Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Tag: no-latest

  • Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping U.S. sanctions

    Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping U.S. sanctions

    DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s government and its allies on Friday welcomed the final lifting of the most draconian sanctions imposed on the country in recent decades.

    The U.S. Congress imposed the so-called Caesar Act sanctions on Syria’s government and financial system in 2019 to punish then-President Bashar Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s nearly 14-year Civil War that began in 2011.

    After Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024, advocates — including some who had previously lobbied for the imposition of the sanctions — pushed to have the penalties removed. They argued that the sanctions were preventing international investors from launching Reconstruction projects and blocking Syria from rebuilding its battered economy and infrastructure.

    U.S. President Donald Trump, who had previously lifted the penalties temporarily by executive order, signed off on the final repeal late Thursday after Congress passed it as part of the country’s annual defense spending bill.

    Some lawmakers had pushed for making the repeal conditional on steps by the new Sunni Islamist-dominated Syrian government to protect religious minorities, among other measures. In the end, the sanctions were repealed without conditions but with a requirement for periodic reports to Congress on Syria’s progress on issues including minority rights and counterterrorism measures.

    Syria’s foreign ministry in a statement Friday thanked the U.S. for the move and said it will “contribute to alleviating the burdens on the Syrian people and open the way for a new phase of recovery and stability.”

    It called for Syrian businesspeople and foreign investors to “explore investment opportunities and participate in Reconstruction,” the cost of which the World Bank has estimated at $216 billion.

    Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh said in a statement that the Caesar Act repeal will facilitate the country’s reintegration in the international financial system by allowing it to seek a sovereign credit rating.

    “Syria will likely start with a low rating, which is normal for countries emerging from conflict,” he said. “The real value lies in the benchmark set by the rating and the road map it provides for improvement.”

    Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, regional allies of the new Syrian government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, also welcomed the move.

    “We hope that this step will contribute to strengthening stability, security, and prosperity in Syria by further promoting international cooperation toward the country’s Reconstruction and development,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in a statement.

    The Saudi foreign ministry commended “the significant and positive role played by U.S. President Donald Trump” in lifting the sanctions.

    Trump previously said that he had moved to remove the penalties at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    Also Friday, the United Kingdom — which had previously removed its own broad sanctions against the Syrian government and financial institutions — imposed new sanctions on organizations and individuals it said were “involved in violence against civilians” in Syria.

    They include four people affiliated with Assad’s government in either a military or financial role as well as two people and three armed groups affiliated with the military of the new Syrian government who were allegedly responsible for attacks on civilians during sectarian violence on Syria’s coast earlier this year.

    Clashes erupted in March after a group of Assad loyalists attacked security forces. They spiraled into revenge killings as militants from Syria’s Sunni majority — some of them officially affiliated with the new government’s security forces — targeted members of the Alawites sect to which Assad belongs, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Hundreds of civilians were killed.

  • Head of workplace rights agency urges white men to report discrimination

    Head of workplace rights agency urges white men to report discrimination

    The head of the U.S. agency for enforcing workplace civil rights posted a social media call-out urging white men to come forward if they have experienced race or sex discrimination at work.

    “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws,” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas, a vocal critic of diversity, equity and inclusion, wrote in an X post Wednesday evening with a video of herself. The post urged eligible workers to reach out to the agency “as soon as possible” and referred users to the agency’s fact sheet on “DEI-related discrimination” for more information.

    Lucas’ post, viewed millions of times, was shared about two hours after Vice President JD Vance posted an article he said “describes the evil of DEI and its consequences,” which also received millions of views. Lucas responded to Vance’s post saying: “Absolutely right @JDVance. And precisely because this widespread, systemic, unlawful discrimination primarily harmed white men, elites didn’t just turn a blind eye; they celebrated it. Absolutely unacceptable; unlawful; immoral.”

    She added that the EEOC “won’t rest until this discrimination is eliminated.”

    A representative for Vance did not respond to a request for comment. Lucas said Thursday evening that “the gaslighting surrounding what DEI initiatives have entailed in practice ends now. We can’t attack and remedy a problem if we refuse to call it out for what it is — race or sex discrimination — or acknowledge who is harmed.”

    She added that “the EEOC’s doors are open to all,” and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “protects everyone, including white men.”

    Since being elevated to acting chair of the EEOC in January, Lucas has been shifting the agency’s focus to prioritize “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination,” aligning with President Donald Trump’s own anti-DEI executive orders. Trump named Lucas as the agency’s chair in November.

    Earlier this year, the EEOC along with the Department of Justice issued two “technical assistance” documents attempting to clarify what might constitute “DEI-related Discrimination at Work” and providing guidance on how workers can file complaints over such concerns. The documents took broad aim at practices such as training, employee resource groups and fellowship programs, warning such programs — depending on how they’re constructed — could run afoul of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race and gender.

    Those documents have been criticized by former agency commissioners as misleading for portraying DEI initiatives as legally fraught.

    David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the NYU School of Law, said Lucas’s latest social media posts demonstrate a “fundamental misunderstanding of what DEI is.”

    “It’s really much more about creating a culture in which you get the most out of everyone who you’re bringing on board, where everyone experiences fairness and equal opportunity, including white men and members of other groups,” Glasgow said.

    The Meltzer Center tracks lawsuits that are likely to affect workplace DEI practices, including 57 cases of workplace discrimination. Although there are instances in which it occurs on a case-by-case basis, Glasgow said he has not seen “any kind of systematic evidence that white men are being discriminated against.”

    He pointed out that Fortune 500 CEOs are overwhelmingly white men, and that relative to their share of the population, the demographic is overrepresented in corporate senior leadership, Congress, and beyond.

    “If DEI has been this engine of discrimination against white men, I have to say it hasn’t really been doing a very good job at achieving that,” Glasgow said.

    Jenny Yang, a former EEOC chair and now a partner at law firm Outten & Golden, said it is “unusual” and “problematic” for the head of the agency to single out a particular demographic group for civil rights enforcement.

    “It suggests some sort of priority treatment,” Yang said. “That’s not something that sounds to me like equal opportunity for all.”

    On the other hand, the agency has done the opposite for transgender workers, whose discrimination complaints have been deprioritized or dropped completely, Yang said.

    The EEOC has limited resources, and must accordingly prioritize which cases to pursue. But treating charges differently based on workers’ identities goes against the mission of the agency, she said.

    “It worries me that a message is being sent that the EEOC only cares about some workers and not others,” Yang said.

  • Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk backs Vice President JD Vance’s potential 2028 presidential bid

    Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk backs Vice President JD Vance’s potential 2028 presidential bid

    PHOENIX — Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and the organization’s new leader, endorsed a potential presidential bid by Vice President JD Vance on the opening night of the conservative youth group’s annual conference.

    After telling the cheering crowd that Turning Point would help keep Congress in Republican hands next year, she said, “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.”

    Vance would be the 48th president if he takes office after President Donald Trump.

    Kirk’s statement on Thursday is the most explicit backing of Vance’s possible candidacy by a woman who has been positioned as a steward to her late husband’s legacy. Charlie Kirk had become a powerbroker and bridge builder within the conservative movement before he was assassinated in September.

    Vance was close with Charlie Kirk, whose backing helped enable his rapid political rise. After the assassination, Vance and his wife joined Erika Kirk in Utah to fly her husband’s remains home to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.

    Vance is set to speak to Turning Point on Sunday, the conference’s last day. The convention has featured the usual spectacle and energy that have characterized the organization’s events, but the proceedings have also been marred by intense infighting among conservative commentators and estranged allies who have turned on each other in the wake of Kirk’s death.

    As Trump’s vice president, Vance is well-positioned to inherit the movement that remade the Republican Party and twice sent Trump to the White House. But it would be no small task for him to hold together the Trump coalition, which is built around personal loyalty to him more than shared political goals.

    Various wings of the conservative movement already are positioning to steer the party after Trump’s presidency, a skirmish that’s becoming increasingly public and pointed.

    Turning Point, with its thousands of young volunteers, would provide a major boost for Vance in a fractious primary. Now 41, Vance would be the first Millennial president if elected, a natural fit for the organization built around mobilizing youth.

    Trump has repeatedly mused about running for a third term despite a constitutional prohibition. However, he’s also speculated about a 2028 ticket featuring Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    Although Rubio previously ran for president in 2016, he has said he would support Vance as Trump’s successor.

  • Putin says Europe out of step with an increasingly Moscow-friendly U.S.

    Putin says Europe out of step with an increasingly Moscow-friendly U.S.

    MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin told Europe it was out of step with the new priorities of the United States and painted a picture of the world in which America was closer to Russia than its traditional Western allies, during his marathon year-end call-in show Friday.

    Over the course of several hours, Putin answered questions from journalists and the public, playing up the economy, expressing confidence on the Ukraine war and denying responsibility for the massive human casualties taking place. He also blamed the West for the invasion.

    He ridiculed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s warning this month that Russia could attack a NATO country in the next five years by saying such sentiment contradicted the new U.S. National Security Strategy, which does not identify Russia as an adversary to the U.S. and instead seeks “strategic stability.”

    “The United States is the creator of NATO, its main sponsor. All the main resources come from the U.S. — money, military technology, weapons, ammunition, everything,” Putin said. “And in the new U.S. National Security Strategy, Russia is not named as an enemy or a target. Yet the NATO secretary general is preparing for war with us. What is that? Can’t you read?”

    The Kremlin said earlier this month that the security document, which alarmed U.S. allies in Europe, was “largely consistent” with Russia’s vision.

    Putin said that the conflict between U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders was because “European political elites openly supported the Democratic Party” and its 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and said these same elites were hoping Republican losses in the midterm elections would put pressure on Trump.

    The combined-format event, blending a large news conference with a “Direct Line” call-in from citizens that often runs for four hours, marks Putin’s most significant public address this year and one of his rare moments of engagement with the public. He skipped the traditional state-of-the-nation speech, normally held in the spring.

    While Putin did say he was ready for peace with Ukraine and would compromise to end the conflict, he still repeated his well-worn lines blaming Kyiv for refusing to end the war — although it was Russia that invaded Ukraine. He also said Ukrainian forces were retreating “in all directions.”

    Putin, who has taken a hard line on peace negotiations in recent days, said that Russia was ready for peace — on terms suitable to Moscow that eliminated what the Kremlin calls “the root causes” of the conflict, which would see a Ukraine subservient to its Russian neighbor.

    Putin denied responsibility for human casualties in the war, “as we did not start that war.”

    He said that he had told Trump that Russia was willing to compromise in peace talks when he met him in Alaska in August, although the Russian leader this week insisted that Russia would take more Ukrainian territory — which he called Russia’s “historical lands” — through military force if it failed to gain these through negotiations.

    “When I arrived in Anchorage, I said these would not be easy decisions for us. But we agree to the compromises being proposed,” Putin said, adding that “to say that we reject anything is absolutely incorrect and has no basis.”

    “The ball is entirely in the court of our opponents, so to speak, and, first and foremost, the leaders of the Kyiv regime and their, in this case, and above all, European sponsors,” Putin said.

    Asked by the BBC whether there would in future be new “special military operations,” the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war — Putin said: “Western leaders created this situation themselves and continue fanning the flames by saying they are preparing for war with Russia,” adding it was “nonsense” that Russia wanted to go to war with Europe.

    During the conference questions from Russians flashed up on screens in the hall, including one that suggested that Russian elections were “a fiction” and another that asked why ordinary Russians lived so badly.

    “When you will return the ‘normal internet?’ It’s impossible to even send a question to the president!” one asked. Another asked, “Are you going to nominate yourself to run for president in 2030?”

    When the Levada Center independent polling agency asked Russians last month what questions they had for Putin, 21% wanted to know when the war would end, and 16% wanted to ask when pensions and benefits would increase.

    Putin adopted a triumphalist tone, boasting that Russia would have new military successes before year’s end. “I have no doubt that you and I will witness new successes of our armed forces, our troops on the contact line before the end of this year. That’s the plan.”

    Putin also rolled out a list of statistics to show the economy was doing well, including an unemployment rate of just 2.2% and a national debt that he boasted is among the lowest of developed countries. While growth this past year was only 1%, he maintained it was deliberate.

    “This was done in the course of targeting inflation,” he said. Inflation has dropped from nearly 10 percent down to 5.7%, he said. He added that an increase in sales tax on Jan. 1 from 20% to 22% was needed to balance the budget and would not be permanent.

    But in a sign that Western sanctions are taking a real toll on Russia’s economy, questions addressed high prices of chicken and other essential items, as well as a shortage of fish.

    “Stop price increases!” said a message from one Russian displayed on the screens in the hall.

    “There really isn’t enough fish on people’s tables. We’re not meeting the standard here,” Putin admitted.

    A question from a child was read out asking, “Why the pastries in the cafeteria rise but my parents salary does not?”

    The press marathon comes amid a burst of diplomatic activity as Trump pushes for a deal to settle the conflict in Ukraine. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Miami this weekend for talks with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s key investment envoy and a central figure in back-channel discussions, Axios and Politico reported.

    On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Russia is preparing for American contacts to clarify details from recent U.S. consultations with Ukraine and Europeans held in Berlin earlier this week.

    Putin’s address comes after European leaders agreed Friday to give Kyiv nearly $105 billion in a loan backed by the bloc’s budget, after the failure of a last-ditch effort to tap Russia’s $246 billion in frozen assets to finance Ukraine’s state and army. Putin called the attempt to tap the assets “open robbery” during the event.

    Moscow had stepped up anti-European rhetoric and vowed retaliation against any seizure, warning that without fresh funding, Kyiv’s resources could dry up within months.

    The Kremlin said about 3 million questions had been received by Friday, according to spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Putin’s approval rating remains steady at 84%, according to a Levada poll in October and November published last month.

    But as the Ukraine war — planned by the Kremlin to last just a few days — approaches its fourth year, war fatigue has set in, with casualties skyrocketing as Russia presses on with limited territorial gains.

    More than 65% of people surveyed by Levada in mid-November believed it was time for peace talks instead of continued military action, a four-percentage-point increase over the previous month. Tellingly, 55% in a separate Levada poll the previous month said they would not want a family member to sign a military contract to fight in Ukraine, 14% higher than in May 2023.

    According to the recent Levada poll, 65% of Russians believe the country is heading in the right direction, down from 74% in March, while 21% feel Russia is on the wrong path, compared with 16% in March.

    With Russia’s economy under intense pressure amid sanctions, declining oil prices and high interest rates, dozens of Russian companies have laid off workers or cut wages, while residents grapple with inflation and a rising cost of living. According to the poll, 25% said their life had gotten worse in the past year.

    In the lead-up to Putin’s question session, residents in villages and towns across Russia recorded videos complaining of local issues: a lack of heating in their homes; terrible roads; public transport failures; odorous smoke from local landfills; and other matters that will probably be featured during the event.

    Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia contributed to this report.

  • Motive still unknown after suspect in the Brown attack and MIT professor’s killing is found dead

    Motive still unknown after suspect in the Brown attack and MIT professor’s killing is found dead

    A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

    Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief.

    Investigators believe he is responsible for fatally shooting two students and wounding nine other people in a Brown lecture hall last Saturday, then killing MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro two days later at his home in the Boston suburbs, nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Providence. Perez said as far as investigators know, Neves Valente acted alone.

    Portugal’s top diplomat said Friday that the government was taken aback by revelations that a Portuguese man is the main suspect in the mass shooting at Brown and the killing of an MIT professor who was of the same nationality. Police said they were contacted by U.S. authorities Thursday once Neves Valente was named.

    Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said Portugal has provided “very broad cooperation” in the case. He said in comments to the national news agency Lusa that “the investigation is far from over.”

    Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente was enrolled there as a graduate student studying physics from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001.

    “He has no current affiliation with the university,” she said.

    Neves Valente and Loureiro attended the same academic program at a university in Portugal between 1995 and 2000, U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said. Loureiro graduated from the physics program at Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal’s premier engineering school, in 2000, according to his MIT faculty page. The same year, Neves Valente was let go from his temporary student support and faculty liaison position at the Lisbon university, according to an archive of a termination notice from the school’s then-president in February 2000.

    Neves Valente, who was born in Torres Novas, Portugal, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Lisbon, had come to Brown on a student visa. He eventually obtained legal permanent resident status in September 2017, Foley said. It wasn’t immediately clear where he was between taking a leave of absence from the school in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017. His last known residence was in Miami.

    After officials revealed the suspect’s identity, President Donald Trump suspended the green card lottery program that allowed Neves Valente to stay in the United States.

    There are still “a lot of unknowns” in regard to motive, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom,” he said.

    Tip helps investigators connect the dots

    The FBI previously said it knew of no links between the Rhode Island and Massachusetts shootings.

    Police credited a person who had several encounters with Neves Valente for providing a crucial tip that led authorities to him.

    After police shared security video of a person of interest, the witness — known only as “John” in a Providence police affidavit — recognized him and posted his suspicions on the social media forum Reddit. Reddit users urged him to tell the FBI, and John said he did.

    John said he encountered Neves Valente about two hours before the attack in a bathroom in the engineering building, which was where the shooting occurred, and noticed he was wearing inappropriate clothing for the weather, according to the affidavit. Still before the attack, he again bumped into Neves Valente a couple blocks away and saw him suddenly turn away from a Nissan sedan when he saw John.

    “When you do crack it, you crack it. And that person led us to the car, which led us to the name,” Neronha said.

    His tip pointed investigators to a Nissan Sentra with Florida plates. That enabled Providence police to tap into a network of more than 70 street cameras operated around the city by surveillance company Flock Safety. Those cameras track license plates and other vehicle details.

    After leaving Rhode Island, Providence officials said Neves Valente stuck a Maine license plate over his rental car’s plate to help conceal his identity.

    Investigators found footage of Neves Valente entering an apartment building near Loureiro’s in a Boston suburb. About an hour later, Neves Valente was seen entering the Salem, New Hampshire, storage facility where he was found dead, Foley said. He had with him a satchel and two firearms, Neronha said.

    Victims include renowned physicist, political organizer and aspiring doctor

    Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of its largest laboratories. The scientist from Viseu, Portugal, had been working to explain the physics behind astronomical phenomena such as solar flares.

    In Lisbon, he was remembered as a highly regarded researcher and instructor for “all the contributions he gave and what he could still have given, all the equations left unwritten,” said Professor Bruno Gonçalves, head of the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion at Instituto Superior Técnico.

    Gonçalves added, “It is difficult to imagine in what context someone would want to harm someone that works in this field.”

    The two Brown students killed during a study session for final exams were 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Cook was active in her Alabama church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans. Umurzokov’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a child, and he aspired to be a doctor.

    As for the wounded, three had been discharged and six were in stable condition Thursday, officials said.

    Although Brown officials say there are 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack happened in an older part of the engineering building that has few, if any, cameras. And investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Barry Hatton and Helena Alves in Lisbon, Portugal, Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Matt O’Brien in Providence contributed.

  • The spread of famine in the Gaza Strip has been averted but Palestinians there still face starvation, experts say

    The spread of famine in the Gaza Strip has been averted but Palestinians there still face starvation, experts say

    TEL AVIV, Israel — The spread of famine has been averted in the Gaza Strip, but the situation remains critical with the entire Palestinian territory still facing starvation, the world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday.

    The new report by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, comes months after the group said famine was occurring in Gaza City and likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to humanitarian aid restrictions.

    There were “notable improvements” in food security and nutrition following an October ceasefire and no famine has been detected, the report said. Still, the IPC warned that the situation remains “highly fragile” and the entire Gaza Strip is in danger of starvation with nearly 2,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger through April.

    In the worst-case scenario, including renewed conflict and a halt of aid, the whole Gaza Strip is at risk of famine. Needs remain immense, and sustained, expanded and unhindered aid is required, the IPC said.

    Palestinians wait to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City on Thursday, Oct. 23.

    The Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, known as COGAT, said Friday that it strongly rejected the findings.

    The agency adheres to the ceasefire and allows the agreed amount of aid to reach the strip, COGAT said, noting the aid quantities “significantly exceed the nutritional requirements of the population” in Gaza according to accepted international methodologies, including the United Nations.

    The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Friday that it also rejects the findings, saying the IPC’s report doesn’t reflect reality in Gaza and more than the required amount of aid was reaching the territory. The ministry said the IPC ignores the vast volume of aid entering Gaza, because the group relies primarily on data related to U.N. trucks, which account for only 20% of all aid trucks.

    The IPC said that the report totals include commercial and U.N. trucks and its information is based on U.N. and COGAT data.

    Israel’s government has rejected the IPC’s past findings, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the previous report an “outright lie.”

    Palestinians grab sacks of flour from a moving truck carrying World Food Programme aid as it drives through Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Nov. 15.

    Ceasefire offsets famine

    The report’s findings come as the shaky U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reaches a pivotal point as Phase 1 nears completion, with the remains of one hostage still in Gaza. The more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented and both sides have accused the other of violating the truce.

    The IPC in August confirmed the grim milestone of famine for the first time in the Middle East and warned it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. More than 500,000 people in Gaza, about a quarter of its population, faced catastrophic levels of hunger, with many at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the August report said.

    Friday’s report said that the spread of famine had been offset by a significant reduction in conflict, a proposed peace plan and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries.

    There is more food on the ground and people now have two meals daily, up from one meal each day in July. That situation “is clearly a reversal of what had been one of the most dire situations where we were during the summer,” Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s director for the Palestinian territories, told U.N. reporters in a video briefing from Gaza City Thursday.

    Food access has “significantly improved,” he said, warning that the greatest challenge now is adequate shelter for Palestinians, many of whom are soaked and living in water-logged tents. Aid groups say nearly 1.3 million Palestinians need emergency shelter as winter sets in.

    Aid is still not enough

    Displacement is one of the key drivers behind the food insecurity, with more than 70% of Gaza’s population living in makeshift shelters and relying on assistance. Other factors such as poor hygiene and sanitation as well as restricted access to food are also exacerbating the hunger crisis, the IPC said.

    While humanitarian access has improved compared with previous analysis periods, that access fluctuates daily and is limited and uneven across the Gaza Strip, the IPC said.

    To prevent further loss of life, expanded humanitarian assistance including food, fuel, shelter and health care is urgently needed, according to the group’s experts, who warned that over the next 12 months, more than 100,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition and require treatment.

    Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest that it hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza each day, though Israel disputes that finding. American officials with the U.S.-led center coordinating aid shipments into Gaza also say deliveries have reached the agreed upon levels.

    Aid groups say despite an increase of assistance, aid still isn’t reaching everyone in need after suffering two years of war.

    “This is not a debate about truck numbers or calories on paper. It’s about whether people can actually access food, clean water, shelter and health care safely and consistently. Right now, they cannot,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

    People must be able to rebuild their homes, grow food and recover and the conditions for that are still being denied, she said.

    Even with more products in the markets, Palestinians say they can’t afford it. “There is food and meat, but no one has money,” said Hany al-Shamali, who was displaced from Gaza City.

    “How can we live?”

  • Letters to the Editor | Dec. 19, 2025

    Letters to the Editor | Dec. 19, 2025

    Sad and sickening

    I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around Donald Trump’s vile comments about Rob Reiner’s death. To watch anyone, least of all the president of what was once the most envied country in the world, spew such venom about one deceased man is so far beyond my comprehension that I can only opine that this is the result of envy turned sickness.

    And, as the would-be emperor fiddles, our country burns.

    We can wait until the midterms and vote, but that will accomplish little.

    Why don’t we take another look at the 25th Amendment, it has become obvious that our Congress is too wrapped up in politics to do its job.

    Contact your Congress members, contact your representatives, contact the dog catcher if you think it helps.

    Philip A. Tegtmeier Sr., Honey Brook

    …

    When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, the Trump administration made it a point to go after anyone who criticized Kirk after his death. People lost their jobs over their criticism of Kirk. I think the president should lose his job for criticizing Rob Reiner after the tragic death of him and his wife.

    Julio Casiano Jr., Philadelphia

    …

    The social media posting by the president with regard to the tragic death of Rob Reiner shows the state of mind of a man who totally lacks compassion, character, and empathy. His hatred has infected this nation and the world in ways never seen before. He’s not making America great; he’s making America hate and that’s not a good thing.

    Gerard Iannelli, Haddon Heights

    …

    The president of the United States used social media to post a disgusting political attack on Rob Reiner in the aftermath of his killing. Yet following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, he railed against any public comments taking Kirk to task for his racist and misogynist commentary, recommending retaliation against anyone who chose a public forum to tell the truth about Kirk.

    Just when you think Trump has reached a low in his absence of shame and decency, he shows us that there is no bottom.

    Steven Barrer, Huntingdon Valley, sjbarrer@gmail.com

    Season for giving

    When disaster strikes, it often happens in the middle of the night, catching families off guard and leaving them with nothing but uncertainty. In those moments, Red Cross volunteers — neighbors from our own community — are there to provide comfort, emergency lodging, and recovery support.

    Thanks to donations of money and time, this kind of care happens every eight minutes across the U.S., most often after a home fire.

    Whenever it happens, we’ll be there — because of our generous donors and volunteers who help in so many ways. But our mission goes beyond disaster relief; we help patients in need of lifesaving blood, teach critical skills like first aid and CPR, and support veterans and military families navigating unique challenges.

    This holiday season, please consider donating at redcross.org. Your gift ensures that when the unexpected happens, families have the support and care they need — because no one should face a disaster alone.

    Jennifer Graham, CEO, American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Region

    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.

  • Horoscopes: Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). Don’t bother weighing the positives and negatives. Not only do they lack actual weight, but it’s impossible to know which are “negatives” or “positives” because what seems inconvenient today may prove, in the long view, to be your best luck yet.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your dream can work! The gatekeepers just don’t see it yet. It’s not for them. So don’t shrink the vision; shift the setting. A different venue, format or audience will be a better fit. This project just needs the proper container.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Some people love with words, others with total silence and careful listening. Some love with support, others with competition. Assume what’s offered is a form of love. If it’s not the kind you most need, keep moving and you’ll find it.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Information spreads fast through the gossips, broadcasters and other natural amplifiers. Today, use that to your advantage. Give the talkers something worth talking about, and let their distribution network work in your favor.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You genuinely want what’s best for others, but you also need care. Can you make more time for yourself? Carve out a few hours for the special things that matter to you — things that have nothing to do with serving others.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Out of kindness, you’ve sometimes dimmed your light around people who feel competitive or fragile. But today, don’t worry. Your brightness will not destabilize others. If anything, when you shine, you expand the field for everyone connected to you.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Those who are unaware of what others expect of them are liable to disappoint people by breaking “agreements” they didn’t even know they made. You avoid this dynamic by staying aware of social contracts, spoken and unspoken.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). To say you’re a dancer seems to imply a certain skill level, but what if being a dancer is just about dancing? Do the action today and don’t worry about the identity. Identity follows action, not the other way around.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Talk about what you do and what you need. Opportunities aren’t as rare as some would have you believe. There is always room for new ideas, especially ones that improve people’s lives, and those come so easily to you!

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your steadiness doesn’t come from rigidity, but from being rooted, like a tree that can bend with the wind. You’ll attract people who need a bit of grounding, and you’ll kindly let them lean on you for the support that is so easy for you to give.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Take measures to make sure everyone is on the same page. What could possibly be misunderstood? Check and double-check. Miscommunication leads to mistakes, but good communication and a little diligence now will prevent problems down the line.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There is no clear winner today, which is how you know you’re not in a game, but in something with deeper dimensions, like a purpose or an epic story — a grand landscape or a love affair.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 19). It’s your Year of the Electric Surprise. Your network expands wildly — coincidences, encounters, coffee meetings and phone calls all lead somewhere thrilling… if not right away then after a bit of follow-through. At certain points, numerous opportunities chase you at once, so you have your pick. More highlights: romance that’s plentiful and genuine, exceptional creative output people pay for, share and celebrate. Taurus and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 19, 8, 14 and 40.

  • Dear Abby | Months after breakup, man sees ‘signs’ amid heartache

    DEAR ABBY: I’m a 55-year-old man who dated a very special lady, “Dawn,” for 12 years. We were both married when we met. I fell in love with her, and after we divorced our spouses, we continued being together.

    I have two kids. Dawn didn’t get along with the older one. My daughter wasn’t rude, but she obviously didn’t like Dawn. I proposed to Dawn, and she accepted. Over the next few months, she became agitated and threw her engagement ring back at me. I kept it until we figured things out.

    Two years later, Dawn ghosted me. I was hurt, so I gave her space. (We reconciled five months later.) Three years later, I finally trusted her enough to ask her about getting married. Then, right at Christmas, she ghosted me again. Six months later, nothing. I texted her after four months to no avail.

    I am now in therapy. Abby, I don’t know how to move forward. Sometimes I get these divine messages, signs, dreams, etc. I hesitate to label anyone, but I wonder if I’m dealing with a woman who has a commitment phobia. What should I do now? I have respectfully not contacted her except once. I am heartbroken. I’m not asking if I should wait around. I’m living my life. But these divine messages and signs have me wondering.

    — DESTROYED IN VIRGINIA

    DEAR DESTROYED: I am pleased you are now in therapy, because it is where you belong. I don’t know what your daughter picked up on about Dawn, but perhaps you should ask her. If you do, it may give you some insight. Your therapist may be able to explain what Dawn’s problem is, but whatever it is, it is no longer your problem.

    Those dreams, signs and messages you are receiving are not divine; they are proof that your subconscious still hasn’t let go of the fantasy about a future with her. If, heaven forbid, the woman contacts you again, RUN in the opposite direction!

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: Some people hint that they want to get on our social calendar, yet they expect us to be the ones to invite them. An example: “Say, when are we getting together for dinner?” is repeated often. If they invited us to dinner at a specific place and specific time, it would probably happen, but I’m uncomfortable that they put the burden on us to initiate the event.

    Is there a rule of etiquette about this? Why are people like this? I can’t be sure if they are sincere about wanting to get together. Often, I’m just as happy we didn’t meet up, because we have lots of active friendships already.

    — CLUELESS IN RALEIGH

    DEAR CLUELESS: When someone asks, “When are we getting together for dinner?” your answer should be, “As soon as YOU CALL ME so I can make sure we are available.” If you prefer NOT to get together for dinner, all you have to say is, “Our schedule is really full right now. I’ll let you know when we are free.” (Then change the subject.)

  • Coast Guard abruptly deletes swastika, noose entry from policy manual

    Coast Guard abruptly deletes swastika, noose entry from policy manual

    The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday deleted language from its new workplace harassment policy that had downgraded the definition of swastikas and nooses from overt hate symbols to “potentially divisive,” an abrupt turnaround after the more lenient interpretation of those items was allowed to take effect this week despite objections from Congress.

    In a message to all Coast Guard personnel, Adm. Kevin Lunday, the service’s acting commandant, said those revisions had been “completely removed” from the policy manual. The document, a copy of which was reviewed by the Washington Post, now shows a large black bar obscuring the relevant chapter in its table of contents and a message directing readers to a separate manual outlining the Coast Guard’s civil rights policies.

    Lunday’s message also says that a separate directive he issued last month prohibiting swastikas and nooses “remains in full effect.”

    The sudden turn of events appeared to satisfy Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) and Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.), who said after Lunday’s announcement that they had lifted their holds on his nomination to become the service’s full-time commandant. Both cited their disapproval of the new policy when explaining earlier this week why they had taken such measures.

    Lunday’s announcement caps a tumultuous few weeks within the Coast Guard, following Washington Post reports detailing the service’s plan to include the incendiary language within its new workplace harassment manual, its vow to reverse course in the face of widespread criticism, and the wording’s surprising retention as the new manual took effect earlier this week.

    In response to the Post’s initial reporting in late November, Lunday issued an order condemning and categorically prohibiting swastikas and nooses, and said then that his directive would supersede any other policy language. But for reasons that remain unclear, Lunday’s order was never incorporated.

    Two people familiar with the policy manual overhaul said this week that the Coast Guard, which is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, wanted to strike the “potentially divisive” wording from the document but was unable to do so. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the contentious situation.

    The Coast Guard’s hazing and harassment policy was an early focus of Lunday’s after the Trump administration, upon entering office in January, fired his predecessor, Adm. Linda Fagan — the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military. In announcing Fagan’s removal, officials cited among other things her “excessive focus” on diversity and inclusion initiatives.

    Within days, Lunday ordered the suspension of the policy manual that, among its other guidance, said explicitly that the swastika was among a “list of symbols whose display, presentation, creation, or depiction would constitute a potential hate incident.” Nooses and the Confederate flag also matched that description under the previous policy. Lunday was later nominated by Trump to lead the service as its commandant.

    In a statement announcing that she had lifted her hold on his nomination, Rosen said she had put another on Sean Plankey, Trump’s nominee to be the director of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and “will keep that hold in place until we see that this new policy works to protect our men and women in uniform from racist and antisemitic harassment.” She also chastised leadership within the Coast Guard and at DHS who, she said, had been “evasive, misleading, and elusive” as lawmakers sought assurances the “potentially divisive” wording would be cut from the policy manual.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said in a social media post earlier Thursday that the language was being removed from the manual “so no press outlet, entity or elected official may misrepresent the Coast Guard to politicize their policies and lie about their position on divisive and hate symbols.”

    Neither DHS nor the Coast Guard has addressed questions seeking to understand whether Lunday, as acting commandant, was empowered to change the manual’s wording on his own or if DHS leadership had to approve it.

    The lack of action, particularly amid a rise in antisemitism, incensed an array of lawmakers, including Republicans, who said Lunday had pledged to them that the “potentially divisive” wording would be removed from the policy manual before it went into effect.

    Several expressed anger at the existence of an official U.S. government document defining swastikas, inseparable from the extermination of millions of Jews in World War II, and nooses, a symbol of racial hatred, as “potentially divisive.”

    Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.) was among those who registered disapproval with what his office called the Coast Guard’s “conflicting policies.” A GOP aide said Lankford took his concerns directly to the Trump administration and urged officials to change the manual.