Protest Isn't What It Used to Be
The campus protests of the late 1960s and early '70s—known in one of my favorite euphemisms as 'student unrest'—were different from those of today. Anger about the Vietnam War was at their core. The stakes were personal. If the war didn't stop, many of the student protesters would themselves have to fight in it. Notice that the protests pretty much dried up once the protesters' butts were no longer on the line.
Today's protests have an abstract quality. Most of those wearing kaffiyehs and chanting against 'genocide' in Gaza aren't Palestinians. They are trying to express their hatred of Israel and, by extension, of America. That Hamas slaughtered some 1,200 Jews, many women and children among them, doesn't put them off. There is a vicious yet hollow quality about these protests, which are unapologetic in their antisemitism and defiant in their bias against the West.
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CBS News
32 minutes ago
- CBS News
Saturday afternoon and evening storms could briefly turn severe in latest Philadelphia weather forecast
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Fox News
36 minutes ago
- Fox News
Huckabee slams French-backed Palestinian statehood push at UN, says US-Israel are 'inseparably' linked
EXCLUSIVE - The United States will not participate in a conference next month in New York City hosted by France and Saudi Arabia aimed at promoting the recognition of a Palestinian state, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview in Jerusalem earlier this week. "It's incredibly inappropriate in the midst of a war that Israel is dealing with to go out and present something that I think increasingly Israelis are steadfast against. "Oct. 7 changed a lot of things. If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I have a suggestion for them–carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state they are welcome to do that, but they are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. And I find it revolting that they think they have the right to do such a thing. "I hope they will reconsider but the U.S. will not participate. It simply will not be a part of such a ruse," he added. Huckabee, commenting on recently reported tensions between the two close allies, noted there may be disagreements between the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, but there should be no fear of a rupture in bilateral ties. "I don't think pro-Israel Americans need to be concerned that there's some rift between the United States and Israel. Are there sometimes differences of opinion on the next steps in the war in Gaza, getting the hostages home, or maybe to avoid an all-out war with Iran? Of course, that's natural," he said. "But as far as the relationship between Israel and the U.S., that is not in any way at risk, nor is it in any way splintered or fractured. It's solid, it has to be. We don't have a choice. It's critically important that the United States maintains its partnership—and I use that word very deliberately—it's not a friendship, it's not an alliance, it's a partnership, which means we are yoked together in our intelligence sharing, military — so many ways in which our nations are linked inseparably." On talks between Washington and Tehran, the ambassador described the Islamic Republic as "one of the if not the greatest, threats to world peace," warning that it poses a serious and immediate existential threat not only to Israel, but also to several Gulf nations and ultimately to the United States. "The Iranians have said Israel is the 'Little Satan,' but America is the 'Great Satan.' They've always treated Israel as the appetizer and the United States as the entrée," he said. "It's just important when people tell you over and over for 46 years they plan to kill you, you might want to start taking them seriously." Nevertheless, Huckabee expressed hope that ongoing nuclear negotiations between the two nations would be successful and avoid any kind of military conflict. "But when diplomacy fails, the soldiers show up," he said. "I find it hard to believe the Iranians, after all these years of pushing towards a nuclear device that is weaponized, would suddenly come to their senses and say we've changed. We don't want that anymore, but let's hope they do. But if they don't, the president has been incredibly clear that Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon." On Israel's ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, he emphasized that the suffering could end immediately—if Hamas chooses to act. "All of us are hoping and praying that Hamas will finally give up all the hostages and release them, and then they will depart Gaza for good. If they do these two things, this is over," he said. "It could have been over on Oct. 8, 2023; it should have been. What they did was unthinkable, horrific, heinous, uncivilized, savage behavior." He noted that President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Hamas has no future in Gaza. "They can't rule it, they can't stay," said Huckabee. "Israel has been clear that they are willing to put them on airplanes and fly them out in exile, they have a way out, but they don't have a way in. They have to go, and all hostages living and dead have to be returned," he added. Huckabee expressed hope that this would happen immediately. Speaking to Fox News Digital on Thursday, he said of the hostages, "This pin that I wear on my lapel—one of the happiest days of my life will be when I can take this pin off and permanently put it away, never to wear it again, because that means all of the hostages have come home," he said. He also expressed confidence in the prospect of expanding the Abraham Accords, forged during Trump's first term, which normalized relations between Israel and four Arab states: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. While not naming new countries considering joining, Huckabee said, "There are a number of nations that now realize that having enmity with Israel is meaningless," he said. "It is a delicate path for some countries; they can't go faster than their people are willing to go and accept … but there is a great atmosphere and possibility that we will see some dramatic changes and big additions to the Abraham Accords."
CBS News
36 minutes ago
- CBS News
A teen died after being blackmailed with A.I.-generated nudes. His family is fighting for change
Elijah Heacock was a vibrant teen who made people smile. He "wasn't depressed, he wasn't sad, he wasn't angry," father John Burnett told CBS Saturday Morning. But when Elijah received a threatening text with an A.I.-generated nude photo of himself demanding he pay $3,000 to keep it from being sent to friends and family, everything changed. He died by suicide shortly after receiving the message, CBS affiliate KFDA reported. Burnett and Elijah's mother, Shannon Heacock, didn't know what had happened until they found the messages on his phone. Elijah was the victim of a sextortion scam, where bad actors target young people online and threaten to release explicit images of them. Scammers often ask for money or coerce their victims into performing harmful acts. Elijah's parents said they had never even heard of the term until the investigation into his death. "The people that are after our children are well organized," Burnett said. "They are well financed, and they are don't need the photos to be real, they can generate whatever they want, and then they use it to blackmail the child." Elijah Heacock, left, and John Burnett, center, with Heacock's younger brother. CBS Saturday Morning The origins of sextortion scams Reports of the scheme have skyrocketed: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said it received more than 500,000 reports of sextortion scams targeting minors in just the last year. At least 20 young people have taken their own lives because of sextortion scams since 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates. Teen boys have been specifically targeted, the NCMEC said in 2023, and with the rise in generative A.I. services, the images don't even need to be real. More than 100,000 reports filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children this year involved generative A.I., the organization said. "You don't actually need any technical skills at this point to create this kind of illegal and harmful material," Dr. Rebecca Portnoff, the head of data science at Thorn, a non-profit focused on preventing child exploitation online, said. Just looking up how to make a nude image of someone will bring up search results for apps, websites and other resources, Portnoff said. The crisis may seem overwhelming. But there are solutions, Portnoff said. Thorn has its own initiative, "Safety By Design," which outlines barriers A.I. companies should set when developing their technology. Those barriers are designed to help reduce sextortion, Thorn said. A handful of major A.I. companies have agreed to the campaign principles, Thorn says. "There are real, tangible solutions that do exist that are being deployed today that can help to prevent this kind of misuse," Portnoff said. Government entities are also working to fight sextortion. The recently-passed "Take It Down" Act, championed by Melania Trump and signed into law by President Trump, makes it a federal crime to post real and fake sexually explicit images of someone online without their consent. The law also requires social media companies and other websites to remove such images within 48 hours of a victim's request. Elijah's parents said they never want other families to suffer like they have. They have fought for change, CBS affiliate WLKY reported. They said they hope the "Take It Down" Act will make a difference. "It's kind of like a bullet in a war. It's not going to win the war," Burnett said. "No war is ever won by one bullet. You got to win battles. You got to win fights. And we're in it."
