Tuesday, April 23, 2024 BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) throwing a Mormon heater at the former president

Reports of mass graves outside of two Gaza hospitals have shaken the international community.

United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Volker Türk expressed that he was “horrified” by the destruction of Nasser and Al-Shifa medical facilities in Gaza and reports of mass graves found there this week. Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis after it was abandoned by Israeli troops. Bodies were also reportedly found at the Al-Shifa site following an Israeli military operation. The Israel Defense Forces said that the claims of mass graves were “baseless and unfounded.”

A report from the UN Human Rights office detailed the recovery of 238 bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste,” at Nasser hospital, 42 of which were identified. Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said: “Among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded, while others were found tied with their hands…tied and stripped of their clothes.” After two weeks of intense fighting in late March, U.N. humanitarians assessed the damage at Al-Shifa hospital and confirmed on April 5 that it was “an empty shell,” where medical equipment had been reduced to ash.

Türk called for an international investigation into the allegations surrounding the mass graves. “Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law,” he said on Tuesday, adding that “intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.” The IDF said that its operation at Nasser hospital was “precise and targeted,” and was done “without harming the hospital, the patients and the medical staff.”

Tensions remain boiling in Gaza as the threat of an IDF invasion hangs over the city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians are sheltering.

An Israeli military official, on the condition of anonymity, told the New York Times that were the IDF to launch an invasion of Rafah, an Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” along the coast would be expanded to take in more civilians. These comments are among the first indications of IDF plans for civilians in the event of a ground invasion in the city, which the Biden administration and countless other Western diplomats have repeatedly urged Israel against pursuing.

U.N. officials and some donor nations are calling for the reinstatement of funding to UNRWA—the main U.N. agency providing aid to Palestinians—after an independent review found that Israel had not offered sufficient evidence to support its claim that as many as 10 percent of the agency’s employees are members of terrorist organizations. Led by its largest donor, the United States, more than a dozen countries suspended funding to UNRWA in January after Israel claimed that twelve agency staff had participated in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. A spokesperson for U.N. secretary general António Guterres said on Monday that he had accepted the report’s recommendations and asked donor nations “to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestinian refugees in the region.” Several donor nations who had initially suspended funding the organization, including Australia, Canada, and Japan, have already resumed donations to the organizations, citing the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. In the United States, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has led the charge in Congress to resume funding to the agency, and backed the report’s findings.

A State Department spokesperson told reporters on Monday that the Biden administration was reviewing the commissioned report, but had no assessment yet of its conclusions. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday: “In terms of our funding of UNRWA, that is still suspended. We’re gonna have to see real progress here before that gets changed.” UNRWA has argued that Israel has engaged in a “deliberate, concerted campaign” to undermine its operations at the time of greatest need in Gaza. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on donor countries to avoid sending money to the organization in a statement on Monday.

Last week, Israel sent shockwaves throughout the global community when they launched a retaliatory strike against Iran. Iranian leaders tried to downplay the strike, but this unprecedented tit for tat between the two countries has world leaders on edge. If you're looking to understand why and more on how the US responded, check out Pod Save The World's bonus episode out now in their feed. Stay up to date on the latest, subscribe to Pod Save The World wherever you get your podcasts.

Last week, embattled electric car maker Tesla announced a more than 10 percent reduction in its global workforce amid declining sales and a price war among EV manufacturers, but did not specify how many employees would be impacted. On Tuesday, the company said it will lay off 6,020 employees in Texas and California. The same day, CEO Elon Musk boasted on his cursed social media platform “X” (formerly Twitter) “Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Tesla had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car that investors had been counting on to drive mass-market growth. Musk retorted “Reuters is lying (again),” but didn’t elaborate.

Lately, Tesla stock—once a Wall Street darling—has been hovering at 52-week low. In December, the company recalled 2 million vehicles after an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that its technology encouraged driver misuse. Last week, it recalled another 4,000 Cybertrucks because of faulty accelerator pedals. The company is also embroiled in several high-profile lawsuits that could further tarnish the brand name. There’s also the fact that Elon Musk is a loud, right-wing troll who dabbles in promoting antisemitic rhetoric and labeling anything denoting an advancing society as “the woke mind virus.” There’s also the fact that the cars are—how do I put this delicately?—eye-poppingly ugly. So really, who can say why the company is struggling? Certainly not me.

Disgraced former president Donald Trump is poised to receive an additional 36 million shares of Trump Media stock worth over $1.25 billion after trading closes on Tuesday. He’ll certainly need it to pay off his mounting court fees and legal penalties!

The Justice Department reached a $138.7 million civil settlement with hundreds of victims of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. The settlement in part resolves claims that the FBI botched the initial investigation and did not take early accusations seriously, allowing Nassar’s sexual abuse of young female gymnasts to continue for years thereafter. Nassar is serving multiple lifetime sentences in federal prison.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in an appeal from coffee giant Starbucks, which challenged a lower court ruling that the company must rehire seven employees at a Tennessee cafe who were fired over their efforts to unionize. The Court’s conservative majority (you know where this is going) appeared to agree with the corporation.

In the second day of the Trump hush money trial, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified how he coordinated “catch and kill” strategies with Trump to intercept negative stories about him.

More than 100 antiwar protesters were arrested at New York University on Monday night, according to the NYPD.

At the University of Minnesota, nine student protesters were arrested on Tuesday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has one of the highest nationwide disapproval ratings of any American governor, but somehow remains relatively popular in Florida. Hard to think of a more foreboding superlative than “Popular in Florida.”

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The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule on Tuesday banning restrictive noncompete agreements nationwide, which FTC Chair Lina Khan said “will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.” Anyone else getting an urge to hoist Lina Khan up in the air on a throne and carry her around like a queen?

Planned Parenthood’s political action arm will spend $10 million on organizing efforts in North Carolina this year, the group’s largest-ever investment in a single state.

The Department of Labor on Tuesday unveiled a rule extending mandatory overtime pay to an estimated 4 million salaried workers making under $58,600 per year when they work over 40 hours in a week.

Legislators in Minnesota are proposing legislation to ban book bans. Free the books!!!

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