Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 29, 2024

[Music] welcome to democracy Now democracynow.org The War and Peace report I'm Amy Goodman authorities in Gaza say Israeli forces have committed a massacre in Gaza City killing at least 104 Palestinians as they waited for food Aid gaza's Health Ministry says over 760 people were wounded in what Hamas called an unprecedented War crime according to eyewitnesses Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd that had gathered around humanitarian a trucks the death toll is expected to rise as hospitals in Gaza City are struggling to treat the wounded Dr jadala Al shafay of alifa Hospital spoke to Al jazer shortly after the attack since the early hours of the morning the hospital has been flooded with dozens of dead bodies and hundreds of injured the majority of the victims suffered gunshot wounds and shrap in the head and upper parts of their bodies they were hit by direct artillery sh shelling drone missiles and gunfire all our operation rooms are full and all medical staff have been deployed above all we ran out of medical supplies and fuel necessary to operate the hospital we hope we will be able to provide any life-saving procedures to those victims all victims are in critical condition they're lying on the floor We Stand helpless amid the sharp shortage of supplies and staff this comes as Palestinian officials say the death toll in Gaza since October 7th has topped 30,000 The Staggering Milestone which does not account for thousand still missing or trapped under Rubble represents one out of every 75 people in Gaza the UN says over half a million people in Gaza are on the cusp of starvation the Gaza Health Ministry reports six children recently died from dehydration and malnutrition seven other children are in critical condition after headlines we'll speak with or an's Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley he recently visited the Egyptian side of the Rafa border crossing here in New York activists are observing a 24-hour vigil in front of City Hall participants are reading the names of the 30,000 Palestinians killed since October 7th a number of City Council Members have appeared at the vigil since it kicked off Wednesday amidst an effort to pass a ceasefire resolution in New York City Audrey sass director of Jews for racial and econ IC Justice spoke yesterday you do not have to be Arab Muslim Palestinian or in my case in the case of our members Jews who say no to speak out against an unfolding genocide that's right you simply need to be a human being who is paying attention in Missouri a Girl Scout Troop has split from the organization after the group made legal threats against the girls for running a fundraiser benefiting Palestinian children Girl Scout mother noal Abu ham said that instead of selling cookies this year her 10-year-old daughter and sister troop members decided to make and sell bracelets with beads in the colors of the Palestinian flag spelling out Gaza and Palestine the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri deemed the move political Banning them from continuing their fundraiser for the Palestine children's Relief Fund in response the girls decided to part ways with the Girl Scouts organiz ation they're continuing their fundraiser which has raised over $10,000 so far Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announced he's stepping down as Senate's Republican leader in November in a move that's expected to strengthen Donald Trump's control of the Republican Party The 82-year-old McConnell has served 17 years as Republican leader the longest term in Senate history believe me I know the politics within my party at this particular particular moment in time I have many faults misunderstanding politics is not one of Senator McConnell said he plans to finish his term as Senator during his leadership Mitch McConnell successfully block voting on Democratic bills from gun control to election Integrity while ramming through Republican priorities including Trump's two trillion doll tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans Mitch McConnell helped Trump stack Federal courts with far-right judges he also reversed the 60 vote threshold for confirming Supreme Court Justices allowing Trump to install three right-wing ideologues on the bench a few years after stonewalling President Obama's Supreme Court Justice pick former labor secretary Robert R said of McConnell quote few people have done more to undermine our Democratic institutions and the rule of law than Mitch McConnell R said the Supreme Court's announced it'll decide whether former president Donald Trump has presidential immunity and cannot be prosecuted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election oral arguments will be held during the week of April 22nd Trump's claimed he should have total immunity from prosecution the Court's decision is seen as a major victory for Trump as it'll likely further delay his federal election subversion trial until possibly after the November election meanwhile a judge in Illinois has ruled Trump should be removed from the state's March 19th primary ballot for violating the insurrectionist Clause of the 14th Amendment the judge stayed her ruling until Friday giving Trump a chance to appeal Colorado and Maine have also ruled Trump to be ineligible the Supreme Court heard arguments in the Colorado case three weeks ago but hasn't issued a decision yet in other Trump news the New York Times has revealed the former president has paid out nearly $400,000 to cover legal expenses from his failed lawsuit against the newspaper Trump sued the times after revealed his confidential tax record showed he paid very little in federal income tax this all comes As Trump and President Biden are both making separate trips today to the US Mexico border Biden is headed to Brownsville Texas while Trump is going to Eagle Pass Texas which has been the center of a standoff between the state of Texas and the federal government in another election news Marian Williamson has unsuspended her presidential campaign after she received about 3% of the vote in Michigan's Democratic primary against Biden Williamson's the only Democratic candidate to support a ceasefire in Gaza in other supreme court news justices appear divided along ideological lines as they considered Wednesday whether the Trump Administration overreached its Authority when it imposed a ban on bump stocks in 2018 bump stocks can turn semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic machine guns and were used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting which killed 60 people and injured hundreds a decision is expected in the summer Congressional leaders announced a deal Wednesday to briefly extend Government funding avoiding a partial shutdown the deal which both the Senate and House must vote on before a Friday deadline would fund six federal agencies through March 8th and another six through March 22nd in the Texas Panhandle the massive Smokehouse Creek Fire has now burned nearly 900,000 acres of land making it the second largest wildfire in Texas history the fire is now larger than the state of Rhode Island at least one person and thousands of cattle have died in The Blaze which was sparked by record heat residents say the fire quickly swept through whole neighborhoods it came up very fast I saw the neighbors house starting to burn and I called 911 and the fire trucks got here but it was it just started really fast Flames are going everywhere and by the time we got back where there was nothing left we basically have lost everything this is the only pair of pants I've got and the shirt that's it four other large fires are also burning in Texas in other news from Texas prison officials executed 50-year-old Dallas native Ivan kantu on Wednesday despite major doubts over his conviction in a high-profile campaign to save him a key witness recanted their testimony in the 2,000 double homicide which killed kant's cousin and his cousin's fiance and over which kantu had always maintained his innocence among those who called for a stay in cantu's execution were jurors from his trial Democratic Congress members celebrities and Catholic activists Texas Medical officials injected kantu with with Pento barbol at 6:26 p.m. he died 21 minutes later in other execution news Idaho prison officials had to call off the execution Wednesday of Thomas Eugene Cree after failing to establish IV lines the all volunteer medical team attempted to find a viable vein for the lethal injection for nearly an hour trying eight different sights on his body the execution was scheduled to be Idaho's first in 12 years in Guinea trade unions have suspended their Nationwide strike after Union Leader seku Jamal pendo was released from prison Wednesday the strike had gried the West African nation since it started earlier this week two young protesters were killed Monday after clashes with police the labor Le protest came after Guinea's military which overthrew president Alpac in a 2021 coup unexpectedly dissolve the transitional government that had been in place since 2022 unions accused leaders of cracking down on dissent and censoring the media ala had problems with the Press but what Hun leader mamadi Duma has done today is worse because Duma even went as far as to cut off the internet in Guinea for more than a month Alva never did that in Nigeria government workers and other sectors have launched a new Nationwide strike amidst growing protests Over The Soaring cost of living and inflation labor leaders say president Bola tanbu is failing to deliver on campaign Promises of wage increases in financial hope for the poorest households the international criminal court has awarded victims of uganda's Lord's resistance Army Commander Dominic uin more than $56 million in compensation although the sum is a record for the ICC it amounts to a symbolic $812 for the more than 50,000 eligible survivors the tribunal's trust fund for victims is expected to to pay out the money survivors reacted to the verdict Wednesday me personally I am not I'm not happy that the the order it's unfair because if they're paying us 750 that's around 3 million you money that is really little money like for example for me I was short my hand I've lost my arm I can't do any heav work so that money can't even buy me land it can't even reparate what I lost in my life Dominic angen wants a Child Soldier himself eventually became one of the lra's top commanders he was sentenced in 2021 to 25 years and 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including rape murder and child abduction back in the United States Republicans blocked a bill that would create Federal protections for invitro fertilization senator Tammy Duckworth who had both her daughters using IVF brought the measure to the floor in the wake of Alabama's Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryo are children Duckworth sought to pass the bill under unanimous consent but Republican Cindy Hy Smith blocked it citing vast overreach meanwhile Alabama Republicans have advanced several bills to protect IVF in the state which could pass as early as next week and the justice department has launched its investigation into Boeing after a door blew off in Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 mid-flight last month this comes as the Federal Aviation Administration gave the company a 90-day deadline for presenting a safety plan that meets current standards for new planes a recent report by the FAA found Boeing safety culture to be inadequate and confusing last week Boeing announced it was replacing the head of its 737 Max program and those are some of the headlines this is democracy Now democracynow.org the Warren peace report

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Length: 13min 1sec (781 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024