News Dump for Apr. 29, 2024

US

CBS – Military families feel betrayed over Navy response to jet fuel-tainted water at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii base
The U.S. military takes pride in protecting its own. That’s why military families we met in Hawaii told us they feel so betrayed.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-families-feel-betrayed-over-navy-response-to-jet-fuel-tainted-water-at-pearl-harbor-hawaii-base-60-minutes-transcript/

CNN – Misinformation has created an alternative world for some Americans
There’s a tendency in this heated political climate to simply reject people who are saying false things and to write off conspiracy theorists writ large. But as the US approaches the third straight election in which misinformation — and the fight against it — is expected to play a role, it’s important to understand what’s driving people who don’t believe in US elections.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/politics/election-misinformation-conspiracy-theories-what-matters/index.html

WAPO – Trump and DeSantis meet privately in Florida
Former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately Sunday morning in Miami, according to people familiar with the matter, breaking a years-long chill between the presumptive Republican nominee and his onetime chief primary rival.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/28/trump-desantis-meeting/

NBC – Arizona GOP taps ‘fake elector’ for RNC post
The Arizona GOP has selected state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a “fake elector” indicted last week and accused of working to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Arizona, as a national committeeman for the Republican National Committee.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/arizona-gop-taps-fake-elector-rnc-post-rcna149719

CBS – Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell removed from committees, caucus meetings amid burglary investigations
Embattled Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell will be removed from her committee assignments and caucus meetings while burglary allegations against her play out in both a Senate and legal investigation, the Senate majority leader announced Sunday.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-state-sen-nicole-mitchell-removed-from-committees-caucus-meetings-amid-burglary-investigations/

CNN – At least 4 killed in Oklahoma tornado outbreak, as threat of severe storms continues from Missouri to Texas
At least four people are dead, including an infant, after a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma overnight, as severe storms threaten more twisters, heavy rain and large hail from Missouri to Texas Sunday.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/weather/plains-midwest-storms-tornadoes-climate-sunday/index.html

NBC – Columbia University president says negotiations with protesters have stalled, school will not divest from Israel
“We urge those in the encampment to voluntarily disperse. We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis,” Minouche Shafik said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/columbia-university-president-says-negotiations-protesters-stalled-sch-rcna149755

BBC – US campus protests: Rival Gaza protest groups clash at UCLA
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as demonstrations over the war in Gaza continue across US campuses.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68919182

GIFT LINK
WAPO – Push to restrict LGBTQ+ rights hits a snag in state legislatures
Lawmakers introduced a record number of bills targeting gay and transgender Americans this year, but hardly any have passed, raising questions about whether the push to restrict LGBTQ+ rights is losing momentum.
https://wapo.st/3UE3v1u

Suck it up, buttercup.
CNN – Peter Navarro’s get-out-of-jail request is again rejected by the Supreme Court
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/politics/supreme-court-rejects-peter-navarros-get-of-jail-request-again/index.html

Raw Story – Trump shoves Kari Lake out of Mar-a-Lago and frets she’ll be electoral liability: report
There are rumblings from Donald Trump insiders that the former president is growing increasingly concerned that former TV personality Kari Lake will blow the GOP’s chances of picking up a Senate seat and that her unpopularity in Arizona will also hurt his re-election chances.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-kari-lake-2668078593/

Meidas Touch – Trump Posted a QAnon Video Boasting of Nations and Leaders Submitting to Him
Trump’s video claims Israel, the Vatican, the Queen, Canada, Russia, and others have “submitted.”
https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-posted-a-qanon-video-boasting-of-nations-and-leaders-submitting-to-him

YES!!!
WAPO – Court says state health-care plans can’t exclude gender-affirming surgery
A federal appellate court in Richmond became the first in the country to rule that state health-care plans must pay for gender-affirming surgeries, a major win for transgender rights amid a nationwide wave of anti-trans activism and legislation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/29/gender-affirming-surgery-state-health-care-plans/

WAPO – Columbia orders student protesters to leave encampment or face suspension
Columbia University ordered student protesters to leave their nearly two-week-old pro-Palestinian encampment by 2 p.m. Monday, saying those who do not will be suspended and will no longer be allowed on campus facilities, including academic buildings and residence halls.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/04/29/columbia-university-protests/

NBC – Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News ‘imminently’
A letter obtained by NBC News says action is pending because of Fox’s alleged “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light.” Biden has hired attorney Mark Geragos and his firm to represent him in the Fox litigation efforts.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/lawyers-hunter-biden-plan-sue-fox-news-rcna149707

Bastards. Killing puppies and killing people.
Politico – Beating cancer used to be bipartisan. What happened?
Lawmakers aren’t willing to meet the president’s budget requests, casting doubt on reaching the program’s ambitious goal.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/29/congress-is-killing-bidens-cancer-moonshot-00154718

WORLD

Reuters – World Central Kitchen to resume Gaza aid after staff deaths in Israeli strike
World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, a month after seven workers of the U.S.-based charity were killed in an Israeli air strike. The charity said it had 276 trucks with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing and will also send trucks into Gaza from Jordan.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/world-central-kitchen-resume-gaza-aid-after-staff-deaths-israeli-strike-2024-04-28/

Business Insider – US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia’s ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
The US has purchased 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan, the Kyiv Post reports. Kazakhstan, a historic ally of Russia, is engaging more with Western nations. The planes could be used for spare parts or deployed as decoys in conflict regions, the Post said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-buys-81-soviet-fighter-jets-from-russian-ally-20k-2024-4

USA Today – The real migrant bus king of North America isn’t the Texas governor. It’s Mexico’s president.
Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s immigration agency has intensified a busing program that aims to hurt migrants’ chances of reaching the U.S. border – or at least delay their arrival – by apprehending them on highways, train routes and airports and shipping them to the southernmost part of his country.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/28/migrant-bus-operation-in-mexico/73438134007/

AP – Biden and Netanyahu speak as pressure’s on Israel over planned Rafah invasion and cease-fire talks
The White House on Sunday said U.S. President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-04-28-2024-78410c1eaf671008cd60dccc00b44ee4

WAPO – Russia arrests more journalists in intensifying crackdown on dissent
Russia has arrested two Russian journalists on “extremism” charges in recent days, the latest moves in a continuing crackdown targeting independent reporters and media outlets. A third Russian journalist, with Forbes Russia, was charged with publishing what authorities called “fake news.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/28/russia-journalists-arrests-putin-crackdown/

BBC – Gaza war: US ‘hopeful’ Hamas will accept Israel’s new ceasefire offer
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he is “hopeful” Hamas will accept Israel’s latest proposal for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal. He called the offer “extraordinarily generous”, as a Hamas delegation discussed it with mediators in Cairo.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68920131

WAPO – As U.S. rushes to send military aid, Ukrainians applaud lobbying effort
As officials in Washington said $61 billion in desperately needed aid would begin flowing to Ukraine’s military, officials and activists in the Ukrainian capital credited an effort by a coalition of political and civil society actors — all united by the fear that Ukraine could be defeated in its existential battle against Russia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/29/ukraine-lobbying-military-aid-war/

WAPO – An assassination plot on American soil reveals a darker side of Modi’s India
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/29/india-assassination-raw-sikhs-modi/

Fuck off, Dmitry.
Newsweek – Russia Issues Ominous Warning to Zelensky
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that people in Ukraine will question the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky, saying be believed his fate “is sealed,” and reiterated Moscow’s intentions to fulfill its war aims in its full-scale invasion.
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-zelensky-peskov-russia-1895005

SCIENCE

Reuters – China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side
China will send a robotic spacecraft in coming days on a round trip to the moon’s far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/china-set-launch-high-stakes-mission-moons-hidden-side-2024-04-29/

TEXAS

Newsweek – Greg Abbott Scolded by Largest Texas Newspaper for ‘Posturing’ Over Protest
Texas’ largest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, rebuked Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday in an editorial for his “posturing” over a recent pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin.
https://www.newsweek.com/greg-abbott-scolded-houston-chronicle-newspaper-posturing-over-protest-1894961

Lone Star Left – Greg Abbott And The Far-Right Ideology Of Fascism
How State Power is used to suppress voices in Texas, and the alarming rise of fascist practices under Governor Abbott.
https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/greg-abbott-and-the-far-right-ideology

MISC

Raw Story – ‘Do not wait’: Forbes analyst warns Truth Social stock at risk of ‘worry-based selling’
In a column for Forbes, one financial analyst is recommending that investors who jumped on Trump Media & Technology Group stock may want to beat the crowd and sell off their shares before panic selling begins.
https://www.rawstory.com/truth-social-stock-2668024946/

ProPublica – A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.
Cigna tracks every minute that its staff doctors spend deciding whether to pay for health care. Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” Day said.
https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-medical-director-doctor-patient-preapproval-denials-insurance

CNN – ‘Should have been done yesterday’: Rural, older Americans could get hurt as affordable internet program runs out of cash
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/tech/broadband-affordability-acp-rural-older-americans/index.html