Death toll in Gaza relief convoy disaster rises to 112. “Israeli authorities released aerial footage of crowds swarming arriving aid trucks, placed blame on the crush of the crowd and Palestinian truck drivers and said fewer than 10 of the casualties were a result of Israeli gunfire. ….Dr. Mohammed Salha, acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital, said most of the 161 wounded patients the facility received appeared to have been shot. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said at least 112 people were killed and 760 wounded.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/israel-hamas/2024/02/29/israel-hamas-war-gaza-live-updates/72786287007/
Judge fines journalist for not revealing source. “A federal judge held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt on Thursday for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge reveals her source, but the fine will not go into effect immediately to give her time to appeal. ….The source is being sought by Yanping Chen, who has sued the government over the leak of details about the federal probe into statements she made on immigration forms related to work on a Chinese astronaut program. ….Chen sued the FBI and Justice Department in 2018, accusing the government of violating the Privacy Act — which prohibits the public disclosure of private information about individuals without their consent. ….The judge had ordered Herridge in August to answer questions about her source or sources in a deposition with Chen’s lawyers. The judge ruled that Chen’s need to know for the sake of her lawsuit overcomes Herridge’s right to shield her source.” https://apnews.com/article/catherine-herridge-journalist-contempt-fox-news-cbs-63f6b2cde67fceae192daebe5d11b1a1 Why can’t she just confirm the source was an FBI employee, and leave it at that?
Leftist candidate elected to UK parliament by landslide. “George Galloway is back in Parliament with a resounding win in the Rochdale by-election after a campaign in which the Gaza war was a running theme. ‘Keir Starmer – this is for Gaza,’ the former Labour MP said, after polling 12,335 votes, nearly 6,000 more than any other candidate. Mr Galloway will take his Commons seat for the Workers Party of Britain. ….Smaller parties left the mainstream candidates in the dust in the Rochdale vote, which was sparked by the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, with second place going to independent and local businessman Dave Tully. In his victory speech, Mr Galloway highlighted the local voters’ rejection of the two main parties in Westminster. He said: ‘Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale.'” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68443430
U.S. strikes Houthi targets in Yemen again. “U.S. forces carried out more strikes against anti-ship cruise missiles and a drone in the Red Sea Thursday evening, Central Command said. CENTCOM forces conducted two self-defense strikes against six mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea between 6 and 7:15 p.m. local time.” https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-forces-carry-out-more-strikes-against-anti-ship-cruise-missiles-drone-red-sea
Environmental activists in Germany occupy Tesla’s forest. “Environmental activists are staging a protest in a forest near Berlin against plans to expand the grounds of electric carmaker Tesla’s first plant in Europe and are vowing to stay in place for weeks. Between 80 and 100 activists have been camping in the forest since early Thursday, according to an initiative called ‘Stop Tesla’. They put up tents and built treehouses, some of them several meters above the ground — a tactic used in previous German environmental protests. ….Tesla opened the factory in Gruenheide, just outside Berlin, in March 2022 — launching a challenge to German automakers on their home turf. The company now wants to expand the facility to add a freight depot, warehouses and a company kindergarten. Those plans would entail felling more than 100 hectares (247 acres) of forest.” https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-business/ap-activists-build-treehouses-to-protest-teslas-plans-to-expand-its-plant-near-berlin/
Thousands gather in Moscow for funeral of Alexei Navalny. “… despite fears of mass arrests, pictures from outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church showed thousands of Navalny’s supporters gathering. They were held back by long stretches of iron fences erected around the church, while metal detectors were also set up at key entry points. These appeared to be in place to limit access to the Navalny supporters seeking to say their final farewell. Other pictures from the cemetery where Navalny is set to be buried appeared to show gravediggers at work, as crowds continued to gather. ….Navalny had shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin’s administration. He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13144609/alexei-navalny-moscow-funeral-mass-arrests-fears.html
Secretary of Defense testifies that 25,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza, 21,000 projectiles shipped to Israel, since October 7th. “When asked how many women and children have been killed during a House Armed Services Committee, [Lloyd] Austin replied, ‘It’s over 25,000.’ ….Gaza’s Health Ministry does not account for the thousands of civilians who are missing and presumed to be dead under the rubble or for Palestinians who may have been buried instead of being sent to a hospital or morgue. ….Austin, a former Raytheon board member, also said the US had provided Israel with 21,000 munitions since October 7 to support the massacre, which does not include the American-provided bombs Israel was already armed with, as it receives $3.8 billion in military aid from the US each year. Despite the massive civilian casualty rate and the International Court of Justice ruling that it’s ‘plausible’ Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, the US continues to provide unconditional military support and political cover.” https://news.antiwar.com/2024/02/29/lloyd-austin-says-israel-has-killed-over-25000-women-and-children-in-gaza/ But Nancy Pelosi claimed that no U.S. weapons shipped to Israel since October 7th have been used in Gaza! https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2865766/pelosi-accused-hypocrisy-israel-gaza-war-you-own-this/
Woman who set herself on fire outside Israeli consulate in Atlanta still alive, still unidentified. “On Dec. 1, a woman immolated herself with a Palestinian flag outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. Now, according to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, the woman — referred to in their report as ‘Jane Doe’ — is alive and ‘in stable condition’ at Grady Memorial Hospital, where she has been since the immolation. After repeated requests for her name, the department stated to this reporter in an email that it ‘does not disclose the identities of victims’. Repeated inquiries to Grady, which is a public hospital, went unanswered. The hospital houses the Walter L. Ingram Burn Center. ‘Jane Doe’ is 27. ….Police records indicate that they obtained a search warrant and entered an apartment they believed to be associated with ‘Jane Doe’ — initially using a drone. ….While clearing the apartment no improvised explosive devices were located.” https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2024/02/29/jane-doe-who-immolated-herself-at-israeli-consulate-in-atlanta-last-year-is-still-alive/
Israel annexes an addition 652 acres of West Bank land. “An announcement by the Civil Administration, part of Israel’s Defence Ministry, said the tracts amounted to 2,640 dunams, or 652 acres. The Israeli source said they would now be designated part of Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority said the move underscored Israel’s steady push to cut off Jerusalem from the Palestinian areas which surround it and undermine the possibility of creating an independent Palestinian state. ….Most world powers deem the settlements illegal.” https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-02-29/israel-appropriates-650-acres-of-west-bank-land-near-big-settlement
President Biden evades Congressional oversight by seeking judicial extension of mass surveillance program. “Privacy advocates responded with outrage Thursday to news that the Biden administration has decided to pursue a year-long extension of warrantless spying authority in court rather than working with Congress to enact reforms that are popular across party lines. ….While Section 702 is supposed to only allow U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside the country, the communications of American journalists, activists, and others are regularly collected under the surveillance authority, sparking widespread support for an overhaul. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a leading advocate of Section 702 reform, said in a statement Thursday that ‘it is utterly ridiculous that the Biden administration and the Justice Department would rather risk the long-term future of an important surveillance authority than support a single meaningful reform to protect Americans’ rights.'” https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-doj-section-702
Money from President Biden’s ‘green’ infrastructure bill being spent on highways. “The law, officially known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), gave state transportation officials discretion over how to spend money distributed by the $1.2 trillion package, but Transportation for America warned in a new analysis of 57,000 projects that the law has revealed itself to be a ‘climate time bomb’, with more than half of the funds—about $70 billion—so far spent on resurfacing and expanding highways. Only about $25 billion of the money dispersed to states has been spent on [mass] transit and passenger rail, even as Americans clamor for more public transportation options.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/infrastructure
California man pleads guilty to firebombing and bomb plot charges. “A 22-year-old Irvine man pleaded guilty to firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa and planning to attack an electrical substation in Orange, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Tibet Ergul pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility and one misdemeanor count of intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ergul and his co-conspirators planned to attack the power grid in Orange County to start a race war. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also says Ergul and one other defendant admitted to plotting an attack the on the Dodger Stadium parking lot or the stadium’s electrical room during last summer’s LGBTQ Pride Night.” https://abc7.com/tibet-ergul-orange-county-planned-parenthood-attack-costa-mesa-firebombing/14480650/
IRS launches campaign to collect unpaid income tax from wealthy non-filers. “The IRS plans to go after 125,000 high-income earners who did not file tax returns going back to 2017 — and the agency says hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid taxes are involved in these cases. Beginning this week, the IRS will start sending out noncompliance letters to more than 25,000 people who earn more than $1 million per year and 100,000 people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million who failed to pay their taxes between 2017 and 2021.” https://www.courthousenews.com/irs-launches-crackdown-on-125000-wealthy-non-filers/
Progressive News Service 