence?

Gun violence is violence committed with firearms, such as handguns, shotguns, or semi-automatic rifles. More than 600 people are estimated to die every day from gun violence with two-thirds of gun-related deaths, including suicides, occurring in just six countries (in descending order): Brazil, the USA, Venezuela, Mexico, India and Colombia.

Up to 71% of all homicides globally involve gun violence. The majority of victims and perpetrators are young men, but women are at particular risk of violence from an intimate partner possessing a firearm. Sexual violence can also be perpetrated at gunpoint.

Firearms cause devastating injuries that leave a lasting impact on mental and physical health. Some gunshot victims need intensive, lifelong care. Others may lose their ability to work. Many have little or no access to programmes that offer adequate long-term care and rehabilitation.

How many guns are there?

More than 1 billion firearms are in circulation globally. The vast majority - 85%- are in the hand of private individuals, 13% are in military arsenals and 2% are owned by law enforcement agencies.

Gun violence committed by private individuals is typically concentrated in low-income urban neighbourhoods with high levels of crime, including drug trafficking. Many of these areas are blighted by inadequate policing or policing which does not comply with international standards on human rights and law enforcement, and a lack of access to public services.

Therefore, easy access to and proliferation of firearms, combined with socio-economic factors, can have a harmful impact on the community's full range of human rights.

Gun violence and the right to health
Gun violence can rob people of their lives, health and right to healthcare.
People living in communities plagued by firearm violence may find it difficult or even dangerous to access health care facilities. This is especially true in areas where neighbourhoods are partitioned by armed criminal gangs or subject to curfews due to insecurity.

Gun violence can also deter local authorities and NGOs from setting up community health services, and contributes to poor staff retention. Survivors of domestic violence often do not have the essential psychological support or safe accommodation they need in neighbourhoods wracked by firearm violence.

The psychological toll from rampant gun violence is often heavy, particularly for victims, their family members and those who have witnessed shootings. Survivors may be left with debilitating and life-changing injuries which require long-term medical and social care.

Gun violence and the right to education

Mass shootings and other firearm violence can disrupt children's education and make students' journeys to and from school dangerous.

Endemic gun violence damages the learning environment by disrupting school attendance and rates of retention, and makes it harder to recruit and retain teaching staff.

This can, in turn, lead to poorer outcomes for students in terms of employment and income. It can also perpetuate cycles of deprivation, crime and violence.

Gun violence exacerbates the impact of systemic discrimination.
In 2020, 60.9% of the 19,995 people killed by gun homicide in the US were African Americans, despite African Americans making up just 13% of the US population.

Black men and boys aged 15-34 are more than 10 times more likely to die from firearm homicide than white men and boys of the same age group.

Failure to address systemic discrimination; failure to keep firearms out of the hands of those most likely to misuse them; and a failure to invest in gun violence prevention programmes all contribute to this crisis.
Women facing domestic violence and children are also disproportionately affected by gun violence.
In 2020, the ratio of women in the Caribbean killed in gun violence was more than three times the global average. In the USA, guns are now the leading cause of death for children. Furthermore, between 2% and 7% of all injuries treated at US paediatric trauma centres are gun-related.

Gun Violence Figures Worldwide

How can governments stop gun violence?

Effectively implemented gun regulation and evidence-based violence prevention projects can stop the carnage.

As a first step, states should recognize firearm violence as a threat to people's human rights, in particular their rights to life, to physical integrity and security of person, and to health.

Gun regulation and gun licences

States can set up some basic systems to regulate how private individuals can own and use firearms and ammunition to prevent them from using firearms to abuse human rights.

International standards recommend prohibiting any possession of firearms without a licence; that states should register all firearms; and that unlicensed possession should be treated as a criminal offence.

A firearms licence should be subject to certain criteria. For example, the applicant should undergo a comprehensive background check to identify any risks, such as:

a criminal record - especially for violent behaviour in the home or community; history of gender-based, sexual or domestic violence;

history of problematic use of drugs/alcohol, emotional issues, mental health conditions and

any other circumstances which heighten the risks of the harm to self or others using firearms.

Gun licences should be time-limited and training on how to use the weapon should be mandatory. The number and type of weapons that an individual can possess should also be strictly limited in line with the principles of necessity and credible justification.

Some firearms and ammunition represent an unacceptable level of risk to public safety and should be banned for personal use. These should include, at a minimum, fully automatic firearms, semi-automatic assault rifles, semi-automatic shotguns and semi-automatic submachine guns.

Does gun reform work?

Yes, gun reform works. Almost all countries regulate gun acquisition, possession and use in some form. Most do this by licensing users and registering firearms.

Gun reform works in parts of the world where there are strict controls on access to firearms and well-enforced firearms regulations. This is the case for much of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. For example, in Japan, South Korea and Singapore, the rate of firearm violence is extremely low.

What does Amnesty do about gun violence?

Amnesty International is campaigning to strengthen regulations on firearm sale, transfer, use and possession. We support the creation of evidence-based violence reduction programmes in communities with persistently high levels of firearms violence.

You can stand up and remind our leaders of their obligation to keep us safe. You can play a crucial role in campaigning and protesting against gun violence and making it clear to governments that they must tackle this through strict controls on guns and effective interventions in communities suffering high levels of gun violence.
You have the power to tell governments that by using gun laws, we can all live safely and without fear - which is our right.

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We have the right to be safe from gun violence.

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Queer Coding, Queer Stereotypes and How They Effect Media Today - Charlotte Brown

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Queer Coding, Queer Stereotypes and How They Effect Media Today - Charlotte Brown

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From the 1930s villains of the Hays Code era, to the Disney villains of our childhoods, queer coding has always been apart of media, and a major part in queer culture. In March of 1930, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America released a set of moral rules and guidelines for all film released at the time, known as the Hays Code. Among the many rules, it prohibited films from depicting queer characters under the guise of 'morality'. This left little room for film makers, so as a work-around a phenomena called 'Queer Coding' was created. Queer coding is when a character in a piece of media is not explicitly said to be queer, but exhibits many behaviors associated with queer people and the queer community. Unfortunately, a lot of the time this would manifest in antagonists and villains in these movies, and would be seen as another 'bad trait' in these already despicable characters. While this may seem like a thing of the past, we are still feeling the effects of the Hays Code to this day. In a lot of Disney films, we can see obvious inspiration taken from queer coded characters and queer stereotypes. From flamboyant and glamorous male characters like 'Governor John Ratcliffe' in 'Pocahontas' or the cold-hearted 'fallen women' tropes in women like 'Maleficent' in 'Sleeping Beauty' to the very explicit inspiration from drag taken in the design of 'Ursula' from 'The Little Mermaid'. Even though this representation perpetuates so many negative stereotypes, for a long time it was the only representation the LGBTQ+ community had. As a result, many queer people reclaim this negative representation and identify with these characters, and love them for how proud they are to be who they are, even if they can't say it. Today we can see this being reclaimed in a lot of film and media, and these tropes being used to create more positive, or at least relatable, queer representation, like in 'The White Lotus' talked about in NY Times article.

https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/movies/why-are-villains-often-queer-coded.html

https://gayety.co/hollywood-has-a-queer-coding-problem

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Yes, These Gays Are Trying to Murder You

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Queer villains are all over our screens these days. What do they have to say?

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-Noah Yu

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/prioritizing-equity-in-mental-health-on-campus

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/08/25/a-proclamation-on-womens-equality-day-2023/

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lmdsb2JhbGNpdGl6ZW4ub3JnL2VuL2NvbnRlbnQvZmFjdHMtaW52ZXN0LWluLXdvbWVuLWdlbmRlci1lcXVhbGl0eS1lcXVpdHkv0gEA?hl=en
US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Equity is defined by being aware of the fact that we are all different and because of that, we should all of equal opportunities. On the campus of UCSD, people are fighting for equity for people with mental health issues. They are fighting to help each other have similar opportunities, even though they are different.
On other events, this year is the 100th year anniversary of the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment. Joe Biden announces on August 25 of 2023, he declares that he understands the struggles that women has suffered and he claims that he will help women's safety against violence and help continue to build the United States on gender equality.
This last article shows many facts that show the power of women. They preface the article with facts that basically show how different men and women are in opportunities. They show that women and girls are more likely to live in extreme poverty than men, they are less likely to get proper education than men, and also that they have less access to sanitation and menstrual products because of their gender.

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Since world leaders first agreed to work towards achieving the UN's Global Goals by 2030, progress on gender equality had been slow but steady; today, because of the compounding global crises over the last few years, this progress has stalled and the fight for gender equality needs more attention now than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, escalating unemployment, the climate emergency, and a global hunger crisis have made it that much harder to end extreme poverty by the 2030 deadline. But as everyone deals with the fallout of these intertwining crises, it's women and girls who are dealt the hardest blows.

Women and girls are more likely to live in extreme poverty. In times of conflict, women experience higher rates of gender-based violence; when food is short, they eat least and eat last. Girls are less likely than boys to get an education in developing nations due to gender bias, a lack of access to proper sanitation and menstrual health products, and familial duties that fall disproportionately on their shoulders.

For these reasons and many more, Global Citizens around the world are uniting in taking action for gender equity ahead of this year's Global Citizen Festival in New York City.

Taking place on the Central Park's Great Lawn on Sept. 23, Global Citizen Festival will be headlined by Jung Kook, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and Anitta - with Sofia Carson, D-Nice, Conan Gray, and Stray Kids also set to perform; against a backdrop of world leaders gathering in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly.

We're calling on the world's most powerful to ramp up their investments in women's health, education, and nutrition. Why? Just take a look at the facts we've laid out below that highlight how investing in women improves gender equity and can transform lives, communities, and countries.

1. Educated girls earn more money.

According to UNICEF, 129 million girls are out of school worldwide; in regions affected by conflict, girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school than girls who live in non-affected areas. When girls cannot go to school, they are three times as likely to marry by age 18 because of familial pressure, poverty, or a lack of alternative options.

Educated girls can secure their own futures. When girls have equal access to education, they earn more money, face less discrimination, and are able to invest in their communities. In fact, every additional year of primary school increases girls' eventual wages by 10-20%, according to UN Women.

2. Access to contraception and reproductive health services saves lives.

Women's lack of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights remains one of the world's biggest challenges. Each year, 74 million women living in low- and middle-income countries report unintended pregnancies, which contribute to higher rates of unsafe abortions and maternal deaths.

Women who have access to contraception are empowered to choose whether or not they're ready to start a family and can participate in paid employment opportunities. As a result, maternal deaths decrease and children grow up healthier and better educated.

3. Access to sanitary products improves girls' attendance in school.

Girls in developing nations already face significant barriers to accessing their right to an education, so having a period shouldn't be another thing that gets in their way. Unfortunately, nearly 1 in 5 girls miss school because of a lack of access to period products.

When schools have access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, girls can confidently manage their periods without having to stay home and miss out on school. In fact, a pilot program in Zimbabwe found that menstrual education, period products, and WASH interventions improved the school attendance of girls by over 30%.
4. Women farmers improve food security.
COVID-19 and Russia's war in Ukraine have disrupted global food chains and exacerbated the hunger crisis, plunging millions of people into acute food insecurity. While developing nations are impacted the most by the hunger crisis, a 2022 report from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that the prevalence of food insecurity is higher among women than men in every region of the world.

Women are important producers on smallholder farms, despite structural barriers that prevent them from accessing the same amount of land, livestock, and credit opportunities as men. When they are given the same access to these resources, FAO estimates that women's agricultural input could rise by 20-30%, enabling them to support themselves and their communities.

5. Recognizing the care economy reduces the burden of unpaid care work on women.

Unpaid care work, or the domestic responsibilities that enable families and communities to function, is disproportionately taken on by women and girls. As a form of invisible labor, the care economy is responsible for 9% of the world's economic output, but is often undervalued and unrecognized by world leaders.

According to the Canadian government, projects aimed at recognizing the care economy have been shown to reduce the burden of domestic duties on women in developing nations and allow them to pursue financial empowerment. What's more, engaging men and boys in the care economy has successfully redistributed domestic duties and changed mindsets on unpaid care work in communities across Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Rwanda.

6. Equal pay decreases the number of women living in poverty.

In many industries and all around the world, women are paid less for equal work and are more likely to hold seasonal, part-time, and low-wage jobs in comparison to men. As nearly 388 million women and girls live in extreme poverty, the case for equal pay has become even more urgent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eliminating systemic barriers that have allowed women to remain far behind men financially, could lift them out of poverty. For example, as women's wages and labor force participation have increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, poverty levels have dramatically decreased, according to the World Bank.

7. Women in politics shine a light on gender inequality.

In recent years, there has been meaningful progress in the number of women participating in politics, but the world is still far from reaching gender parity. Globally, women only make up 26.5% of members of parliament, and there are just 31 countries where women serve as heads of state.

Studies conducted in countries where women serve in policy-making roles have found that gender equality issues are addressed more often; by working across party lines and engaging in women's conventions, legislators in these countries have helped spotlight the importance of women's rights and concerns.

The global challenges of the last few years have threatened our ability to achieve gender equality, but we're not giving up. Women have been able to make incredible strides to improve their lives and livelihoods, but it will take continued investment from world leaders to keep the momentum going to 2030 and beyond.

We can't do it without you. By taking action with Global Citizen, you can call on world leaders to dismantle the systemic barriers that prevent gender equality from being realized through urgent funding commitments to women's education, sexual and reproductive health, and nutrition.

Here's how you can help right now: Share your thoughts with us on how women's sexual health and reproductive rights can be improved in your country. You can also sign our petition asking world leaders to invest in unpaid care work. and call on Norway and other world leaders to fund the UNFPA, the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency. Taken those actions? Head to the Global Citizen app or our website to keep taking action for equity.

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7 Facts That Show the Power of Investing in Women to Fight for Gender Equity

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Ahead of the Global Citizen Festival, taking place in New York City in September, Global Citizen shares key facts about how investing in women helps achieve gender equality.

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Never Have I Ever represents Tamil and South Indian Culture - Mithali

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Never Have I Ever represents Tamil and South Indian Culture - Mithali

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/never-ever-fans-say-goodbye-south-indian-american-milestone-rcna88845
Never Have I Ever follows the life of a Tamil girl named Devi who lost her dad at a young age. It represents Hindu and outh indian culture, which is very rare in western media.

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Watching yourself portrayed on screen in a popular show is something communities around the world are keen to see.

And Never Have I Ever - which is currently in Netflix's top 10 - has been praised for giving fans that feeling.

"There is a fulfilment, a feeling you're not alone and you're reflected somewhere," Poorna Jagannathan tells BBC Asian Network.

She plays Nalini, the mum of main character Devi Vishwakumar.

The show, which released its fourth and final season this month, is about Devi's teenage journey (if you haven't caught up, this article contains minor spoliers).

But each character gets "given the space, background and history" usually reserved for the lead, says Poorna.

She feels that viewers don't normally "get to know these characters of colour as well as you do the white lead".

Richa Moorjani, who plays Devi's cousin, Kamala, says the show's diversity made it "a dream project to be a part of".

"We have so many diverse storylines, with the cultural aspects, LGBTQ+ storylines and disability," she says.

Richa says many shows in the past have had Indian or South Asian families among their casts but they've tended to be generic.

"They just have Indian accents but we don't know where in India they're from, what language they speak, their customs,," she says.

But Never Have I Ever makes specific references to Tamil culture, which was especially important for Richa. The ethnic group has roots primarily in southern India and Sri Lanka.

She points to the third season showing the Golu Festival - a celebration that takes place for people in south India.

"My family celebrated that my whole life growing up. To see that depicted on screen is hard to put into words what that feels like."

Poorna agrees, saying traditional customs and ways - such as eating dishes with your hands can feel "embarrassing" because it's not normally reflected on TV.

"Then suddenly to see all of us eating with our hands, when you show it, it becomes normal.

"And not only does it normalise it, you start celebrating yourself and where you come from.

"When you see yourself, hear words you've grown up with and when you see people who eat like you do in your family... you feel really close to something magical."

Another element of representation which captured the hearts of viewers was Devi and Kamala's traditional dance in the final season.

Richa calls it one of her "most cherished memories on set", with it being an example of Devi embracing her culture and identity.

Fans of the show, especially the first season, will know that she was once reluctant to do that.

"It's beautiful, because you see how much has changed with her and how much she's evolved," Richa says.

Soundtracking the scene with a specific Tamil song was important "because it could have easily just been a Bollywood dance," she adds.

Poorna feels that the industry is getting more diverse but there's still "very little representation".

She remembers being made to feel like "a diversity hire" by some casting bosses in the past - experiences that made her feel angry.

Poorna says she now looks for parts where she can "represent something of myself".

She feels it's important to "remain hopeful, keep creating but remain super-vigilant" and build on Never Have I Ever's foundation.

She says rights and progress can be "taken away in no time", referencing the Roe v Wade decision in the US, which effectively ended the constitutional right to an abortion for millions of American women.

Richa adds: "We have to not get complacent and feel like everything's OK now, because there is still a huge racism problem, and there's still a huge lack of opportunity for us."

There have been some complaints about the finale and the characters falling for white love interests.

But Poorna embraces the criticism and says it doesn't add to the pressure of playing an important role.

"People want to see themselves, the most accurate portrayal of themselves. And I think the show is just the beginning," she says.

Richa says it's "just great to get the feedback, whether people love it, or they don't".

"It's not possible for one show to make every single human being on this planet feel represented.

"I don't think it's necessarily unfair to have that expectation. But I also think that it's just not realistic."

Additional reporting by Alyshea Chand

Follow Newsbeat on Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

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Never Have I Ever: Netflix hit lets us 'represent Tamil culture'

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The actors playing the characters of Nalini and Kamala tell us about representing their own culture.

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California may be lauded as one of the most diverse states in our nation, but diversity is not the same as equity.  According to the Associated Press, roughly two-thirds of the students in California did not meet the state standards for math.  However, it must be noted that 84% of African American students and 79% of Hispanic students did not meet the standards, which is significantly greater than the 67% state average.  This shows that White and Asian students get more opportunity and education overall in California.  In addition to this, schools individually have higher percentages of suspensions and lower grades for students of color.  For example, Inderkum High School was ranked as the most ethnically diverse school in California.  However, suspension rates and percentages of students not meeting the standards were significantly lower for Asian and white students, and much higher for African American and Hispanic students.  If this kind of racial inequality is still embedded in our culture, it is impossible to achieve true equity for all in the education setting.  It is necessary that we all take steps to even out the playing field and make education a right to all people.

https://apnews.com/article/science-california-education-race-and-ethnicity-ad11dfbb500f1966396a9c628bc80eba
https://www6.cde.ca.gov/californiamodel/studentgroupsreport?&year=2022&cdcode=&scode=0102236&reporttype=sgroups

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Most California students did not meet standards in math and English this year, state officials announced Monday in another example of test scores continuing to fall after the pandemic - including notable declines for Black and Latino children.

Two out of three California students did not meet state math standards, and more than half did not meet English standards, the Los Angeles Times reported. The numbers were worse for students of color, as 84% of Black students and 79% of Latino students did not meet math standards in 2022.

The test scores highlighted the widespread impacts of the pandemic, with traditionally underserved students facing the biggest challenges.

Math and reading scores have dropped significantly across the country since the pandemic. For California, the numbers underscore what was already troubling trend before the pandemic, when 60% of students were testing below grade level in math and nearly half in English.

"It is fair for people to be concerned about the experience that kids have had," California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond told the newspaper in an interview. "But we also had 99,000 Californians who lost their lives to COVID. and we did the things that we felt we needed to do to save lives. ... Now is our time to focus on how we accelerate the students' recovery."

State officials said the latest data contained some "hopeful signs." The Department of Education compared scores of students who took the tests in 2020-21 to those same students who took the tests this year and found "steeper-than-normal achievement gains at most grade levels."

Thurmond noted the state is phasing-in a plan to send all 4-year-olds to public school and also spent $250 million on things like reading coaches and other specialists.

Still, Republicans lamented the lack of progress, blaming Democrats who control state government.

"These test scores reflect the current state of education in California. We are failing students in the most important subjects," said James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the state Assembly. "This is just another example of Democrat mismanagement, and our kids are suffering for it."

Results of a national assessment showed setbacks for most of the country, including California. But California's scores did not decline as much as the national average.

"While California's students experienced less learning loss than those in most other states during the pandemic, these results are not a celebration but a call to action - students are struggling academically and we need to keep getting them the resources they need to thrive," California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

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California test scores decline; racial disparities remain

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Most California students did not meet standards in math and English this year, state officials announced Monday in another example of test scores continuing to fall after the pandemic - including notable declines for Black and Latino children.

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With the recent overturning of affirmative action, we are beginning to see its impacts. For one, the end of its precedent means that an SBA program is under attack. Tennessee issued a ruling to alter the 8a program, which was dedicated to awarding financial aid to  small businesses owned by disadvantaged groups. This means that race is no longer considered a reason for disadvantage.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/prove-racism-sba-loans/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/07/sba-8a-program-ruling-affirmative-action/

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In July, a federal judge ruled business owners cannot say their race is a disadvantage to receive funding.

It challenged the SBA's 8(a) program, which awards money to socially disadvantaged businesses each year.

Now, business owners have to write an essay proving why their identity has been the basis of discrimination.

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions - but business owners are also feeling the heat.

In July, a federal judge in Tennessee issued a ruling that challenged the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development program, which was created for the government to give at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to disadvantaged small businesses each year. The judge's decision struck down a key provision of that program, saying that business owners could no longer say their race is the reason they have faced disadvantage in America.

The judge wrote in the July 19 opinion that "the determination of which groups of Americans are presumptively disadvantaged compared with others necessarily leads to such a determination being underinclusive because certain groups that could qualify will be left out of the presumption." The opinion gave an example that while some minority groups have faced "significant discrimination in a number of areas," they are not considered "presumptively socially disadvantaged."

This ruling prompted the SBA to change the process for small business owners to receive funds though the 8(a) program. According to the new guidance posted in late August, the SBA is now requiring all 8(a) participants to complete a " social disadvantage narrative" if they want to continue receiving awards through the program.

"SBA must determine that the discrimination or bias experienced by an individual is chronic, substantial, and has occurred within American society (not another country)," the guidance said. "Additionally, the discrimination must have negatively impacted the individual's entry or advancement in the business world."

The narrative should indicate which identities are the basis of a social disadvantage and include a description of a time when bias or discrimination occurred because of that identity. The guidance said that "sufficient" narratives are typically three pages long and should include a who, what, where, why, when, and how the discrimination occurred.

This new guidance comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions at the end of July, which means that colleges can no longer use race as a factor to determine whether a student should gain admission into the school. This has prompted a number of schools since the decision to change the way they admit students - particularly by removing legacy preference from their admissions processes, which have typically benefitted white and wealthy applicants.

Still, the ruling on the 8(a) program could signal legal challenges down the road for other programs that prioritize minority groups. Edward Blum, who was behind the Supreme Court case challenging affirmative action in college admissions, filed a lawsuit in early August against the Fearless Fund, which gives grants to Black, female entrepreneurs. He also sued two law firms that have fellowships aimed at promoting diversity.

It's unclear if President Joe Biden's administration will appeal the 8(a) ruling, and SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman said in a statement that "the SBA and Biden-Harris Administration remain committed to supporting this crucial program and the small business owners who have helped drive America's strong economic growth."

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Business owners of color seeking SBA loans now have to write an essay proving their race is a 'social disadvantage' after a judge ruled it isn't enough

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In July, a federal judge ruled that race is no longer a disadvantage in America. Business owners now have to write essays to prove that it is.

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Gender inequality is a significant part of our society today, and one of the things that gender inequality is sports. Women can have a very big disadvantage in sports because they get paid significantly less. This is commonly due to womens' leagues being advertised much less than men's leagues.

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- Diversity and Equity in today's society are very important because it can determine how people's everyday lives can turn out.
- It's been said that college campuses even benefit from having diversity programs because there are less biases and students appear to be engaged in what they are being taught, even the staff at these campuses are more satisfied.
- Prioritizing things like diversity and inclusion can help people's overall mental health too. Even just knowing that someone is on your side can be very helpful and comforting to someone who is struggling.

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/prioritizing-equity-in-mental-health-on-campus
https://sdvoice.info/5-ways-that-college-campuses-benefit-from-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-programs/

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"We want you to have the sense that you're a Triton, you belong here, and you bring your whole self to this campus," said Crystal Green, director of FSAP, as she addressed the attendees. Green encouraged them to use the series speakers and available campus resources to fill their own "personal toolbox" of coping skills they can use to respond to changing situations that might cause stress, challenges and learning opportunities.

A program of UC San Diego Campus Human Resources, FSAP is a confidential, in-house employee assistance program that provides campus faculty and staff, postdoctoral and visiting scholars, emeriti and retirees with access to licensed professional counselors at no cost. The team provides one-on-one information, support and counseling as well as a variety of educational workshops and support groups. Earlier this year, by nearly doubling the number of counselors available and diversifying the team to represent many intersectional identities so that employees of all backgrounds can feel safe and seen. The program's prominence within the university's HR structure is a manifestation of the , which emphasizes that equity, inclusion, care, growth and purpose are fundamental to employee satisfaction.

During the kickoff event, representatives from both EDI and FSAP took to the podium to share insights related to equity-centered and trauma-informed approaches to mental health.

Frank Silva, associate vice chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, acknowledged the increased stress and anxiety that many have felt over the past few years due to the pandemic and other societal events, particularly among members of communities that have been historically marginalized.

"We want to make sure that our staff understand that we care about you," Silva said.

According to Green, achieving equity in mental health on campus involves evaluating the fairness and accessibility of services and offerings, as well as ensuring that providers strive to view each participant as an individual, unique person and tailor their interactions accordingly. She encourages members of the campus community to be aware that different people react to trauma in different ways, explaining that when we are informed about trauma and its triggers, impacts, signs and symptoms, we can work to reshape those experiences into qualities such as strength and resilience.

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"You Belong Here": Prioritizing Equity in Mental Health on Campus

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A new quarterly series aims to foster a sense of connection and belonging among campus employees while boosting awareness of the mental health and wellness resources available at UC San Diego.

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How COVID taught America about inequity in education-Clea Simon

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How COVID taught America about inequity in education-Clea Simon

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Before COVID 19, students in minorities had a difficult time getting a good education. After, it became far more difficult. The reason for this was that families in lower income areas lacked the resources to continue learning. In a study, it showed that Black and Hispanic households were less likely to have the opportunity to have computers or internet access. COVID 19 truly showed how serious the situation was and that everyone needs to focus their attention on it instead of letting it fade into the background. There was another study showing that predominantly white districts got 23 billion more than their non white counterparts serving the same number of students. In all, efforts need to be put more towards education for minorities

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/how-covid-taught-america-about-inequity-in-education/
-Isabelle Bett

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Also in the Series

View all of Unequal

"Unequal" is a multipart series highlighting the work of Harvard faculty, staff, students, alumni, and researchers on issues of race and inequality across the U.S. This part looks at how the pandemic called attention to issues surrounding the racial achievement gap in America.
The pandemic has disrupted education nationwide, turning a spotlight on existing racial and economic disparities, and creating the potential for a lost generation. Even before the outbreak, students in vulnerable communities - particularly predominately Black, Indigenous, and other majority-minority areas - were already facing inequality in everything from resources (ranging from books to counselors) to student-teacher ratios and extracurriculars.

The additional stressors of systemic racism and the trauma induced by poverty and violence, both cited as aggravating health and wellness as at a Weatherhead Institute panel, pose serious obstacles to learning as well. "Before the pandemic, children and families who are marginalized were living under such challenging conditions that it made it difficult for them to get a high-quality education," said Paul Reville, founder and director of the Education Redesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE).

Educators hope that the may triggers a broader conversation about reform and renewed efforts to narrow the longstanding racial achievement gap. They say that research shows virtually all of the nation's schoolchildren have fallen behind, with students of color having lost the most ground, particularly in math. They also note that the full-time reopening of schools presents opportunities to introduce changes and that some of the lessons from remote learning, particularly in the area of technology, can be put to use to help students catch up from the pandemic as well as to begin to level the playing field.

The disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 outbreak became apparent from the first shutdowns. "The good news, of course, is that many schools were very fast in finding all kinds of ways to try to reach kids," said Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice in International Education and director of GSE's Global Education Innovation Initiative and International Education Policy Program. He cautioned, however, that "those arrangements don't begin to compare with what we're able to do when kids could come to school, and they are particularly deficient at reaching the most vulnerable kids." In addition, it turned out that many students simply lacked access.

The rate of limited digital access for households was at 42 percent during last spring's shutdowns, before drifting down to about 31 percent this fall, suggesting that school districts improved their adaptation to remote learning, according to an analysis by the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge of U.S. Census data. (Indeed, Education Week and other sources reported that school districts around the nation rushed to hand out millions of laptops, tablets, and Chromebooks in the months after going remote.)

The report also makes clear the degree of racial and economic digital inequality. Black and Hispanic households with school-aged children were 1.3 to 1.4 times as likely as white ones to face limited access to computers and the internet, and more than two in five low-income households had only limited access. It's a problem that could have far-reaching consequences given that young students of color are much more likely to live in remote-only districts.

"We're beginning to understand that technology is a basic right," said Reimers. "You cannot participate in society in the 21st century without access to it." Too many students, he said, "have no connectivity. They have no devices, or they have no home circumstances that provide them support."

The issues extend beyond the technology. "There is something wonderful in being in contact with other humans, having a human who tells you, 'It's great to see you. How are things going at home?'" Reimers said. "I've done 35 case studies of innovative practices around the world. They all prioritize social, emotional well-being. Checking in with the kids. Making sure there is a touchpoint every day between a teacher and a student."

The difference, said Reville, is apparent when comparing students from different economic circumstances. Students whose parents "could afford to hire a tutor ... can compensate," he said. "Those kids are going to do pretty well at keeping up. Whereas, if you're in a single-parent family and mom is working two or three jobs to put food on the table, she can't be home. It's impossible for her to keep up and keep her kids connected.

"If you lose the connection, you lose the kid."

"COVID just revealed how serious those inequities are," said GSE Dean Bridget Long, the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. "It has disproportionately hurt low-income students, students with special needs, and school systems that are under-resourced."

This disruption carries throughout the education process, from elementary school students (some of whom have simply stopped logging on to their online classes) through declining participation in higher education. Community colleges, for example, have "traditionally been a gateway for low-income students" into the professional classes, said Long, whose research focuses on issues of affordability and access. "COVID has just made all of those issues 10 times worse," she said. "That's where enrollment has fallen the most."

In addition to highlighting such disparities, these losses underline a structural issue in public education. Many schools are under-resourced, and the major reason involves sources of school funding. A 2019 study found that predominantly white districts got $23 billion more than their non-white counterparts serving about the same number of students. The discrepancy is because property taxes are the primary source of funding for schools, and white districts tend to be wealthier than those of color.

The problem of resources extends beyond teachers, aides, equipment, and supplies, as schools have been tasked with an increasing number of responsibilities, from the basics of education to feeding and caring for the mental health of both students and their families.

"You think about schools and academics, but what COVID really made clear was that schools do so much more than that," said Long. A child's school, she stressed "is social, emotional support. It's safety. It's the food system. It is health care."

This safety net has been shredded just as more students need it. "We have 400,000 deaths and those are disproportionately affecting communities of color," said Long. "So you can imagine the kids that are in those households. Are they able to come to school and learn when they're dealing with this trauma?"

The damage is felt by the whole families. In an upcoming paper, focusing on parents of children ages 5 to 7, Cindy H. Liu, director of Harvard Medical School's Developmental Risk and Cultural Disparities Laboratory, looks at the effects of COVID-related stress on parent' mental health. This stress - from both health risks and grief - "likely has ramifications for those groups who are disadvantaged, particularly in getting support, as it exacerbates existing disparities in obtaining resources," she said via email. "The unfortunate reality is that the pandemic is limiting the tangible supports [like childcare] that parents might actually need."

Educators are overwhelmed as well. "Teachers are doing a phenomenal job connecting with students," Long said about their performance online. "But they've lost the whole system - access to counselors, access to additional staff members and support. They've lost access to information. One clue is that the reporting of child abuse going down. It's not that we think that child abuse is actually going down, but because you don't have a set of adults watching and being with kids, it's not being reported."

The repercussions are chilling. "As we resume in-person education on a normal basis, we're dealing with enormous gaps," said Reville. "Some kids will come back with such educational deficits that unless their schools have a very well thought-out and effective program to help them catch up, they will never catch up. They may actually drop out of school. The immediate consequences of learning loss and disengagement are going to be a generation of people who will be less educated."

There is hope, however. Just as the lockdown forced teachers to improvise, accelerating forms of online learning, so too may the recovery offer options for educational reform.

The solutions, say Reville, "are going to come from our community. This is a civic problem." He applauded one example, the Somerville, Mass., public library program of outdoor Wi-Fi "pop ups," which allow 24/7 access either through their own or library Chromebooks. "That's the kind of imagination we need," he said.

On a national level, he points to the creation of so-called "Children's Cabinets." Already in place in 30 states, these nonpartisan groups bring together leaders at the city, town, and state levels to address children's needs through schools, libraries, and health centers. A July 2019 " Children's Cabinet Toolkit " on the Education Redesign Lab site offers guidance for communities looking to form their own, with sample mission statements from Denver, Minneapolis, and Fairfax, Va.

Already the Education Redesign Lab is working on even more wide-reaching approaches. In Tennessee, for example, the Metro Nashville Public Schools has launched an innovative program, designed to provide each student with a personalized education plan. By pairing these students with school "navigators" - including teachers, librarians, and instructional coaches - the program aims to address each student's particular needs.

"This is a chance to change the system," said Reville. "By and large, our school systems are organized around a factory model, a one-size-fits-all approach. That wasn't working very well before, and it's working less well now."

"Students have different needs," agreed Long. "We just have to get a better understanding of what we need to prioritize and where students are" in all aspects of their home and school lives.

Already, educators are discussing possible responses. Long and GSE helped create The Principals' Network as one forum for sharing ideas, for example. With about 1,000 members, and multiple subgroups to address shared community issues, some viable answers have begun to emerge.

"We are going to need to expand learning time," said Long. Some school systems, notably Texas', already have begun discussing extending the school year, she said. In addition, Long, an internationally recognized economist who is a member of the National Academy of Education and the MDRC board, noted that educators are exploring innovative ways to utilize new tools like Zoom, even when classrooms reopen.

"This is an area where technology can help supplement what students are learning, giving them extra time - learning time, even tutoring time," Long said.

Reimers, who serves on the UNESCO Commission on the Future of Education, has been brainstorming solutions that can be applied both here and abroad. These include urging wealthier countries to forgive loans, so that poorer countries do not have to cut back on basics such as education, and urging all countries to keep education a priority. The commission and its members are also helping to identify good practices and share them - globally.

Innovative uses of existing technology can also reach beyond traditional schooling. Reimers cites the work of a few former students who, working with Harvard Global Education Innovation Initiative, HundrED, the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, and the World Bank Group Education Global Practice, focused on podcasts to reach poor students in Colombia.

They began airing their math and Spanish lessons via the WhatsApp app, which was widely accessible. "They were so humorous that within a week, everyone was listening," said Reimers. Soon, radio stations and other platforms began airing the 10-minute lessons, reaching not only children who were not in school, but also their adult relatives.

National & World Affairs

National & World Affairs

Kris Snibbe/Harvard file photo

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How COVID taught America about inequity in education - Harvard Gazette

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This installment of the Unequal series looks at the how the pandemic called attention to issues surrounding the racial achievement gap in America.

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https://www.vox.com/money/2023/8/22/23840473/writers-strike-actors-wga-sag-workers-economy-impact

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/27/hollywood-writers-strike-issues-studios/

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/still-no-end-sight-hollywood-strikes-rcna104179

The writers are not getting paid because the big companies such as Warner Bros are not paying them. This does not give people who want to be writers a equal chance to make good money and pursue their own dreams.

The writers ask the companies to not rely on AI in the future since that would jeopardize their future. The writers and actors are asking for better pay that would allow their quality of life to increase since 99% of writers and actors aren't making the most amount of money. They are just asking for more freedom and for a secure future.

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It’s not just famous actors and big-name writers the Hollywood strikes are hurting

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From struggling writers and actors to makeup artists and camera operators, a look at how workers in and outside of Hollywood are being hit by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

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Apple retired its lightning charger exactly 11 years after it was first announced, finally adopting the universal charging system, USB-C.

Why? Less than a year earlier, the European Union voted to approve legislation to require smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, portable speakers, and other small devices to support USB-C charging by 2024. Its hand being forced, Apple had no choice but to change the required chargers on its devices to USB-C, though Apple did fight back against the decision.

What does this mean? This first-of-its-kind law allows users to mix and match devices and chargers and lets people all around the world who cannot afford to buy separate chargers for a single device to use the same charger for their Apple devices. Additionally, some USB-C chargers allow for transfer speeds of up to 20 times faster than USB-2 technology would. However, this change might also result in an increase in electronic waste (if thinking short-term).

Apple's charger change will create greater and more equal access to chargers for peoples' devices, along with reducing the spending of the average household on chargers and equipment for their device(s). This change looks to bring many benefits to users everywhere.

Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/tech/iphone-15-usb-c-charging/index.html

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-apple-lighting-charger-iphone-15-20230913-6knpt2sriraxxfsst3za3kmjni-story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/12/iphone-usb-c-cable-charger/

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What is USB-C? Here's why Apple's charger switch is such a big deal | CNN Business

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Apple retired its Lightning charger on Tuesday exactly 11 years to the day it was first announced.

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SB 54 signed into law on June 30. While the law itself is mostly focused on plastic consumption and regulations surrounding that, there is a part of the law that supports Investing in Equity. SB 54 makes it a requirement for "...venture capital firms to report on diversity efforts annually starting March 1, 2025." Evidence from various sources surrounding the law suggest that lack of diversity blocks women and minority groups from being able to accumulate wealth, which in turn harms California's economy. In terms of boosting investment in startups, SB 54 aims to increase the percentage of Venture Capital investment in minority and women owned businesses. Data suggests that despite 49% of startups being started by women, the amount of Venture Capital investments is disproportionately higher for startups started by white men.

https://sd09.senate.ca.gov/news/20230913-skinner%E2%80%99s-bill-boost-investment-women-and-minority-owned-startups-wins-approval-ca

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/08/california-sb54-bill-diversity-venture/

(not really an article, but it is the bill itself and I did use it as evidence to refer to)
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB54

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The state Legislature has approved Senator Skinner's legislation, SB 54, which would bring transparency to venture capital investments in California and is designed to help more women- and minority-owned startups access vital VC funding. If signed into law, SB 54 would be the first such transparency measure in the nation.

"California has landmark laws that shine a light on pay inequities and the lack of diversity in both the workplace and the boardroom. SB 54 extends that transparency to venture capital investing to help more women- and minority-owned startups access the VC lifeline that nearly all entrepreneurs depend on," said Sen. Skinner, D-Berkeley.

SB 54, Investing in Equity, won approval in the state Assembly on a 60-15 vote, and the state Senate voted 32-8 in favor of it. SB 54 is now on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

"SB 54 is simply about gaining clarity on what we know to be a perpetuating issue in venture capital - a biased distribution of funding that leaves out women and people of color. The situation is so dire that it risks excluding those groups from entrepreneurship altogether, possibly even adversely effecting future generations. Moreover, many of these venture funds manage money from large pension funds like CalPERS and CalSTRS - I doubt their members, many of whom are women and people if color, would be OK with this type of discrimination. This is an emergency," said Marquesa Finch, founding partner of The F5 Collective, which is sponsoring SB 54 and is a fund established to close the gender-funding gap and support female founders. "With this bill, we hope we can accelerate the institutional change that needs to happen in order for venture-backed financing to be fair."

Venture capital investment is one of the key ways that entrepreneurs are able to launch and expand new businesses. Interestingly, the founders of innovative startups come from every demographic. In 2021, for example, 49% of startups were formed by women. Yet data compiled in a 2019 "Diversity in U.S. Startups" report revealed that VC investments are disproportionately allocated to companies launched by white men.

According to a report by PitchBook, female-founded startups received only 2.1% of all venture capital invested in the U.S. in 2022. Startups founded by Black and Latinx individuals received only 2.6% and 0.6% of venture capital funding, respectively.

There's also evidence that the lack of diversity in VC investment not only blocks the ability of women and minorities to build wealth, it also harms California's innovation economy. Studies, for example, reveal that increasing the diversity of investment recipients can generate higher overall economic returns.

SB 54 is aimed at improving diversity in venture capital investments by:

requiring venture capital firms to report on diversity efforts annually starting March 1, 2025;

outlining reporting requirements and procedures, including data collection through a standardized survey while protecting individual privacy; and

ensuring that the receiving agency (Civil Rights Department) makes the reports received readily accessible, easily searchable, and easily downloadable on its website.

"Venture capital firms might not be aware that their rate of investment is so low," Sen. Skinner added. "Hopefully, the transparency required by SB 54 will inspire these investors to do better."
Sen. Nancy Skinner represents the 9th Senate District and is chair of the Senate Budget Committee and the California Legislative Women's Caucus.

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Skinner's Bill to Boost Investment in Women- and Minority-Owned Startups Wins Approval from CA Legislature

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The state Legislature has approved Senator Skinner's legislation, SB 54, which would bring transparency to venture capital investments in California and is designed to help more women- and minority-owned startups access vital VC funding. If signed into law, SB 54 would be the first such transparency measure in the nation.

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Erica Marsh a trump supporter had a fake twitter account made of her. Most of the fake accounts tweets were often ultra liberal. The accounts tweets were often hyper political and gained attention from more then the accounts already 130k followers. The account got Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz to respond saying they strongly disagree with the statement. This shows how thousands of fake accounts of people have been spreading false information about the person. This shows how dangerous social media truly is.

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Jim Trotter filed a major discrimination lawsuit against the NFL earlier this week. 

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The  Jim Trotter Lawsuit Against the NFL

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The  Jim Trotter Lawsuit Against the NFL

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The journalist, who had worked with the league for 5 years, had his contract not renewed earlier this year.  The lawsuit, which targets the NFL and NFL Media Tuesday, alleges that his release was due to him outspokenly questioning the NFL's lack of diversity measures.  Trotter's claims fire at NFL Media executives who he says  did not have any Black staff members as well as NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell, who he claims would often dismiss Trotter's concerns. The lawsuit also names 2 NFL team owners (who are white),  who  made racist and dismissive comments towards Trotter's  during conversations about better inclusion measures in the league.  Trotter says that through this lawsuit, he is able to finally speak out on the injustices he has seen, and hold the NFL accountable.  In recent years, the NFL has come under fire over different diversity/inclusion  scandals.  All those named in the lawsuit has denied all claims.
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-journalist-jim-trotter-alleges-discriminatory-comments-by-jerry-jones-terry-pegula-in-retaliation-lawsuit-180152735.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/12/business/jim-trotter-sues-nfl-for-racial-discrimination/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-nfl-media-journalist-jim-trotter-files-racial-discrimination-lawsui-rcna104797
-Claire Takahashi

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Protests in front of the Supreme Court building

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US Supreme Court Rules the use of race in college admission violates the 14th amendment - Kearin

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US Supreme Court Rules the use of race in college admission violates the 14th amendment - Kearin

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On Thursday, June 29th, the US Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions was a violation of the 14th amendment. Many are criticizing this decision as it eliminates the practice of affirmative action, which is defined as "the practice or policy of favoring individuals belonging to groups regarded as disadvantaged or subject to discrimination". This is often expressed as holding a certain number of admissions specifically for people of certain races or backgrounds. While many supporters of this ruling say that it will allow for a fairer admission process based on academic performance instead of race, those who oppose this decision are grimly anticipating a large, noticeable drop in college admission and acceptance for non-white, immigrant, and poor students. College Board itself has come out to denounce the court's ruling, and state that "College Board is disappointed by the Court’s decision and continues to believe strongly in the value of diversity in higher education, the benefits of which are proven and clear".

Article 1 - https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2023-06-29/supreme-court-strikes-down-use-of-race-in-college-admissions

Article 2 - https://allaccess.collegeboard.org/college-board-responds-us-supreme-court-ruling-use-race-admissions

Article 3 - https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SFFA-Scotus-Opinion-Issued-Press-Release-June-2023.pdf

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National Issue of Diversity - Landon Goo

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National Issue of Diversity - Landon Goo

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https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4171200-the-big-diversity-problem-that-no-one-wants-to-publicly-admit/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/diversity-equity-dei-companies-blum-2040b173
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/19/1194595310/dei-affirmative-action-supreme-court-layoffs-diversity-equity-inclusion

Following the Supreme Court ruling that educational institutions cannot consider race in admissions, many believe that this initiative is making its way into the private sector. Many are questioning the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives at corporations, and this is making a clear impact. DEI excecutives are being eliminated and have dropped significantly.

However, this does not mean that corporations oppose diversity in the workplace. In fact, they understand and appreciate this aspect. They seek to include people of underrepresented communities but lack the ability to do so. The real issue is that companies can't find enough black and brown people to hire. It isn't that companies don't want to hire from a diverse workforce, but that they face a supply shortage of such people.

To resolve the issue, targeted spending on education and skill development needs to occur. Large investments in primary schools in areas that lack representation need to occur. The youth ought to be prepared so that they can competitively enter the workforce. Hence, the diversity issue is not lost. However, it will require years and years of deliberate action.

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Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in June, colleges and universities can no longer consider race in admissions. Many academics believe that this same criteria is going to make its way into the private sector, and are calling into question the potentially discriminatory aspects of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives at many corporations.

"The court's rule that an educational institution 'may never discriminate based on race' now applies with equal force to employers," says Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, who told NPR that he also believes that "there's a high probability, a very high probability, that a majority of this current Supreme Court will say the exact same thing" about corporate hiring too.

Already, corporations are reacting. DEI executives are being eliminated from the C-Suite and the same NPR report found that postings on jobs site Indeed for DEI positions, which skyrocketed 92 percent following the May 2020 George Floyd riots, have dropped by 38 percent since July.

Does this mean that corporate managers don't want diversity? No, not at all.

When I speak to industry associations across the country about workplace issues, the people in my audience, like so many of my clients, are mostly white, middle-aged and male. But these people are not racists. They get it. They appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and management team. They want to help the Black and brown communities. They know that having a diverse employee base is not only good public relations but a good way to run a business.

But there's a big problem that no one wants to publicly admit, and it's about supply. Companies can't find enough Black and brown people to hire. And when they do, the candidates most often lack the same level of skills compared to their counterparts.

Maybe this shouldn't be a surprise. The Black population in America makes up only 14 percent of the country's entire population, according to recent research from Pew. Not only that, only a quarter of Black men over the age of 25 have a college degree and more than half of the Black people in this country live in just a few southern states.

So let's pretend you're running a business in Iowa or Washington State or Arizona and you really want to diversify your workforce. For starters, there are fewer Black and brown people overall, and most don't even live near you. And for the ones who do, almost three-quarters don't have the skills you require. This is not an impossible problem to overcome. But it's pretty daunting for a typical business.

You could argue that they're not trying hard enough. Or they're not looking in the right places. Or they're not giving these candidates a fair shake. But that's not what I'm seeing.

My clients do want to diversify, but they're not charitable organizations. My clients want to hire good, competent workers with skills, and they couldn't care less about skin color. But they're facing a supply shortage of these people. And they've found that the significant DEI investments they've made over the past few years aren't providing a satisfactory return.

If we want to fix this problem, then there also needs to be better, smarter and more targeted spending on education and training and skill development both by the private and public sectors. Investing in primary and elementary schools in urban areas with the aim of getting kids at an early age to read and do math at satisfactory levels will prepare them for high school and college so that they can competitively enter the workforce. Duh.

And yet even after the government and companies have spent countless billions toward this goal over the past four decades, progress remains agonizingly slow. As Armstrong Williams points out, and according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a sector of the U.S. Department of Education, 84 percent of Black students lack proficiency in mathematics and 85 percent of Black students lack proficiency in reading skills. Let's not even get into why this is still happening - there are too many people and groups to blame.

The reality is that this is not a problem that's going to be solved overnight. And it's up to the Black and brown community to continue to do what it's been doing: yelling and kicking and pushing corporate America to hire more of their own. Although regrettable, the George Floyd incident has forced corporate America to look at itself in the mirror and make a concerted effort to make changes in the racial makeup of its employees. Now the Supreme Court is making it easier for them to retreat on this progress.

But this doesn't absolve them of their responsibility to continue to diversify their workforce. The best way to do this is for the leaders in the Black and brown community to continue to keep this issue front of mind.

In the meantime, I know that the leaders of companies big and small want to hire more Black and brown people. They want to be more diverse. But it's going to take time. Maybe even a generation. Economics is about supply and demand. And for now, the supply of available, skilled Black and brown workers is woefully short for many companies nationwide.
Gene Marks is founder of The Marks Group, a small-business consulting firm. He frequently appears on CNBC, Fox Business and MSNBC.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The big diversity problem that no one wants to publicly admit

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Companies can't find enough Black and brown people to hire.

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Equity in the workplace is where all employees are provided with fair and equal opportunities based on their needs. Equity recognizes that not all employees are afforded the same opportunities and addresses the imbalance of opportunities available to them.  An example would be where if someone in a workplace had a wheelchair, they should have a chance to sit down at all times and they should be provided with a bigger desk so that they can work comfortably.

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Gianna Marie Montesclaros

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled to end race-based affirmative action, meaning to end having race as part of the factors in judging students in college admissions. Before, colleges accepted a percentage of a certain race- and some schools accept more Asians and Caucasians than other races. Many students found this to be an unbalanced system and some people filed this as unjustice. This case was brought all the way to the Supreme Court to which their vedict was to end having race as a factor to judging students in college admissions. Therefore, incoming students are now based on their grades, sports, extra curriculars, etc.

-https://www.businessinsider.com/affirmative-action-scotus-ruling-students-of-color-fight-for-diversity-2023-6

-https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-affirmative-action-college-race-f83d6318017ec9b9029b12ee2256e744#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20The%20Supreme,to%20achieve%20diverse%20student%20bodies.

Here's the entire Supreme Court Case if anyone is interested: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf

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The Supreme Court ruled to overturn race-based affirmative action on Thursday, June 29.

Affirmative action has been used to pit Asian Americans against other communities of color, experts said.

In the face of the setback, students of color are gearing up to fight for diversity on their campuses.

The Supreme Court ruled to end race-based affirmative action on Thursday, June 29.

In a majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts in cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the court's six conservative justices agreed that the methodologies used on college campuses to comply with affirmative action sometimes boiled down to racial stereotyping.

"By grouping together all Asian students, for instance, respondents are apparently uninterested in whether South Asian or East Asian students are adequately represented, so long as there is enough of one to compensate for a lack of the other," Roberts wrote.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that the court's majority failed to understand the critical role race plays in society.

"Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress," Sotomayor wrote. "The Court cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter."

A second chance for students of color

While the ruling was widely expected, the decision will have crucial implications on diversity and education in America, according to experts. Many education experts say the decision is likely to not only lead to changes in who is admitted to colleges but also jeopardize initiatives and programs aimed at reaching underrepresented racial and ethnic groups for scholarships and recruitment.

"Affirmative action provides a second chance for students of color," Stewart Kwoh, co-executive director of the Asian American Education Project, told Insider. "It allows race to be one of many factors to be considered in their admission to universities."

Sarah Zhang, a rising junior at the University of North Carolina who founded the school's Affirmative Action Coalition, said the Supreme Court ruling, despite affecting UNC and Harvard specifically, could set a dangerous precedent for other public and private universities.

"Because they chose UNC and Harvard, which are public and private universities, over the next few years, we're gonna see a lot of colleges striking down their affirmative action policies just due to the precedent that this case is setting," Zhang told Insider. "That's really, really frustrating, especially for public schools that are serving underrepresented communities and serving low-income communities."

In the face of the destabilizing effects of rolling back affirmative action, students of color are shoring up to ensure diversity at their schools.

"There's so many things we have to do for equity, and to be going backwards in this sort of immense way is really scary," Muskaan Arshad, a rising junior at Harvard, said. "We need to keep fighting to change the narrative around affirmative action."

A sense of belonging

The cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina were first filed in 2014 by Students for Fair Admissions, an anti-affirmative organization. They argued that the universities discriminated against white and Asian students by giving preference to Black, Hispanic, and Native American applicants.

In response, the universities said race-conscious affirmative action creates a more diverse learning environment. The court's conservative supermajority voiced skepticism of this claim during the October hearing.

But students at these schools also said that affirmative action has been a "crucial" part of their learning experience. Having attended a high school with a 1% Black student population, Zhang said she didn't hear any stories about the Black American experience growing up. It wasn't until she went to college that she was exposed to more firsthand perspectives about what it's like to be Black in America - something that has shaped her worldview.

"When we have diverse classrooms and learning spaces, it benefits everyone, because we're hearing different stories and perspectives," Zhang told Insider.

A diverse student body ensures there are unique perspectives outside the classroom, too. Arshad, a rising junior at Harvard, said she frequently attends cultural events, like a native Mexican dance performance her friend was in, and celebrates holidays from other cultures, like Shabbat.

The diversity that affirmative action safeguards also can create a sense of belonging for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

"I used to lighten my skin before because I didn't feel safe and felt like I needed to assimilate. Coming to a diverse place like Harvard really shaped my identity and how I felt in my own skin," Arshad, who grew up in a predominantly white town, said.

'On the wrong side of history'

The fight over affirmative action comes at a time when policymakers have severely curtailed education programs surrounding diversity.

Schools across the country have banned books dealing with issues of race and racism. Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Education rejected the AP African American studies course, which included topics like intersectionality and Black queer studies.

At the same time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill mandating Asian American and Pacific Islander studies in schools, a move that critics condemned as using Asian American communities as a "wedge" against other communities of color.

"When you advance a bill that uplifts AAPI communities, but don't want to acknowledge the fact that in the same state, there are real intentional efforts to invisiblize or erase Black history, or [critical race theory], you are on the wrong side of history," Gregg Orton, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, told NBC News. "Racial justice can't be a zero-sum game for communities of color."

Zhang dubbed the precedent the affirmative action ruling sets as the "Florida effect," referring to the controversial nature of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' legislation in the state, particularly relating to education.

"There's just been very much a 'culture war' attitude on education over the past 10 years," she added.

Affirmative action has similarly become a landscape in which Asian Americans have been used as a wedge against Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities, according to experts and student activists.

Studies have shown that Asian Americans actually benefit from affirmative action. According to new survey data, 69% of Asian Americans support affirmative action.

"False narratives such as honorary whiteness and the model minority myth are being weaponized against other groups of color and against Asian Americans themselves," Reyna Patel, a student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, said. "It erases the struggles that Asian Americans face, the uniqueness of their identity, and how they experience the world because of it."

Zhang echoed Patel's sentiment, urging that "data disaggregation within the Asian American community is really important."

"Because Asian Americans, and especially the even broader term AAPI, or Asian American and Pacific Islander, is so broad, it encompasses billions of people," Zhang said. "Asian Americans in the US are the most economically diverse group, meaning that while there are a lot of high-income Asian Americans that we mostly perceive to be the model minority, there are also a lot of low-income communities."

"Through my affirmative action organizing work, I've been able to meet a lot of Asian Americans that come from low-income backgrounds and genuinely really benefited from affirmative action policies, like that was their only real equal access and opportunity to higher education and social mobility," she continued.

A future without affirmative action

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned affirmative action, students of color are banding together to preserve diversity on their campuses.

Student-led organizations like the Affirmative Action Coalition at the University of North Carolina and the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard will continue to host events and panels to help fight misinformation and share information on the benefits of diversity at schools. They're also hosting workshops on how to get involved in student government, which meets with school administration and controls much of the funding for diversity, according to Arshad and Zhang.

"We plan to fight the misunderstandings on our campuses and within our own communities with the truth that affirmative action and diversity benefits everyone," Zhang said.

Despite the setback, students remain determined to continue to fight for diversity and equity at their schools.

"At the end of the day, I see affirmative action as an institutional resource," Agustin Leon-Saenz, a rising junior at Harvard, said. "Without that, the students of color at our universities will have to do the heavy work. And that only motivates me more."

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Facing a future without affirmative action, students of color say the pressure is on them to fight for diversity: 'To be going backwards in this sort of immense way is really scary'

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The Supreme Court overturned race-based affirmative action, saying the practice of considering race at university admission was unconstitutional.

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The Video Music Awards were yesterday and could show a step back in diversity in awards shows. This was a big year for Taylor swift, with her new Eras tour, and it's understandable that she would get credit for this large feat. But during the VMAs Taylor won almost HALF of the awards! Which is impressive, until you think about all of the other multicultural artists that had an amazing year this year. Did she win because she's white? We will find out in time.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/live-blog/mtv-vmas-2023-live-updates-rcna103947

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The inspo behind Saweetie's outfit

Saweetie says her pink look, featuring a bone (?), is "fresh off the runway." The inspiration is "caveman days" or "fashion when it first started.

She kind of looks like the yassification of "The Flintstones" and we're here for it.

Not us gasping at Nelly performing "Hot In Herre." This millennial is feeling nostalgic.

Megan Thee Stallion stuns ahead of her VMAs performance

Megan Thee Stallion is bringing hot girl energy in a custom Brandon Blackwood corset dress at the VMAs red carpet.

The rapper will be performing her new single "Bongos" featuring Cardi B later tonight.

MTV's pre-show has kicked off

The pre-show has officially begun!

Hosted by Saweetie, the pre-show will actually reveal the night's first big winners in addition to interviews as stars begin to arrive on the pink carpet.

*NSYNC reunion? It's all we've ever wanted.

Beloved boy band *NSYNC is rumored to be reuniting at the VMAs.

Fans are convinced that the group is dropping a new song for the third installment of the "Trolls" franchise, and could be headed to the MTV awards show to promote it.

Justin Timberlake, the band's frontrunner, has voiced Branch in the films. The film's trailer teased a storyline about a boy band called "Brozone" getting back together.

("Trolls Band Together" is distributed by Universal Pictures and and DreamWorks Animation. NBC News and Universal Pictures are both owned by NBCUniversal).

We hope they don't tear up our hearts and that this rumor is true.

Karol G is sporting the cozy chic look

Karol G showed up to the pink carpet with pink hair and an outfit I'm extremely jealous of.

Karol, who is nominated for the Best Latin category tonight, showed up with a sheer gown and matching coat that honestly looks really comfortable. The Colombian superstar just absolutely kills in this look.

Although she's competing against Bad Bunny and her collaborated Shakira, Karol G is a real contender for tonight. Earlier this summer she broke a "TODAY" record by drawing more than 15,000 people to the plaza for the Citi Concert Series.

Olivia Rodrigo sparkles on the VMAs carpet

Olivia Rodrigo turned heads on the pink carpet with her sparkly outfit.

The pop star has made a lot of headlines lately with the release of her sophomore album, "Guts," and fan speculation surrounding who lyrics from some of the songs are about.

Many online continue to speculate that the "Driver's License" singer has a feud with Taylor Swift. The prolific female artists are up for several of the same categories this year - at a time when fans of both artists are relentlessly fanning the speculative flames.

In 2021, Rodrigo raved about meeting Swift in person. Swift also sent Rodrigo a special gift. But after the release of her first album "Sour," fans sensed a vibe shift. Rodrigo ended up giving Swift and Jack Antonoff co-writing credits on her songs "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" and "Deja Vu," which Rodrigo said she took inspiration from Swift's "New Year's Day" and "Cruel Summer," respectively.

Since that first album's release, Rodrigo has appeared to express less public adoration for Swift in social media posts.

In June, Rodrigo's single "Vampire" prompted some to theorize that the song was inspired by Swift and the music industry. When asked about it by The Guardian, Rodrigo said she was "surprised" people thought it was about Swift.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published today, Rodrigo finally addressed the rumors directly. "I don't have beef with anyone. I'm very chill. I keep to myself."

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is being honored with Global Icon Award

It's a big year for Combs at the VMAs.

The artist will receive the third-ever Global Icon Award, which MTV says "celebrates an artist or band whose unparalleled career and continued influence have achieved a unique level of global success in music and beyond."

Past recipients include the Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Combs, who is also nominated for four other awards, will also perform.

Are the VMAs irrelevant now?

Yesterday, the New York Post published this hot take: " Why the MTV VMAs - once the hottest awards show around - don't matter anymore." We, the NBC News team live blogging tonight, had some thoughts.

Doha: The VMAs are a casualty of a larger issue of awards shows slowly losing social relevance, either because they're too polished or because social media makes celebrities less reliant on traditional platforms to make news. Even still, the VMAs are the most enjoyable show in the genre and the show most focused on fans.

Kaetlyn: It's true that the VMAs might not "matter" as much as other awards shows, but that is exactly what makes them fun to watch. The VMAs don't have the gravity of the Oscars or the Grammys. It's not the biggest night in any industry, but that sets the celebs free in a way.

Brahmjot: I think the awards and categories themselves are unmemorable, but the VMAs have always been a pop culture gold mine for viewers to ogle, reminisce about and cringe at.

Angela: As MTV grows ever further removed from the way we consume music, I hope artists will take the VMAs as an opportunity to experiment more with live appearances even in the age of streaming.

Daysia: Once considered the night for iconic pop cultural moments, the VMAs are kind of in their flop era. When was the last time that the show truly delivered a provocative, dominating cultural moment? While it continues to provide solid live performances and has spawned a couple of memes in recent years, the awards show is losing touch with the culture. The issue could be that we've seen it all.

A decade ago, Miley Cyrus raised eyebrows with 'Blurred Lines'

We can't talk about jaw-dropping VMA moments without recounting Miley Cyrus' 2013 performance of "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke.

Cyrus was in only a pair of latex underwear at one point during the song, thrusting against a foam finger between her legs and later twerking against Thicke's crotch.

The scene was quite a scandal, and it was discussed in interviews for years. Cyrus was only two years out from the end of her Disney Channel show, "Hannah Montana," and people seemed to take some issue with her dramatic change in image.

In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Cyrus argued that no one seemed to take issue with Thicke even though he was well aware of the performance.

"I've just always been a very open person ... so I've tried to wrap my head around what a normal person thinks of the performance, and I can't really understand where the shock comes from," Cyrus said. "I know that sounds crazy, but ... I don't see anything more than what any other artist did that night."

Thicke told Oprah Winfrey that things can sometimes appear different during rehearsal and that the performance seemed more silly than sexual to him at the time.

"I guess I'm just not as normal as I thought I was," he said. "I wasn't offended by it personally, because I think some see that and they go, 'This is so sexual.' And to me, I'm sitting there going: 'This is whacky. This is funny to me.'"

Remember Rage Against the Machine's VMAs moment in 2000?

Awards shows are best remembered for their unscripted moments, including the 2000 VMAs, where a rockstar got arrested. Rage Against the Machine was nominated for best rock video but ultimately lost to Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff."

As Limp Bizkit tried to accept the award, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford climbed the scaffolding and sat on top of a large sculpture onstage. No one had any clue what was going on, though members of Limp Bizkit encouraged him to jump off the sculpture.

Toni Braxton and 98 Degrees stood dumbfounded as they went on to present the next award, and security was trying to get Commerford down.

Eventually Commerford was gotten down and arrested. Bandmate Tom Morello told Rolling Stone at the time that he felt police overreacted but that he believes Commerford was mistaken for a crazed fan.

In reality, he just didn't like Limp Bizkit. Commerford told Rolling Stone in 2015 that he had only one regret.

"I wish I would've swung on that thing and brought it to the ground and just destroyed it," he said. "If I could do it all over again, I would've ripped that thing to the ground and shredded it."

This 2003 onstage kiss is ingrained in pop culture history

There's absolutely no argument that the most memorable VMA moment in history is the kiss heard 'round the world.

At the 2003 awards show, Madonna performed a mashup of her songs "Like A Virgin" and "Hollywood" with pop sensations Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. At the very end, Madonna turned to Spears and kissed her before she turned to lay her lips on Aguilera, as well.

Many people forget that Aguilera was also a part of the kiss, maybe because Spears got the shock value of being first. Either way, this is one image seared into pop culture history.

Lady Gaga's meat dress from 2010 lives rent-free in our heads

Lady Gaga, she's got the meat.

Lady Gaga offered the world one of the most bizarre red carpet looks in fashion history at the 2010 VMAs. Gaga arrived in a dress covered in meat.

Yes, actual raw meat.

Gaga recounted the look in an interview with British Vogue in 2021, explaining that the dress was actually a corset that had meat sewn into it. The outfit was a protest of "don't ask, don't tell," a military policy that discriminated against queer service members and was ultimately repealed in 2011.

"We decided to do the meat dress because I thought to myself if you're willing to die for your country, what does it matter how you identify?" Gaga said.

Onstage, Gaga announced the name of her coming album, "Born This Way," and sang a snippet from the title track.

"How beautiful in my way, because God makes no mistakes. I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way," she sang in the dress.

Swifties will never forget this VMAs moment

The VMAs may only be an elder millennial, but the awards ceremony has some iconic pop culture moments that we won't forget. As NBC News' chief Swiftie, I can tell you all about one uncomfortable September night in 2009 with great detail, but I'll spare you every detail.

Taylor Swift had just won best female video for "You Belong With Me," her first VMA win, when Ye jumped onstage. Ye, the artist formally known as Kanye West, grabbed the mic from Swift as she was giving her thank you speech.

"Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you," he said. "Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

People booed. Beyoncé looked visibly uncomfortable. And Swift was devastated. Beyoncé went on to win the video of the year award and offered her time to Swift, who returned to a standing ovation. Beyoncé and Swift never appeared to have any bad blood between them following the incident, though the same can't be said for Swift and Ye.

The moment unwittingly opened a series of events that included a presidential dis, two "SNL" monologues, a naked wax figure of Swift, an edited phone call clip, an online fan war and an album dedicated to Swift's reputation (which she'll be re-recording soon). But I'm not going to talk about that in my blog post! La la la la la!

Who is performing at the VMAs this year?

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion will perform "Bongos"

Lil Wayne will perform his new song, "Kat Food," for the first time.

Olivia Rodrigo

Doja Cat

Demi Lovato

Kelsea Ballerini

Karol G

Stray Kids

Tomorrow X Together

Anitta

Måneskin

Fall Out Boy

Shakira

Diddy

Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, Doug E. Fresh and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five will also take the stage for a finale celebrating hip-hop's 50th anniversary.

Read more about the star-studded list of performers and nominations on .
'She Wolf' Shakira is ready for her award

Shakira is being honored with the Video Vanguard Award. She will also perform at the awards show for the first time since 2006.

We expect, per usual, that her hips won't lie. But looks like she's got a lot more in store, per an Instagram post from last week in which she shared: "POV when you're trying to cram an entire career into one #VMAs Vanguard performance."

"Flowers" by Miley Cyrus

"Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo

"Calm Down" by Rema and Selena Gomez

"Unholy" by Sam Smith and Kim Petras

"Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy

"Kill Bill" by SZA

"Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift

Check out the song of the year nominees

Taylor Swift is leading the most nominated artist this year

Artist of the year

Video of the year, for "Anti-Hero" (She's won this category three times in 2015, 2019 and 2022.)

Song of the year

Best pop

Best direction

Best cinematography

Best visual effects

Best editing

Show of the summer

Song of summer

Album of the year

Here are the 11 categories the Eras Tour queen is nominated for:

Who is the VMAs host this year?

Technically, no one is "hosting" the VMAs this year. But Nicki Minaj is emceeing, as she did last year.

"Minaj will announce the show's star-studded lineup of performers, presenters and winners," MTV said in a news release.

If that sounds like a hosting gig, that's because it kind of is, without the title.

According to a source at MTV familiar with the awards show, no one can labeled as a "host" because of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Where and when to watch the 2023 VMAs

The ceremony will air live at 8 p.m. ET on MTV in more than 150 million countries.

For those of you who can't get enough of the celebs, the pre-show starts at 6:30 p.m. ET, and our live blog kicks off at 4 p.m.

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VMAs 2023 live updates: Who's performing tonight, how to watch and more

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The latest news on the 2023 MTV VMAs, including who is nominated, 2023 winners, how to watch and more. Get minute-by-minute MTV Video Music Awards live updates.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/magazine/affirmative-action-race-college-admissions.html

-The recent supreme court ban on race based affirmative action is affecting students all across the country.

-Because of the ban, populations of black and Latino students in top-tier schools is likely to fall dramatically. Colleges are likely to be more scared of legal scrutiny than they are concerned about the diversity of their student populations.

-Top liberal arts colleges report that "the percentage of Black students matriculating would drop from roughly 7.1 percent of the student body to 2.1 percent" due to the ban on affirmative action.

-This is a situation where in trying to have "equality," there is no longer equity. Many prospective college students from historically oppressed backgrounds will no longer have the same chance of getting into college as they used to, and campuses will become more and more monocultural.

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Affirmative Action Is Over. Should Applicants Still Mention Their Race?

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The first high school seniors to apply to college since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision are trying to sort through a morass of conflicting guidance.

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Walmart put in place training programs with a graduation test for workers.
This had a great impact on disabled workers who were not given necessary accommodations for this test.
In one of these instances, deaf workers were not given qualified interpreters and communication in writing was not offered.
This led to the termination of many disabled workers regardless of how they performed at their actual job prior to the test.

https://katv.com/news/local/walmart-accused-of-disability-discrimination-eeoc-lawsuit-alleges-unjust-terminations-us-district-court-for-the-western-district-of-arkansas-north-little-rock-fayettville-supercenter-neighborhood-americans-with-disabilities-act-edmond-sims-director-sued
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/walmart-refused-to-provide-qualified-5684031/

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EEOC Sues Walmart for Disability Discrimination

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5 ways that college campuses benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion programs- Grant Lee

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5 ways that college campuses benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion programs- Grant Lee

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The 5 different ways that college campuses benefit from diversity equality and inclusion programs include, better academic performance, less bias students, more satisfied faculty, more engaging curriculum and classroom, and more preparation for leadership. I believe diversity helps out college students because it helps everyone, no matter their religion, race, gender and more. It makes sure that they can make a point in the world. For example, less bias people wont spread negative information as they will be supporting both sides of the story or none. Better academic performance leads to more successful people in for everyone no matter what country they are from.  Finally, the more preparation for leadership and awesome curriculum helps people for the future so that they can be set in the real world, and have positive impacts that they believe.

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/5-ways-that-college-campuses-benefit-from-18361551.php

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(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

(THE CONVERSATION) For more than half a century, colleges and universities have relied on dedicated programs to attract students of color and support them. Today, those programs - known as diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs - are under attack.

Republican lawmakers assail the programs as being driven by liberal Democrats' "woke agenda" to value and prioritize racial identity over merit. However, rigorous social science research shows that these programs result in universities with better student learning.

As a researcher who is concerned with racial equity on campus, here are five ways that I contend DEI programs have made a difference at colleges and universities throughout the U.S.:
1. Students perform better academically
Students from marginalized identity groups - including Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian students, as well as first-generation students - perform better academically at schools with diversity programs, and graduate at a higher rate.

As a result of DEI programs, students also report feeling more included on campus through dedicated resources and spaces for students of color.

This sense of belonging also increases when, as a part of DEI programs, more faculty of color are hired.

When students feel like they belong, they stay in school and graduate after four years at a higher rate than those who do not.
2. Students are less biased
Diversity programs have been shown to create more racially diverse learning environments.

These more diverse environments have proved to reduce bias and promote peer acceptance. Increased contact between students from different racial groups results in increased understanding of different perspectives and development of trust.

Students of color also report less racial stress and fewer feelings of imposter syndrome on campus.
3. More satisfied faculty
Faculty at schools with DEI programs including mentorship stay at their jobs longer and are more satisfied at their places of work. This increased job satisfaction is because of how DEI programs restructure university policies on hiring, promotion and advancement. This restructuring includes redesigning job descriptions, including more voices in the interview process and requiring implicit bias training for search committees.

Additionally, these changes result in increasing the number of junior faculty of color on campus.
4. More engaging curriculum and classrooms
DEI programs produce more engaged scholarship, which results in higher quality of curriculum and classroom learning as reported by students themselves.

Faculty on campuses with greater curricular innovation publish higher quality work on issues that affect the communities in which their students will live and work.

Engaged academic work connects classroom learning to issues that students experience directly themselves, such as racism and discrimination based on class, gender and sexuality.
5. Students are more prepared to be local leaders
As a result of DEI programs, students are more engaged in their communities after they graduate.

Additionally, students are more likely to participate in local government and politics, including turning out to vote and running for office after graduation.

Graduating students at schools with DEI programs are also more likely to have interracial friendships and are more prepared for multiracial professional settings because they gain a better understanding of race and ethnicity.

DEI programs have been time-tested as changing campuses for the better and attracting more Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian students. With race-based admissions having been outlawed, going forward DEI efforts can play an even greater role in attracting more students of color and creating the conditions for them to thrive.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/5-ways-that-college-campuses-benefit-from-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-programs-208905.

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5 ways that college campuses benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion programs

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(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary...

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Lack of Equity in Housing-Vedant Khadiya 

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Lack of Equity in Housing-Vedant Khadiya 

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Even in a post-Jim Crow world, there have been signs of housing discrimination that is really just housing segregation. It did start before the Civil Rights Movement with the FDR's New Deal policies. Although they were intended to reverse the imapcts of the Great Depression by increasing the amount of people with a house and increase the affordability of housing, the policies implemented were rife with discrimination. For example, there was a program for housing loans that was instituted by FDR, but it was very hard to get access to these loans for nonwhites. This led to whites owning significantly more houses and accumulating more wealth. In fact, it has gotten so bad that today, black Americans have 60% of the wages of white Americans yet only 5% of the wealth. Experts say this can be attributed solely to the discriminatory housing policies of the 20th century. That is because housing has been seen as the number one mode of wealth accumulation in the United States. This wasn't the only discriminatory housing policy either. There was also what we call redlining which was a rating policy for zones of areas. The redlined zones were often predominantly nonwhite and these zones were associated with poorer education, higher crime, higher policing, poor air quality, and poorer health. They were also further from grocery stores and other services. All of this is the result of discrimination and although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 tried to fix this, the inequality still persists today. This needs to be fixed and there needs to be accountability for this lack of discrimination through things such as potentially guaranteeing a right to housing.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-united-states-history-of-segregated-housing-continues-to-limit-affordable-housing/https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-united-states-history-of-segregated-housing-continues-to-limit-affordable-housing/
https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/aboutfheo/history

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Few human decisions are more important to household and community stability than a family's choice of where to live. For those with the requisite resources, staking out a preferred neighborhood; selecting an appealing house or apartment; and, perhaps most challengingly, paying off a mortgage or monthly rent may be a source of pride. At its core, homeownership is a building block of civic life.

But that has not always been the case for every American, especially African Americans and Latinos, who have faced a history of housing segregation. To be sure, owning a home is all but an impossible dream for an increasing number of poor families. More likely, finding safe and affordable housing is an existential aspiration-a costly struggle of making daily ends meet rather than a joyous reflection of belonging to a community.

This issue brief examines the nexus of racial discrimination and housing disparity in the United States. It also offers a two-pronged set of policy recommendations that would increase the availability of affordable housing. The recommendations serve dual purposes. First, they would allow increased mobility for low-income families to secure housing options in more affluent communities-a proven strategy for promoting better health, increased employment, and earnings and educational attainment for low-income residents. Second, the proposals would promote vigorous revitalization of high-poverty communities, thus empowering residents through improved lives and employment. This would reduce the imperative that people move away from communal ties to existing and familiar supports in search of secure, affordable housing.

The historic roots of housing discrimination

Matthew Desmond, an assistant professor of sociology and social studies at Harvard University and affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty, recently outlined the severity of the housing challenge that poor Americans face. He noted that rising housing costs, stagnant or falling incomes among the poor, and a shortfall of federal housing assistance means that the poorest households now spend more than half of their income on housing. Specifically, he wrote:

Between 1991 and 2013, the percentage of renter households in America dedicating under 30 percent of their income to housing costs fell from 54 percent to 43 percent. During that same time, the percentage of renter households paying at least half of their income to housing costs rose from 21 percent to 30 percent. African American and Hispanic American families, the majority of whom rent their housing, were disproportionately affected by these trends. In 2013, 23 percent of black renting families and 25 percent of Hispanic renting families spent at least half of their income on housing.

In the past, studies of housing discrimination tended not to include information on Latinos. In fact, some earlier research seemed to suggest that Latinos faced less housing discrimination than African Americans. As more studies began to examine housing discrimination against Latinos, however, research found that in many housing markets, Latino and black Americans have similar experiences.

In one of its initial studies on housing discrimination in 1979, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that a "dark-skinned Mexican-American had a 96 percent likelihood of experiencing at least one instance of discrimination." And a "light-skinned Mexican-American" had a 65 percent chance of experiencing an instance of discrimination. Furthermore, the study found that "dark-skinned Mexican-Americans" were two times more likely to experience discrimination than black Americans or "light-skinned Mexican-Americans." Furthermore, "dark-skinned Mexican-Americans" had a higher likelihood of receiving worse lease terms and conditions than black Americans or "light-skinned Mexican-Americans."

In 1989, the department funded a national fair housing study. This survey found that Hispanic homebuyers had a discrimination rate of 56 percent and that Hispanic renters had a discrimination rate of 50 percent.

These problems still persist today. In fact, a recent study from Stanford University found that black and Latino families need to earn more than white families to be able to live in certain neighborhoods. When attempting to purchase a home, black and Latino borrowers continue to be victims of discriminatory lending practices, often paying higher interest rates than whites with similar incomes.

The roots of housing discrimination, particularly as it affects black Americans, extend deep into the nation's history. Slavery shaped the early housing options for blacks who were brought to a new world for plantation labor. Over time, as slavery was replaced by institutional and economic forces that limited African American participation in civic and community life, their housing choices followed a pattern of inequality in keeping with their status in the nation. Well into the middle of the 20th century, write Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton in their seminal 1993 book American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass, residential segregation of black Americans was "an almost permanent feature of housing patterns in the United States."

It is worth noting that the melting pot theory of immigrant assimilation failed to blend African Americans into a homogenized nation. Meanwhile, successive waves of ethnic newcomers-particularly from Europe-tended to migrate into enclaves or ghettoes during the early part of the 20th century. No other ethnic group in U.S. history has endured the persistent residential isolation forced upon black Americans. In the period spanning the middle of the 20th century, roughly from 1930 to 1960, housing discrimination was a feature of local, state, and federal policy as blacks migrated from the rural South and crowded into urban communities in the North. Such policies produced federal housing programs that lumped African Americans into highly segregated ghettoes.

Lenders, with the encouragement of the federal government, employed underwriting rules that preferred and sought to maintain racially white neighborhoods, a now discredited practice called redlining. Federal agencies financed nearly half of all suburban homes in the 1950s and 1960s, boom years in the creation of middle-class America, boosting homeownership rates from nearly 30 percent of the population to more than 60 percent by 1960. Of course, black applicants were left out. By one analysis, 98 percent of the loans approved by the federal government between 1934 and 1968 went to white applicants. Intentionally discriminatory housing and lending practices are unquestionably at the core of the hypersegregation of black Americans in urban communities.

Efforts to change this-the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act-have been palliative, piecemeal, and not thoroughly effective. This has left large swathes of American communities with the perception, real or not, of intractable poverty, high crime, and ineffective schools. Massey, for example, found in 2015 that while hypersegregation is on the decline-from 40 cities in 1970 to 21 in 2010-it has yet to disappear from the American urban landscape. Worse, Massey noted the degree of segregation within the remaining hypersegregated cities has changed very little.

Despite the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, which outlawed housing discrimination, subsequent decades of local, state, and federal public policies continued to support de facto segregation. These policies included redlining, the government's explicit refusal to insure mortgages for people of color, and local zoning rules that still obstruct affordable housing and promote segregation today.

A 2-prong approach to reduce residential segregation and increase affordable housing

Given the connection between place and opportunity - through good schools and high-quality public health and recreational services - full compliance with the Fair Housing Act would help ease racial inequities, reduce segregation, and strengthen many American communities. To achieve this goal, an effort to combat housing segregation must be waged on two simultaneous fronts: 1) expansion of tax incentives that encourage low-income housing in affluent areas; and 2) low-income community revitalization policies that encourage residential and commercial development in poor and primarily communities of color. Both of these approaches have the ultimate goal of producing an increase in the supply of affordable housing for low-income households.

CAP argued for these ideas in a 2015 report, "An Opportunity Agenda for Renters." In particular, the report called for an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, program, which would be especially beneficial to producing incentives for an expansion of affordable housing in wealthier neighborhoods. Such housing is scarce in these neighborhoods and faces enormous community opposition. The LIHTC began in 1986 and is responsible for funding about 20 percent of federally supported, multifamily developments. Federal, state, and local governments spend more than $97 billion annually on housing assistance, including the LIHTC, to provide developers incentives to construct affordable housing.

Specifically, the report makes a compelling argument in support of federal efforts to beef up LIHTC funds and do so in a manner that allows for increased mobility to assist low-income households:

[A]ny additional LIHTCs generated through an expansion should be allocated proportionally to states based on their demonstrated shortage of affordable and available units for very low-income households.

Beyond its expansion, the LIHTC program should be targeted so that it better serves low-income households, enables more households to live in high opportunity neighborhoods, and supports the revitalization of distressed communities.

Similarly, the second prong calls for targeted attention to allow residents to retain occupancy in their existing homes. In addition, the Obama administration has offered to provide communities with federal funding support aimed at affordable housing in order to encourage local officials to develop comprehensive community revitalization plans. Such plans would then address the manifold concerns that low-income residents face, including poor transportation, limited education opportunities, access to healthcare, diminished economic activity, and exaggerated rates of crime.

Affirmatively furthering fair housing

On July 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, announced the rule known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. This rule, issued under the authority of the Fair Housing Act, provides flexibility for state and local governments and public housing agencies to reduce segregation through the encouragement of fair housing.

The implementation of this rule will "provide publicly open data for grantees" of HUD funding, allowing them to more clearly analyze the status of fair housing within their area. It will also allow for local decision makers to determine priorities and goals based on community needs.

Given the correlation between a child's ZIP code and their likelihood of success later in life, it is important that policymakers take these steps to ensure that communities offer affordable housing that allows for the expansion of children's opportunities.

A growing library of research affirms that communities are not adversely affected in terms of price or resale in surrounding neighborhoods by the inclusion of affordable housing. In Montgomery County, Maryland, for example, local officials have done just this, insisting private developers build affordable housing in any new projects and moving resources to schools that have the greatest need. The net effect has been to increase affordable housing in affluent areas while simultaneously spreading community resources in a targeted effort to improve lower-income communities and make them more attractive to students and families at all income levels. As the Montgomery County projects attest, creative and well-considered local, state, and federal policy approaches can work to make affordable housing a reality for all Americans.

Additionally, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has proposed that the federal government act to reduce residential segregation under a plan known as Small-Area Fair Market Rents, or SAFMR. This would allow a more granular approach to building low-income housing, making it easier to establish fair market voucher rates in smaller, presumably more expensive neighborhoods within metropolitan areas. At the same time, HUD officials say that they want to reduce subsidies for low-income communities so voucher recipients have incentives to move to more affluent communities. "We want to use our housing-choice vouchers to ensure that we don't have a concentration of poverty and the aggregation of racial minorities in one part of town, the poor part of town," said Secretary Castro, according to the New York Post.

Conclusion

The legacy of economic and racial discrimination in housing is not accidental. A long history of private practices and public policies produced a system of segregated housing patterns, which today gives way to vast discrepancies in access to housing for low-income households. Past efforts to resolve the disparities have proven ineffective, at best, and counterproductive, at worst.

As described here, CAP suggests that serious and tough-minded enforcement of the Fair Housing Act would provide assurance of the national will to provide affordable housing for all. But more work is needed. Local and federal officials must employ a two-pronged approach to promote access to more affluent communities for low-income households as well as the revitalization of neglected communities where a majority of poor Americans live.

The policies encouraged in this brief promise benefits that go beyond mere bricks and mortar. Indeed, a house is a building, but having a safe and secure home to call one's own is a fundamental component of building a prosperous community and nation.
Sam Fulwood III is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. Jamal Hagler, Research Assistant on the Progress 2050 team at the Center, contributed to the text box in this brief.

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The United States' History of Segregated Housing Continues to Limit Affordable Housing

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Few human decisions are more important to household and community stability than a family's choice of where to live. For those with the requisite resources, staking out a preferred neighborhood; selecting an appealing house or apartment; and, perhaps most challengingly, paying off a mortgage or monthly rent may be a source of pride.

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https://hbr.org/2020/11/getting-serious-about-diversity-enough-already-with-the-business-case

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/international-womens-day-climate-change-gender-diversity-b1813574.html

https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/business-case-for-gender-equity/

- The case for establishing a truly diverse workforce, at all organizational levels, grows more compelling each year, establishing equal pay for gender differences

- Increasing diversity does not, by itself, increase effectiveness; what matters is how an organization harnesses diversity, and whether it’s willing to reshape its power structure.

- Many progressive companies today recognize the conditional nature of the diversity-performance link and have moved beyond “diversity,”, focusing on how underrepresented groups feel (being valued and respected) make the difference vs. just being a diversity perk.

- gender pay gap assumes that prior salaries were fairly established

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Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case

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Leaders may mean well when they tout the economic payoffs of hiring more women and people of color, but there is no research support for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company’s performance. This article critiques the popular rhetoric about diversity and revisits…

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I think the difference between equity and equality is important to understand. They are NOT the same.
"Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.  "
Equality is not always fair. Giving 20$ to a billionare means nothing, while giving 20$ to a homeless person means the difference between being hungry that day. Equity is more essential to creating a fairer society.

https://www.marinhhs.org/sites/default/files/boards/general/equality_v._equity_04_05_2021.pdf

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While the terms equity and equality may sound similar, the implementation of one versus the other can lead to dramatically different outcomes for marginalized people.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

In the illustration below, two individuals have unequal access to a system - in this case, the tree that provides fruit. With equal support from evenly distributed tools, their access to the fruit still remains unequal. The equitable solution, however, allocates the exact resources that each person needs to access the fruit, leading to positive outcomes for both individuals.

While the tree appears to be a naturally occurring system, it's critical to remember that social systems aren't naturally inequitable - they've been intentionally designed to reward specific demographics for so long that the system's outcomes may appear unintentional but are actually rooted discriminatory practices and beliefs.

Source: "Addressing Imbalance," by Tony Ruth for the 2019 Design in Tech Report.
Equity is a solution for addressing imbalanced social systems. Justice can take equity one step further by fixing the systems in a way that leads to long-term, sustainable, equitable access for generations to come.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), equity is defined as "the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically or geographically." Therefore, as the WHO notes, health inequities involve more than lack of equal access to needed resources to maintain or improve health outcomes. They also refer to difficulty when it comes to "inequalities that infringe on fairness and human rights norms."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) refers to health equity as "when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible." As such, equity is a process and equality is an outcome of that process. Or, as the Race Matters Institute describes, "The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone equitably, or justly according to their circumstances."

Understanding the difference between health equality and health equity is important to public health to ensure that resources are directed appropriately - as well as supporting the ongoing process of meeting people where they are. Inherent to this process is the promotion of diversity in teams and personnel, public health practice, research methods and other related factors. For these reasons, providing the same type and number of resources to all is not enough. In order to reduce the health disparities gap, the underlying issues and individual needs of underserved and vulnerable populations must be effectively addressed.

The Difference Between Equity and Equality

"The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly according to their circumstances."

A city cuts the budget for 25 community centers by reducing the operational hours for all centers by the same amount at the same times.

A community meeting, where all members of the community are invited, about a local environmental health concern is held in English though English is not the primary language for 25% of the residents.

Examples of EqualityAll public schools in a community have computer labs with the same number of computers and hours of operation during school hours.

The city determines which times and how many hours communities actually need to use their community centers and reduces hours for centers that aren't used as frequently.

Examples of EquityThe community leaders hire translators to attend the meeting or offer an additional meeting held in another language.

Examples of EquityComputer labs in lower income neighborhoods have more computers and printers, as well as longer hours of operation, as some students don't have access to computers or internet at home.

There are many successful initiatives in communities around the United States where specific steps have been taken to make approaches to health more equitable (PDF, 4.9MB), according to the CDC. Attempts to achieve equity have involved identifying the individualized needs of specific populations and implementing steps to help meet those needs. Below are three examples of public health initiatives.

Project Brotherhood

Project Brotherhood - a clinic for Black men at Woodlawn Health Center in Chicago - was created through the CDC's Healthy Communities Program. The clinic was formed by a Black physician and a nurse-epidemiologist who were interested in better addressing the health needs of Black men. Partnering with a Black social science researcher, they conducted focus groups with Black men to learn about their experiences with the health care system and met with other Black staff at the clinic. As a result of this research, Project Brotherhood employed a number of specific strategies, including:

Offering free health care, with optional appointments and evening clinic hours, to make health care more accessible to Black men.

Providing health seminars and courses specifically for Black men.

Employing a barber to perform free haircuts after receiving health education training to be a health advocate for Black men whom the clinic staff could not reach.

Providing fatherhood classes to help Black men become more effectively involved in the lives of their children.

Building "a culturally competent workforce able to create a safe, respectful, male-friendly environment and to overcome mistrust in Black communities toward the traditional health care system."

Organizing physician participation in support group discussions to enhance understanding between providers and patients.

According to the organization, positive outcomes were achieved: "In January 1999, Project Brotherhood averaged four medical visits and eight group participants per week. By September 2005, the average grew to 27 medical visits and 35 group participants per week...." By 2007, Project Brotherhood had provided service to more than 13,000 people since the initiative started and created a health services environment designed specifically for Black men where they would be respected, heard and empowered, thus helping to reduce the health disparities experienced by this population.

Poder es Salud

Poder es Salud (Power for Health) is a partnership involving nonprofits, government organizations, local health care providers and several community- and faith-based groups. This partnership was formed to address social determinants of health and reduce health disparities in Black and Latino communities in Multnomah County, Oregon, by employing an approach to "increase social capital through durable social networks for the purpose of facilitating the achievement of community goals and health outcomes." This was achieved through three specific strategies:

Conducting community-based participatory research to support cross-cultural partnerships.

Implementing popular education, which involves mutual learning and analysis.

Providing community health workers with specialized training "in leadership, local politics, governance structure, advocacy, community organizing, popular education, and health."

Program effectiveness was reflected in follow-up surveys that showed "significant improvements in social support, self-rated health and mental health among community members that participated in the interventions with community health workers who use popular education."

Project BRAVE: Building and Revitalizing an Anti-Violence Environment

Project BRAVE is a school-based intervention that builds on existing relationships among schools, community members, community-based organizations and local researchers. In doing so, Project BRAVE supports preexisting opportunities for students to share their experiences with violence and to take part in community change to reduce it. The program's effectiveness was evidenced by an increase in school attendance, which is an important social determinant of community health.

Using Equity and Equality in Public Health Practice

Understanding the difference between equity and equality is a key component in the effort to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations. The good news is that public health officials can take specific steps to help address this confusion in their own communities - including using educational resources such as the CDC's Defining and Measuring Disparities, Inequities, and Inequalities in the Healthy People Initiative (PDF, 391KB) and group exercises such as those suggested by JustHealthAction (PDF, 637KB), in which teams can work together to differentiate between equity and equality.

Additional Resources about Equity and Equality

Sources:

1 "Racial Equality or Racial Equity? The Difference it Makes," Race Matters Institute. 2014. Accessed Oct. 15, 2020. http://viablefuturescenter.org/racemattersinstitute/2014/04/02/racial-equality-or-racial-equity-the-difference-it-makes/

2 "How are Equity and Equality Different?" Just Health Action, 2010. Accessed Oct. 15, 2010. http://justhealthaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/JHA-Lesson-Plan-3-How-are-equity-and-equality-different-final.pdf
Citation for this content: MPH@GW, the George Washington University online Master of Public Health program

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Equity vs. Equality: What's the Difference?

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Knowing the difference between equity and equality is critical to helping communities overcome health disparities.

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Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Practices - Sydney Sibrian

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Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Practices - Sydney Sibrian

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https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiRmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFsbGJ1c2luZXNzLmNvbS9pbmNsdXNpdmUtaGlyaW5nLXByYWN0aWNlcy1zdGlsbC1pbXBvcnRhbnTSAQA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
https://news.google.com/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvanVsaWVrcmF0ei8yMDIzLzA5LzEyLzMtZGl2ZXJzaXR5LXN0YXRpc3RpY3MteW91LW5lZWQtdG8ta25vdy13aGVuLWhpcmluZy1nZW4tei_SAXFodHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3JiZXMuY29tL3NpdGVzL2p1bGlla3JhdHovMjAyMy8wOS8xMi8zLWRpdmVyc2l0eS1zdGF0aXN0aWNzLXlvdS1uZWVkLXRvLWtub3ctd2hlbi1oaXJpbmctZ2VuLXovYW1wLw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
The Supreme Court recently made a ruling declaring affirmative action in university admissions unconstitutional. This has created some uncertainty around whether diversity hiring practices could face similar legal scrutiny. However, the article argues that while hiring based solely on race is illegal, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts remain important and beneficial for businesses. Implementing proper, legally-compliant DEI practices has been shown to reduce discrimination risk, boost employee engagement and retention, attract top talent, and improve overall business outcomes. The article outlines specific techniques, like expanding recruitment efforts and ensuring standardized interview practices, that companies can utilize to increase workforce diversity in a fair and legal way. Given the current debate around DEI, businesses should consult legal counsel when updating hiring procedures and ensure all involved understand the new processes. Ultimately, the article makes the case that in today's competitive labor market, prioritizing diversity and inclusion can differentiate a company's culture and employer brand. Diverse and engaged employees lead to stronger business performance.

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A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate aimed at addressing the pilot shortage and improving diversity in the years to come.-Farris 

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A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate aimed at addressing the pilot shortage and improving diversity in the years to come.-Farris 

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ill authorizes a grant program to increase diversity in the pilot workforce pipeline through partnerships between industry and educational institutions, including scholarship, outreach and development programs and startup grants for higher education institutions to create aviation programs aimed at students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds.
Currently, Black Americans represent only 3.4 percent of professional pilots.
The bill is being supported by the Regional Airline Association (RAA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Airlines for America (A4A), Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), National Air Carrier Association (NACA), University Aviation Association (UAA) and the National Business Aviation Association.

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Nepal to Request China for waiver of Pokhara airport construction Loan - Deekshita Sanam 

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Nepal to Request China for waiver of Pokhara airport construction Loan - Deekshita Sanam 

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The Nepali government is preparing its own agenda for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's China visit next month. Dahal will attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games and attend the Sustainable Development Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held extensive consultations with the line ministries. Nepal plans to ask China to write off the loan provided for the construction of the Pokhara international airport. The project was implemented on an engineering procurement and construction model, and Nepal Airlines had signed a commercial agreement with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The government has declined to consider it as a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

On Friday, during the consultation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior officials at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation had proposed to seek Chinese assistance in the construction of the Dhangadhi-Khutiya-Dipalyal-Chainpur-Uraibhanjhang, Hisla-Surkhet, Tokha-Chhahare, and Kimathangka-Leguwaghat roads and an upgrade of the Araniko Highway.

Construction of the infrastructure in Korola Pass, opening more border and trading points between Nepal and China, speeding up border infrastructure, cooperation in the health including seeking physical support from China for the upgradation of health facilities, vehicle support from China for security agencies were the other matters discussed in Friday’s meeting, according to the multiple officials present.

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The government's key ministries are busy preparing their own agendas in what would be a wish-list from the Nepali side to be discussed during the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's China visit next month.

Dahal is scheduled to travel direct from New York to Hangzhou, China on September 22. He will attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games to be held in Chinese city on September 23 after completing his engagements in New York.

He will fly to China after addressing the UN General Assembly on September 21. As Dahal also has to attend the Sustainable Development Summit to be held on September 18 and 19 in New York, Dahal and the Nepali delegation will leave Kathmandu on September 16.

The prime minister will participate in the SDG Summit as the chair of the least developed countries and will meet foreign leaders and officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

In China, Dahal will have political meetings and engagements on September 23, 24 and 25 whose schedules are yet to be finalised, according to government officials.

After completing his engagements in Hangzhou, Dahal will fly to Beijing where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang as well as other high-ranking officials.

In order to prepare the agenda of the visit, which is being keenly followed in the political, strategic and diplomatic circles in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday held extensive consultations with the line ministries. It was chaired by Foreign Minister NP Saud. Several other ministry-related consultations too were held by Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudyal along with senior officials in the China division.

Two senior officials at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation told the Post that they are all set to make a request to China to write off the loan provided for the construction of the Pokhara international airport. The airport has already come into operation from early 2023, but is struggling to make enough income needed to pay off the loan. Nepal plans to ask the northern neighbour to convert the $215.96 million soft loan issued by China's EXIM Bank in March 2016 into a grant.

"We are going to make a formal request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise this matter seriously," one of the officials told the Post on the condition of anonymity. "The officials from the Tourism Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal have already drawn the attention of the foreign ministry about their proposal. We are sending a written proposal to this effect to the foreign ministry next week."

The officials said even the prime minister is concerned about the future of the Pokhara airport, so the matter should figure prominently during his China visit.

The project was implemented on an engineering procurement and construction model. A senior team from the Chinese bank is also coming to Kathmandu on August 28 and when it meets with Nepali officials, the issue of Pokhara airport will be raised, according to officials at the Ministry of Culture and Civil Aviation.

Due to a lack of international flights, the Pokhara airport, which China unilaterally termed as a project built under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been operating domestic flights only. The government has declined to consider it as a part of the BRI because it was never discussed while negotiating the loan for the project.

Besides seeking a waiver of the airport loan, the Ministry of Tourism is also going to ask China to write off the loan Nepal had taken to buy five Chinese-made aircraft.

In November 2012, Nepal Airlines had signed a commercial agreement with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a Chinese government undertaking, to procure six aircraft-two 56-seater MA60s and four 17-seater Y12es. As part of the deal, China provided grant and concessional loan assistance worth 408 million yuan (Rs6.67 billion) to purchase the six aircraft.

Nepal Airlines has repeatedly said that the Chinese-made planes were causing heavy losses ever since they were acquired, and that it wants to get rid of them to cut further losses.

The Finance Ministry is the owner of the planes and Nepal Airlines is the operator. The ministry gave a green signal to Nepal Airlines to lease out or sell the planes in March 2021. "After going through several options and alternatives on how to get rid of the five aircraft, we have now decided to seek a loan write-off that was extended by the Chinese side," said a senior official at the ministry of tourism.

The five condemned planes-three 17-seater Y12e aircraft and two 56-seater MA60 aircraft-are parked at the remote parking bay on the eastern side of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. A sixth aircraft crashed in Nepalgunj and is unflyable.

Besides these agendas, the ministry is also seeking a shorter air route for the Kathmandu-Imphal-Kunming-Hong Kong flight that will cut out 115 nautical miles from the aerial distance. The proposal of hangar procurement is also part of the agenda.

Prime Minister Dahal has already mentioned in several mass meetings that during his China visit, he will take up the construction of two cross-border transmission lines, and explore the possibility of signing a power trade agreement with the northern neighbour. The prime minister is also preparing to allow Chinese investment in at least one hydropower project to facilitate power trade with China. He wants this in order to silence those who say not all hydel projects should be given to India.

The prime minister has said some practical cooperation under the BRI will also be discussed, whereby he will seek a Chinese grant in order to develop a signature project.

Dahal said cooperation in agriculture and energy will be given top priority during his visit, including the construction of some north-south road corridors. On Friday, during the consultation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior officials at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation had proposed to seek Chinese assistance in the construction of the Dhangadhi-Khutiya-Dipalyal-Chainpur-Uraibhanjhang, Hisla-Surkhet, Tokha-Chhahare, and Kimathangka-Leguwaghat roads and an upgrade of the Araniko Highway.

During Friday's consultations, the Ministry of Energy had proposed the construction of the cross-border transmission lines and one hydropower project, according to an official who was present at the meeting.

Likewise, the Ministry of Finance proposed banking cooperation between Nepali and Chinese banks. Construction of the infrastructure in Korola Pass, opening more border and trading points between Nepal and China, speeding up border infrastructure, cooperation in the health including seeking physical support from China for the upgradation of health facilities, vehicle support from China for security agencies were the other matters discussed in Friday's meeting, according to the multiple officials present.

"We have received very good feedback and proposals, but they are yet to be finalised," said minister Saud. "Once all line ministries forward their proposals in writing, we will give them a final shape," he added.

After foreign ministry completes the home work, the Prime Minister's Office and the prime minister himself will undertake several rounds of consultations with Cabinet members, former prime ministers as well as the ruling and opposition leaders.

"We are still preparing and discussing the visit's itinerary," said Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, Nepal's ambassador to China. "We should discuss and review what had been agreed and discussed in the past."

"If China is serious about the BRI, it should fund a big project through grants. China should be ready for energy cooperation and trading with Nepal and as its next door neighbour, China should extend support to Nepal in a big way so that we can meet our developmental aspirations," Shrestha told the Post from Beijing over the phone.

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Nepal to request China for waiver of Pokhara airport construction loan

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Ministries have come up with a long wish list for prime minister's China visit next month.

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Decapitated bodies found in Mexico, may be linked video showing kidnapped youth apparently being forced to kill others.

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Decapitated bodies found in Mexico, may be linked video showing kidnapped youth apparently being forced to kill others.

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On Thursday Morning of August 18, 2023, 4 bodies were found decapitated in Mexico. Prosecutors had said that the body was badly burned, and the bodies were found in a building near where the youth had been kidnapped. Tapes of the incident were later revealed showing a teen throw a brick to the youth while bashing someones head in. The family of the dead had said the clothing and appearance in the video, had matched their relatives appearance. The bodies have yet to be revealed, and the investigation is to be continued.

Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/decapitated-bodies-mexico-video-kidnapped-youths-forced-to-kill-others-jalisco/

https://www.foxnews.com/world/mexican-investigators-find-decapitated-burned-bodies-circulation-gruesome-execution-video

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexican-investigators-find-decapitated-burned-bodies-possibly-linked-102350707

-Roy Gharzeddine

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Florida Ban on AP Psychology - Gisselle 

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Florida Ban on AP Psychology - Gisselle 

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- In early August florida banned AP Psych due to the course's content on sexual orientation and gender identity, which is illegal under florida state law.
- This decision compromised many students' college readiness and affordability plans as it is one of the most popular APs in the state.
- florida had also already banned AP African American studies months prior.
- Florida stated that it would continue to allow the course if it removed lgbt+ topics, but college board said that censoring material would remove the college level standard and so it would no longer be considered an AP class.
- Some schools switched to IB Psychology or Cambridge Psychology, but as of August 10th the Commissioner of Education sent out a letter saying that AP Psychology does not violate florida law and can continue to be taught.

What Florida’s AP Psychology debacle tells us about the state’s education mayhem - Vox

Florida now says AP Psychology allowed in schools | The Hill

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Florida effectively bans AP Psychology course over LGBTQ content, College Board says

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Florida "effectively banned" Advanced Placement Psychology classes in the state due to the course's content on sexual orientation and gender identity, the College Board said Thursday.

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-Trump supporter Erica Marsh as become the an icon for liberal activity in social media
-Someone created a fake profile of Marsh with her picture from a decade ago
- More fake social media accounts are appearing, but are easy to spot according to disinformation expert Darren Linvill
-Photos not having a personal connection to the person are a telling sign of a fake account says Linvill

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/17/politics/erica-marsh-fake-twitter-account-real-pictures-florida-trump-voter/index.html

-Sachiv

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How a real Trump supporter unknowingly became the face of a fake liberal Twitter account | CNN Politics

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Erica Marsh quickly rose to fame earlier this year as a viral left-wing voice on social media. Her incendiary tweets, often ultra-liberal and hyper-political, drew millions of views and the ire of conservatives, who pointed to her outlandish comments comparing Republicans to pedophiles and conservative Supreme Court justices to Nazis as examples of extreme liberalism run amok.

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A father was arrested after a gun was found in his child's backpack - Sungjin Park

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A father was arrested after a gun was found in his child's backpack - Sungjin Park

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On Tuesday morning of August 16, 2023, a teacher found a gun in a toddler's backpack. The child was unaware of the gun in her backpack, and her backpack and gun were immediately confiscated. Her father was arrested due to child endangerment and she is currently protected by Child Protection Services.
This situation signifies the importance of cooperation and efficiency between law enforcement and the school. The pre-K center has taken extra precautionary actions by banning backpack use and requiring clear Ziploc bags to carry school supplies temporarily.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/us/san-antonio-child-gun-backpack-dad-arrest/index.html#:~:text=The%20gun%20was%20found%20at,center%20on%20Tuesday%2C%20police%20said.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/father-arrested-after-handgun-found-3-year-olds/story?id=102319036

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/gun-found-in-3-year-old-us-girls-bag-at-preschool-father-arrested-4303031

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WGA or Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2nd. One of the main issues being addressed by the strike is being against the use of AI in the writing of scripts. It is the writers' goal to protect their writing and not allow AI to take over in any way. The other main point would that they are asking for more money. The last time there was a writers strike would be in 2007-2008. It had cost the economy $2.1 billion dollars over the course of only 100 days. This raises the question of, "How, and when, will the writers strike end this time?"

https://tbivision.com/2023/08/16/few-signs-of-imminent-end-to-us-writers-strike-following-wga-amptp-meeting/#close-modal
https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/writers-strike-screenwriters-oppose-staff-mininum-1235694323/
https://www.vox.com/culture/23696617/writers-strike-wga-2023-explained-residuals-streaming-ai

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Mifepristone, the most common abortion drug that accounts for around half of the United States' abortions. 

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Appeals court applies restrictions on abortion pill, but is accessible to the public

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Appeals court applies restrictions on abortion pill, but is accessible to the public

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- The 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals is currently deciding to apply restrictions on a commonly used abortion drug, mifepristone. This is because the FDA (Food and Drug Administration failed to take safety concerns into scenario in 2016. The Supreme Court has still kept a stay on the drug for it to be accessible even while in case.

- It is a win and side for abortion opposers, but it is only likely that the case will rule in the spring of 2024. The stay also has a high chance of staying while the case takes place.

- "There is virtually no precedent for a U.S. court overturning the approval of a drug that the FDA has deemed safe and effective. While new drug safety issues often emerge after FDA approval, the agency is required to monitor medicines on the market, evaluate emerging issues and take action to protect U.S. patients" - it becomes clear the FDA failed to look after the factors of the drug, which now brings risk for future abortions and people who are wanting to abort.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2023/08/16/us-abortion-pill-mail-order-mifepristone-ruling-fda-supreme-court/

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/16/1194280392/ruling-deals-blow-to-access-to-abortion-pill-mifepristone-but-nothing-changes-ye#:~:text=A%20federal%20appeals%20court%20ruled%20Wednesday%20that%20mifepristone%2C%20one%20of,go%20into%20effect%20right%20away.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/appeals-court-upholds-restrictions-abortion-pill-access-rcna100255

- Arundhathi Jathin

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Youtube is Increasing Moderation to Combat Misinforming Videos About Cancer - Charlotte Brown

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Youtube is Increasing Moderation to Combat Misinforming Videos About Cancer - Charlotte Brown

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On an official Youtube blog post released August 15th, of this year Youtube announced that they will begin removing more videos including misinformation and misguided treatments about cancer off their platform. Studies have shown that “ The top 150 YouTube videos on bladder cancer had subpar information. The content was rated “moderate to poor” in 67% of the videos” (Fast Company). They plan to sort misinformation into 1 of 3 categories: prevention, treatment, and denial. They will remove videos that provide misleading information on the transmission and prevention of diseases, content regarding false treatments for cancer, and content that denies different medical conditions. This will hopefully streamline the moderation process in relation to misinformation, and theoretically will help many people that may fall victims to these videos. In partnership with Mayo Clinic, Youtube is also publishing a playlist containing proven and informative videos about cancer

https://www.fastcompany.com/90938960/youtube-health-misinformation-crackdown-cancer-fake-cures-treatments

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/15/23832603/youtube-cancer-treatment-misinformation-policy-medical

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In the years since we began our efforts to make YouTube a destination for high-quality health content, we've learned critical lessons about developing Community Guidelines in line with local and global health authority guidance on topics that pose serious real-world risks, such as misinformation on COVID-19, vaccines, reproductive health, harmful substances, and more. We're taking what we've learned so far about the most effective ways to tackle medical misinformation to simplify our approach for creators, viewers, and partners.

As medical information - and misinformation - continuously evolves, YouTube needs a policy framework that holds up in the long term, and preserves the important balance of removing egregiously harmful content while ensuring space for debate and discussion. While specific medical guidance can change over time as we learn more, our goal is to ensure that when it comes to areas of well-studied scientific consensus, YouTube is not a platform for distributing information that could harm people.

Moving forward, YouTube will streamline dozens of our existing medical misinformation guidelines to fall under three categories - Prevention, Treatment, and Denial.

Moving forward, YouTube will streamline dozens of our existing medical misinformation guidelines to fall under three categories - Prevention, Treatment, and Denial. These policies will apply to specific health conditions, treatments, and substances where content contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO).

To determine if a condition, treatment or substance is in scope of our medical misinformation policies, we'll evaluate whether it's associated with a high public health risk, publicly available guidance from health authorities around the world, and whether it's generally prone to misinformation.

Here's what the framework will look like:

Prevention misinformation: We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on the prevention and transmission of specific health conditions, and on the safety and efficacy of approved vaccines. For example, this encompasses content that promotes a harmful substance for disease prevention.

Treatment misinformation: We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on treatments for specific health conditions, including promoting specific harmful substances or practices. Examples include content that encourages unproven remedies in place of seeking medical attention for specific conditions, like promoting caesium chloride as a treatment for cancer.

Denial misinformation: We will remove content that disputes the existence of specific health conditions. This covers content that denies people have died from COVID-19.

Our goal is to make the rules of the road clearer and have a more transparent framework in place for evaluating whether certain diseases or conditions would be included in the future. Check out our Help Center for even more details and examples.

Removing cancer treatment misinformation

When cancer patients and their loved ones are faced with a diagnosis, they often turn to online spaces to research symptoms, learn about treatment journeys, and find community. Our mission is to make sure that when they turn to YouTube, they can easily find high-quality content from credible health sources.

In applying our updated approach, cancer treatment misinformation fits the framework - the public health risk is high as cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, there is stable consensus about safe cancer treatments from local and global health authorities, and it's a topic that's prone to misinformation,.

Starting today and ramping up in the coming weeks, we will begin removing content that promotes cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective, or content that discourages viewers from seeking professional medical treatment. This includes content that promotes unproven treatments in place of approved care or as a guaranteed cure, and treatments that have been specifically deemed harmful by health authorities. For instance, a video that claims "garlic cures cancer," or "take vitamin C instead of radiation therapy" would be removed.

And as part of our ongoing work to increase the amount of high-quality health content on YouTube, we're publishing a playlist of engaging, informative cancer-related videos from a range of authoritative sources, and we're collaborating with Mayo Clinic on new video content to share information on a variety of cancer conditions.

Debate and discussion are critical to the advancement of science and medicine. We always carefully take into account context when enforcing our policies, and allow content that provides educational, documentary, scientific and artistic (EDSA) context. One element we consider is public interest. This means that we may allow content that is sufficiently in the public interest to remain on YouTube, even if it otherwise violates our policies - for example, a video of a public hearing or comments made by national political candidates on the campaign trail that disputes health authority guidance, or graphic footage from active warzones or humanitarian crises. We may also make exceptions for personal testimonies or content that discusses the results of a specific medical study. Adding context to a video doesn't guarantee that it'll be allowed to remain, and we may also age-gate some content or surface an information panel underneath these videos to provide additional context for viewers.

Looking ahead, we want to make sure there is a robust framework to build upon when the need for new medical misinformation policies arises. We'll continue to monitor local and global health authority guidance to make sure our policies adapt. We want our approach to be clear and transparent, so that content creators understand where the policy lines are, and viewers know they can trust the health information they find on YouTube.

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A long term vision for YouTube's medical misinformation policies

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An update on how YouTube is thinking about the future of medical misinformation policies, including removing cancer misinformation.

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Travis King is a U.S army soldier who was in   South Korea for detention for punching someone after being drunk.  After he was released, he was supposed to go back to Texas. But he had other plans and he was not under custody so an escort to the gate was not required. So he decided to escape and go to North Korea. He still hasn’t been found but president Biden has been briefed on the situation . Department of defense and department of state work is trying to resolve the situation.

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAyMy8wOC8xNi9hc2lhL25vcnRoLWtvcmVhLXVzLXNvbGRpZXItdHJhdmlzLWtpbmctZXhwbGFpbmVyLWludGwtaG5rLW1sL2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAWtodHRwczovL2FtcC5jbm4uY29tL2Nubi8yMDIzLzA4LzE2L2FzaWEvbm9ydGgta29yZWEtdXMtc29sZGllci10cmF2aXMta2luZy1leHBsYWluZXItaW50bC1obmstbWwvaW5kZXguaHRtbA?hl=en-
US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen we

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmNvbS9uZXdzLzIwMjMvMDgvMTUvbm9ydGgta29yZWEtdS1zLXNvbGRpZXItZGlzaWxsdXNpb25lZC0wMDExMTM5NNIBAA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiQWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy55YWhvby5jb20vbm9ydGgta29yZWEtc2F5cy11cy1zb2xkaWVyLTIxNTcxNjg1My5odG1s0gFJaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9hbXBodG1sL25vcnRoLWtvcmVhLXNheXMtdXMtc29sZGllci0yMTU3MTY4NTMuaHRtbA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

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Ukrainian ship leaves port to deliver grain to Egypt.

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Ukraine has had issues exporting their grain. After a two week traffic jam Egyptian seamen have finally resupplied before they return to NATO territory. The Egyptian sailors have said it is much to dangerous outside of NATO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/world/europe/ukraine-romania-danube-shipping.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66518504

https://dnyuz.com/2023/08/16/as-russia-threatens-ships-in-the-black-sea-a-romanian-route-provides-a-lifeline/

By:Jackson Via

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UK Issues Slushie Guidelines for Children Under 4 Years of Age

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UK Issues Slushie Guidelines for Children Under 4 Years of Age

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The UK has recently issued guidance that small lil beans under four years old, should not be able to drink slushies due to the glyceron content. According to foodsafety.com, “Manufacturers are also being advised to tell retailers that they should not offer free refill promotions to children under 10 years old to prevent young children from being exposed to excessive amounts of glycerol.” This is because of two cases in Scotland about children being hospitalized due to glycerin intoxication. Could cause shock hypoglycemia, and loss of consciousness. The high amounts of glyceron and other chemicals in the slushies could truly be dangerous for young children. They are also being told to not offer free refills because of this reason.
https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8804-uk-fsa-slushies-unsuitable-for-children-under-4-due-to-glycerol
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/08/uk-food-agencies-advise-young-children-to-avoid-slushies-because-of-glycerol/
https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/not-suitable-for-under-4s-new-industry-guidance-issued-on-glycerol-in-slush-ice-drinks

-Smera Arun

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The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a new voluntary guidance for industry on glycerol in slush-ice drinks, advising that they should not be sold to children four years of age and under. Manufacturers are also being advised to tell retailers that they should not offer free refill promotions to children under 10 years old to prevent young children from being exposed to excessive amounts of glycerol.

The guidance follows two cases in Scotland one in 2021 and one in 2022, where children were hospitalized because of glycerol intoxication. At very high levels of exposure-typically when several servings are consumed by a child in a short space of time-glycerol intoxication could cause shock, hypoglycemia, and loss of consciousness.

Slush-ice drinks can contain glycerol as a substitute for sugar to create the slush effect. FSA's new guidance asks businesses to only add glycerol at the minimum quantity technically necessary to achieve this effect.

While glycerol is found in some other foods, it is added at much lower quantities than in slushies.

FSA's risk assessment considered a worst-case exposure scenario in which a child consumed a 350 milliliter (ml) slush drink containing the highest level of glycerol used-50,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L)-and compared this to a threshold above which adverse effects could occur. Children aged 4 or below would exceed this threshold.

Those above the age 4 are considered unlikely to suffer ill effects from drinking one slush drink. FSA's risk assessment and advice considered the average weight of children at different ages.

If, in the future, the maximum levels of glycerol used by industry decrease, the new industry guidelines may be reassessed. FSA will be monitoring how widely the guidelines are adopted and could take further action in future.

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UK FSA: Slushies Unsuitable For Children Under 4 due to Glycerol

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The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a new voluntary guidance for industry on glycerol in slush-ice drinks, advising that they should not be sold to children four years of age and under.

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Karen Freaks out on Plane and Issues a Youtuber Apology

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Karen Freaks out on Plane and Issues a Youtuber Apology

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Not too long ago, a woman by the name of Tiffany Gomas totally went off on the airplane employees. She was insulting the flight attendants and demanded to get off the plane. This social monstrosity was recorded and posted to TikTok where it gained over 21 million views. Tiffany Gomas happened to have a small following on TikTok and issued an apology; one to rival that of youtubers'.
By: Samantha Miller
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2
023/08/15/crazy-plane-lady-offered-apology-on-social-media-but-is-this-the-end-of-the-saga-and-is-it-really-the-same-tiffany-gomas/?sh=15a892802b38
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12413637/Tiffany-Gomas-storms-American-Airlines-flight-new-Dallas-Fort-Worth-Airport-cops.html
https://pkbnews.in/tiffany-gomez-plane-incident/

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Is this actually Tiffany Gomas - The "Crazy Plane Lady" or are we seeing another hoax?
YouTube

Social media has certainly captured some individuals at their absolute worst-and a result; it can be very hard to live down the bad behavior.

Tiffany Gomas, the 38-year-old marketing executive from Texas who became infamous on social media last month after she urged the flight crew to let her off an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando, has certainly learned that the hard way. This week she issued an ostensibly heartfelt apology, which she also shared to social media.

However, the 2:15 minute video, which has been seen some 21 million times, has received much mockery, with some questioning her actions as well as the validity of the apology.

And in an almost ironic twist to the bizarre tale, some users are now making the claim they don't believe the video recorded and posted by @Tiffany_Gomas is actually the same person who went viral for her unhinged rant, in which she directed unsolicited advice to the passengers on the flight stating, "I'm telling you, I'm getting the f-- off and there's a reason why I'm getting the f-- off and everyone can either believe it or they cannot believe it."

Gomas went on to suggest "that motherf--er back there is not real," although even now it remains wholly unclear who exactly she was referring to before she was allowed to exit the plane.

Gomas Offered An Apology, But Little Explanation

In the newly posted video, the marketing executive stated, "First and foremost, I want to take full accountability for my actions. They were completely unacceptable. Distressed or not ... I should have been in control of my emotions. And that was not the case."

As she attempted to hold back tears, Gomas added, "We all have our bad moments, some far worse than others. And mine happened to be caught on camera for the whole world to see multiple times."

She directly acknowledged the memes that have been directed at her.

"It has been really comical for everyone and I have highly enjoyed so many of the memes," she said. "On the flip side, it is very invasive and unkind, and I don't know what I would do without the love and support of my friends and family. I hope that I can use this experience and do a little bit of good in the world, and that is what I intend to do. I hope that you guys can accept my apology and I can begin to move on with my life."

It certainly would seem to be an authentic apology, but not everyone is convinced and possibly for good reason.

Lots Of New Followers And A New YouTube Channel

What is also notable about the apology posted to YouTube on Sunday is that it is from a Twitter Blue account that was only activated in July, while the only tweets seem to be the video.

However, it has already amassed more than 107,400+ followers. Clearly many are simply eager to see what she'll do next. In addition, @TiffanyGomas joined YouTube on August 9, where she has also posted exactly one video.

Perhaps those on Twitter who are suggesting that the Tiffany Gomas who disrupted the flight last month and the woman who posted the video on Sunday are correct in their assessment that it is not in fact the same person.

It does seem odd that a "marketing executive" wouldn't have a Twitter account-or feel the need to pay for a verified account to post a single video.

As Forbes.com contributor Matt Novak reported last month, another viral video about "Lizard-Like Airline Passenger" was just part of an elaborate hoax. What we're seeing now certainly has a similar feel to it.

At this point, perhaps we'd all like to see the real Tiffany Gomez stand up... and please tell us what this is all about!

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'Crazy Plane Lady' Offered Apology On Social Media-But Is This The End Of The Saga, And Is It Really The Same Tiffany Gomas?

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Some users are now making the claim they don't believe the video recorded and posted by @Tiffany_Gomas is actually the same person who went viral for her unhinged rant.

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Invasive yellow-legged hornet found in U.S. for the first time

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Invasive yellow-legged hornet found in U.S. for the first time

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By Sophia Nabiev

Yellow-legged hornet found in U.S. for the first time, spotted by a beekeeper on his property in Savannah, Georgia and later confirmed to be a yellow-legged hornet (cbsnews.com).

The sighting was the first detection of a live yellow-legged hornet, also known as the Asian hornet or Vespa velutina, in the open U.S.

Described as a "social wasp species," the invasive hornet is often found hanging from trees or in tree hollows. The wasps' nests are generally egg-shaped and can house up to 6,000 worker bees (usatoday.com).

The hornets feed on a variety of large insects and prey on honeybee colonies and other pollinators that play a significant role in the health of the U.S. ecosystem.

In 2019, a relative of the yellow-legged hornet caused alarm after being found in Washington state and are now feared for their ability to rapidly kill domestic honeybee and hornet species. Washington eradicated a giant nest of nearly 1500 murder hornets in 2021 (cbsnews.com).

Though this species is new to the U.S., the Asian hornet is native to tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia and has established a presence as an invasive species in most of Europe, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Asia (usatoday.com).

If allowed to establish, they could potentially threaten honey production, native pollinators, and Georgia's number one industry, agriculture (theguardian.com). A team of professionals continue to assess the situation and are working with the U.S. Dep. of Agriculture to trap, track, and eradicate the yellow-legged hornet in Georgia.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/invasive-yellow-legged-hornet-spotted-u-s-georgia-first-time/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/15/invasive-yellow-legged-hornet-found-united-states/70598490007/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/16/yellow-legged-hornet-found-georgia

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An estimated 1,300 people are missing following Hawaii's devastating wildfires. State officials warn that the death toll will continue to rise under current conditions. 106 fatalities have been confirmed as of now. It appears that the fires were fueled by extreme drought conditions and strong winds. To address issues, the US Department of Health and Human Services has deployed teams of personnel and equipment to identify victims and process remains. What caused the wildfires is being debated. Many have criticized the local power utility for failing to shut off the power amid strong winds. Others attribute the fires to natural causes.

https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfires-recovery-maui-lahaina-search-c3da091a10e7aaa69022f002d3e241b9
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/search-maui-lahaina-wildfire-victims-hundreds-missing/
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/16/maui-wildfire-death-toll-missing

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Over 1,000 people remain missing a week after Hawaii's historic wildfires, as state officials warn the death toll will continue to climb while search and recovery efforts continue.

Why it matters: The fire that razed most of the historic town of Lahaina on Maui last week is already one of the deadliest wildfires in modern U.S. history, but the full extent of its devastation may not be known for a long while.

The county has so far confirmed at least 106 fatalities from the fire.

"This number will tragically go up," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on Tuesday in regard to the death toll.

"There will not be any survivors in the area left," he told CBS News on Monday. "Our hearts will break beyond repair, perhaps, if that means that many more dead. None of us think that, but we're prepared for many tragic stories.

The big picture: Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said on Tuesday that rescuers who searched through the aftermath of 9/11 are now involved in the search in Lahaina, as well as 20 cadaver dogs.

"I want people to understand the reverence with which we're doing this," Pelletier said about the search effort. "It's not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It's our loved ones. That's the reverence."

Many of the same people who were involved in search and recovery efforts after California's Camp Fire have also traveled to Maui to help find and identify fire victims, the New York Times reports.

"As of yesterday, in the evening, we had recovered 25% of the territory," he said in reference to search efforts in Lahaina. "So expect some heart-breaking stories."

Green told CBS News that the number of people missing after the fires decreased from 2,000 to around 1,300 after cellphone reception was temporarily restored in parts of the state.

The Maui Police Department on Tuesday identified the first victims from the fires as Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of whom were Lahaina residents.

Three others have been identified, but their names will not be released until their families are notified, police said.

Maui County has encouraged people to provide DNA samples to help authorities identify other victims.

The deaths from the Lahaina fire has surpassed the toll from the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people.

In addition to the fatalities, the fire destroyed more than 2,200 structures in the town.

By the numbers: Maui County said the fire that tore through Lahaina had burned an estimated 2,170 acres and was 85% contained on Tuesday.

It said another estimated 678-acre fire on the western-facing slope of Maui was 75% contained, while two other fires on the island were fully contained.

Several other fires ignited on the other Hawaiian islands last week, as well.

The 2020 census estimated Lahaina's population was around 12,ooo at that time, though as a popular tourist destination, the number of people in the town fluctuates rapidly throughout the year.

The climate-change-related fires were fueled by grasses dried by elevated temperatures and drought conditions and extreme winds from Hurricane Dora, which was passing the state hundreds of miles to the southwest.

At least three lawsuits - including two seeking class-action status - have been filed against Hawaii's primary energy provider over the deadly fires.

The lawsuits allege that the fires, the causes of which have not been officially confirmed, were ignited by strong winds or trees damaging Hawaiian Electric's energized power lines.

A Washington Post investigation using security camera footage and sensor data indicates that the first reported fire on Maui likely started from a power line faulting, meaning it either contacted vegetation or another line or was knocked down.

Go deeper: Hawaiian Electric slapped with 3 lawsuits after deadly wildfires

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Hawaii braces for crushing wildfire death toll with estimated 1,300 missing

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The full devastation of the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history is still unknown.

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One of the most controversial figures in the music industry just came out with another album, and possibly desecrated an ancient site? This new album was drip fed to fans for more than 2 years, and when Travis announced his first performance at the Pyramids of Giza, fans got rowdy. That concert was then canceled, but changed to the roman Colosseum. When that took place, a recorded man-made earthquake took place. Archaeologists worry for the sanctity of the historical site, and a statement has been shared so there will be no rowdy gatherings there again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/arts/music/travis-scott-utopia-billboard-chart.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/europe/travis-scott-rome-earthquake.html

https://www.vulture.com/article/travis-scott-utopia-rollout-controversies.html

Gabriel Karney

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Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Repeats at No. 1

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The rapper's latest solo album is the first hip-hop release to spend more than a single week atop the Billboard 200 in over a year.

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There is a current anti-sunscreen movement going around where people are being encouraged to not wear sunscreen in their day to day lives. Misinformation is currently being spread on the unimportance of sunscreen. This information could be deadly. According to Leading cosmetic surgeon and skin cancer expert Dr Paul Banwell, “This anti-sunscreen message is extremely worrying because by encouraging people not to wear SPF you are putting them at risk of sun damage, sunburn, and skin cancer.” This batch of misinformation could be very negative to peoples health and must called out. WEAR SUNSCREEN
https://www.vogue.in/content/the-worrying-anti-sunscreen-movement-among-gen-z-could-be-deadly-warns-top-skin-cancer-doctor

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While we love TikTok for its beauty tutorials and hacks, there's a worrying trend emerging encouraging users to ditch sunscreen in favour of natural alternatives or going without any protection whatsoever.

Certain self-proclaimed 'wellness' experts (who have absolutely zero medical training or, by the sounds of things, much common sense) are using the hashtag #antisunscreen posting content on TikTok about the toxic ingredients in SPF products and urging their followers to either make their own versions out of mayonnaise (not advised) or to simply lap up the 'healing benefits of the sun' instead (ditto).

The anti-sunscreen movement on TikTok

TikToker Shannon Fairweather is very vocal about not using sunscreen and tells her followers "I refuse to block the skin from the healing rays of the sun." The TikToker talks of the "natural things" she does to protect her skin. She says she uses coconut oil instead of sunscreen, which, according to her "works about 30% as well as sunscreen does except you're not slathering yourself in chemicals."

Another TikToker @ShesNatural spoke about being #antisunscreen in a post, telling her followers that it "blocks all the nourishing benefits of the life-giver of our planet that regulates our bodily processes." Another user, @emselement shares a video that claims "skin cancer is a relatively new phenomenon in the last 60 years or so and yet our ancestors for 100s of years had been living outdoors working outdoors - they didn't get skin cancer."

Why is this anti-SPF message so worrying?

Leading cosmetic surgeon and skin cancer expert Dr Paul Banwell, tells GLAMOUR: "This anti-sunscreen message is extremely worrying because by encouraging people not to wear SPF you are putting them at risk of sun damage, sunburn, and skin cancer."

Dr. Banwell adds: "I advise people to avoid this trend of making their own sun protection at all costs, and instead to incorporate a high factor broad spectrum SPF into their daily skincare routine, regardless of the weather. This will not only protect against the sun's rays which can cause premature ageing, wrinkles, and skin cancer, but also protect against the UVB rays that are given out from computer screens, mobile phones and laptops which can cause premature ageing.

"It's important to keep applying your SPF regularly and don't forget areas such as the scalp, which you can cover with a hat if you prefer. Hands and feet are often areas that are forgotten, so ensure that these receive a high factor SPF too.

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The worrying anti-sunscreen movement among Gen Z could be deadly, warns top skin cancer doctor

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Certain self-proclaimed TikTok 'wellness' experts are spreading an ignorant message

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A Kansas newspaper was raided, in which police took extensive amounts of evidence, computers phones, and files. This occurred following the research for articles of a local with ties in the police department. With a clearly corrupt police system, the warrant for the raid was revoked, and the evidence is supposed to be returned. Due to the stress of the raid, 98 year old co-owner died. Mass media coverage of the story is leaving many people questioning if their constitutional rights are being upheld. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/us/kansas-marion-newspaper-raid-search-warrant/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/14/1193782305/police-raid-small-paper-in-kansas-prompting-national-outcry-over-press-freedom

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Marion County, Kansas, has said it will return evidence seized in a controversial police raid of a local newspaper after an attorney review.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey wrote in a statement that he had come to the conclusion that "insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and items seized."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Marion County to return evidence seized in raid on newspaper

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Marion County, Kansas, has said it will return evidence seized in a controversial police raid of a local newspaper after an attorney review.

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Censorship Laws in Florida Effects on Education - Natalia Stoa

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Censorship Laws in Florida Effects on Education - Natalia Stoa

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Laws have been made in Florida to exclude topics concerning gender and race from curriculum. To do so, they are either fabricating history or entirely dismissing it. Recently, classes such as AP Psych were removed from high schools as Florida refused to comply with the AP Collegeboard's wish to stay true to the curriculum. Florida has experienced intense backlash over these laws. People are arguing this censorship is a violation of free speech, a right in the United States. There are lawsuits in place right now against the removal of certain books from libraries. Parents are rallying against these laws.

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/08/florida-censored-psychology-curriculum

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/08/15/lawsuit-profs-students-sue-over-free-speech-and-academic-freedom-at-new-college-of-fl/

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SnapChat AI learning to do more than type ‽ 

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SnapChat AI learning to do more than type ‽ 

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Just last night, Snapchat's infamous bot, 'My AI', posted a story visible to all users. Although it was a 1-second picture with a blue and yellow ceiling, many users were originally alarmed. The idea that an Artificial Intelligence Program, originally made for the sole purpose of keeping Snapchat users safe and informed, finding their house and revealing a picture of their sealing was incredibly startling. However, it was later discovered that everyone received the same photo, and it was only a mere coincidence. Regardless, the suspions are growing while we wait for a response from Snapchat.

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https://www.axios.com/2023/08/16/maui-wildfire-death-toll-missing
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/us/hawaii-maui-lahaina-fire.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/us/hawaii-maui-wildfires-death-toll-wednesday/index.html
-Recently Maui was devastated by a wildfire that resulted in a death toll of around 106 and an estimated 1,300 missing.
-an electric company faces possible charges after not turning off their power lines during high winds
-high fire danger

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Over 1,000 people remain missing a week after Hawaii's historic wildfires, as state officials warn the death toll will continue to climb while search and recovery efforts continue.

Why it matters: The fire that razed most of the historic town of Lahaina on Maui last week is already one of the deadliest wildfires in modern U.S. history, but the full extent of its devastation may not be known for a long while.

The county has so far confirmed at least 106 fatalities from the fire.

"This number will tragically go up," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on Tuesday in regard to the death toll.

"There will not be any survivors in the area left," he told CBS News on Monday. "Our hearts will break beyond repair, perhaps, if that means that many more dead. None of us think that, but we're prepared for many tragic stories.

The big picture: Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said on Tuesday that rescuers who searched through the aftermath of 9/11 are now involved in the search in Lahaina, as well as 20 cadaver dogs.

"I want people to understand the reverence with which we're doing this," Pelletier said about the search effort. "It's not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It's our loved ones. That's the reverence."

Many of the same people who were involved in search and recovery efforts after California's Camp Fire have also traveled to Maui to help find and identify fire victims, the New York Times reports.

"As of yesterday, in the evening, we had recovered 25% of the territory," he said in reference to search efforts in Lahaina. "So expect some heart-breaking stories."

Green told CBS News that the number of people missing after the fires decreased from 2,000 to around 1,300 after cellphone reception was temporarily restored in parts of the state.

The Maui Police Department on Tuesday identified the first victims from the fires as Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of whom were Lahaina residents.

Three others have been identified, but their names will not be released until their families are notified, police said.

Maui County has encouraged people to provide DNA samples to help authorities identify other victims.

The deaths from the Lahaina fire has surpassed the toll from the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people.

In addition to the fatalities, the fire destroyed more than 2,200 structures in the town.

By the numbers: Maui County said the fire that tore through Lahaina had burned an estimated 2,170 acres and was 85% contained on Tuesday.

It said another estimated 678-acre fire on the western-facing slope of Maui was 75% contained, while two other fires on the island were fully contained.

Several other fires ignited on the other Hawaiian islands last week, as well.

The 2020 census estimated Lahaina's population was around 12,ooo at that time, though as a popular tourist destination, the number of people in the town fluctuates rapidly throughout the year.

The climate-change-related fires were fueled by grasses dried by elevated temperatures and drought conditions and extreme winds from Hurricane Dora, which was passing the state hundreds of miles to the southwest.

At least three lawsuits - including two seeking class-action status - have been filed against Hawaii's primary energy provider over the deadly fires.

The lawsuits allege that the fires, the causes of which have not been officially confirmed, were ignited by strong winds or trees damaging Hawaiian Electric's energized power lines.

A Washington Post investigation using security camera footage and sensor data indicates that the first reported fire on Maui likely started from a power line faulting, meaning it either contacted vegetation or another line or was knocked down.

Go deeper: Hawaiian Electric slapped with 3 lawsuits after deadly wildfires

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Hawaii braces for crushing wildfire death toll with estimated 1,300 missing

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The full devastation of the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history is still unknown.

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- Lil Tay is NOT dead; somebody hacked her account and made a fake post saying she was dead
- Although the post said that Lil Tay's legal name is Claire Hope, Lil Tay stated that her legal name is Tay Tien. Therefore, the post is fake since the name wasn't real.
- Lil Tay was active 5 years ago, known for her video flexing off being rich, she hasn't been active since 2018, so this death post made Lil Tay popular again and made different controversies

-https://www.etonline.com/lil-tay-death-hoax-meta-confirms-instagram-account-was-hacked-209669
- https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/national/meta-confirms-lil-tays-instagram-account-was-hacked-following-death-hoax/article_5f3c9a2a-485f-5d8d-8017-4e3dec10ecba.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/10/lil-tay-rapper-reported-death