Thursday, May 23, 2024

5/23 WAKE-UP CALL: Hostages Reveal Sexual Assault Torture


The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which released the video, said the harrowing tape shows the horrifying reality of the five hostages still in the clutches of the terror group in Gaza. They were identified as Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy. Berger’s father, Shlomi, told The Post that he couldn’t imagine what it felt like for his 19-year-old daughter to face those threats while surrounded by dozens of armed men. “This is a wakeup call to the world: look what we’re dealing with,” Shlomi said. “You saw how many terrorists were in that video. You only see three minutes but we know that they sat in the same place for two or three hours, and in front of their eyes they saw their friends that were murdered on the floor,” he added.

➤3 COUNTRIES SHOW SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIAN STATE: Norway, Spain and Ireland said that they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, amid frustration with the Gaza war. This runs counter to the long-held U.S. position that a future state comprising the enclave, the West Bank and East Jerusalem should come about through a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Serious talks on a two-state solution have been moribund for years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the European countries’ decisions “a reward for terrorism,” and said that it “will not bring peace—and it will not stop us from defeating Hamas either.” The U.S.-designated terrorist group and the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the trio’s move. The Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 precipitated the Gaza war.

➤BRITS TO VOTE IN SUMMER ELECTION: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a surprise summer election for July 4, attempting one of the biggest turnarounds in the country’s recent political history. He is trying to galvanize his restive Conservative Party as it trails the opposition Labour Party by double digits in the polls. Many pollsters, and even members of the Conservative Party, have written off the Tories’ chances of securing a fifth consecutive term after a post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis and successive political scandals. Labour’s Keir Starmer is the heavy favorite to win. Across the pond, where July 4 is important for another reason, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers proposed new rules forcing presidents to make their tax returns public and mandating that family members reveal more financial information. The bill drew opposition from the White House.


➤TAXPAYERS BURDENED BY MORE DEBT RELIEF:  Biden hands out another $7.7B to students for debt relief . . . The Biden administration announced another massive round of student debt handouts Wednesday morning with $7.7 billion going toward clearing debt for more than 160,000 borrowers. Three categories of borrowers are covered in the latest handout: people receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness, people signed up for President Biden's Saving on a Valuable Education Plan who are also eligible for its shortened time-to-forgiveness benefit and people receiving forgiveness on income-driven repayment as a result of fixes made by the administration.

➤MIGRANTS RUSHING BORDER: Illegal immigrants rush to border fearing Trump will soon be president . . . Migrants are coming to the US now because they fear President Biden could lose re-election in November and Donald Trump will shut the border. Colombian brothers Ricardo, 20, and Sebastian, 18, spoke with The Post after crossing the Arizona border illegally last week. They said they had been receiving assistance at the Yuma Regional Center for Border Health as they waited for a bus to the Phoenix airport, where they later caught a flight to New Jersey. “We think with the elections, it will be harder,” Ricardo said. “We don’t want Trump,” Sebastian said.


➤PUTIN STARTS TACTICAL NUKE DRILLS NEAR UKRAINE:  Russia has announced it has started tactical nuclear weapons exercises near Ukraine, as Moscow again accused the West of being "provocative." The Kremlin's Southern Military District troops "are practicing combat training tasks of obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, equipping launch vehicles with them and covertly advancing to the designated position area in preparation for missile launches," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

➤UVALDE FAMILES SETTLE: Families of children killed in the mass shooting at an elementary school here two years ago and survivors filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 91 state police officers and the local school district, calling their response the “single greatest failure of law enforcement to confront an active shooter in American history.” The families and survivors also said they had reached a settlement with the city of Uvalde that would provide them with $2 million in compensation, implement new training for local officers and coordinate with families to build a permanent memorial in the city’s central plaza and resolve maintenance issues at a cemetery.

➤STUDY: SEVERE MENTAL HEALTH AT RISK FOR TRANS:  A new report says those who had trans surgeries are many more times likely to commit suicide. And in Sweden, an extensive 30-year-long study concluded that suicide rates increase after gender-transition surgeries, rising to at least 20 times the suicide rate of the general population. A report from the U.K. last year found that over a third of children who were prescribed puberty blockers and hormone drugs suffered worsened mental health. And a study from Finland discovered that those who identify as transgender typically manifest “many more common psychiatric needs” than the general population, but that gender-transition procedures don’t alleviate or cure those mental health issues.

➤COLON CANCER SOARS IN THE YOUNG:  In the 1990s, doctors began seeing a rise in the number of otherwise healthy people under 50 being stricken with cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Three decades later, scientists expect the number of early-onset colon cancer sufferers will double by 2030 in what some have labeled an 'epidemic'. Junk food, plastic pollution and the over-use of antibiotics are some of the factors theorized to be behind the rise in early onset cancers, but the evidence is inconclusive.

🛫1 DEAD, 100+ INJURED One death and more than 100 injuries make a Singapore Airlines flight yesterday one of the worst turbulence-related accidents in history. The frequency of such incidents is likely to increase as a result of climate change, aviation experts and officials said. Nearly 60 people from the flight, which was traveling from London to Singapore, remained in the hospital, with 20 in intensive care. 

The death was the first on a commercial flight involving heavy turbulence in almost three decades, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Singapore authorities said that they’re investigating what happened. The airline hasn’t disclosed the cause of the turbulence, which forced an emergency landing in Bangkok.

➤SQUATTERS INVADE HOME OF FORMER MEDIA EXEC: A former top television executive is warning others about California's squatters laws after he lost millions of dollars in rent and property damage because of a squatter, according to a new report. "The laws in California are crazy. I tell everyone all the time, ‘Do not rent your home. In California, you have no rights whatsoever,’" Steve McPherson recently said. "My family was terrorized by this man. He held our home hostage for months without paying rent. He sold my furniture, broke into our wine cellar and ransacked our home," McPherson recalled.  

🏈ESPN JOINS THE HATERS: Harrison Butker is facing more backlash for his controversial speech. Numerous people have spoken out against the Chiefs kicker’s recent commencement address to Benedictine College which saw him cover a number of topics ranging from politics and President Joe Biden to gender issues. And now, Michelle Beadle has joined the critics, making her voice heard on the “Over the Top” podcast alongside Peter Rosenberg. Butker, 28, during his speech, said women have been “diabolically lied to” on a host of topics, including their role in the workplace — something Beadle, the ex-ESPN host, didn’t agree with, going as far as to say the kicker’s words were “garbage.”

🏈MAHOMES BACKS BUTKER:  While expressing that he didn't necessarily agree with comments Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker made during a controversial commencement speech, quarterback Patrick Mahomes defended Butker's character and freedom to express his opinion. "I've known him for seven years and I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that's a good person," Mahomes said Wednesday during a news conference. "That's someone who cares about the people around him and cares about his family and wants to make a good impact on society.


⚾SOTO SWATS 2 HRs AS YANKEES WIN: Juan Soto hit two home runs and drove in three and Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo also homered as the host New York Yankees snapped a two-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. It was the second multi-home run game in five games for Soto and the 19th of his career. He had a chance for his first three-homer game in the seventh inning when he came up with two outs and the bases loaded but Mariners reliever Cody Bolton struck him out.Anthony Volpe extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two hits and also scored two runs for New York, which stretched its American League East lead to three games over the Baltimore Orioles.

Nestor Cortes (3-4) picked up the win, allowing three hits over five shutout innings. He walked three and struck out six and left after throwing 97 pitches, 62 for strikes. It marked the 10th straight game a Yankees starter went five or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs.

⚾MLB SCORES:
  • 5 Straight Wins for The Phillies
    Yankees 7 Mariners 3
  • Red Sox 8 Rays 5
  • Phillies 11 Rangers 4
  • D-Backs 6 Dodgers 0
  • Rockies 4 Athletics 3
  • Braves 9 Cubs 2
  • Blue Jays 9 White Sox 2
  • Padres 7 Reds 3
  • Giants 9 Pirates 5
  • Marlins 1 Brewers 0
  • Royals 8 Tigers 3
  • Angels 2 Astros 1
  • Cardinals 5 Orioles 4
  • Cardinals 3 Orioles 1
  • Guardians 6 Mets 3
  • Twins 3 Nationals 2

🏀NBA SCORES
  • Mavericks 108 Timberwolves 105
🠊Luka Doncic scored 33 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 108-105 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. Kyrie Irving added 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting for Dallas. Daniel Gafford (10 points, nine rebounds) and Dereck Lively II (nine points, 11 rebounds) narrowly missed double-doubles. Jaden McDaniels scored 24 points and made 6 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc to lead the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16. The Mavericks outscored Minnesota 26-22 in the fourth quarter to help secure the three-point win.

🏒NHL SCORES
  • Panthers 3 Rangers 0


➤THURSDAY'S WEATHER:




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