Three days after its editorial fretting about the deficit, the Washington Post applauded Trump’s proposal to increase military spending by 50%.

We have a social media oligarchy that is now working directly in the interests of the Trump administration’s national police state.

Despite Trump’s pronouncement, a "peace" has not held, though the fantasy narrative has.

New York Times columnist David Brooks appears at a 2011 dinner with Jeffrey Epstein in the latest set of photos from the House Oversight Committee.

Despite Trump’s pronouncement, a "peace" has not held, though the fantasy narrative has.

Meeting follows letter signed by prominent members urging more forceful response on Hamdan Ballal’s arrest The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has convened an extraordinary meeting to address a crisis over its tepid response to the arrest and detention of Oscar-winning director Hamdan Ballal, of the documentary No Other Land, by Israeli authorities. The meeting on Friday morning Pacific time, first reported by Deadline, follows a strongly worded letter signed by many prominent members – including actors Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, Penélope Cruz and Emma Thompson, directors Ava DuVernay, Alfonso Cuarón, Adam McKay and Jonathan Glazer and writer Tony Kushner – calling for a more forceful response from the Academy’s board of governors than an initial statement that did not refer to Ballal or No Other Land by name and cited the Academy membership’s “many unique viewpoints.” Continue reading...

Body of team leader found almost a week after six rescuers went missing, Gaza’s civil defence agency says Israel’s military has admitted it fired on ambulances in the Gaza Strip after identifying them as “suspicious vehicles”, with Hamas condemning it as a “war crime” that killed at least one person. The incident took place last Sunday in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in the southern city of Rafah, close to the Egyptian border. Continue reading...

Governor Ron DeSantis leads push to loosen child labor laws as immigration crackdown leads to workforce shortage Beneath the smugness of Ron DeSantis, at Florida leading the nation in immigration enforcement lies something of a conundrum: how to fill the essential jobs of the scores of immigrant workers targeted for deportation. The answer, according to Florida lawmakers, is the state’s schoolchildren, who as young as 14 could soon be allowed to work overnight shifts without a break – even on school nights. Continue reading...

Letter signed by 700 members offers support to Hamdan Ballal after initial statement had failed to name director The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has apologised after criticism for its failure to support the detained Palestinian Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal. Almost 700 voting members, including multiple A-list actors, signed a letter apologising for not directly acknowledgingBallal and the film by name. Continue reading...

Militants release video of Israeli captive Elkana Bohbot pleading for freedom as they seek a 50-day halt to conflict Hamas has allegedly agreed to free five living Israeli hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire, as the militant group released a video of a hostage making an appeal for his freedom. Hamas’s chief, Khalil al-Hayya, reportedly said on Saturday that the militant group expressed willingness to release the five hostages over the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, which begins on Sunday, after a proposal it received two days ago from Egypt and Qatar, Reuters has reported. Continue reading...

Congressionally created and funded thinktank taken over by ‘Doge’ seeks to prevent and resolve global conflicts Most employees at the US Institute of Peace, a congressionally created and funded thinktank now taken over by Elon Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency”, received email notices of their mass firing late Friday, the latest step in the Trump administration’s government downsizing. The emails, sent to personal accounts because most staff members had lost access to the organization’s system, began going out about 9pm, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal. Continue reading...