
Witkoff plans to visit the Mideast in push for Gaza ceasefire, State Department spokesperson says
Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a 'strong hope' that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.
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The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Obama calls for action to stop ‘preventable starvation' in Gaza
Former President Obama on Sunday called for action to stop what he described as the 'preventable' starvation reported in the Gaza Strip. 'While a lasting resolution to the crisis in Gaza must involve a return of all hostages and a cessation of Israel's military operations, these articles underscore the immediate need for action to be taken to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation,' Obama wrote in a post on the social platform X, linking to two New York Times articles. 'Aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza. There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' he added in a subsequent post. Israel's military said earlier Sunday that it would start a 'tactical pause' in fighting in Gaza amid mass starvation concerns. President Trump on Sunday told reporters that Hamas is stealing food meant for people in Gaza, when asked for his response to the images of starving children in the Palestinian territory governed by the militant group. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. He added, 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well.' The Israeli military has reported that there is no proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against international criticism on Sunday, saying Israel has allowed limited humanitarian aid into the strip, as long as the aid doesn't enhance Hamas's military capabilities or harm hostages. Netanyahu said Israel must continue to do so, The Jerusalem Post reported. 'We've done this so far,' Netanyahu said, according to the Israeli newspaper. 'But the UN is spreading lies and falsehoods about Israel. They say we don't allow humanitarian supplies in, yet we do. There are secure corridors. They've always existed, but now it's official. No more excuses.'


New York Post
a minute ago
- New York Post
Good riddance to UNESCO — a hate-America shouting gallery
President Donald Trump is pulling America out of UNESCO for the third time. Maybe this time it'll be for good. Once lauded for its work in preserving important cultural sites, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations became a platform for miseducation by every tinpot tyrant trying to score points by defaming America and its allies. It also adopted a full-on woke agenda, backing divisive DEI and social-justice causes that, as a Team Trump aide explained, conflicted with American values. Advertisement 'Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,' the State Department declared. The agency's focus on the UN's 'Sustainable Development Goals,' for example, follows the Paris Climate Accords program of deindustrializing the developed world, while paying the Third World to help it catch up. It admitted the 'State of Palestine' as a full member, though the United States does not recognize such a state, believing the Palestinian issue should be decided by Israel and Palestinian Arabs, not the striped-pants brigade from third-party nations. Advertisement UNESCO has also politicized Jewish holy sites, calling Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem a 'mosque,' which it never was. And it's been China's running dog, promoting Beijing's domination of Tibetan and Uyghur culture — arguably genocidal — as perfectly fine. UNESCO's odious record goes back decades. Washington first withdrew from the group in 1984, under Ronald Reagan, when it sought to have US media companies submit to the control of a 'New World Information Order.' Advertisement Trump's withdrawal from UNESCO follows his exit from the UN's equally vile Human Rights Council, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's sanctioning of its 'special rapporteur' on Palestinian issues, Francesca Albanese, who was obsessed with falsely depicting Israel as a perpetrator of genocide. Those moves were well deserved. Call it a Turtle Bay trifecta.


CNN
a minute ago
- CNN
‘Tesla Takedown' protestors have a new target: Elon Musk's Tesla Diner
For months, protesters have gathered outside Tesla showrooms in response to Elon Musk's role in reducing US government spending as part of the Department of Government Efficiency. This weekend, protesters in Los Angeles found a new destination: Musk's new 24-hour Tesla Diner in the Hollywood area. Musk had touted the concept of an 'old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant' in 2018. Since opening on Monday, the retro-futuristic diner with electric vehicle-charging stations has had long lines of customers who are served burgers in Cybertruck-designed boxes. One customer posted to YouTube that he waited 11 hours for the restaurant to open. But Joel Lava, who has helped organize 'Tesla Takedown' demonstrations and has spearheaded protests at the diner, believes that protests could continue throughout the summer and that the buzz around the new restaurant will soon die down. '(Customers are) waiting 11 hours so they can have Tesla-brand burgers and fries,' Lava told CNN. 'This is the world's most renowned anti-trans advocate who just opened a diner in West Hollywood. The community is not very supportive of Elon.' Lava estimates as many as 75 demonstrators joined the diner protest on Saturday. He said organizers began planning protests for this weekend after the diner abruptly opened on Monday. 'Our main message is Tesla funds fascism. Elon Musk, via DOGE, has destroyed our government agencies and people's jobs, and people are dying around the world because of him,' Lava said. Tesla did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Lava said protest attendance for Tesla Takedown events peaked at the end of March, but has 'been going strong.' Protests outside of Tesla showrooms across the United States have remained a weekly staple in many cities, with 40 protests planned on the 'Tesla Takedown' website for the weekend. 'We've already been successful in tarnishing the Tesla brand,' he said. During last week's second-quarter earnings call, Musk highlighted Tesla's future — not its gloomy present-day — by reaffirming ambitious plans for the company's robotaxi service and mass production of its humanoid robot, Optimus, which was serving popcorn at Musk's diner. Tesla's auto revenue fell 16% from April to June and overall revenue was down 12%, according to its earnings report. Sales of its best-selling Model Y and Model 3 fell 12% compared with a year ago, while sales of its more expensive models, including the Cybertruck, plunged 52%. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were down more than 4% last week, closing at $316.06 on Friday, after falling 9% on Thursday. Since peaking at $479.86 on December 17, Tesla shares have plunged 34%. CNN's Chris Isidore contributed to this report.