Pennsylvania’s Department of Health did not cite Chester County Hospital for any safety violations between December 2024 and November of last year.
The West Chester-based hospital is part of Penn Medicine.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
Feb. 6, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
May 5: Inspectors visited for a special monitoring survey and found the hospital was in compliance.
July 25: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
For councilmembers, the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., proposal was altered to prioritize households at the bottom of the income scale, their main demand throughout the process. For the mayor, Council has approved her signature proposal and done so without significant alterations. That means the city will borrow and spend the first tranche of money soon.
Frankly, I’m surprised the income limits for just two of the dozens of programs included in the initiative became such a source of contention. Council is right that the neediest should be prioritized, while the mayor is correct in saying that raising the limits is unlikely to create a flood of interest that will squeeze out lower-income homeowners.
If a house needs modification to facilitate a resident’s physical needs, or has one of the qualifying repairs (like a major roof leak) for the Basic Systems Repair Program, most homeowners with means will address the problem as soon as they can — even if it means spending their own money. Getting help from the city can take months. That’s a lot of time to deal with a leaking roof, crumbling joists, or an inability to access your entire home.
Perhaps the argument suited both sides. For the mayor, arguing with Council about income limits meant not arguing about whether borrowing nearly a billion dollars for her housing initiative is a good idea. It also meant new concepts like One Philly Mortgage or the property-based Shallow Rent Program mostly went unscrutinized. For councilmembers, it was an opportunity to demonstrate their compassion and score a win over a mayor who doesn’t like to lose.
The Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility is a waste-to-energy incinerator in Chester that handles more than a million tons of trash a year.
Burning desire
The biggest controversy during Council’s first session of the year was whether or not the city should continue sending trash for incineration at the Reworld Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility.
Chester residents and 3rd District Councilmember Jamie Gauthier want the city to stop a practice they view as unneighborly, blaming Reworld for poor air quality and medical issues. Reworld says incineration is better than the alternative: landfills. Both options lead to increased local emissions. Which one is considered worse often depends on whom you’re talking to.
One way to reduce the impact of the city’s trash would be to begin a municipal pilot program for composting. While many residents utilize composting services, extending access could lead to a significant reduction in waste. This would mean less impact on the environment and local communities, no matter which option the city ultimately chooses.
The Chester Water Authority, located at 415 Welsh St. in Chester.
Water wars
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Chester Water Authority, a win for advocates of publicly owned water utilities. The financially distressed Delaware County city had claimed ownership of the authority and its assets, based on the fact that it had originally established the agency decades ago. In the meantime, however, the coverage area has spread, even including much of neighboring Chester County.
Despite this, the state-appointed receiver for the city of Chester came to see a sale of the authority as a way to rebalance the books. Chester has been under state supervision since 1995 and was placed into receivership by former Gov. Tom Wolf in 2020. When Aqua America offered more than $400 million for the authority, it was hard for the city, which has around $500 million in liabilities, to refuse — even when the authority’s board opposed the deal.
The court’s ruling ends the push to privatize the authority, which is a win for ratepayers, especially the many who don’t live in the city but still rely on the authority for water. But it leaves Chester City in need of another way out of its long municipal nightmare.
Colin McAndrew, 9, a fourth grader at North Penn, holds a sign that reads “Classrooms not Class Zooms” during a rally held outside of the Montgomery County Human Services Center in Norristown in 2020.
No Zoom school
With Philadelphia expected to receive a huge helping of snow this weekend, I think it is worth reminding regional school administrators that kids deserve better than Zoom school.
Weather models that are much more accurate than the ones they used back in John Bolaris’ day are predicting a foot or more of snow. That could be enough to make getting to class on Monday unrealistic, especially given how many teachers travel in from the suburbs.
Losing a day of school is a challenge, but it doesn’t justify forcing kids to spend the day on their laptops, especially given the growing body of evidence showing that digital learning tools simply aren’t as effective. The National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores, often called the Nation’s Report Card, show that students have regressed across the board, erasing decades of progress.
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote a book called The Anxious Generation, which blames a surge in screen time (including for school) and a severe curtailment of unstructured free time for growing teenage anxiety.
Sadly, too many adults who grew up in a time when children were allowed more freedom and spontaneity keep imposing policies on kids that leave them with less of both.
Will Bunch’s recent column on Donald Trump and how he is guided by “his own morality” hit me hard. Bunch alluded to “America’s battered psyche.” That is exactly how I feel — battered. Every day seems to fill me with sadness as our president and the people who surround him weaken our democracy and diminish our moral standing as a country to be proud of. American citizens and immigrants are being bullied, beaten, and killed.
The president has even threatened to use force if other countries do not bend to his will.
Meanwhile, people in our own country are struggling to pay for healthcare because the president and our congressional leaders do not have the decency to vote for affordable healthcare.
So where do I find hope? I see hope when Bunch reminds us that our morality is what can make a difference. Hope comes from seeing my neighbors and members of my parish at the recent MLK Day of Action. Hope also comes when I remember I am not alone.
Mary DiVito, Philadelphia
Madam President
Jenice Armstrong wrote an excellent column on what a massive difference a Kamala Harris victory in last year’s presidential election would have meant to this nation and to the world. Every newspaper in the country should publish her commentary. Voters made a catastrophic mistake by not electing Harris. As Ms. Armstrong’s article details, it is a tragedy on a global scale.
The corruption, self-enrichment, and cruelty of the Donald Trump presidency cannot be overstated. By 180-degree contrast, a Harris administration would have been competent, stable, humane, and dedicated to improving the lives of all people in our nation. Under a President Harris, we would have sane foreign policies aimed at peaceful relations and fair trade with other countries, while promoting human rights and providing humanitarian aid for people harmed by wars and natural disasters.
Harris would have brought intelligence, integrity, altruism, and decency to the presidency. Instead, over the past 12 months, Trump’s lawlessness and pathological character have become blatantly clear.
I thank and commend Ms. Armstrong and The Inquirer. Please continue to write your critically important observations and analyses about the destructive, immoral, malignant, egomaniacal insurrectionist who never should have been allowed to have any position in government.
Mark DeWitte,Lyndell
Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
DEAR ABBY: I saw my husband’s Instagram account, and he’s following only women who show their bodies provocatively. Is that emotional cheating, or is it just lust? Also, is that grounds for divorce? His looking at and lusting after women online hurts my feelings.
— IMAGE PROBLEM IN ALABAMA
DEAR IMAGE PROBLEM: What you have described is lust. Emotional cheating involves starting a relationship with someone. While there are many grounds for divorce in the state of Alabama, looking “with lust” at scantily clad women on Instagram is not one of them. Many men do this, and it doesn’t present a threat to their marriages. (Consider it an updated version of the old Playboy calendars you might have seen hanging in garages.)
Come to think of it, there was once a PlayGIRL magazine containing centerfolds with photos of gorgeous, scantily clad men. (I’m sure a friend told me about them.)
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been a hairstylist for 37 years. My niece is getting married in two months. Four months ago, my sister-in-law asked me to do her hair for the wedding, and I agreed. Well, about a month ago, I learned that another niece (who doesn’t do hair) has offered to do it because she and her best friend want to start a wedding planning service. This hurts my feelings so bad. Please help me understand why I shouldn’t be upset finding out about this.
— READY TO STYLE IN OHIO
DEAR READY: You write that another niece has offered to do the bride’s hair. Did the bride accept her offer? If the answer is yes, dry your tears and wait to see the result when an amateur pushes a professional out of the way on the most important day in a young bride’s life. If you have any compassion in your heart, pack your gear in your trunk and have it handy, because the bride may need your help. Desperately.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: Every time I tell my wife something, she questions it, doubts it or disagrees. I could walk inside soaking wet and say, “It’s raining,” and she’d still check her phone’s weather app. We went to counseling years ago, but the counselor focused mainly on my communication problems, not so much on hers, which made her behavior worse.
I have reached my breaking point. I no longer want to talk to my wife because I know she’ll question whatever I say. Each time it happens, I feel myself getting angrier. One day, I may snap and tell her exactly how I feel about her behavior.
— KEEP IT TO MYSELF
DEAR KEEP: “One day” you will tell her? How about getting it off your chest right now? Swallowing your anger has only allowed this problem to fester. Tell your wife you have reached your breaking point, that you both need more counseling from a different therapist. If she refuses, consult one for yourself, starting now.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Nonstop motion isn’t necessarily productivity. Don’t confuse activity with effectiveness. Give yourself the time to think about what really matters and what accomplishment you’re going to feel good about at the end of the day.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). While you like to have a strategy, today’s game doesn’t let you prepare in the way yesterday’s did. Stay on high alert for clues, make alliances and let logic lead. That’s all the strategy you need.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re attuned to undercurrents like the mood in the room, people’s unspoken needs and clues to their interests. Sensitivity that used to be a burden to you is now an asset, a navigational tool and a secret advantage.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ll have the option to pay for something a lot of people pay for, but should you? Many unwise choices are, nonetheless, commonplace. You’ll be very aware today that every dollar spent is a vote.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re running things on a scale that challenges you to be organized, courageous and calm. If you do get a bit overwhelmed, take it as just something that goes with this beautiful ambition of yours.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Jell-O is both a liquid and a solid, depending on how you look at it. You have a relationship that defies category, and like Jell-O, it will fit multiple descriptions while also being sweet, fun and moldable.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Today pairs closure with authority: You’ve seen what works, you know what you can carry forward, and you’re ready to formalize the next phase with maturity and resolve. You’ll simply commit and go.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Woe be to the one who interrupts your sleep. Your quality of life depends on not only the number of hours you rest, but the quality in depth of your sleep. It’s worth the effort to set yourself up for the best possible result.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Don’t forget your superpower: perspective. Yours is so flexible and astute. You’ll step back to see humor. You’ll float up and get the bigger pattern. You’ll lean in and understand the nature of things. And from right where you are, you’ll see endless possibility.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Hang back and watch others play the game until it’s time to make your move. The right moment to make your move is the moment you know you’ll have it all completely in hand. Keep looking out for the chance you can take control of the situation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Every day, you train yourself toward kindness. That’s why you find it so easy to handle your life with grace. People notice it about you today — the way you evaporate problems with your big heart.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You’ll ponder a while on a topic most people don’t put much thought into. This attention is well invested. These ideas you’re coming up with will matter more and more in the future. You’re ahead of the curve. Write down your process.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Jan. 23). Welcome to your Year of Lasting Satisfaction, defined by choices that hold up over time. You invest energy where it matters, say yes to what nourishes you and build a sense of contentment that doesn’t depend on constant change. More highlights: VIP access, social invitations that spark joy, a home comfort boost and someone who believes in your talent and puts money behind it. Cancer and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 18, 23, 35 and 47.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 36 points, 10 assists, and four steals. Joel Embiid added 32 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and two blocks for his ninth career triple-double. And Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting — including 4 of 5 from three-point range — to go with four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and a block in a hard-fought victory.
But with the score tied at 115 with three seconds remaining in regulation, Maxey’s layup attempt bounced off the backboard and in the direction of the rim. That’s when Houston Rockets small forward swatted the ball away for an obvious goaltending.
Luckily for the Sixers, the game went to overtime, and they pulled out a six-point victory.
“That was bad,” Paul George said. “It was a double goaltend. Yeah, that was bad. Luckily, basketball gods were on our side to win the game tonight. But yeah, that was a bad no-call.”
Nick Nurse said he doesn’t always have the greatest view. But on this night, the no-call occurred in front of the Sixers’ bench.
“And I think Tyrese almost, on purpose, tried to get it to the backboard extra quick,” Nurse said. “Like he almost threw it into the backboard real quick. I mean, listen, they are supposed to call those if there’s any chance at all there’s a goaltend, because they can review it. They can’t review it if they don’t call it. So they can get it right.
“I’ve actually been in games with those guys that they’ve called them more than two or three times. You get it when they call it. But they didn’t. I guess they just thought it was too far under, or they didn’t see it. So they didn’t call it.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey attempts a lay up late that was goaltended and became a controversial no-call.
Maxey responded “nope” when asked if the official gave him an explanation on the no-call.
So what was his reaction?
“Just get to overtime and try to win it there. That’s it,” he said. “I just was surprised. I kind of like laid it on the backboard. But it happens, man. We’re all humans.”
Maxey scored six of his points and tallied two of his steals in the extra session, leading the Sixers to victory.
Kelly Oubre Jr. said it was hard to let that blown call go in order to focus on overtime.
“But that’s why you have a 15-man roster,” he said. “Everybody kind of collectively [kept the team focused]. But it started with Kyle [Lowry]. You know in his prime, he was the biggest complainer of them all, right? But when you have a guy who accomplished so much and is who’s so just witty and smart, and he knows the game. He just rallied us all and told us just to forget about it. We got five more minutes to go in the basketball game.”
Much-needed home victory
The Sixers’ home arena has been far from a safe haven. Heading into Thursday, they had lost five of their last seven home games and were 11-12 at this building. The fifth-place squad and 10th-place Atlanta Hawks (7-13) are the Eastern Conference’s only top 10 teams without winning home records.
Jabari Walker was asked following Thursday’s shootaround if there was a sense within the Sixers’ locker room that they need to start winning some of their home games.
“That’s always been like that,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any extra pressure, recently. That’s always been the standard. … We are just going to continue to rely on the attitude that we’ve had. And I think we will bounce back.”
And they did just that with a victory over one of the league’s best teams.
“That was huge,” Nurse said. “We needed a good home win. We needed … to beat somebody really good. We needed a good, tough close-game win. Hopefully, we can get some momentum off of it.
“We certainly need to play better at home.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey scored 36 poins to lead his team in scoring.
The Sixers will conclude their current six-game homestand at 3 p.m. Saturday against the New York Knicks. After facing the Charlotte Hornets on Monday in North Carolina, they’ll return to Philly for another three-game homestand.
They’ll host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday in the second game of a back-to-back before entertaining the Sacramento Kings (Jan. 29) and New Orleans Pelicans (Jan. 31).
The Sixers must find a way to keep racking up wins at home, where they are supposed to have an advantage. They blew golden opportunities to take advantage of home-court advantage in recent losses to the Cavs on Jan. 14 and 16, and to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for them, those losses weren’t surprising after losing home games to the tanking Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 23 and the depleted Denver Nuggets on Jan. 5. The Nuggets were without their entire starting lineup and eight players total.
Right now, the Sixers are better on the road, where they’re 12-7. While the road record is impressive, they need to play much better at home. And as Nurse said, beating the Rockets was a good starting point.
Another player torches Sixers
We shouldn’t be surprised that Durant torched the Sixers for 36 points.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward is the 2014 MVP, a four-time scoring champion, an 11-time All-NBA selection, and a 15-time All-Star. He came into Tuesday’s game with a career scoring average of 27.2 points. And scored at least 30 points in 14 games played.
To add to that, the Sixers have had a knack for allowing high-scoring performances from opposing players. So Durant’s performance was just part of a trend.
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant scored 32 points against the Sixers, becoming the latest star to score big against them.
Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown (32 points), Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (31), Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (46 and 35), Milwaukee Bucks point guard Ryan Rollins (32), Miami Heat shooting guard Norman Powell (32), Orlando Magic point guard Anthony Black (31), Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (41), Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant (40), New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson (31), Orlando shooting guard Desmond Bane (31) and Cleveland point guard Jaylen Tyson (39) were the others who scored at least 30 against the Sixers.
PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored six of his 36 points in overtime, Joel Embiid had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Houston Rockets 128-122 on Thursday night.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 26 points for the 76ers, who evened their home record at 12-12. Paul George returned to the lineup for Philadelphia after missing two straight games due to left knee injury management and had 10 points.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points for the Rockets, who had won three in a row. Amen Thompson added 17 for Houston.
The 76ers scored the first five points of the extra session, on George’s 3-pointer and VJ Edgecombe’s follow from close range after he grabbed an offensive rebound, to take control.
Philadelphia had a chance to win it in regulation, but Durant blocked Maxey’s driving layup attempt with 13.2 seconds left. Maxey added 10 assists.
The 76ers opened up a 94-88 lead early in the fourth quarter, but it took 3:23 for Philadelphia to score another point. Reed Sheppard’s third three-pointer of the quarter put Houston up 105-96 with 6:25 remaining. The 76ers tied it twice late in regulation, the last on Maxey’s layup with 40.1 seconds left.
Aaron Holiday (back spasms) was downgraded from questionable to out for the Rockets. Houston also was without center Steven Adams (left ankle sprain).
Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving, who led the 76ers to the 1983 NBA title, was in attendance.
Forward Trinity Rodman has agreed to a three-year contract to remain with the Washington Spirit, ending months of speculation about the Olympic gold medalist’s future in the National Women’s Soccer League.
“I think I’ve always had a vision and an idea of what I wanted my legacy to be,” Rodman said at an event announcing her new deal on Thursday in Los Angeles. “And for me, we’re doing that and I’m so grateful for that.”
The speculation over Rodman’s future with the Spirit spurred criticism of the NWSL salary cap and whether it hampered the league from attracting and maintaining top players.
The 23-year-old Rodman became a free agent at the end of last season after five years with the Spirit. One of the biggest stars in the NWSL, keeping her in the league was considered vitally important as other U.S. national team stars, including Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson, opted to play in Europe.
Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Paris Olympics, had been drawing interest from European teams that don’t have a salary cap.
“I can’t think of the Washington Spirit without her,” Spirit owner Michele Kang said. “And I hope she can’t think about her career without the Washington Spirit. So this is really monumental and it was really important, not only for the Spirit, especially for our fans who expect to see her. They come to Audi Field and that’s where Rowdy Audi clearly came out.”
Rodman said she always wanted to stay with the Spirit
“Making my decision, the one question I was asked was: ‘Do you feel like you’re finished with the Spirit? Can you say that and feel confident leaving?’” she said. “I didn’t even need half a second, and I was like, ’No, I’m not. I don’t feel ready to make a different decision. That’s just, again, getting drafted here and developing and maturing and learning – and failing – at the Spirit, in D.C., it’s become so much of my legacy and my story. But on top of that, I still feel like there’s so much more I have to give and so much more that I want to do.”
The Spirit and Rodman had previously struck a multi-year deal that both parties maintained was in compliance with the salary cap, but it was rejected by the league because it went against the spirit of the rules.
The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association filed a grievance claiming that the NWSL’s rejection of the contract violated Rodman’s free agency rights and violated the collective bargaining agreement.
To address the salary cap issue, the NWSL in late December adopted a “High Impact Player” mechanism that allowed teams to spend up to $1 million over the cap to sign players that meet certain criteria. Those included metrics like national team minutes, inclusion among the 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or or player rankings by outlets like the Guardian or ESPN.
The NWSLPA filed a grievance over the rule, claiming it violated the collective bargaining agreement and federal labor law because player compensation must be negotiated. The NWSLPA maintains the league had no authority to “unilaterally create a new pay structure.”
Spirit President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter said the High Impact Player rule figured into the contract Rodman ultimately agreed to. Carter also said the grievances would not alter Rodman’s deal.
Rodman is currently with the national team in their annual January training camp in Carson, California. The team plays a match there against Paraguay on Saturday and then plays Chile on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.
Rodman has 47 appearances and 11 goals with the national team, more than any other player on the latest roster. She played in one U.S. match last year, a 2-0 victory over Brazil in April, because of injuries.
CAIRO — Desperate Palestinians at a garbage dump in a Gaza neighborhood dug with their bare hands for plastic items to burn to keep warm in the cold and damp winter in the enclave, battered by two years of the Israel-Hamas war.
The scene in the Muwasi area of the city of Khan Younis contrasted starkly with the vision of the territory projected by world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, where they inaugurated President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace that will oversee Gaza.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed that “record levels” of humanitarian aid had entered Gaza since the October start of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. His son-in law, Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff triumphantly touted the devastated territory’s development potential.
A starkly different reality
In Gaza, months into the truce, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still languish in displacement camps, sheltering in tents and war-ravaged buildings, unable to protect them from the temperatures dropping below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Despite the ceasefire, there are still recurring deadly strikes in Gaza. Israeli tank shelling on Thursday killed four Palestinians east of Gaza City, according to Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of the Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were taken. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Some in Gaza expressed skepticism about Trump’s Board of Peace and whether it would change their grim lives.
“This committee includes Israelis. I don’t understand, as citizens, how can we understand this situation?” Rami Ghalban, who was displaced from Khan Younis, said Thursday. “The Israelis that inflicted suffering upon us.”
But grappling with what’s ahead seems futile for others.
“We are in a position where there are no alternatives,” said Fathi Abu Sultan. “Our situation is miserable.”
While aid flow into Gaza has significantly increased since the ceasefire, residents say fuel and firewood are in short supply. Prices are exorbitant and searching for firewood is dangerous. Two 13-year-old boys were shot and killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday as they tried to collect firewood, hospital officials said.
At the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, dozens of Palestinians gathered Thursday to mourn three Palestinian journalists — including a frequent contributor to Agence France-Presse — killed the day before when an Israeli strike hit their vehicle, according to Gaza health officials.
The Israeli military said the strike came after it spotted suspects who were operating a drone that posed a threat to its troops.
Survival means digging through garbage
For Sanaa Salah, who lives in a tent with her husband and six kids, starting a fire is a critical daily chore so they can cook and keep warm. Her family has barely has enough clothes to keep them warm.
She said the family cannot afford to buy firewood or gas, and that they are aware of the dangers of burning plastic but have no other choice.
“Life is very hard,” she said as her family members threw plastic and paper into a fire to keep it burning. “We cannot even have a cup of tea.”
“This is our life,” she said. “We do not sleep at night from the cold.”
Firewood is just too expensive, said Aziz Akel. His family has no income and they can’t pay the 7 or 8 shekels (about $2.50) it would cost.
“My house is gone and my kids were wounded,” he said.
His daughter, Lina Akel, said he leaves the family’s tent early each morning to look for plastic in the garbage to burn — “the basics of life.”
Mourners bid farewell to 3 Palestinian journalists
The three journalists killed Wednesday were filming near a displacement camp in central Gaza, managed by an Egyptian government committee, said Mohammed Mansour, the committee’s spokesperson.
One of them, Abdul Raouf Shaat, a regular contributor to AFP, was not on assignment for the news agency at the time, it said. A statement from AFP demanded a full investigation.
Israel has barred international journalists from entering to cover the war, aside from rare guided tours. News organizations rely largely on Palestinian journalists and residents in Gaza to show what is happening on the ground.
Mourners on Thursday wept over the journalists’ bodies, which were covered in body bags and had press vests placed on their chests.
More than 470 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the ceasefire began in October, according to Gaza’s health ministry. At least 77 have been killed by Israeli gunfire near a ceasefire line that splits the territory between Israeli-held areas and most of Gaza’s Palestinian population, the ministry says.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
What’s next in Gaza?
While Trump tries to build support for his Board of Peace by mapping out a future for Gaza, more details about what’s ahead were emerging Thursday.
Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, said the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week on the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel said in early December it would open the Gaza side of the crossing but has yet to do so.
Reopening the crossing would make it easier for Palestinians in Gaza to seek medical treatment or visit family in Egypt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to send $1 billion to the Board of Peace for humanitarian purposes in Gaza if the U.S. unblocks the money. He met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow.
“We believe that only forming and proper functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a final settlement of the Middle East conflict,” Putin said.
It’s not just Minneapolis. In cities across America, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested hundreds of thousands of immigrants and clashed with protesters in what is on its way to becoming one of the largest deportation efforts in U.S. history.
The White House says it’s deporting both criminals and people who are working in the country illegally.
But ICE is increasingly unpopular, and it’s getting more headlines for its sometimes-violent tactics than it is for getting supposed bad guys off the streets.
“They’re going to make a mistake sometimes, too rough with somebody,” President Donald Trump said of ICE. “You know they are rough people.”
ICE’s reach is only expected to spread. It has been infused with billions more from the Republicans’ tax bill, and the Brennan Center for Justice estimates it will become one of America’s largest police forces. It is spending $100 million to try to hire gun rights supporters and military enthusiasts.
“By the end of this, almost everyone is going to know someone who had a friend or family member or colleague affected, or who witnessed an arrest happening,” said David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. “I think it’s unnerving to see people targeted who don’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary, just going to work or doing their jobs.”
Here’s more about what’s happening:
What ICE is doing on the streets
There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. ICE can’t be everywhere all at once, so the agency typically works with local authorities to help arrest people in the country illegally.
But now agents are on a mission to deport as many people as possible.
What was once a job largely out of the public eye is now taking place on city streets, parking lots of big-box stores, deep in local neighborhoods, and at churches and workplaces as agents mine federal data and go door-to-door to create what the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute says is an unprecedented show of force in cities.
Immigration agents have surged into Chicago, Los Angeles, D.C., Minneapolis, and Charlotte, rushing into upscale neighborhoods and shops, country clubs and near schools. Sometimes they are in plain clothes; many times they are masked.
They’ve been recently empowered by the Supreme Court to stop people based on factors such as race, ethnicity, language or job.
Some agents are using chokeholds to arrest people; others have been filmed smashing car windows to get at someone. U.S. citizens of color say they’re being asked to show paperwork (including off-duty police officers).
Trump and his administration say they are targeting “the worst of the worst.” But there’s no evidence migrants commit crimes at a higher rate than Americans, and most migrants arrested don’t have a criminal record, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
A record number of children are being detained, and data suggests families are being separated, ProPublica finds. The New York Times reported on a Cuban migrant arriving for a check-in with ICE and being immediately separated from her 17-month-old daughter she was breastfeeding and deported.
“It feels like a member of my family is under attack,” one Charlotte woman told The Washington Post after telling her children’s caregiver to stay at home.
Trump cracking down hard on protesters
Communities of activists have sprung up to try to slow or stop arrests and film what’s happening.
“I’ve been in touch with friends and former students in Minneapolis as well as Chicago, Los Angeles and now, Maine,” Robert Reich, a former labor secretary and prominent Trump critic, wrote this week. “Some have been extraordinarily brave. A few tell me they’ve tailed ICE agents and whistled loudly to warn others of ICE’s whereabouts. Some have sought to block agents from entering schools, courthouses, and clinics. Others have been taking videos to give to the media or use in court.”
Trump has responded with force. His administration has tried to label protesters as “domestic terrorists” (which legal experts say isn’t an actual designation) and has sought to deploy the National Guard where there are protests. He’s also threatened to send in the military to arrest protesters in Minneapolis. Vice President JD Vance said the ICE agent who killed protester Renée Good has “absolute immunity.” ICE agents are launching tear gas and pointing guns at protesters. The Trump administration has launched criminal investigations into Democratic officials in Minnesota who have criticized ICE.
Yet for all the conflict, Bier is tracking federal charges of protesters and finds it’s rare, suggesting many of their actions are protected by the First Amendment.
ICE detentions also controversial
Trump is building some of largest deportation centers in history, including makeshift facilities and plans by ICE to hold up to 80,000 immigrants in seven large-scale warehouses, The Post reported.
Conditions can be tough. Some ICE facilities have been described as “inhumane,” with reports of spoiled food, undrinkable water or lights on 24 hours a day. The pro-immigration American Immigration Council writes that ICE is “trapping hundreds of thousands of noncitizens in an increasingly opaque world of remote jails and private prisons.”
An ICE detainee died in January; witnesses say he was choked, and his death may be classified as a homicide. (The government disputes that account of events.) He is one of dozens who have died in ICE custody since Trump took office a year ago.
ICE getting harder to defend politically
Polls show that Trump’s ICE raids have strong support from Republicans.
“Letting millions of illegal immigrants come to work in the U.S. will depress wages, and we can’t allow that to happen,” says Nick Iacovella with the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a conservative, pro-tariff group that also supports Trump’s mass deportations.
But a new Economist/YouGov poll finds 47 percent of Americans think ICE is making America less safe, compared with 34 percent who said more safe. And for months now, a majority of Americans have disapproved of how Trump is handling immigration overall, on what used to be his strongest issue. Republicans are particularly concerned mass deportations are hurting them with Latino voters, who helped Trump win the presidency again.
“For the first time, immigration is maybe having a negative impact on my party,” former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, told Politico this fall.
