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Premarket stocks: American inequality is rising despite higher wages | CNN Business

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Americans are getting wealthier, but inequality is on the rise too and higher prices are hurting.

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Why is this a thing?

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If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Warning: This piece includes photos of self-immolations.
U.S. Air Force airman Aaron Bushnell died Sunday just hours after lighting himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The 25-year-old wore his military uniform as he appeared to livestream his self-immolation on Twitch, saying he would "no longer be complicit in genocide" and yelling "Free Palestine!" after he set himself ablaze.

Israel's ongoing invasion of Gaza that began in late October has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The offensive came in response to a surprise attack on Oct. 7 led by Hamas militants who crossed into Israel, killed 1,200 people and took around 240 hostages. In recent years, U.S. military aid to Israel has totaled about $3.3 billion annually.

Bushnell's death is the latest example of an extreme form of protest that people have used for decades to express their grievances and attract the attention of a global audience.

The shocking, gruesome incidences of self-immolations garner news coverage and have proven effective in raising the public awareness of various causes, says University of Oxford sociologist Michael Biggs, who studies suicide protests.

"The very fact that we are talking about this shows that it breaks through. It has an impact," Biggs said.

"Suicide protest is one way of gaining people's attention and ... saying, 'We are really being oppressed, because if we weren't oppressed, we wouldn't be willing to die in this terribly painful manner,' " he added.

A history of self-immolation protests

One of the earliest examples of self-immolation as a political protest occurred in 1963, when a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc lit himself on fire in the streets of Saigon to protest anti-Buddhist discrimination by the South Vietnamese government, which the U.S. was backing in its fight against communist North Vietnam.

News coverage of the event - as well as an iconic photograph captured by journalist Malcolm Browne - made the death a global story. It even got the attention of President John F. Kennedy.

Later, some people in Eastern European countries used self-immolation to protest the Soviet Union, and it has also been employed as a form of protest in India and South Korea, Biggs said.

More recently, scores of Tibetans have self-immolated to protest China's rule over Tibet. At least 159 Tibetans have lit themselves on fire in Tibet and China since 2009, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a nonprofit advocacy group.

A self-immolation also played a role in starting the Arab Spring.

In December 2010, Tunisian street vendorMohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside a government building to protest poor economic conditions and corruption.

Demonstrations broke out across the country, and Tunisia's longtime President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of office about a month later. The unrest in Tunisia sparked other protests across the Arab world.

(Not all protesters who self-immolate die. Hosni Kaliya, who also set himself on fire just as the Arab Spring was beginning, survived his self-immolation and suffered life-altering wounds. "I wish I could die," he told the German news website Der Spiegel in 2016.)

The U.S. also has seen a number of self-immolation deaths in recent years. On Earth Day 2022, Colorado climate activist Wynn Alan Bruce died after self-immolating in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2018, prominent LGBTQ rights attorney and environmental advocate David S. Buckel set himself on fire in New York City's Prospect Park, saying in a note to the media that his "early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves" through pollution.

And in December, a protester set themself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, and authorities found a Palestinian flag at the scene. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called it an "extreme political protest."

How self-immolation works as a protest tactic

According to Biggs, it's no coincidence that self-immolation protests began to occur frequently in the 1960s, around the same time that television was emerging as a dominant form of media.

"This is when the suicide protest becomes part of kind of a global repertoire of protests, in a way that before there would only be isolated incidents," he said.

Protesters were able to reach a larger audience through changing technology, and the gruesome nature of their protests made them stand out, but audiences weren't always receptive.

Jack Downey, a professor of religious studies at the University of Rochester who researches self-immolation protests, says there has always been a question about whether self-immolation is such an extreme form of protest that it distracts from the protest's message.

He said some news reports as far back as the 1960s about self-immolators, such as Quaker protester Norman Morrison who set himself on fire outside the Pentagon in 1965 to speak out against the Vietnam War, have tended to pathologize the protesters and imply they were mentally ill.

"On one hand, that's understandable, because it's kind of hard to imagine a more extreme act," Downey said.

But he notes that it is also a way for viewers to avoid wrestling with the content of the protest itself - and how bad conditions must be to drive someone to such extreme lengths.

"There's a way in which that insulates the reader from really considering the message," Downey said. "But I think, in my mind, it's kind of incumbent on us to actually perceive the thing that is difficult to perceive and to think about why someone would choose this type of act."

Still, Biggs says he believesfervent protesters will continue to set themselves ablaze across the globe, because the displays still manage to capture the public's attention.

"Even though it's not guaranteed to have the effect that it's intended to have, it nevertheless breaks through in a way that no other forms of protest can achieve," he says.

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Why self-immolation has been used by political protesters for decades

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Aaron Bushnell's death in Washington, D.C., is the latest example of an extreme form of protest that people have used to express their grievances and attract the attention of a global audience.

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Kemp proposes acceleration of largest income tax cut in GA history

ATLANTA - Governor Brian Kemp with other state leaders proposes the acceleration of the larges income tax cut in Georgia history.

Release:

Governor Brian P. Kemp, joined by First Lady Marty Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, and members of the General Assembly announced their shared priority of introducing and passing legislation in the upcoming regular session of the General Assembly that will accelerate a decrease in the state individual income tax rate. This legislation will amend HB 1437, which provides for a step down of 10 basis points in the income tax rate, starting in 2025 and for each taxable year thereafter until the rate reaches 4.99 percent. By accelerating the reduction, the rate for Tax Year 2024 will be 5.39 percent, rather than the 5.49 percent set by HB 1437. This will mark a cut of 36 basis points from the Tax Year 2023 rate of 5.75 percent.

"When I signed the largest income tax cut in state history in 2022, I did so with the understanding we would deliver on this promise in a responsible way," said Governor Brian Kemp. "Now, thanks to our conservative budgeting and strong state economy built on business-friendly policies, we are well-positioned to move the timeline up and put more money where it belongs - back into Georgians' pockets. I look forward to working with our partners in the legislature to bring this further relief to families still burdened by Bidenomics."

The Office of Planning and Budget estimates savings for Georgia taxpayers of approximately $1.1 billion in calendar year 2024 as a result of the tax cut acceleration and the 26 basis-points reduction provided in HB 1437.

"Today's announcement is a great step toward ultimately eliminating Georgia's income tax, a top priority of mine," said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. "I commend Governor Kemp and members of the legislature for strategically putting our state in the position to give more money back to every Georgian. Along with the announcement today and the work of the Joint Tax Review Panel, I am confident we will identify additional ways to improve our tax structure and keep Georgia the best place to live and work."

"As conservatives, we're guided by the principle that tax dollars belong to those who earned them in the first place and that low taxes encourage economic growth," said Speaker of the House Jon Burns. "This approach has resulted in Georgians enjoying not only the No. 1 business climate but also one of the lowest per-capita tax burdens in the country. Today, conservative leadership is once again lowering taxes on working Georgians so they can support their families at a time when inflation has eroded the buying power of their paychecks."

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Kemp proposes acceleration of largest income tax cut in GA history

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ATLANTA - Governor Brian Kemp with other state leaders proposes the acceleration of the larges income tax cut in Georgia history.

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(InvestigateTV) - After years of renting, Caitlin Hillyard and Ben Weinberg were thrilled to finally be able to buy a townhouse in a neighborhood they'd already grown to love just outside Chicago. It felt like the American dream came true until they realized their neighbor was a nightmare.

"Sometimes it feels like sleeping inside a factory," Weinberg said.

The couple lives about 300 feet from a set of tracks where trains often stop for hours. They were aware of the trains rolling through the neighborhood before they purchased their house. But once they moved in, they soon realized a recurring issue: locomotives that would frequently stand still with their engines running, just steps from their door.

They started tracking the frequency - recording the date, day of the week, time, duration, and other details every time a train stopped outside their home. Just last year, the couple's data shows they charted more than 400 trains they say idled on the tracks bordering their community, averaging between 90 minutes and three hours per stop. One locomotive they recorded sat idling for more than 30 hours.

Weinberg and Hillyard have presented their data and raised a flag about the issue of idling to everyone from local government leaders to Congressional lawmakers and federal agencies to illustrate the impacts and call attention to the problem.

"We shouldn't be the ones monitoring this railroad situation. Somebody who's actually got some power like the government should be monitoring it," Hillyard said.

Complaints highlight concerns ranging from noise to significant health impacts

The rail industry says trains often idle to keep their fluids warm to speed start-up times and to keep crews comfortable as they sit on the tracks. But the federal government doesn't specifically track idling trains despite fears and frustration reported in cities across the nation.

InvestigateTV wanted to take an even deeper look into what has become standard practice for many rail companies and how it affects people from coast to coast.

We dug through blocked crossing data from the Federal Railroad Administration dating back to 2019. Although the agency's reports are not specific to idling, the data did turn up dozens of complaints that mention the issue.

One complaint to the FRA details a train sitting with its engines on for three days in Nashville. Another mentions consistent problems in southern Georgia with the complainant saying "Now they park running locomotives idling and popping off compressors all hours of the night and day. Please have respect. How would you like that at your residence day after day, night after night?"

Health concerns are also highlighted in the FRA's complaints from states including Alabama, Illinois, and Texas. They're echoed loudly in California, where InvestigateTV obtained complaints specifically about idling trains tracked by a state agency focused on curbing pollution and fighting climate change.

In that data from the California Air Resource Board, there are complaints about toxic smoke and diesel fumes from idling trains, with individuals noting breathing issues and nausea as locomotives park for days or weeks at a time idling and impacting communities nearby.

One individual reported to the board, "Train idling near home all night, concerned with diesel fumes, particulates, and noise. Medical issues like sore throat and needing inhaler." Another said, "Toxic smoke pollution can be smelled and affects breathing from nearby trains. Wind carries smoke to neighborhood."

Ben Weinberg and Caitlin Hillyard know just how they feel.

"The fumes really freak us out. We can sometimes smell diesel inside this room. We definitely can smell it outside," Hillyard said. "They're just spewing whatever they spew into the air that we breathe for hours every single day. I just worry about the long-term health implications of that."

Studies conducted by the California Air Resource Board and the University of Southern California have found people living near rail lines and rail yards have lowered life spans, increased asthma, heart and lung disease rates, and a risk of cancer because of the exposure to particulate matter that comes from train emissions. Experts say millions of people in low-income communities of color are especially affected.

But despite the Environmental Protection Agency saying it is aware of the health impacts of train emissions from idling, critics say the agency hasn't done enough to stop it.

"The last time EPA updated its emission standards was 15 years ago. We continue to suffer," said Ivette Torres with the People's Collective for Environmental Justice, who testified virtually in a senate hearing last July.

Torres' comments came on behalf of the Moving Forward Network, a collection of 50 groups nationwide calling on Congress and the EPA to act and update regulations that govern the rail industry's emissions.

"We know that technology is here and it's feasible, economically feasible to go completely zero emissions. We need standards that are higher and better than the 2008 standards," Torres testified.

In an emailed statement following the hearing, Senator Edward Markey, D-Mass., told InvestigateTV, "Every day, rail workers and people living in communities near rail yards and train lines have to breathe in diesel fumes, putting their health, safety, and lives on the line. It's way past time to revisit and revitalize our country's emission standards for locomotives, which haven't been updated for more than a decade. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was an important start, Congress must pick up steam when it comes to making transformative investments in electrifying rail."

'We've made strong commitments' to modernize says rail industry

The current EPA standards from 2008 sound good on paper. They say any locomotive or engine made after 2015 must be equipped with idling control systems that shut off engines after 30 minutes. But experts who testified before the Senate say very few of them have been made, so much of what remains on the rails is old, with outdated technology.

The Association of American Railroads, the lobbying group representing the nation's largest rail companies, declined InvestigateTV's request for an on-camera interview. But in testimony before the Senate, the group's leader, Ian Jefferies, said rail companies have invested more than a billion dollars to modernize, but with supply constraints, the need for power grid improvements and other issues - it can't happen overnight.

"We all want to do a job in a way that reduces emissions and continually reduces our environmental impact. But it's got to be done in a way that can allow us to continue to operate, serve our customers, serve our communities and that the production market can actually handle," Jefferies told lawmakers.

Gray area in federal law allows rail companies to avoid updating older trains

InvestigateTV discovered the rail industry has been able to use a loophole in the EPA rules that deals with updating older trains, the ones the government labels "non new."

"There's these automatic shut off devices. And those, if you buy a new locomotive, you don't have a choice, you have to use those," said David Pettit, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "But for anything earlier, which is the overwhelming majority of locomotives, you don't have to use those (shut off devices) unless you remanufacturer the engine, which would be 50 years. And then there's no enforcement by the feds of idling in those older trains."

In addition to limited regulation at the national level, states have also been rendered largely powerless to regulate trains because of longstanding federal law. But Pettit said a recent change made by the EPA could create a seismic shift.

The agency's decision essentially provides California, where Petitt practices, the opportunity to adopt and create emissions standards for those non-new trains, if it gets the EPA's blessing. The move, considered positive by advocates seeking additional regulation, will still create a legal battle he said could go on for years, with people who live near the rail yards continuing to pay the price of inaction.

"Folks who live across the fence from the rail yard - they pay the cost for it. Those neighbors are paying with their health and their lives in order to support railroad profits," Pettit said.

The Association of American Railroads told InvestigateTV in a statement, "Idling trains for extended periods of time is in neither communities nor the rail industry's interest. Railroads have made significant efforts to reduce idling and train employees to power down locomotives when possible if they are not in active service."

The organization also said railroads, as an industry, have made significant efforts to reduce idling, implemented extensive measures to reduce rail yard emissions and worked to improve air quality for nearby communities.

The EPA declined an interview with InvestigateTV. In a statement, the agency said it's been engaging with stakeholders since 2022, evaluating how to best deal with rail emissions. A spokesperson said, "EPA is developing a set of options and recommendations for regulatory action addressing new locomotives and new locomotive engines."

Petitt, who is among those leading the legal fight to regulate rail emissions in California, said, "What I would tell railyard neighbors is to beat on EPA as often and as hard as they can. Because EPA, in my opinion, can do something about this if it wants to and they need to hear from people about how bad the problem is, and they need to get it fixed."

Caitlin Hillyard and Ben Weinberg are banging the drum everywhere they can, not just to find solutions to the problem in their own backyard, but to assist people in other communities who might not have the time or resources to do it themselves.

"This isn't something that we're trying to fight just because we're annoyed or we're princesses who can't sleep. You should not be treating human beings like this, especially these companies that have so much money," Hillyard said. "They can make choices about how they do their business. And so doing it on the backs of anyone, whether it's us or whether it's somebody down the tracks to the west or to the east, it's just not right."

Union Pacific, the company whose trains frequently idle outside Hillyard and Weinberg's home, told InvestigateTV in an email that it has been using the tracks in their neighborhood as a location for crew changes and transfer for years with few complaints or issues.

"This site, which is situated directly between commercial and industrial properties, allows us to switch crews safely without blocking railroad crossings or impacting traffic flows in other parts of the city," a spokesperson wrote.

But Hillyard supplied emails from other homeowners as well as press clippings documenting concerns about the idling in their area dating back to 2015, with one group of residents advocating to stop the practice long before the pair purchased their home.

Union Pacific said it has spoken with Hillyard and Weinberg and is taking steps to address their concerns, including the planting of evergreens to serve as a natural buffer. It's a solution Weinberg says hardly gets to the root of the problem they'll keep battling to fix.

"As long as we're in this house, we're going to fight because we're here anyway," Weinberg said. "And if there became an opportunity to relocate where we wouldn't have to sacrifice all the other aspects of quality of life, we would seriously consider jumping on that. But for right now there isn't. So as long as we're here, we're going to fight as much as we can."
Associate Producer Charlie Roth contributed research to this report.

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Long-idling trains create health, environmental concerns nationwide

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Idling trains are a huge problem in communities across the country - with emissions impacting the environment and the health of people who live nearby as trains sit for hours pumping out pollutants.

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From major elections across the globe to simultaneous and converging catastrophes, 2024 will be a pivotal year that shapes the geopolitical landscape and humanity's collective future.

The new year begins against a backdrop of unprecedented devastation, division, and instability as 27 regions experience massive violence and political insecurity. Meanwhile, people's rights are in jeopardy worldwide from threats old and new. At the same time, the year ahead provides meaningful opportunities for progress, whether at the ballot box or within our multilateral system.

As we look ahead, we spoke with leaders across the UN Foundation about the five issues they think will shape our world the most in 2024.

1. Crises Are Converging Everywhere and All at Once

The world is deeply interconnected, and increasingly, so, too, are the crises and risks we face. To effectively tackle our shared challenges and accelerate global progress, we need to reject old siloed ways of doing things, embrace new ways of thinking, and push for systemic change. Too much is at stake if the world doesn't come together to leverage our collective capacities for greater impact and progress.

David Steven, Senior Fellow: ​​This is definitely an age of global crisis. It often feels like the end of a game of Tetris, when the blocks start falling so quickly that you can't see what's coming next and there's a feeling that you can't keep up.

Julie Kofoed, Senior Director, Sustainable Development Initiatives: The complex, converging crises pummeling our world only reinforce the need for systems change. I was excited to see those conversations emerge after the latest Global Sustainable Development Report. The central idea is that we need to work through strategic entry points in order to have impact across all of the Sustainable Development Goals. So it's a move away from the emphasis we often see on individual SDGs. Rather than choosing one SDG to champion, we're supposed to engage in a transformative way across entry points to have an impact across all 17 SDGs. It's the primary message I want to see pushed across the UN system in 2024.

Caroline Kleinfox, Director, U.S. SDG Policy Planning: The SDGs are a powerful tool to help us break down existing data silos and structural silos across issues. By design, the framework gives us a way to confront our challenges in a coordinated way.

Cecilia Mundaca Shah, Senior Director, Global Health: With climate change, we can easily see how issues overlap. Take air pollution, for example, which clearly impacts our health. And as temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more common, we're also seeing vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue appear in countries that had either eliminated the disease or had never seen it. The climate crisis is a health crisis.

But the problem is, our systems haven't caught up. There's a growing realization that the way we've always worked in the global health field - and probably in other disciplines as well - is too siloed. We need to be thinking differently. How can our health systems reduce emissions to help mitigate climate change? And on the adaptation side, how can we incorporate data from early warning systems - which the UN is rapidly scaling up in the next few years - into our health systems?

Luisa Kislinger, Senior Manager, Girls and Women Strategy: I just came from a workshop in Mexico, where our colleagues from the Caribbean region shared that they secured funding for gender equality programming by tying it to climate justice. They're doing joint programming around the two agendas because there's more funding available for climate - and the reality is that climate and gender justice are themselves inextricably linked.

Cecilia: Another example is antimicrobial resistance, or AMR. This is not just about prescribing antibiotics, it's about the antibiotics we use to grow our food and raise our livestock. It's a really complex issue that needs a whole-of-society response.

There will be a high-level meeting on AMR in 2024, which presents an opportunity to make this a political priority - and not just for Ministers of Health - because AMR, like a pandemic, is a global risk that will collapse our societies and cause our economies to fully fail. So we need to see a strong political declaration and outcome document from that meeting that positions AMR not only as a health crisis, but also as a systemic global risk.

2. Our Future Is on the Ballot in 2024

More people will head to the polls in 2024 than ever before: 76 countries will hold elections - whether at the national, regional, or local level - representing over half of the world's population. Our experts will be watching to see how the world shows up and participates in this major election year, whether they will vote for change, and what the outcomes will mean for women's rights and representation, in particular.

Michelle Milford Morse (M3), Vice President, Girls and Women Strategy: This is a bumper election year. About half of the world's population - that's more than 4 billion people - will have an opportunity to go to the polls in 2024.

But the sad reality is that even people who can participate in democracy often don't. We'll miss this moment and opportunity for change if we don't figure out how to persuade, incentivize, and encourage people to vote.

Luisa: People around the world will be watching to see what the U.S. election, in particular, means for the global gag rule. An expanded rule would have serious implications for funding health services across the globe, especially those that support women and people living with HIV and AIDS.

M3: The future belongs to the people who show up next year where they can. And I'm really interested to see what happens in a year when so many people around the world have a chance to vote for change.

Julie: I'm an eternal optimist, but this does feel like a monumental moment. There are just so many compounding issues right now - from conflicts to climate change - that I think people are coming out of complacency, perhaps enough to produce something quite significant.

M3: I want to see more people who love democracy embrace the women's movement. Franky, they go hand in hand - especially amid a growing love affair between autocrats and sexists.

Autocrats fear women. And the women's movement needs more allies. So if we can align the women's movement with the movement for democracy, we can get a lot done - and we can potentially build a more peaceful world, too. As the UN Deputy Secretary-General [Amina Mohammed] said at our recent We the Peoples awards dinner, "Men like to win wars; women like to end wars." I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but why don't we finally give women their rightful spot at the table and a real shot at negotiating and building peace? Isn't it time to take seriously the imperative to have women's full participation in peace and security matters? That starts by electing more women and supporting candidates who support women's rights enthusiastically and without exception.

3. Fixing A Broken Finance System, and Recognizing Shifts in Power

Our finances are broken. The way the world handles funding for what should be global priorities - from climate to global health to gender equality - is insufficient, unsustainable, and inequitable. Our experts are eager to see conversations continue in 2024 around international financial reform and will be watching closely to see if those reforms address antiquated power dynamics, while simultaneously looking for creative ways to help bridge the gap in the immediate future.

Julie: It's been interesting to see how the conversation around international financial reform has grown from a niche topic to a mainstream narrative in the past year. And the conversation on financial reform ties into an even larger one around the shape of our current international system - and what needs to change in order for us to actually achieve the SDGs and the future we want.

David: I think we're beginning to see a diffusion of leadership within the international system, with influence shifting away from older countries with stable or shrinking populations and toward young countries where the bulk of future generations will be born. With many of those countries in Africa, we should all be excited about the first G20 to be held on the continent when South Africa hosts in 2025 - especially following Brazil's presidency in 2024.

Pete Ogden, Vice President, Climate and Environment: International financial institution reform is definitely an issue to watch; there is simply no way to scale climate finance without it. And with new leadership at the World Bank, there is an opportunity to make substantial progress this year if countries can mobilize the necessary will. But institutional reform is not a silver bullet, and we need to be more creative about how we mobilize resources with the tools available to us now. Look at what's happening at the International Maritime Organization.

In what I consider a watershed moment, this past July the IMO raised its ambition and adopted a new greenhouse gas strategy with a goal of reducing emissions to net zero "by or around" 2050. This was significant because the sector already accounts for 3% of global emissions and that share will grow substantially if we don't do something about it.

Now, the IMO will develop the regulations necessary for achieving this goal. This will include a fuel standard, and, notably, an "emission pricing mechanism" that could be an important tool in mobilizing the finance needed to support a just and equitable transition to a clean, sustainable global shipping sector.

These and many other finance-related questions will be debated next year against the backdrop of a COP where climate finance will be at the forefront of the agenda. With countries staring down the deadline to negotiate a new collective goal on climate finance, this could very well be the most important - and most contentious - item on the agenda at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, next November.

Cecilia: These are challenging conversations to have, but it's so important that we have them. Funding for global health has been decreasing; there's a feeling that global health had its time and its share of the money, which is now needed in so many other places.

Looking ahead, both The Global Fund and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance will have to make investment cases for their next replenishment cycles. We fell short on those replenishments the last time around, so how is it going to be different this time?

Like Pete said, we've also been pushed to think about how we can do more with the resources we have. For example, there was a realization that funding streams cannot be vertical. If we're going to train a health care worker, why can't we train that person to address several diseases instead of just one? That sounds obvious, but it hasn't been the reality.

Lori Sloate, Senior Director, Global Health: Definitely. There is only one health system in a country. There aren't separate systems that deal with immunization, or HIV, or polio. This presents a real challenge for partners given how they've traditionally operated. I will be watching, pushing, and working with our partners in 2024 to make sure assets from polio and immunization services, like surveillance labs and networks, are part and parcel to any resilient health system - especially in the face of climate change, AMR, and preparing and responding to future health emergencies and pandemics.

4. Safeguarding Rights and Equity

Whether it's the rights of girls and women, the rights of people in climate-vulnerable countries, or ensuring an equitable future for young people today and tomorrow, 2024 will be defined by whether and how we rally to protect people's rights and safeguard their futures in the face of old and new threats.

Inés Yábar, Lead Next Generation Fellow: While the concept of a "young country" is still relatively new, it's taking hold as more attention is paid to the needs of countries with young, growing populations. By the end of this century, 80% of the global population will live across Africa and Asia. So when we think about achieving the SDGs and securing a better world, we have to be thinking about the places that will be home to the majority of future generations. Do young people in those countries have access to a quality education? Are they able to enjoy good health? Are there enough jobs? You can clearly see the imperative of the SDGs in the lives of young people living in those countries. And we cannot fail them. We can't leave 80% of the world behind, because what kind of world would that be?

Pete: There were some positive developments at COP 28 in terms of addressing the needs of many of the most climate-vulnerable communities. Most notably, a brand new climate fund was established that is dedicated to addressing loss and damage caused by increasingly devastating climate-related impacts. The Loss and Damage Fund garnered some $700 million in pledges, and while this may pale in comparison to the full economic and financial impacts of climate damage, it is still vitally needed. It's essential that countries make good on their promises to deliver this funding.

Countries also reached a new agreement on how to better operationalize the Paris Agreement's global goal on adaptation. While this new adaptation framework does not provide the kind of clarity and direction that we had hoped, it nevertheless offers a foundation on which to build, and it brings some sorely needed political attention to the adaptation challenge.

The Secretary-General's initiative to ensure that the whole world has access to early warning systems by 2027 also got a boost at the COP, with some additional funding announced from Sweden, Denmark, and France. But there is still a long way to go - about half of the world lacks early warning systems - so we need to see more progress and support for this critical effort in 2024.

Luisa: As AI [artificial intelligence] keeps shaking up our world in 2024, the issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence must be front and center. Not only do digital platforms facilitate harassment against girls and women, they facilitate violence. We see this happen all the time with women journalists or with women who are running for political office, and it effectively leads to the suppression of their voices - just when we need to be elevating them the most.

In 2023, the UN convened its first serious examination of all the ways technology and gender equality are linked at the 67th Commission of the Status of Women. Really interesting conversations came out of that and need to be further developed in 2024 - things like data protection around apps that track menstruation, and how that can put girls and women seeking abortion care at risk in certain places. There are still so many issues, like the roles and shared responsibilities of the public and private sectors, that need to be sorted out as we work to better protect the safety and freedom of girls and women online.

I've also been interested to see growing momentum around the concept of " gender apartheid," and I will definitely be watching to see how that continues to evolve in the year ahead. There have been serious efforts to better understand the concept and form international consensus around its meaning. The goal is to move toward the development of an international legal framework so that gender discrimination can be considered a crime.

5. Future-Proofing the United Nations

In its 78th year, the UN remains a vital and indispensable institution - the only global platform that gives a voice to every country and person on Earth. Our experts explain why delivering on promises is one of the most important things the UN can do to bolster its credibility in the years ahead. And why the Summit of the Future, scheduled to take place during the 79th UN General Assembly in September, is an opportunity to reset and refocus on the needs of future generations.

David: With an international system that is constantly in crisis, the world increasingly finds it battered when it turns to the system for answers. But the truth is that for most of the big issues countries face, the only solutions are international. Solutions are very seldom found within national borders. And that creates continual demand for international cooperation.

Luisa: I often ask people, what's the alternative? If not the UN, then where are we going to go to get global support and agreement for gender equality? There isn't an alternative. Because despite their flaws, the UN and the spaces around it are invaluable. They foster conversations around solving the world's biggest problems. Even when countries don't agree, it's the best platform to find collective solutions.

David: Moving forward, it's essential that the UN keeps the promises it's already made. The UN must be a platform to continue marshaling the finance, strategies, solutions, and partnerships that are needed to deliver on all 17 SDGs and the promises made under the Paris Agreement. Globally, for the sake of the credibility of international cooperation, if we make grand promises and then halfway through the timelines we begin to lose interest or give up - it's game over.

Pete: Coming out of the Global Stocktake, countries have to demonstrate that they will make the course correction needed to get them back on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement does not have a 2030 deadline the way the SDGs do, but it does require that countries set new greenhouse gas reduction targets every five years, and the next round is due by early 2025. Hopefully the experience of the Global Stocktake and COP 28 will help to drive countries to get to work immediately on crafting bold new goals that will bend the global emissions curve back into line with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

David: I also want to see business and civil society brought into the UN system in a way that has sufficient integrity and is structured, systematic, and properly funded to allow them to help solve some of the key challenges of our time.

Inés: There is a lot of excitement around the creation of the first UN Youth Office, starting with the fact that countries came together and made this a priority, establishing the office with a clear mandate and budget. It's an example of how the UN can adapt and respond to civil society. The Youth Office represents an institutionalization of youth voices in the UN and demonstrates that young people can lead at the highest levels. I'm also looking forward to seeing how other networks, like the Next Generation Fellows hosted by the UN Foundation and the Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, can engage with the new Youth Office to be even more integrated with the UN system.

Fighting for The Future at the Summit of the Future

David: The Summit of the Future presents a rare opportunity to think critically about what we can do now to prepare for the next 10, 20, or 50 years. Being able to take more farsighted decisions and actions matters for everyone, but especially for younger countries, young people, and future generations. So the first thing that we all need to do is fight for the future in the Summit of the Future.

That includes who gets to shape the agenda. Is it going to be set by older, richer countries that have entrenched power within the international system, or will this be a moment for countries and regions that have a large, unprotected interest in the future to mobilize and work together to protect that interest more effectively?

And then, I want to see the Summit build mechanisms that allow us to prevent and respond to emergencies more effectively. If we're always in firefighting mode, then we can never look ahead. We need to get better at preventing crises from happening in the first place. And we have a Secretary-General who singled out prevention as a top priority upon taking office, and this Summit is an opportunity for him to refocus on that prevention message. If we can get a handle on the immediate emergency agenda and deliver on the promises we've made, then we can begin to think bigger and bolder about future challenges. If we can do that, then this Summit can really make a difference.

Inés: I want to pick back up on David's point about promises made, because for me, the Summit of the Future is a chance to look beyond our current focus, which is the people who exist today. And I know people are scared to look beyond the SDGs, because we aren't at the finish line yet, but the future has always been at the center of the Global Goals - they are designed to build the more sustainable world that we want now, but also that we want to leave behind for the generations that follow.

I want to see the Summit of the Future be a catalyst for action on the SDGs, because if we achieve the Goals we will have achieved something meaningful for future generations. And success, for me, will be measured by whether or not that narrative can break through so it's not only young people who are burdened with having to think about future generations, but it's something that everyone - of all generations - works toward together.

In many ways, what happens in 2024 will depend on whether countries can unite behind a more inclusive, future-proofed multilateralism. The new year offers world leaders the chance to prove they can work together to overcome the existential threats that we, as a global community, are facing.

"The multilateral system belongs to all countries, and we must collectively find a way to make it fit for the future," as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a gathering of leaders in Iceland in October. "This will require compromise and genuine leadership."

Any global progress in 2024 will also require peace. As the Deputy Secretary-General noted in the same speech, "There is no peace without sustainable development and there is no development without peace."
Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, Communications Officer, contributed to this article.

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5 Global Issues to Watch in 2024 | unfoundation.org

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From major elections across the globe to simultaneous and converging catastrophes, 2024 will be a pivotal year that shapes the geopolitical landscape.

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ATLANTA - The firing of a Georgia teacher who read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth grade class was upheld Thursday by the Georgia Board of Education.

Katie Rinderle had been a teacher for 10 years when she got into trouble in March for reading the picture book "My Shadow Is Purple" by Scott Stuart at Due West Elementary School, after which some parents complained.

The case in suburban Atlanta's Cobb County drew wide attention as a test of what public school teachers can teach in class, how much a school system can control teachers and whether parents can veto instruction they dislike. It also came amid a nationwide conservative backlash to books and teaching about LGBTQ subjects in school.

Rinderle has maintained that the book was about inclusivity. She was fired in August, and filed an appeal the next month.

At their meeting Thursday, the state board voted unanimously to affirm the Cobb County School Board's decision without discussing it, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Cobb County adopted a rule barring teaching on controversial issues in 2022, after Georgia lawmakers earlier that year enacted laws barring the teaching of "divisive concepts" and creating a parents' bill of rights. Rinderle's attorneys said a prohibition of "controversial issues" is so vague that teachers can never be sure what's banned.

In its 21-page review, the board found that Cobb County's policies are not "unconstitutionally vague," and that her firing was not a "predetermined outcome."

Georgia law gives either Rinderle or the school district 30 days to appeal the decision in Cobb County Superior Court.

Meanwhile, Rinderle and the Georgia Association of Educators are suing the district and its leaders for discrimination related to her firing. The complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, alleges that the plaintiffs "have been terminated or fear discipline under (Cobb's) vague censorship policies for actively and openly supporting their LGBTQ students."

In the months since Rinderle was fired, the Cobb County School District has removed books it has deemed to be sexually explicit from its libraries, spurring debate about what power the district has to make those decisions. Marietta City Schools took similar steps.

This year's ongoing legislative session has brought with it a series of bills that seek to cull sexually explicit books from schools, ban sex education for younger students, display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and allow religious chaplains to counsel teachers and students.

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Georgia board upholds firing of teacher for reading book about gender identity to fifth graders

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The Georgia Board of Education has upheld the decision to fire a teacher who read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth grade class.

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Why Dogs Belong Off-Leash in the Outdoors

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If the owners are responsible, the presence of off-leash dogs can actually make the outdoors a better place

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The Stock Market Is Being Manipulated By the Hedge Funds!

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The Stock Market Is Being Manipulated By the Hedge Funds!

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Presidential Elections Need A Better Process for Picking Candidates!

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Presidential Elections Need A Better Process for Picking Candidates!

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News outlets are collapsing as advertisers flock to social media platforms, with major implications for society | CNN Business

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Social media companies are soaking up the billions in advertising dollars that once flowed to legacy media companies.

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Biden administration opens investigation into foreign-made smart car components, particularly from China | CNN Politics

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The US Commerce Department is opening an investigation into the national security risks posed by foreign-made hardware and software in smart cars, particularly Chinese-made technology, the department announced Thursday.

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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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What we're covering

The US is considering airdropping aid into Gaza, two US officials told CNN. More than half a million people in the enclave are on the brink of famine, the UN said, and hospitals face dire conditions that have killed at least six children in recent days, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 20 people Wednesday, health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The death toll in Gaza since Israel's war with Hamas began in October is approaching 30,000, according to the health ministry.

Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow today to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

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

The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically, necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

Hospitals face dire conditions, and at least six children have died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, according to the enclave's health ministry.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped aid in various areas in Gaza, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become. Top US officials have called on Israel to open more crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to USAID chief Samantha Power.
Here are our other top headlines:

More Israeli strikes: Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least two people and wounded 14 others, according to Lebanon's state-run NNA news. The airstrikes hit the towns of Kafra and Seddiqine, near the border with Israel.

Indiscriminate killing: The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

Ramadan fears: The US called on Israel to allow worshippers to visit the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for Ramadan, as Hamas calls for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march on the mosque on the first day of the holy month. The US also called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it would not commit human rights violations with American weapons.

UNRWA allegations: Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main UN aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Russia hosts Palestinian meeting: Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

Fifty-five foreign news correspondents have signed a letter calling for international media to be allowed "free and unfettered" access to Gaza to conduct comprehensive on-the-ground reporting on Israel's war with Hamas.

The letter is addressed to the governments of Israel and Egypt and was delivered to their embassies in London.

"We urge the Governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media. We call on the government of Israel to openly state its permission for international journalists to operate in Gaza and for the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists access to the Rafah Crossing," the letter said.

Those who signed the letter include CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour and Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Dozens more international correspondents from Sky News, BBC, Channel 4, ITN, CBS, NBC and ABC also signed the letter.

The letter also emphasized the importance of on-the-ground reporting.

"There is intense global interest in the events in Gaza and for now the only reporting has come from journalists who were already based there," the letter says.

"It's vital that local journalists' safety is respected and that their efforts are bolstered by the journalism of members of the international media. The need for comprehensive on the ground reporting of the conflict is imperative."

Reporting restrictions: Foreign media have been allowed limited access to Gaza, which has been either embedded with the Israeli military on condition of viewing and approving unedited raw footage or, in rare instances, with humanitarian aid convoys into the enclave.

There has been no public response to the letter from Israel or Egypt.

The New Zealand government designated all of Hamas as a "terrorist entity" on Thursday, broadening its policy on the Islamist group.

The country now considers Hamas' political wing a "terrorist entity". It designated the military wing of Hamas a "terrorist entity" in 2010.

"What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas," New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

He said that the "organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks."

The move means that any assets of Hamas in New Zealand will be frozen, and any financial or property transactions or material support to Hamas is now a criminal offense in the country.

Calls to end violence: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon clarified that "this designation targets Hamas, not the provision of private humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians."

It will also not hinder New Zealand's efforts to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the civilians in Gaza, Luxon said.

Consular support to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents in the conflict zone will also not be affected.

Peters said that Wellington remains "gravely concerned" about the impact of the conflict on civilians in Gaza and called "for an end to the violence and an urgent resumption of the Middle East Peace Process."

"A lasting solution to the conflict will only be achieved by peaceful means," Peters said.

The United States is looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

One US official said the prospect of airdrops is being seriously considered based on conditions on the ground. Axios first reported that the US is exploring the move.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped relief aid on various areas in the Gaza Strip, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become.

Top US officials have called on Israel to open additional crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to Samantha Power, administrator for the US Agency for International Development.

"It is absolutely clear, that as conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza, for the Gazan people, two crossings is not enough," Power said Wednesday in a video message from the Kerem Shalom crossing.

"This is a matter of life and death."

Power met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, one of the US officials told CNN.

Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, according to health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The death toll could rise, as many people remain under the rubble, the officials said.

Several witnesses told CNN on Wednesday that airstrikes hit residential buildings in AlBureij and Nuseirat in central Gaza.

CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties.

A video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa Hospital shows multiple deceased people being brought from the area to the facility. It shows the bodies of several people being wrapped in white cloth.

The footage showed family members weeping and crying hysterically near the bodies.

The video also shows several wounded people being carried on stretchers.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the airstrike.

The United States called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it will not commit human rights violations with US weapons, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

He noted the request is not specific to Israel, but applies to all nations who receive US military assistance.

He said the letter calls on countries receiving US assistance to "provide us written assurances that recipients, number one, will use the weapons in accordance with the US with a law of war and, number two, will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict humanitarian assistance."

"There is a process that we are engaged in with every country that receives military assistance for the United States to make sure they are aware of the requirements of the national security memorandum, make sure that they are aware of the timeline that is outlined in the national security memorandum," Miller explained at a State Department briefing Wednesday.

"It requires a 45-day timeline for these countries to provide written assurances, so we're going about that process now," he said.

More context: Israel has come under immense scrutiny for the way it has prosecuted its war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and US officials have repeatedly called on Israel to do more to decrease the death toll. There are growing calls from Congress to condition military aid to Israel. Nations around the world are sounding the alarm against a potential military offensive in Rafah, where more than a million people have been displaced.

Miller previously confirmed that the US is assessing civilian harm from US weapons in Israel.

At least six children died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, the health ministry said.

At least four children died at Kamal Adwan Hospital over the past few days, and two children died at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday, according to the health ministry and a local doctor.

"Another baby died today as a result of malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is the only pediatrics hospital in northern Gaza," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the acting director and head of the pediatrics at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said.

Safiyasaid the generators would stop working tonight because of the hospital's fuel shortage, "which means our incubators and oxygen supply will stop and only will run on solar panels during the day."

"The hospital is out of service starting today due to running out of fuel," and "surgical operations in the hospital were completely stopped as a result of lack of medical supplies," Safiya said.

Safiya also pointed out the lack of medical aid and baby formula in the hospital and said babies are getting milk that's "diluted and not concentrated" every five or six hours instead of the recommended three to four hours.

Mothers are unable to produce natural milk "due to dehydration and lack of nutritional food," Safiya said.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report about it was published Wednesday.

"We call for a full investigation into what was reported," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday during a news conference, in response to a question from CNN.

The UN does not have its own information on the incident, "but they need to be investigated," Dujarric said, reiterating the UN's plea for Israel to allow more journalists in Gaza.

Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday.

"To my knowledge, up to today, there (hasn't) been any new information transmitted to UNRWA and to the United Nations," the organization's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his first one-on-one TV interview since the allegations emerged in January.

"We keep now calling to the Israeli authority to cooperate with the investigation team so that we can come to a swift conclusion," he continued.

"We haven't received anything more than what we see on the media," he said.

Lazzarini called footage that purports to show a UNRWA staff member participating in the kidnapping of Yonatan Samerano - who was killed in kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 - "shocking images."

Background on the footage: A video screened last week during a press conference with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum showed a white SUV approaching the entrance of what appears to be the kibbutz. Two men exit the vehicle and are seen carrying a body from the road into the vehicle. One of the men is identified in the footage as an UNWRA worker. CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel's allegations about his involvement with Hamas.

Lazzarini said that he "personally cannot recognize the person on the video." He called for "more forensic evidence to be provided," while acknowledging the name of the accused man in the video "matched our staff list" and that his UNRWA contract was terminated.

Remember: UNRWA fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations, in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. At least 16 countries have paused or suspended funding to UNRWA since the allegations emerged, Lazzarini said, warning that operations beyond March will be impacted unless more money is donated.

What we're covering

The US is considering airdropping aid into Gaza, two US officials told CNN. More than half a million people in the enclave are on the brink of famine, the UN said, and hospitals face dire conditions that have killed at least six children in recent days, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 20 people Wednesday, health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The death toll in Gaza since Israel's war with Hamas began in October is approaching 30,000, according to the health ministry.

Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow today to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

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

The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically, necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

Hospitals face dire conditions, and at least six children have died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, according to the enclave's health ministry.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped aid in various areas in Gaza, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become. Top US officials have called on Israel to open more crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to USAID chief Samantha Power.
Here are our other top headlines:

More Israeli strikes: Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least two people and wounded 14 others, according to Lebanon's state-run NNA news. The airstrikes hit the towns of Kafra and Seddiqine, near the border with Israel.

Indiscriminate killing: The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

Ramadan fears: The US called on Israel to allow worshippers to visit the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for Ramadan, as Hamas calls for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march on the mosque on the first day of the holy month. The US also called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it would not commit human rights violations with American weapons.

UNRWA allegations: Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main UN aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Russia hosts Palestinian meeting: Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

Fifty-five foreign news correspondents have signed a letter calling for international media to be allowed "free and unfettered" access to Gaza to conduct comprehensive on-the-ground reporting on Israel's war with Hamas.

The letter is addressed to the governments of Israel and Egypt and was delivered to their embassies in London.

"We urge the Governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media. We call on the government of Israel to openly state its permission for international journalists to operate in Gaza and for the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists access to the Rafah Crossing," the letter said.

Those who signed the letter include CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour and Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Dozens more international correspondents from Sky News, BBC, Channel 4, ITN, CBS, NBC and ABC also signed the letter.

The letter also emphasized the importance of on-the-ground reporting.

"There is intense global interest in the events in Gaza and for now the only reporting has come from journalists who were already based there," the letter says.

"It's vital that local journalists' safety is respected and that their efforts are bolstered by the journalism of members of the international media. The need for comprehensive on the ground reporting of the conflict is imperative."

Reporting restrictions: Foreign media have been allowed limited access to Gaza, which has been either embedded with the Israeli military on condition of viewing and approving unedited raw footage or, in rare instances, with humanitarian aid convoys into the enclave.

There has been no public response to the letter from Israel or Egypt.

The New Zealand government designated all of Hamas as a "terrorist entity" on Thursday, broadening its policy on the Islamist group.

The country now considers Hamas' political wing a "terrorist entity". It designated the military wing of Hamas a "terrorist entity" in 2010.

"What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas," New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

He said that the "organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks."

The move means that any assets of Hamas in New Zealand will be frozen, and any financial or property transactions or material support to Hamas is now a criminal offense in the country.

Calls to end violence: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon clarified that "this designation targets Hamas, not the provision of private humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians."

It will also not hinder New Zealand's efforts to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the civilians in Gaza, Luxon said.

Consular support to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents in the conflict zone will also not be affected.

Peters said that Wellington remains "gravely concerned" about the impact of the conflict on civilians in Gaza and called "for an end to the violence and an urgent resumption of the Middle East Peace Process."

"A lasting solution to the conflict will only be achieved by peaceful means," Peters said.

The United States is looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

One US official said the prospect of airdrops is being seriously considered based on conditions on the ground. Axios first reported that the US is exploring the move.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped relief aid on various areas in the Gaza Strip, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become.

Top US officials have called on Israel to open additional crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to Samantha Power, administrator for the US Agency for International Development.

"It is absolutely clear, that as conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza, for the Gazan people, two crossings is not enough," Power said Wednesday in a video message from the Kerem Shalom crossing.

"This is a matter of life and death."

Power met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, one of the US officials told CNN.

Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, according to health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The death toll could rise, as many people remain under the rubble, the officials said.

Several witnesses told CNN on Wednesday that airstrikes hit residential buildings in AlBureij and Nuseirat in central Gaza.

CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties.

A video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa Hospital shows multiple deceased people being brought from the area to the facility. It shows the bodies of several people being wrapped in white cloth.

The footage showed family members weeping and crying hysterically near the bodies.

The video also shows several wounded people being carried on stretchers.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the airstrike.

The United States called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it will not commit human rights violations with US weapons, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

He noted the request is not specific to Israel, but applies to all nations who receive US military assistance.

He said the letter calls on countries receiving US assistance to "provide us written assurances that recipients, number one, will use the weapons in accordance with the US with a law of war and, number two, will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict humanitarian assistance."

"There is a process that we are engaged in with every country that receives military assistance for the United States to make sure they are aware of the requirements of the national security memorandum, make sure that they are aware of the timeline that is outlined in the national security memorandum," Miller explained at a State Department briefing Wednesday.

"It requires a 45-day timeline for these countries to provide written assurances, so we're going about that process now," he said.

More context: Israel has come under immense scrutiny for the way it has prosecuted its war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and US officials have repeatedly called on Israel to do more to decrease the death toll. There are growing calls from Congress to condition military aid to Israel. Nations around the world are sounding the alarm against a potential military offensive in Rafah, where more than a million people have been displaced.

Miller previously confirmed that the US is assessing civilian harm from US weapons in Israel.

At least six children died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, the health ministry said.

At least four children died at Kamal Adwan Hospital over the past few days, and two children died at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday, according to the health ministry and a local doctor.

"Another baby died today as a result of malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is the only pediatrics hospital in northern Gaza," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the acting director and head of the pediatrics at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said.

Safiyasaid the generators would stop working tonight because of the hospital's fuel shortage, "which means our incubators and oxygen supply will stop and only will run on solar panels during the day."

"The hospital is out of service starting today due to running out of fuel," and "surgical operations in the hospital were completely stopped as a result of lack of medical supplies," Safiya said.

Safiya also pointed out the lack of medical aid and baby formula in the hospital and said babies are getting milk that's "diluted and not concentrated" every five or six hours instead of the recommended three to four hours.

Mothers are unable to produce natural milk "due to dehydration and lack of nutritional food," Safiya said.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report about it was published Wednesday.

"We call for a full investigation into what was reported," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday during a news conference, in response to a question from CNN.

The UN does not have its own information on the incident, "but they need to be investigated," Dujarric said, reiterating the UN's plea for Israel to allow more journalists in Gaza.

Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday.

"To my knowledge, up to today, there (hasn't) been any new information transmitted to UNRWA and to the United Nations," the organization's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his first one-on-one TV interview since the allegations emerged in January.

"We keep now calling to the Israeli authority to cooperate with the investigation team so that we can come to a swift conclusion," he continued.

"We haven't received anything more than what we see on the media," he said.

Lazzarini called footage that purports to show a UNRWA staff member participating in the kidnapping of Yonatan Samerano - who was killed in kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 - "shocking images."

Background on the footage: A video screened last week during a press conference with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum showed a white SUV approaching the entrance of what appears to be the kibbutz. Two men exit the vehicle and are seen carrying a body from the road into the vehicle. One of the men is identified in the footage as an UNWRA worker. CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel's allegations about his involvement with Hamas.

Lazzarini said that he "personally cannot recognize the person on the video." He called for "more forensic evidence to be provided," while acknowledging the name of the accused man in the video "matched our staff list" and that his UNRWA contract was terminated.

Remember: UNRWA fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations, in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. At least 16 countries have paused or suspended funding to UNRWA since the allegations emerged, Lazzarini said, warning that operations beyond March will be impacted unless more money is donated.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Kathleen Magramo, CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Live updates: Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, death toll rises, humanitarian crisis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people. Follow for live news updates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What we're covering

The US is considering airdropping aid into Gaza, two US officials told CNN. More than half a million people in the enclave are on the brink of famine, the UN said, and hospitals face dire conditions that have killed at least six children in recent days, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 20 people Wednesday, health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The death toll in Gaza since Israel's war with Hamas began in October is approaching 30,000, according to the health ministry.

Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow today to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

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

The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically, necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

Hospitals face dire conditions, and at least six children have died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, according to the enclave's health ministry.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped aid in various areas in Gaza, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become. Top US officials have called on Israel to open more crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to USAID chief Samantha Power.
Here are our other top headlines:

More Israeli strikes: Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least two people and wounded 14 others, according to Lebanon's state-run NNA news. The airstrikes hit the towns of Kafra and Seddiqine, near the border with Israel.

Indiscriminate killing: The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

Ramadan fears: The US called on Israel to allow worshippers to visit the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for Ramadan, as Hamas calls for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march on the mosque on the first day of the holy month. The US also called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it would not commit human rights violations with American weapons.

UNRWA allegations: Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main UN aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Russia hosts Palestinian meeting: Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

Fifty-five foreign news correspondents have signed a letter calling for international media to be allowed "free and unfettered" access to Gaza to conduct comprehensive on-the-ground reporting on Israel's war with Hamas.

The letter is addressed to the governments of Israel and Egypt and was delivered to their embassies in London.

"We urge the Governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media. We call on the government of Israel to openly state its permission for international journalists to operate in Gaza and for the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists access to the Rafah Crossing," the letter said.

Those who signed the letter include CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour and Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Dozens more international correspondents from Sky News, BBC, Channel 4, ITN, CBS, NBC and ABC also signed the letter.

The letter also emphasized the importance of on-the-ground reporting.

"There is intense global interest in the events in Gaza and for now the only reporting has come from journalists who were already based there," the letter says.

"It's vital that local journalists' safety is respected and that their efforts are bolstered by the journalism of members of the international media. The need for comprehensive on the ground reporting of the conflict is imperative."

Reporting restrictions: Foreign media have been allowed limited access to Gaza, which has been either embedded with the Israeli military on condition of viewing and approving unedited raw footage or, in rare instances, with humanitarian aid convoys into the enclave.

There has been no public response to the letter from Israel or Egypt.

The New Zealand government designated all of Hamas as a "terrorist entity" on Thursday, broadening its policy on the Islamist group.

The country now considers Hamas' political wing a "terrorist entity". It designated the military wing of Hamas a "terrorist entity" in 2010.

"What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas," New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

He said that the "organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks."

The move means that any assets of Hamas in New Zealand will be frozen, and any financial or property transactions or material support to Hamas is now a criminal offense in the country.

Calls to end violence: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon clarified that "this designation targets Hamas, not the provision of private humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians."

It will also not hinder New Zealand's efforts to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the civilians in Gaza, Luxon said.

Consular support to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents in the conflict zone will also not be affected.

Peters said that Wellington remains "gravely concerned" about the impact of the conflict on civilians in Gaza and called "for an end to the violence and an urgent resumption of the Middle East Peace Process."

"A lasting solution to the conflict will only be achieved by peaceful means," Peters said.

The United States is looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

One US official said the prospect of airdrops is being seriously considered based on conditions on the ground. Axios first reported that the US is exploring the move.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped relief aid on various areas in the Gaza Strip, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become.

Top US officials have called on Israel to open additional crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to Samantha Power, administrator for the US Agency for International Development.

"It is absolutely clear, that as conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza, for the Gazan people, two crossings is not enough," Power said Wednesday in a video message from the Kerem Shalom crossing.

"This is a matter of life and death."

Power met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, one of the US officials told CNN.

Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, according to health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The death toll could rise, as many people remain under the rubble, the officials said.

Several witnesses told CNN on Wednesday that airstrikes hit residential buildings in AlBureij and Nuseirat in central Gaza.

CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties.

A video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa Hospital shows multiple deceased people being brought from the area to the facility. It shows the bodies of several people being wrapped in white cloth.

The footage showed family members weeping and crying hysterically near the bodies.

The video also shows several wounded people being carried on stretchers.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the airstrike.

The United States called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it will not commit human rights violations with US weapons, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

He noted the request is not specific to Israel, but applies to all nations who receive US military assistance.

He said the letter calls on countries receiving US assistance to "provide us written assurances that recipients, number one, will use the weapons in accordance with the US with a law of war and, number two, will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict humanitarian assistance."

"There is a process that we are engaged in with every country that receives military assistance for the United States to make sure they are aware of the requirements of the national security memorandum, make sure that they are aware of the timeline that is outlined in the national security memorandum," Miller explained at a State Department briefing Wednesday.

"It requires a 45-day timeline for these countries to provide written assurances, so we're going about that process now," he said.

More context: Israel has come under immense scrutiny for the way it has prosecuted its war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and US officials have repeatedly called on Israel to do more to decrease the death toll. There are growing calls from Congress to condition military aid to Israel. Nations around the world are sounding the alarm against a potential military offensive in Rafah, where more than a million people have been displaced.

Miller previously confirmed that the US is assessing civilian harm from US weapons in Israel.

At least six children died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, the health ministry said.

At least four children died at Kamal Adwan Hospital over the past few days, and two children died at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday, according to the health ministry and a local doctor.

"Another baby died today as a result of malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is the only pediatrics hospital in northern Gaza," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the acting director and head of the pediatrics at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said.

Safiyasaid the generators would stop working tonight because of the hospital's fuel shortage, "which means our incubators and oxygen supply will stop and only will run on solar panels during the day."

"The hospital is out of service starting today due to running out of fuel," and "surgical operations in the hospital were completely stopped as a result of lack of medical supplies," Safiya said.

Safiya also pointed out the lack of medical aid and baby formula in the hospital and said babies are getting milk that's "diluted and not concentrated" every five or six hours instead of the recommended three to four hours.

Mothers are unable to produce natural milk "due to dehydration and lack of nutritional food," Safiya said.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report about it was published Wednesday.

"We call for a full investigation into what was reported," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday during a news conference, in response to a question from CNN.

The UN does not have its own information on the incident, "but they need to be investigated," Dujarric said, reiterating the UN's plea for Israel to allow more journalists in Gaza.

Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday.

"To my knowledge, up to today, there (hasn't) been any new information transmitted to UNRWA and to the United Nations," the organization's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his first one-on-one TV interview since the allegations emerged in January.

"We keep now calling to the Israeli authority to cooperate with the investigation team so that we can come to a swift conclusion," he continued.

"We haven't received anything more than what we see on the media," he said.

Lazzarini called footage that purports to show a UNRWA staff member participating in the kidnapping of Yonatan Samerano - who was killed in kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 - "shocking images."

Background on the footage: A video screened last week during a press conference with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum showed a white SUV approaching the entrance of what appears to be the kibbutz. Two men exit the vehicle and are seen carrying a body from the road into the vehicle. One of the men is identified in the footage as an UNWRA worker. CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel's allegations about his involvement with Hamas.

Lazzarini said that he "personally cannot recognize the person on the video." He called for "more forensic evidence to be provided," while acknowledging the name of the accused man in the video "matched our staff list" and that his UNRWA contract was terminated.

Remember: UNRWA fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations, in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. At least 16 countries have paused or suspended funding to UNRWA since the allegations emerged, Lazzarini said, warning that operations beyond March will be impacted unless more money is donated.

What we're covering

The US is considering airdropping aid into Gaza, two US officials told CNN. More than half a million people in the enclave are on the brink of famine, the UN said, and hospitals face dire conditions that have killed at least six children in recent days, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 20 people Wednesday, health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The death toll in Gaza since Israel's war with Hamas began in October is approaching 30,000, according to the health ministry.

Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow today to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

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

The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically, necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

Hospitals face dire conditions, and at least six children have died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, according to the enclave's health ministry.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped aid in various areas in Gaza, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become. Top US officials have called on Israel to open more crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to USAID chief Samantha Power.
Here are our other top headlines:

More Israeli strikes: Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least two people and wounded 14 others, according to Lebanon's state-run NNA news. The airstrikes hit the towns of Kafra and Seddiqine, near the border with Israel.

Indiscriminate killing: The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza after a CNN report on the attack was published Wednesday.

Ramadan fears: The US called on Israel to allow worshippers to visit the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for Ramadan, as Hamas calls for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march on the mosque on the first day of the holy month. The US also called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it would not commit human rights violations with American weapons.

UNRWA allegations: Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main UN aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Russia hosts Palestinian meeting: Palestinian factions will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss forming a new government after the Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned on Monday. Hamas hasn't confirmed attendance, but a Russian official said "all parties" have agreed to participate.

Fifty-five foreign news correspondents have signed a letter calling for international media to be allowed "free and unfettered" access to Gaza to conduct comprehensive on-the-ground reporting on Israel's war with Hamas.

The letter is addressed to the governments of Israel and Egypt and was delivered to their embassies in London.

"We urge the Governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media. We call on the government of Israel to openly state its permission for international journalists to operate in Gaza and for the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists access to the Rafah Crossing," the letter said.

Those who signed the letter include CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour and Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Dozens more international correspondents from Sky News, BBC, Channel 4, ITN, CBS, NBC and ABC also signed the letter.

The letter also emphasized the importance of on-the-ground reporting.

"There is intense global interest in the events in Gaza and for now the only reporting has come from journalists who were already based there," the letter says.

"It's vital that local journalists' safety is respected and that their efforts are bolstered by the journalism of members of the international media. The need for comprehensive on the ground reporting of the conflict is imperative."

Reporting restrictions: Foreign media have been allowed limited access to Gaza, which has been either embedded with the Israeli military on condition of viewing and approving unedited raw footage or, in rare instances, with humanitarian aid convoys into the enclave.

There has been no public response to the letter from Israel or Egypt.

The New Zealand government designated all of Hamas as a "terrorist entity" on Thursday, broadening its policy on the Islamist group.

The country now considers Hamas' political wing a "terrorist entity". It designated the military wing of Hamas a "terrorist entity" in 2010.

"What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas," New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

He said that the "organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks."

The move means that any assets of Hamas in New Zealand will be frozen, and any financial or property transactions or material support to Hamas is now a criminal offense in the country.

Calls to end violence: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon clarified that "this designation targets Hamas, not the provision of private humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians."

It will also not hinder New Zealand's efforts to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the civilians in Gaza, Luxon said.

Consular support to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents in the conflict zone will also not be affected.

Peters said that Wellington remains "gravely concerned" about the impact of the conflict on civilians in Gaza and called "for an end to the violence and an urgent resumption of the Middle East Peace Process."

"A lasting solution to the conflict will only be achieved by peaceful means," Peters said.

The United States is looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people in the war-torn territory, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials have consistently said that much more must be done for critically necessary assistance to reach people in Gaza, where more than 2 million people are at "imminent risk" of famine, according to the United Nations.

One US official said the prospect of airdrops is being seriously considered based on conditions on the ground. Axios first reported that the US is exploring the move.

Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped relief aid on various areas in the Gaza Strip, in a sign of how desperate the situation has become.

Top US officials have called on Israel to open additional crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza, as the flow of trucks into the enclave trickled down to less than 100 per day last week, according to Samantha Power, administrator for the US Agency for International Development.

"It is absolutely clear, that as conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza, for the Gazan people, two crossings is not enough," Power said Wednesday in a video message from the Kerem Shalom crossing.

"This is a matter of life and death."

Power met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, one of the US officials told CNN.

Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, according to health officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The death toll could rise, as many people remain under the rubble, the officials said.

Several witnesses told CNN on Wednesday that airstrikes hit residential buildings in AlBureij and Nuseirat in central Gaza.

CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties.

A video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa Hospital shows multiple deceased people being brought from the area to the facility. It shows the bodies of several people being wrapped in white cloth.

The footage showed family members weeping and crying hysterically near the bodies.

The video also shows several wounded people being carried on stretchers.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the airstrike.

The United States called on Israel to sign a letter pledging it will not commit human rights violations with US weapons, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

He noted the request is not specific to Israel, but applies to all nations who receive US military assistance.

He said the letter calls on countries receiving US assistance to "provide us written assurances that recipients, number one, will use the weapons in accordance with the US with a law of war and, number two, will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict humanitarian assistance."

"There is a process that we are engaged in with every country that receives military assistance for the United States to make sure they are aware of the requirements of the national security memorandum, make sure that they are aware of the timeline that is outlined in the national security memorandum," Miller explained at a State Department briefing Wednesday.

"It requires a 45-day timeline for these countries to provide written assurances, so we're going about that process now," he said.

More context: Israel has come under immense scrutiny for the way it has prosecuted its war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and US officials have repeatedly called on Israel to do more to decrease the death toll. There are growing calls from Congress to condition military aid to Israel. Nations around the world are sounding the alarm against a potential military offensive in Rafah, where more than a million people have been displaced.

Miller previously confirmed that the US is assessing civilian harm from US weapons in Israel.

At least six children died in recent days as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gazan medical facilities, the health ministry said.

At least four children died at Kamal Adwan Hospital over the past few days, and two children died at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday, according to the health ministry and a local doctor.

"Another baby died today as a result of malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is the only pediatrics hospital in northern Gaza," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the acting director and head of the pediatrics at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said.

Safiyasaid the generators would stop working tonight because of the hospital's fuel shortage, "which means our incubators and oxygen supply will stop and only will run on solar panels during the day."

"The hospital is out of service starting today due to running out of fuel," and "surgical operations in the hospital were completely stopped as a result of lack of medical supplies," Safiya said.

Safiya also pointed out the lack of medical aid and baby formula in the hospital and said babies are getting milk that's "diluted and not concentrated" every five or six hours instead of the recommended three to four hours.

Mothers are unable to produce natural milk "due to dehydration and lack of nutritional food," Safiya said.

The United Nations is urging an investigation into indiscriminate Israeli fire that killed half of a family in Gaza, after a CNN report about it was published Wednesday.

"We call for a full investigation into what was reported," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday during a news conference, in response to a question from CNN.

The UN does not have its own information on the incident, "but they need to be investigated," Dujarric said, reiterating the UN's plea for Israel to allow more journalists in Gaza.

Israel still has not provided evidence to support its allegations that members of the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday.

"To my knowledge, up to today, there (hasn't) been any new information transmitted to UNRWA and to the United Nations," the organization's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his first one-on-one TV interview since the allegations emerged in January.

"We keep now calling to the Israeli authority to cooperate with the investigation team so that we can come to a swift conclusion," he continued.

"We haven't received anything more than what we see on the media," he said.

Lazzarini called footage that purports to show a UNRWA staff member participating in the kidnapping of Yonatan Samerano - who was killed in kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 - "shocking images."

Background on the footage: A video screened last week during a press conference with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum showed a white SUV approaching the entrance of what appears to be the kibbutz. Two men exit the vehicle and are seen carrying a body from the road into the vehicle. One of the men is identified in the footage as an UNWRA worker. CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel's allegations about his involvement with Hamas.

Lazzarini said that he "personally cannot recognize the person on the video." He called for "more forensic evidence to be provided," while acknowledging the name of the accused man in the video "matched our staff list" and that his UNRWA contract was terminated.

Remember: UNRWA fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations, in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. At least 16 countries have paused or suspended funding to UNRWA since the allegations emerged, Lazzarini said, warning that operations beyond March will be impacted unless more money is donated.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Kathleen Magramo, CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Live updates: Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, death toll rises, humanitarian crisis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United States considering airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens and aid fails to reach people. Follow for live news updates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
DeKalb County teacher being investigated after TikTok trend video goes too far, school district says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
2 Investigates House 2 Home Steals and Deals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photos of Six Flags Over Georgia and of Batman: The Ride roller coaster, where a 17-year-old boy was killed Saturday when he was struck by the popular ride.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Middle East Crisis: Death Toll in Gaza Surpasses 30,000, Health Ministry Says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Gazan health ministry’s toll may be an undercount given the difficulty of accurately counting deaths amid Israel’s war against Hamas. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Indiana’s ban on transition care for minors can take effect, appeals court rules | CNN Politics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Indiana’s ban on transition care for minors can take effect, an appeals court ruled Tuesday, issuing a stay on the district court’s ruling that blocked parts of the law last summer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MWC: AT&T outage still brings up lots of questions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA – Even as the world’s largest mobile trade show kicked off, analysts and vendors on the ground in Barcelona were still intrig | Even as we bask in sunny Spain, the recent AT&T outage still plays on the mind of the folks at Mobile World Congress.

# data[].attributes.body
NASA (.gov)https://climate.nasa.gov › what-is-cli...What Is Climate Change? | Facts

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://climate.nasa.gov/what-is-climate-change.amp&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiom9On2tCEAxUFN94AHTgCCOAQFnoECGQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw03fZKOV4O2XJvOP75AtNAi

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February 29, 2024 08:27 am | Updated 12:13 pm IST - New Delhi

About 90% of the Himalayan Region will experience drought lasting over a year if global warming increases by 3 degrees Celsius, according to new research.

The findings, published in the journal Climatic Change, show that 80% of the increased human exposure to heat stress in India can be avoided by adhering to Paris Agreement's temperature goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to 3 degrees Celsius warming.
Explained | Climate targets are becoming outdated, so India needs its own
The team led by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the U.K. quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases.

A collection of eight studies - all focusing on India, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana - shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming.

It found that in India pollination is reduced by half at 3-4 degrees global warming compared to a quarter reduction at 1.5 degrees.

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius allows half the country to act as a refuge for biodiversity, compared with 6% at 3 degrees, the researchers said.

The team found very large increases in the exposure of agricultural land to drought with 3 degrees Celsius warming - more than 50% of the agricultural land in each of the countries studied is projected to be exposed to severe droughts of longer than one year over a 30-year period.

However, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would reduce the increase in exposure of agricultural land to drought by between 21% (India) and 61% (Ethiopia) as well as reduce economic damages due to fluvial flooding. This happens when rivers and streams break their banks and the water flows out onto the adjacent low-lying areas.

Avoided increases in human exposure to severe drought are also 20-80% lower at 1.5 degrees Celsius than 3 degrees Celsius across the six countries, the researchers said.

Economic damages associated with sea-level rise are projected to increase in coastal nations, but more slowly if warming was limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, they said.

The researchers warned that more effort is needed to reduce global warming, as currently the policies in place globally are likely to result in 3 degrees Celsius of global warming.

One paper explored the risks to plants and vertebrates due to increases in global warming, and another developed a new natural capital risk register for each of the six countries that also included the projected changes in the risk stemming from future human population changes.

This combination shows that many areas in the six countries are already at high natural capital risk at 1.5 degrees Celsius when effects of increasing human population are accounted for.

The findings also showed that an expansion of protected area networks is necessary in order to deliver climate resilient biodiversity conservation.

"The results presented in this collection confirm the need for the implementation of climate policies aligned to the Paris Agreement limits if widespread and escalating climate change risk is to be avoided," said lead author of the paper, Professor Rachel Warren, from the UEA.

"They provide additional confirmation of the rapid escalation of climate change risks with global warming found in the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 report, which identifies how the risk of severe consequences increases with every additional increment of global warming," Ms. Warren said.

Although these studies focus on the risks to six countries only, other nations are projected to experience similar issues, the researchers said.

Greater emphasis needs to be placed on both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation to avoid large increases in risk to both human and natural systems, they said.

"For example, a good way to combat the effects of climate change on natural systems and soak up carbon from the atmosphere is to restore ecosystems to their natural state, especially if warming can be held to 2 degrees Celsius or less. This has the additional benefit of restoring the natural capital bank in these areas," said study co-author Jeff Price, also from the UEA.

The work focuses on developing countries as they tend to be more vulnerable to climate change than others.  Spanning the continents of Asia, Africa, and South America, the case studies present examples of both large and small countries and cover a range of levels of socioeconomic development.

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90% of Himalayas face year-long drought at 3 degrees global warming: study

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New research shows dire consequences of 3 degrees Celsius global warming, highlighting the importance of adhering to Paris Agreement goals.

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the new york timeshttps://www.nytimes.com › business economy https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/section/business/economy&sa=u&ved=2ahukewin8t6s29ceaxwv78kdhqq-dwgqfnoecc0qaq&usg=aovvaw3acdfeqdfpg7tlhustpxf7

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Explore our Student Programs!Since 1971, over one million students and educators have participated in Close Up programs. Our mission is to inspire students to find their unique voice and to help them develop the skills and awareness they need to be engaged citizens for a lifetime.Make lifelong memories as you come face-to-face with the people and places that shape our nation, and discover how your voice can make an impact on American democracy.

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Explore our Student Programs!Since 1971, over one million students and educators have participated in Close Up programs. Our mission is to inspire students to find their unique voice and to help them develop the skills and awareness they need to be engaged citizens for a lifetime.Make lifelong memories as you come face-to-face with the people and places that shape our nation, and discover how your voice can make an impact on American democracy.

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I think with democracy it becomes problematic but I think it will okay

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In my opinion bullying is wrong at least I've been taught that😭. People should to be more respectful towards each other. and try and respect each other's and support everyones backgrounds and where they come from.