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Kristi Noem and Dancin' Don lead surreal Pennsylvania town hall
Further

Good-bye. Forever: On Bad Music and Beautiful Swastikas

Sorry again to return to this execrable human being, but it keeps getting worse and weirder. This weekend, the "fascist-to-the-core" GOP candidate held an "Ultimate Trump Boat Parade" featuring neo-Nazis flying swastikas and yelling "Make America White Again!" Then he held a garbled "town hall" that mostly featured 40 minutes of him woodenly, inexplicably swaying glassy-eyed on stage to James Brown and Ave Maria. The consensus: "The October surprise is that Trump has completely lost his marbles."

Since the start of his vitriolic political rise, Trump has brazenly trafficked in once-unimaginable racist tropes. But in recent weeks, with his campaign and mind spiraling, he's increasingly embraced outright, blood-and-soil, fascist rhetoric: Brown-skinned migrants are monsters, rapists, stone-cold killers "infecting" our pristine shores with their blood libel against lovable pets while allying with Dems, Jews, queers, people of color and other "enemies from within" to usher in an amorphous apocalypse, ingeniously merging fascism and Marxism, only he can stop. Many note this is Authoritarianism 101, from a time-worn playbook in which a demagogue appeals to a disaffected populace who feel they've lost their political, economic or cultural power and need someone to blame for that loss; a Great Orange Leader gives them that, along with a welcome moral pass, in exchange for their unswerving loyalty in the face of what are often his lunatic, growing flaws and failings. Hence the judgment of Mark Milley, formerly the nation's and his own highest ranking military officer, that Trump is "now the most dangerous person in this country - a fascist to the core."

In one recent move toward totalitarianism, Trump said he'd use the military to quell "very bad people" like Adam Schiff and other dangerous critics, prompting brave GOP pols like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, when asked about it, to literally stammer in terror, "I don’t think that, again, I can’t speak for him, but I do - I do think that you are misinterpreting his 'thoughts','' even when directly quoted to him. Another dubious move: Announcing an upcoming rally at New York's Madison Square Garden suspiciously akin to an infamous 1939 Nazi rally, also at the Garden, organized by the pro-Hitler German American Bund. It featured an image of George Washington flanked by American flags and swastikas, uniformed Bund members giving the Nazi salute, and rhetoric about the need for a "white gentile America" to protect against "the oriental cunning of the Jew." “If ever there was a moment to make such a comparison," Dems argued, "it’s now." Still, the GOP was faux-outraged. "Shame on you," said one GOP candidate, noting half the country supports Trump. "You just called 150 million voters Nazies (sic)." Not to mention bad spellers.

Given all this, it was less than shocking when a boatload of swastika-flying, skull-masked neo-Nazis joined Sunday's "mother of all TRUMP boat parades" in very rich Jupiter, Florida. Also there, on a boat with a huge bust of a blood-streaked Trump - "Fight Fight Fight" - was Lara Trump, who organized the event, grinning Dumb-and-Dumber Eric, who'd boasted of "flags soaring," and their two kids, without life-jackets. Nearby the Nazis, reportedly led by the head of the hate group Goyim Defense League, gunned their boat, shrieking "Heil Trump!" and ”Lookit those beautiful swastikas! We gotta make America white again!" When MAGA patriots in another boat, evidently queasy about them saying the quiet Nazi part out loud, deliberately splashed the yahoos, they yelled "Sieg Heil!" and "fucking pussies!" Online, several MAGA-ites argued the Nazis were "infiltrators," "agitators," "Antifa scumbag imposters" sent from the left, "just like on Jan. 6." Trump later dismissed them as "liberal activists." Sneered one supporter, "Kamala WISHES she had this much support." Mary Trump, in despair at the ugly, clueless spectacle, wrote, “What the fuck are we even doing?”

Most distressing, of course, is that one of our so-called presidential candidates is not just a fascist, but a fascist with dementia who often seems to be emulating the blithering idiot of Steve Martin's The Jerk: "A cosmetologist? That's unbelievable. Must be tough handling the weightlessness." "For weeks and weeks, I'm up here ranting and raving. Flawless. Ranting and raving," he whined. "Then they'll say he's cognitively impaired...But Biden was obviously cognitively repaired.” In Detroit, he insulted Detroit: "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president (with) a mess on your hands." Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: "Keep Detroit out of your mouth." In Las Vegas, "stunningly senile,” he told Hispanic voters "crazy" Democrats want to ban cows and windows. After backing out of a 60 Minutes interview - also a second debate and CNBC interview - he raged "Kamala was very crazy or dumb" when she did it. His tirades - sharks, windmills, bacon - are deemed "unhinged," "rambling," "meandering," "absolutely incomprehensible." One pundit: "He's one cloudless night away from baying at the moon."

This weekend, he went to must-win Pennsylvania for a Q&A "Town Hall" moderated by puppy killer Kristi Noem that got so weird even mainstream media called it out. "Trump Sways and Bops to Music for 39 Minutes in Bizarre Town Hall Episode," read the Washington Post headline. (The New York Times, ever hedging, dubbed it "an improvisational departure.”) The event began with a handful of questions from pre-selected attendees that Trump pretended to babble-answer. Then, someone in the room fainted from heat or boredom; during the pause for medical help, Trump mused, "While we're waiting. So we had a beautiful evening." Then, "Let's just listen to music." Cue, randomly, Ave Maria, a perfect choice "if your target voter base is white people who died in 1958." Another pause as another patriot faints. Trump hilariously asks "if anybody else would like to faint." Then, he gives up the ghost and the questions: “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” And for 39 minutes he swayed, pointed, stared blankly as Noem nodded along. Nothing to see here.  

They ran through nine tracks of his Mar-a-Hell-Go playlist. James Brown sang It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World as a lurching Trump watched Brown on a video screen. Sinéad O’Connor sang Nobody Compares 2 U. More bobbing, interspersed with words - "Great song...This is the most important election in the history of our country...I like it so we will do some songs" - plus an ad for a Trump Combat Knife. Awkward pause, then "a couple of really beauties...Let me hear that music." Andrea Bocelli sang Con Te Partirò, or Time To Say Goodbye. Trump teetered. Online sage: "Goodbye. Forever. You piece of steaming garbage." A nervous Noem: "Sir, do you want to play your song and greet a few people?" Trump: "What song?" Then, "We're gonna have a good time, make our country gayer." Cue YMCA, the 1970s gay cruising anthem: "Nice and loud! Nobody's leaving, what's going on?" The dazed crowd "danced." The old man in the sweaty Joker makeup wobbled. Wonkette: "Go have some pudding." Rufus Wainwright sang Hallelujah. The next day, Leonard Cohen's estate issued a cease and desist order; Wainwright called it all "the height of blasphemy."

When confounded reports of an event charitably dubbed "unorthodox" started emerging, even Fox News deemed it "very strange." But the Trump campaign, masters of alternative reality, wasn't having it. "Total lovefest!" declared repugnant spokesperson Steven Cheung. "Everyone was so excited they were fainting. Nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!” Bigot and wingnut Laura Loomer also loved it. "Trump jamming out to YMCA at his Town Hall, which he just turned into a concert!" she exclaimed. "There will never be another like him." (For God's sake, let's hope not.) Trump declared the event "amazing!" "When people began fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited, and just kept it going. So different, but it ended up being a GREAT EVENING!" Not, evidently, to a stunned-looking Nicolle Wallace, who described as "meandering and bizarre and uncomfortable to watch" a "town hall if you're still calling it that, but we're certainly not," especially when "the wheels came off" with his "musical fest, oh looky looky." The Harris campaign: "Hope he's okay."


Obviously, by any reasonable measure, he's not. Never mind the bonkers musical interlude. In Aurora, Colorado, he raged against "savage gangs" of migrants, aka poor people seeking safety: ”We have to live with these animals, but we won’t live with them for long." At an economic event in Chicago to talk about worker shortages, he veered uncontrollably into his hatred of immigrants: "These are killers, by the way, these, these, some of these killers are among the most evil killers...They'll look at you and they will kill you." On Sunday, he threatened to sic the military on them and every other "enemy within" - anyone who rejects his rabid racism. "Just a former president suggesting he’ll use the military against his fellow citizens for exercising their freedom of speech," said Jimmy Kimmel. "Nothing to worry about, folks. Seriously, when is he going to grow that little mustache already?"For Tim Walz, he has "crossed a line," one too many. "Just so you're clear," he told students in Wisconsin, "That’s you, that’s what he’s talking about. This is not some mythical thing out there. I tell you that because we need to whip his butt and put this guy behind us." Hallelujah.

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Emergency vehicles are seen at the PEMEX facility in Deer Park, Texas
News

Probe Demanded as Second Houston-Area Petrochemical Disaster in a Month Kills 2

For the second time in less than four weeks on Thursday, residents of the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States were notified of an emergency and ordered to shelter in place due to an accident at one of the region's many oil facilities.

A plant operated by PEMEX, Mexico's state-owned oil company, was the site of a deadly hydrogen sulfide leak in the suburb of Deer Park, with at least two workers found dead at the scene.

At least 35 others were hospitalized due to their exposure or treated at the scene, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters.

Gonzalez said the leak occurred while PEMEX employees were working on a flange at the plant.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the colorless gas hydrogen sulfide—known for its strong "rotten egg" smell at low levels and commonly used in oil and gas refining—is extremely toxic at high concentrations, and can cause headaches, eye irritation, or serious effects including unconsciousness and death.

City officials in Deer Park and the neighboring city of Pasadena called on residents to stay indoors, keep all windows and doors closed, and turn off their air conditioners—on a day when the temperature was as high as 88°F—before assessing the air quality and determining the public was not at risk.

In mid-September, a fire at a liquefied natural gas pipeline owned by fossil fuel giant Energy Transfer went on for four days, damaged nearby homes and a playground, melted vehicles, and forced about 100 households to evacuate Deer Park and another nearby town, La Porte.

"This facility has a long track record of pollution, accidents, and violations of the law. Unfortunately Texas has a poor track record of forcing this and other petrochemical facilities to take safety and compliance seriously."

Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, called for a "comprehensive investigation of what happened in Deer Park" and said officials must "make sure people and the companies are held accountable for letting this happen."

Environment Texas noted that it joined Sierra Club in 2008 in filing a lawsuit against the PEMEX plant for Clean Air Act violations. The suit was settled the following year, with PEMEX committing to make upgrades, pay a penalty, and reduce its air pollution, but the group found in a 2021 analysis that state regulators have failed to crack down on toxic industrial emissions.

Earlier this week, Oil and Gas Watch at the Environmental Integrity Project found that the PEMEX plant is "the worst source of benzene air pollution among U.S. refineries, as measured by the amount of the carcinogen measured by air monitors around the perimeter of the facility."

Prolonged exposure to benzene can cause blood disorders, threaten the immune system, and increase the risk of leukemia.

"My thoughts are with those who have lost their lives or are injured, and their loved ones, following this chemical leak," said Metzger. "It's just terrible. This facility has a long track record of pollution, accidents, and violations of the law. Unfortunately Texas has a poor track record of forcing this and other petrochemical facilities to take safety and compliance seriously. It makes me wonder if this awful incident could have been prevented."

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Tyonna Stinnie working toward her certification at SED Child Development Center training for potential childcare workers
News

Investing in Childcare Would 'Massively Increase' Parents' Earnings: Study

While Republican proposals for solving the childcare crisis in the presidential campaign have ranged from recruiting "grandpa or grandma" as babysitters to slashing providers' certification requirements—with presidential candidate Donald Trump failing to give a coherent answer when asked about the issue last month—a new study delivers a simple message about how the benefits of public spending on childcare significantly outweigh the costs.

Researchers at Yale and Brown universities analyzed the universal pre-kindergarten program in New Haven, Connecticut, and found that "politicians could massively increase Americans' earnings" by expanding investments in such programs.

The New Haven program began as the result of a 1996 court ruling and is open to all families in the city regardless of income—but it uses a lottery system for enrollment due to limited funding and space.

The paper the researchers published with the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that parents whose children were selected in New Haven's lottery had 11 more hours of childcare than those who weren't able to benefit from the tuition-free universal pre-K program—enough to increase the parents' earnings by 21.7% even after their kids moved on to elementary school.

That increase makes childcare spending "one of the most effective, pro-work policies in the U.S.," said Washington Post economic columnist Heather Long.

The added earnings stemmed largely from the parents' ability to continue working without taking time off to fill in gaps left by a lack of childcare, particularly because New Haven's program includes extended hours, with children able to attend as early as 7:30 am and as late as 5:30 pm.

The paper emphasizes that families that didn't get a pre-K slot still utilized other childcare programs out of necessity—but they had to pay for them out of pocket and were able to send their children to the programs for fewer hours per week than those who won the lottery.

"A few more hours of care can have long-run returns for families that are quite a bit larger than the costs of provision," Seth D. Zimmerman, a research associate at Yale who co-authored the study, told the Post.

Combining the added earnings for parents and other economic benefits associated with early childhood education, the researchers found, every dollar spent on providing tuition-free full-time childcare yielded $6 in benefits.

"This kind of payoff is almost unheard of in government labor-market policies—much higher than for most other pro-work programs, such as the earned-income tax credit," wrote Post columnist Catherine Rampell in an analysis on Monday.

The study was published days after the White House released an issue brief titledChildcare Is Infrastructure, which the Biden administration said was made evident by its $24 billion investment in the industry through the American Rescue Plan.

"Introduction of universal pre-K across various states led to increased pre-K enrollment and higher employment rates among mothers with young children in those areas on average," said the White House. "Consistent with an increase in overall economic activity, places that introduced universal pre-k also had larger increases in new business applications and the number of establishments than places that did not."

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has expressed support for expanding childcare programs and lowering costs for families, including by restoring the expanded child tax credit and providing an extra tax break for families with newborns.

The new study suggests that in the presidential campaign, "childcare should be front and center," wrote Rampell. "If you want to help workers, help them care for their kids."

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From left, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former President Donald Trump, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin
News

'Boot-Licking Trump Sycophant' Youngkin Dodges Question on National Guard Threat

The Virginia Democratic Party said Tuesday that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin—long promoted in the political press as a "moderate" alternative to the far-right MAGA movement—had made clear he was a "disgrace to our commonwealth" in an interview regarding GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's recent threat to deploy the U.S. military against his political opponents.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Monday evening confronted the governor with Trump's comments in an interview broadcast on Sunday in which the former president toldFox News' Maria Bartiromo that he was concerned about violence from "the enemy within" on Election Day.

"We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics," Trump said in a clip played by Tapper on CNN. "And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military."

He later pointed to U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who helped lead the prosecution during Trump's first impeachment trial, as one of the "lunatics that we have inside."

"Is that something that you support?" Tapper asked Youngkin.

Youngkin repeatedly dodged Tapper's direct question, instead focusing on immigration and claiming the CNN anchor was "misinterpreting and misrepresenting" Trump's words, which he said were related to the former president's views on undocumented immigrants.

"I'm literally reading his quotes," said Tapper. "I'm literally reading his quotes to you and I played them earlier so you could hear that they were not made up by me."

The governor didn't budge from his message, repeatedly claiming that Tapper had taken "little snippets" from what Trump had said and created "a big narrative" out of the comments. He did not answer Tapper's question about whether he would support deploying the National Guard on Election Day.

"This is the textbook definition of 'gaslighting' by Glenn Youngkin... Insane. And EVIL," said progressive Virginia-based news outlet Blue Virginia. "Youngkin is an eternal disgrace to Virginia—worst governor ever, betrayer of our democracy, boot-licking Trump sycophant."

Independent journalist Eric Michael Garcia said the interview presented the latest evidence that Youngkin—who rose to his state's highest office after campaigning against the teaching of accurate U.S. history, including the history of racial injustice, in public schools—is not the "upbeat Post-Trump alternative" his supporters claim he is.

The interview aired around the time that Mark Esper, Trump's former defense secretary, urged CNN viewers to take seriously the GOP presidential nominee's threat to deploy the military on Election Day.

"I saw over the summer of 2020 where President Trump and those around him wanted to use the National Guard in various capacities in cities such as Chicago and Portland and Seattle," Esper toldCNN's Kaitlan Collins, referring to Trump's response when the police killing of George Floyd sparked racial justice protests. "So that's what equally concerns me about his comment would be the use of the military in these types of things."

At a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Monday, Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota also addressed Trump's threat, telling the audience, "He's talking about you."

"We'll let the lawyers decide if what he said was treason, but what I know is it's a call for violence, plain and simple," said Walz. "If anyone wants to pretend that this is a normal conversation that Donald Trump is having, just dispel that."

After Youngkin refused to say that as a governor, he would oppose mobilizing the military against Trump opponents, progressive strategist Murshed Zaheed said that "every reporter should be asking every Republican governor whether they will call the National Guard to help Trump target his enemies."

"Would love to get answers to this question from governors of Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, etc.," he said, referring to several battleground states.

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voting rights activists marching
News

4 Million Americans Excluded From Election by Felony Voting Bans

The Sentencing Project on Thursday released a report estimating that 4 million U.S. adults are ineligible to vote in the 2024 election due to felony disenfranchisement, including a disproportionate number of people of color.

The research and advocacy group's 40-page report, Locked Out 2024, finds that 1.7% of adults nationwide are disenfranchised due to felony voting bans, and in certain states—including swing states that could decide the presidential race—that figure is far higher.

Advocates for restoring voting rights to people with felonies argue that disenfranchisement laws are racist and undemocratic.

"Felony disenfranchisement remains a critical barrier to full civic participation, particularly for communities of color," Kara Gotsch, executive director of the Sentencing Project, said in a statement.

"Felony disenfranchisement echoes policies of the past, like poll taxes and literacy tests," she added. "Felony voting bans keep communities that have been historically unheard and under-resourced from having equal representation in our democracy. It's time to guarantee voting rights for all, including those with felony convictions, to create a truly inclusive democracy."

Source: The Sentencing Project

Gotsch noted that there's been progress in many states in recent years, leading to decreased national figures. Felony disenfranchisement peaked in the 2010s; a 2016 report from the Sentencing Project estimated the national figure at 5.9 million. The current 4 million figure represents a 31% decline over 7 years.

Democratic-controlled states have generally instituted more reforms, though some Republican-led states have also done so.

The only states that don't restrict voting while in prison—or at any time thereafter, for convicted felons—are Maine and Vermont; Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. have the same policy.

Tennessee has the highest percentage of felony disenfranchisement at 7.68% of the adult population.

Florida has the second highest percentage—6.13%—and the highest number of disenfranchised people in absolute terms, at an estimated 961,757, accounting for nearly a quarter of the national total. Florida's Electoral College tally is expected to go to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump—himself a felon awaiting sentencing—in the election, though the race there remains competitive.

Floridians voted in favor of a referendum to restore voting rights to felons in most cases in 2018, which progressives considered a monumental victory. However, the following year, the Republican-led state Legislature teamed with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to weaken the outcome by instituting a law requiring that court fees be paid before reinstatement—they "re-disenfranchised" the majority of those whose rights had been restored, according to the Sentencing Project report. A federal appeals court upheld the Republican law.

Two states that could be even more competitive in next month's presidential election are also deeply affected by felony disenfranchisement. Arizona disenfranchises 4.2% of its adults, while Georgia prevents 3.25% from voting, according to the report.

In each of the four states mentioned, the percentage of Black adults who are disenfranchised is far higher than the overall, cross-racial percentage, as is true at the national level: While 1.7% of U.S. adults are disenfranchised, 4.5% of Black adults are. In Florida, 12.74% of Black people are disenfranchised.

The Sentencing Project and other groups have tackled disenfranchisement as a racial justice issue, pointing out that many of the laws barring felons from voting date to the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow period.

"The Locked Out 2024 report underscores a harsh reality: Our nation remains ensnared by the remnants of Jim Crow through the practice of felony disenfranchisement," Nicole Porter, the Sentencing Project's advocacy director, said in the statement. "Black and brown communities bear the brunt of felony voting bans, further perpetuating the persistent racial inequities that plague our country."

Most of the people who've lost the right to vote due to a felony conviction are no longer in prison or jail. In fact, about 40% have completed their sentencing requirements entirely, the report says.

Source: The Sentencing Project

The report was written by five researchers based at different U.S. universities, most of whom are criminologists. They didn't conduct an exact count of disenfranchised adults but rather used social science methods to estimate the figures. The Sentencing Project has released research of this type every two years since 1998.

The findings don't take into account de facto disenfranchisement "wherein individuals legally allowed to vote do not do so due to legal ambiguity, misinformation regarding voting eligibility, fear of an illegal voting conviction," the report says.

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Sha'ban al-Dalou
News

Palestinian Seen Burning Alive in Israeli Tent Massacre Identified

Warning: Contains images of death.

The Palestinian photographed while burning alive in a Gaza City tent encampment bombed by Israeli forces on Monday has been identified.

Sha'ban al-Dalou, was a highly promising 19-year-old software engineering student at Gaza's al-Azhar University, which was destroyed by an Israeli bombing last November, two months after he began studying there. Al-Dalou, his parents, and siblings sought shelter in the courtyard of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza after being forcibly displaced multiple times by Israel's onslaught, for which the U.S.-backed nation is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice.

"In this barbaric starvation war, we have [been] displaced five times so far," al-Dalou said in an undated video shared on social media.

"I'm taking care of my family, as I am the oldest," the teen explains as an Israeli drone can be heard hovering nearby. "I have two sisters and two little brothers and my parents. We left in... very hard circumstances, suffering... homelessness, limited food, and extremely limited medicine, and the only things between us and the freezing condition is this tent that we constructed by ourselves."

The teen was reportedly receiving treatment at al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after surviving an Israeli strike on a Deir al-Balah mosque that killed more than 20 people earlier this month.

"Yesterday they bombed in front of al-Aqsa Hospital and I was there sleeping," al-Dalou wrote to his brother after the attack, according toThe Siasat Daily, a major Indian newspaper. "I saw death in my eyes. They took me out of the rubble; I was unconscious, bleeding, injured—all like a dream."

"I'm injured in my head; I got 11 stitches behind my ear," he added. "If it was stronger, I'd be dead by now. I've also got an injury in my lung... it really hurts so much."

Al-Dalou, his mother, and at least two other people were killed early on Monday when Israel bombed the hospital's courtyard as they slept, sparking an inferno that tore through the tent encampment there. Video and photos showed al-Dalou burning alive, screaming for help, with an intravenous drip still attached to his arm.

In March, al-Dalou wrote:

I used to have big dreams, but the war has ruined them. It's taken a toll on me, making me physically and mentally sick. I suffer from depression and hair loss because of the constant trauma we face. Time feels like its stopped in Gaza, and we're stuck in a never-ending nightmare.

Responding to the grisly images of al-Dalou's death, Waleed Shahid, a U.S. progressive strategist who worked for lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), said on social media that "the image of hospital patients, tethered to IVs as American-supplied Israeli bombs ignite fires around them in Gaza, may well stand as the defining image of this horror," much as the photo of so-called "Napalm Girl" Phan Thị Kim Phúc does for the Vietnam War.

Al-Dalou, his mother Alaa al-Dalou, and the other victims of Monday's bombing are among the at least 42,289 Palestinians—most of them women and children—killed by Israel's 375-day assault on Gaza, according to officials there, United Nations agencies, and international human rights groups. Nearly 100,000 others have been injured, and at least 10,000 people are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of bombed-out buildings. Millions more Gazans have been forcibly displaced, starved, and sickened.

On Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported that the Biden administration last week warned Israeli leaders that they must take "urgent and sustained actions" to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza within 30 days or risk losing billions of dollars in military aid from Washington.

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