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Forty-five congressional Democrats on Thursday voted with the U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican majority in favor of legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials following the tribunal’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and his former defense chief for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Amnesty International USA called the vote “deeply disappointing.”

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned the ICC’s effort to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant—who despite being a fugitive from justice was warmly welcomed at the White House last month.

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More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter circulated by the Committee to Protect Health Care in opposition to Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“As physicians who care deeply about the health and safety of our patients and communities, we are appalled by Donald Trump’s reckless decision to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),” the letter states.

It added: “The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system. RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency – he is actively dangerous.”

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Prison inmates have been drafted to help fight LA wildfires as infernos destroy almost 5,000 structures.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) deployed 783 prison inmates, according to figures revealed by the department to CBS. The prisoners are incarcerated firefighters are involved with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to assist its nearly 4,700 firefighters and work as paid volunteers.

The prisoners are paid depending on their skill level - earning between $5.80 and $10.24 per day. It comes as firefighters have achieved some containment of the Palisades Fire, officials say. The Palisades Fire, which started Tuesday and has burned through the seaside enclave of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, remained uncontained until Thursday evening, when officials said containment was at 6%.

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Former NBA star Dwight Howard recently shared a revealing anecdote about a 2014 tweet that almost killed the NBA champion's career. In the interview, Howard describes a 2014 visit to a Houston movie theatre where he was approached by a group of Palestinian fans. They expressed their admiration and asked to watch the film with him. Known for his frequent interactions with fans, Howard says he agreed warmly.

After the movie, while taking photos with the group, the fans spoke about the struggles in their homeland and asked him to raise awareness. Moved by their plea, the former NBA star reflected on the importance of using his platform. Shortly after, he tweeted “Free Palestine” - a gesture to shed light on his fans’ experiences.

Following the tweet, he says that within minutes, he started receiving calls from the NBA commissioner, agents, and people working with his foundation. “You’ve got to erase this tweet. You’ve got to take this down. You’re going to get in trouble,” Howard was told. According to his account, Howard said he couldn't understand what he had done wrong.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/24606114

By Yasmine El-Sabawi
Published date: 9 January 2025 17:57 GMT

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/24621234

By Karoun Demirjian
Reporting from Washington
Jan. 9, 2025 Updated 2:15 p.m. ET

from #NewYorkTimes #NYT [Bias alert - #NYT usually favors Israel]

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The raging wildfires that have blazed around Los Angeles for two days, killing at least five people, destroying almost 2,000 homes and buildings, and forcing the evacuation of more than 130,000 people, have spread to the hills above Hollywood Boulevard.

As firefighters battled five separate blazes, the White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled Thursday’s visit to Italy – the final overseas trip of his presidency – to focus on directing the federal response to the fires.

The emergency began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, prompting thousands to flee.

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cross-posted from: https://hcommons.social/users/adachika192/statuses/113799891554598477

Quaker group pulls NYT ad over paper’s refusal to let it call Israel’s Gaza bombing ‘genocide’ (Guardian, 2025-01-08)

[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jan/08/new-york-times-ad-cancel-gaza-genocide] ———

“The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a #Quaker organization that advocates for peace, said on Monday the group cancelled a planned advertisement in the New York Times in response to the paper refusing to allow it to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.”

“According to the #AFSC press release, when the group refused [to use ‘war’ instead of ‘genocide’], the New York Times responded with an email that read, in part: ‘Various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions.’”

🫳➰🗑

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
#NYT #NameGenocideGenocide

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