
Blinken announces more than $400M in new humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza
CNN
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more than $400 million in new humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza as he again called on Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal that he described as the most effective way to address the humanitarian devastation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday announced more than $400 million in new humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza as he again called on Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal that he described as the most effective way to address the humanitarian devastation. The top US diplomat, speaking at an emergency humanitarian aid conference in Jordan, also called on nations to give more aid to support those in the war-torn strip. “The crisis in Gaza is immense,” he said. “Only one third of the current United Nations appeal is funded. That leaves a shortfall of approximately $2 billion to $3 billion. Every country can help fill this gap. Yet some who expressed great concern over the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, including countries with the capacity to give a lot, have provided very little – or nothing at all,” Blinken said without naming specific countries. “It is time for everyone, everyone, to step up.” The new $404 million in funding from the US will go toward “food, safe drinking water, health care, protection, education, shelter, and psychosocial support,” according to a media note from the State Department. The humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza has become catastrophic over the eight months of Israel’s war against Hamas. The Israeli government has restricted access and items that have been able to make their way into the strip. Humanitarian aid organizations have had to contend with a destroyed infrastructure inhibiting their ability to deliver the critically-needed aid, and aid workers have been caught in the crossfire.

Former election clerk Tina Peters’ prison sentence has long been a rallying cry for President Donald Trump and other 2020 election deniers. Now, her lawyers are heading back to court to appeal her conviction as Colorado’s Democratic governor has signaled a new openness to letting her out of prison early.

The Trump administration’s sweeping legal effort to obtain Americans’ sensitive data from states’ voter rolls is now almost entirely reliant upon a Jim Crow-era civil rights law passed to protect Black voters from disenfranchisement – a notable shift in how the administration is pressing its demands.

White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The aircraft used in the US military’s first strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a strike which has drawn intense scrutiny and resulted in numerous Congressional briefings, was painted as a civilian aircraft and was part of a closely guarded classified program, sources familiar with the program told CNN. Its use “immediately drew scrutiny and real concerns” from lawmakers, one of the sources familiar said, and legislators began asking questions about the aircraft during briefings in September.

DOJ pleads with lawyers to get through ‘grind’ of Epstein files as criticism of redactions continues
“It is a grind,” the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division said in an email. “While we certainly encourage aggressive overachievers, we need reviewers to hit the 1,000-page mark each day.”

A new classified legal opinion produced by the Justice Department argues that President Donald Trump was not limited by domestic law when approving the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and that he is not constrained by international law when it comes to carrying out law enforcement operations overseas, according to sources who have read the memo.







