SunSeeker
SunSeeker's JournalU.S., U.K. among 8 countries pausing funding to UNRWA amid allegations 12 employees were part of Oct. 7 attack
Source: NBC News
Eight countries have paused future funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East amid an investigation into allegations some workers participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The agency, known as the UNRWA, is entrusted with moving much-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been under intense bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces in its mission to annihilate Hamas militants after the October strike.
The nations have said they are awaiting the outcome of the investigation. “We must make sure that not a single euro of Finland’s money goes to Hamas or other terrorists,” Finland's minister for foreign trade and development, Ville Tavio, said in a statement Saturday.
Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, has accused the UNRWA of serving as the “civilian arm of Hamas in Gaza,” a charge the humanitarian aid agency has vehemently denied.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-uk-8-countries-pausing-funding-unrwa-allegations-12-employees-part-rcna136030
The best evidence yet that banning Airbnbs will make rent go down
On September 5, the hammer fell on Airbnb in New York City. After a series of desperate attempts by the home-sharing giant to stop the city from enforcing sweeping limitations on short-term rentals, the city passed a law that did just that. In a matter of weeks, thousands of Airbnb listings in the city — once one of the platform's largest markets — went up in smoke. Of the 3,000 or so Airbnb listings that remain in New York, down from some 22,000 in August, the vast majority are for stays of 30 days or more — the minimum number of nights required under the city's regulations.
The crackdown was a turning point. Despite legal challenges and histrionics from landlords, the city had all but vanquished short-term rentals. The thinking behind the move was fairly simple: New York City, where the average studio apartment costs $3,016 a month, is the epicenter of the country's sweeping affordable-housing crisis. By turning Airbnbs back into long-term housing, people will have more places to lay their heads and landlords will have more competition. In theory, this should make housing in the city more affordable.
...
Airbnb has long denied culpability in the country's housing crisis, but the latest evidence that New York City made the right move comes from the opposite side of the country. Irvine, California, a picturesque city of 300,000 in Orange County, banned short-term rentals back in 2018 as residents grew frustrated by increasing numbers of vacation rentals in once-quiet neighborhoods. Based on a new study published this summer in Real Estate Economics, the move had a notable impact. After Irvine's ban went into effect, long-term rents in the city dropped by 3%, according to the study, a decrease of $114 a month on average.
Irvine is a single case study, but it's also a real-world validation of years of research that's found Airbnb and its many copycats drive up rents and home prices. That might be good for property owners, but if you're worried about affordable housing, then it's worth taking a lesson from Irvine: Banning short-term rentals can, in fact, make rents go down.
https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-ban-makes-rents-housing-prices-drop-irvine-california-study-2023-11#:~:text=Irvine%2C%20California%2C%20a%20picturesque%20city,move%20had%20a%20notable%20impact.
Three migrants drown in Rio Grande after Texas blocks Border Patrol from rescue
Source: Texas Public Radio
A woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on Friday night as they were attempting to cross the U.S. southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection told TPR that Border Patrol was prevented from deploying lifesaving efforts by agents with Operation Lone Star, the controversial Texas border security initiative.
Under the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, Operation Lone Star this week seized control of Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, which faces the Rio Grande and has denied access to the Border Patrol.
...
The Texas Military Department acknowledged in a statement to TPR that it was contacted by Border Patrol about a "migrant distress situation" at 9pm on Friday night and did not deny that it blocked access.
Read more: https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2024-01-13/three-drown-in-rio-grande-after-texas-blocks-border-patrol-from-rescue
Abbott murdered that women and her kids.
Hamas is hoarding vast amounts of fuel as Gaza hospitals run low, U.S. officials say
Source: NBC News
As U.N. officials say hospitals in Gaza are running dangerously low on fuel, Hamas is maintaining a stockpile of more than 200,000 gallons of fuel for the rockets it fires into Israel and the generators that provide clean air and electricity to its network of underground tunnels, according to U.S. officials, current and former Israeli officials and academics.
The statements come as President Joe Biden called for a humanitarian pause in Gaza and U.N. officials warned that aid agencies, water treatment plants and bakeries there may soon run out of fuel. Israel, which has allowed a limited number of trucks carrying food, water and medicine into the enclave, continues to ban deliveries of fuel, which it says Hamas will use for military purposes.
Hamas, meanwhile, has repeatedly demanded fuel deliveries to Gaza during negotiations to allow foreign nationals to leave the enclave and in talks about the release of 240 people it kidnapped.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN that Hamas has been blocking Americans from leaving Gaza. “Hamas has been preventing their departure and making a series of demands,” said Sullivan, who declined to describe the demands. Other U.S. officials said fuel deliveries were among the stumbling blocks.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/hamas-hoarding-vast-amounts-fuel-gaza-hospitals-run-low-us-officials-s-rcna122977
Trump Endorses Jim Jordan For House Speaker
Source: Huffington Post
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to become the next speaker of the House early Friday morning, saying the lawmaker was “respected by all” and had earned his “complete and total endorsement.”
“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment. Jim, his wife, Polly, & family are outstanding - He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) first hinted earlier Thursday he had had a “great conversation” with Trump about the process to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted in a shocking turn of fortune this week. McCarthy was voted out of the speakership on Tuesday after eight far-right Republicans — led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) — voted to strip him of his gavel, a first such ouster in the chamber’s history.The move has prompted a fierce competition to replace him and become one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress. Jordan and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) have so far announced bids, but Nehls had floated Trump himself for the position.
“He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party,” Nehls wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I fully support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House.”
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-reportedly-endorsing-jim-jordan-speaker_n_651f76c8e4b0049f8b6da608
Well I guess we know who the next Speaker will be: Gym Jordon, the pedophile-enabling, jacketless know-nothing insurrectionist.
Pro-Russia ex-premier leads leftist party to win in Slovakia election
Source: NBC News
A populist former prime minister and his leftist party won parliamentary elections in Slovakia, staging a political comeback after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message, according to almost complete results.
Former Prime Minister Robert Fico and the leftist Smer, or Direction, party led with 22.9%, the Slovak Statistics Office said early Sunday after completing the count of 99.98% of the votes from some 6,000 polling stations.
The election Saturday was a test for the small eastern European country’s support for neighboring Ukraine in its war with Russia, and the win by Fico could strain a fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.
Fico, 59, vowed to withdraw Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine in Russia’s war if his attempt to return to power succeeded.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/slovakia-election-pro-russia-ex-premier-robert-fico-election-win-rcna118257
Slovakia is going the way of Hungary. This is bad news for Europe, and the world. Slovakia, and all of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, has been awash in Putin's propaganda. It is having an affect. It's Putin's most effective conquest technique.
Jimmy Buffett died after a four-year fight with a rare form of skin cancer
Jimmy Buffett, whose sun-drenched songs celebrated life by the shore, died of a rare, aggressive skin cancer, according to a statement on his website.
Buffett, 76, had Merkel cell cancer, according to the statement, which was posted after initial news of his death emerged Saturday. The statement also disclosed where the “Margaritaville” singer died: at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, near the Hamptons.
He had been fighting the cancer for four years while continuing to perform, the last time making a surprise appearance in Rhode Island in early July, the statement said.
Merkel cell carcinoma, as it's known in medical literature, is very rare and tends to spread quickly, including to parts of the body beyond the skin, according to the federal National Cancer Institute and the Mayo Clinic. Risk factors include a lot of sun exposure, a weakened immune system, a history of other cancers, and being light-skinned and over 50.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jimmy-buffett-died-after-year-fight-rare-form-102895688
Head of Zelenskyy's office posts AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell'
Andriy Yermak did not leave any other comment.
Love me some dark humor. If there is a Hell, Prighozin's there.
In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged barricades survived
As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.
And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30.
One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape. One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety.
But dozens of others found themselves caught in a hellscape, their cars jammed together on a narrow road, surrounded by flames on three sides and the rocky ocean waves on the fourth. Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.
https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-fires-timeline-maui-lahaina-road-block-c8522222f6de587bd14b2da0020c40e9?user_email=af4a3b628578e24fe3cc001524281964ec2742242ba6399b7768d46e524c3cce&utm_medium=Morning_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_23%20August_2023&utm_content=B&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
( Good interactive timeliness and recap of the fire at the link, along with stories of what people did to manage to survive. Good lesson for future disasters. )
West Maui beyond Lahaina cut off and struggling
Residents of West Maui in the areas unaffected by fire say they’ve felt trapped this week, lacking access, communication, and supplies for the thousands of residences and businesses still standing. Past the destruction of one area of Lahaina, around the edges and beyond were untouched by fire, but their residents were stranded nonetheless.Nothing burned down north of the post office, which is Kaanapali, Honokwai, Mahinihina, Kahana, Napili, Kapalua,” said Maui County Councilmember Tamara Paltin, speaking to KHON2 on her first day able to get a signal out of West Maui. “Nobody wanted to leave to get supplies and then go to a shelter on the other side when their house was still standing.”
They’re struggling without power and dwindling supplies, and many tell us officials instructed them all week it’s a one-way trip if they left.
“They’re saying that if we head out to the Wailuku area, they’re only letting people that have flights, so tourists and locals, to leave,” said Kahana resident Eliana Perez, “and if you go out you’re not going to be able to come back in through Lahaina.”
https://www.khon2.com/top-stories/west-maui-beyond-lahaina-cut-off-and-struggling/
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